Welcome Home Penny and Ed!

My Aunt Penny and Uncle Ed came home from their mission to Croatia last Tuesday. Yesterday, we listened to them speak in church and they did a fantastic job. My aunt Penny (my Mom's sister, can you see the resemblance?) spoke about the importance of the relationships in our lives and Uncle Ed spoke about the small miracles or tender mercies of the Lord. It really was a great meeting. Afterwards it was fun to visit with my cousins and extended family for a bit. We had to drag Isabelle away from all the kids, but she fell asleep on the way home, too much fun!

You may notice a whole bunch of new links under friends and family. I discovered a lot of my cousins have blogs, so I hope they do not mind that I added them. I was up all night last night, reading and looking at pictures. I have to admit I even laughed so hard I cried. (Not a funny thing to do to a pregnant girl, I was running to the potty every few minutes.) My cousin Dave makes me laugh, I miss the guy. I need to get some old pictures up and do a little reminiscing on her, but that will save for another day! Just a warning, only check out Marshal and Lindsay if you want to see a couple too darn cute for their own good. If she wasn't so nice, I think I would have to hate her!

Best Friend Dad

Bella loves to do anything Dad is doing right now. Whether it is playing with "the guys" on the computer or helping in the basement, she needs to be right by Dad's side. I think Dad finds her especially helpful when working on the basement. She does make it all worth it when she hugs him close and says "Dad you are my best friend."

Aquarium

We met Kelli and Ethan at the Aquarium on Tuesday. Bella loved looking at the fish and playing with Ethan. Afterwards, we went to McDonalds, were Bella continually got stuck in the slides. Poor Ethan kept having to go and try and find her. She has been asking me every day when she can play with Ethan again, so Kelli, we will be seeing you soon!

Smokin' Scouts

We taught the scouts about building fires and fire safety today. I am sure the parents will love to hear that we built a fire in out backyard, but the boys had a great time!

Doctor Today

I started out the day with a visit to Dr. Later. We tried and tried, but still can't tell what this baby is going to be. Everything is healthy and good, so I guess we will just have to wait until April 10th to find out what we are having!

Happy 5th Anniversary

Julie,

Thank you for the wonderful last 5 years we have had together. You have enriched my life and taught me to love others more than you will ever know. I am truly happy and love each day with you. You are a wonderful mother to Isabelle and a friend to all those around you. Many times I wake up and am amazed that somehow I ended up with such a beautiful wife and companion. I love you and look forward to a long happy life by your side.

I love you!

-Bret

Uncle Matt

Bella loves her Uncle Matt. A few weeks ago, she was so excited to see him that when she did, she said "This must be my lucky day!" Ever since then, if she sees Uncle Matt, it is a lucky or a special day for her. On Saturday, she didn't get to see him, and it was pretty funny to hear her exclaim "I guess today is not my lucky day." Sunday, after she woke up, she ran straight for Uncle Matt and wanted to sit on his lap to eat her dinner of broccoli. We love you Uncle Matt!

Happy Easter!

I just love Bella in her fancy Easter dress. She was such a princess and walked around holding it up. It was good and twirling so she kept turning around and around in it. I know I am a little prejudice, but isn't my girlie just beautiful? She was exhausted by the time we made it to Grandma Pattie's so in a rare moment, she snuggled up and slept with Dad.

Hunting Eggs

Happy Easter! Bella woke up at 6:45, very excited because the Easter Bunny had left an egg on her pillow. (The bunny leaves you a special egg if you sleep all night with curlers in your hair.) After that, the hunt was on.
Bella was thrilled to find all of her eggs and opened them showering candy and surprises every where.
Yes, I am a mean mother and made her leave her curlers in until just before church, I just love her hair all curly. We had a great Easter morning all together. Bella loved hopping around with her bunny ears on!

Coloring Eggs

After painting in the basement all day, the last thing Bret wanted to do was color eggs, but he was a good sport and did it anyway. We colored 10 eggs, all solid colors and then Bella put stickers on them. Not the most exciting eggs ever, but Bella was thrilled with the Hello Kitty coloring kit from Dad and that is all that matters.

Exhausted

Our basement is finally sheet-rocked, so it was time to clean. My mom came over to help get everything ready. We started out by sweeping the ceiling and walls. After that, we dusted the ceiling and walls. My mom vacuumed most of the walls too. After that we swept the floors, vacuumed the floors and then swept them again. And just for good measure, we mopped the floor. Needless to say, we were exhausted by the time we were finished. Bella fell asleep and 5:30 and slept most of the night. Thanks Mom for all of your help. Now on to the paint!

St. Patrick's Day

Bella was not amused with the St. Patrick's Day festivities.
She was not happy to discover the silly leprechaun had turned her dinner of eggs, orange juice and donuts green.
She ran away and cried.
It took a bit of coaxing, but she finally tried the green eggs and liked them. She loved the gold coins of course!
We were able to cheer her up enough to give us a leprechaun smile.

Spring Fun at the Garriott's

Sunday night was our Garriott Family Talent Show and Egg Hunt. The kids had a great time dancing, singing and showing off their artwork. After a quick lesson from Grandpa Boyd, it was time for the egg hunt! The hit was the tricky egg Uncle Jared taped to the ceiling. After a candy feast, it was time to celebrate the birthday's of Aunt Heather and our Gracie girl! Gracie has the best giggle I have ever heard, it is infectious! And Baby Caroline is getting so big. She had a thing or two to tell her Uncle Bret. It was pretty cute! We had a great evening with my family, thanks Grandma and Grandpa!

What A Show!

I just spent the last hour or so of my life watching Snow Buddies with Isabelle. She has wanted this movie for so long. Friday night, Dad actually went to a few Redboxes looking for it but no luck. Today, as soon as she saw the Redbox, she reminded me about it. When the first place didn't have it, she said "I am so disappointed. Mom, what's disappointed?" It took a couple of tries, but we finally found it. I can't say it is the best movie I have ever seen, but Bella loved it and I guess that is what is important.

Princesses on Ice

We went to the Princesses on Ice last night, what a show! The girls looked great in their costumes and loved dancing along. Dad thought the show was excellent, especially Jasmine. Check out the rest of the pictures on Bret's flicker! It was fun to watch Bella and Lily in their dresses, they definitely thought they were real princesses, and who says they aren't? Holly did steal the show a little in her Tinkerbell costume eating her french fries!

Getting Big Too Fast

My little girl is getting big too fast, it makes me so sad. I love 3 so much. It is just so full of life and ready to explore anything and everything. If there is a chance to be a helper, you can bet she is right there. Today they started delivering materials to sheet rock our basement and Bella let the guy know, "Be really careful on the stairs, just take them one at a time." But my favorite moment was waking her up from her nap. I snuggled into her bed with her and she said to me "Mom, should we just stay here forever?" Sweetie, I wish we could.

The Hunt is On!

Yesterday was the egg hunt at Grandma Chris's. The girls had a great time hunting for eggs and a yummy breakfast with Grandpa Clyde after. He is getting to be an expert with the Texas waffles! Bella cleaned up on the eggs, and thinks she can get her vanity now. (We are putting this off as long as possible!) Mom had a great egg and immediately went to the scrapbook store and stocked up! Thanks Grandpa Clyde and Grandma Chris for a fun morning!

Happy Anniversary!

Today was Clyde and Chris's 39th Anniversary. They invited the family to help celebrate with a wonderful dinner at Madeline's. (We now have a new favorite steak place.) It was fun to talk and listen to the kids reminisce about growing up. I think every family needs to have a van, it makes for great memories. Here's to 39 more happy years. We love you Clyde and Chris!

5 Years Down, 25 to Go!

Bret celebrated his 5 year anniversary working for DWS this week. Yeah Bret! He was doing consulting work when he found this job just before we got married. We always had a laugh over the fact that he was going to work for a week or two and then needed two weeks off, but the honeymoon in Mexico was booked! He has been pretty happy at the state and I know they have been happy with him. The best part of 5 years, more vacation time! Here's to seeing you take more time off honey! I love you!