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Monterey Camping Trip

We headed to Monterey with some of our good friends the end of May! It was such a great trip, we all hauled our trailers over there expecting to have beautiful weather......it was cloudy and freezing the whole weekend! We didn't see the sun until we were driving out of the RV park to head home! It was a great time with great friends....can't wait until the next trip in December!!

Easter 2009

The girls were excited for Easter this year, to wear their pretty dresses, to curl their hair, to do the Easter egg hunt!! It was a blast! We were able to spend a little time with all of the Fresno families that day! Even though it is always a long day, it is great to see everyone!! Olivia even took pictures for me when we went to the Ranch with Nana, Walt and the family!!

Clear Lake

In April, during spring break we made a trip to Clear Lake, CA. It is one of the prime bass fishing lakes in California!! Doug and I have always wanted to visit this lake in the hopes of catching a huge Bass! We didn't catch anything huge...but did catch some decent ones....most of all we had a blast! My sister Tara, her husband Jeremy and her four kids all came with us! We stayed at an rv resort on the lake, and had such a great time together! Can't wait to do it again!!

Wow...where has the time gone???

It has been six...yes 6 months since I have updated anything on this blog!! WOW!! There has been quite a bit that has happened since then! I am attempting in the next few days to update this with posts and pictures. Please forgive me for neglecting this for so long...this has been a rough year for me!! I am really going to try to keep this more current and up to date!!!

Track

Lauryn has joined her track team this year at Fresno Christian. She had her first track meet today, she competed in the 100 meter, the Longjump, and the Shotput. It was a ton of fun, hanging out with my sister while our girls were competing! She will be competing in another meet tomorrow! She really loves it! Seriously, how did this girl get to be so old? Competing in track events?! Time sure flies!

Talent Show

Lauryn and her cousin Maicy entered the talent show at Fresno Christian, they sang "Cinderella" by The Cheetah Girls. We were so proud of her! They did such a great job! They sang accapella, I wish you all could have been there!

I was Tagged by Stephanie...

Here are the rules:

1. Pick the fourth folder in the program you store pictures in on your computer.
2. Pick the fourth picture in that folder.
3. Post the picture and describe it.
4. Tag 4 friends. Sarah M., Jacinda, Johnna and Laura


This is me and my sweet neice Madison at my sis in-laws sisters wedding July 07!

Las Vegas

This past weekend, Doug and I took a much needed weekend away...can you say Road Trip...with NO kids!!! We went to fabulous Las Vegas! We dropped the girls at school Thursday morning, dropped the dog off at my parents, and started the drive! We had such a great time, stopping in Baker, CA at The Mad Greek for the most delicious Gyro's...then arriving in Las Vegas around 2:30. We checked into our hotel, got settled, then headed out on the town! We spent most of our time just hanging out together, having fun and reconnecting with each other. It was a wonderful time! We spent a lot of time there exploring the different casinos, enjoying the beautiful decor, and then Saturday was reserved for Bass Pro Shops...fun!! The evening of our anniversary we treated ourselves to a 3 course dinner on "Top of the World". This is a restaurant located 983 feet up at the top of The Stratosphere, with breathtaking views, and the best part is it rotates while you sit there eating, so your view is always changing!! Overall it was the greatest weekend! We had so much fun together, and most importantly just spent time relaxing together! The Lord really blessed us with this opportunity!! Thanks so much to my parents for sacrificing their weekend and their sleep to watch the girls and Bridget the whole time we were gone! They are awesome!! The only drawback of the whole weekend was the fact that we were driving back to Fresno on Superbowl Sunday...so we TiVo'd the game and watched it when we got home.....Doug's team won!!Go Steelers!!!

Olivia

Just had to share this picture of my sweet Olivia. Doug and I were thinking it was awfully quiet, so wondering where Olivia was; we located her in her room...this is what we found...

Peach Blossom Festival

Last Tuesday, Lauryn had the opportunity to compete as a finalist, for the third grade classes at Fresno Christian, for a local literary competition called the Peach Blossom Festival. It is held at Fresno State University. She was beyond nervous, but she did such a fantastic job! Her last words to me before she recited her sweet poem were..."I hope I don't win, I don't want to do this in front of too many people..." Her poem was about a teacher and a teachers love. I was so proud of her and all that she put into the recital of her poem. Doug, Grandma Marvell and I all showed up to watch her and cheer her on! The next day when I picked her up, she ran to me to tell me that she wasn't chosen...and that she felt like she was going to cry, which she promptly did. I felt so bad for her, but reminded her that she was awesome, and that her dad and I were so proud of her, just for being a finalist and for doing such a fine job! I also reminded her that she told me she didn't want to make it...and that there was always next year!! I love that girl and am amazed every day at the smart, beautiful girl she has become!

Ski Day with Daddy...

Today was Daddy and daughter date day...Doug took the girls up to Sierra Summit for a ski day! Lauryn hasn't been since she was four, and Olivia has never been before! We went and rented skis and boots yesterday, I packed all their clothes and lunches, set out the ski clothes and they snuggled up in bed early! They set out in the morning and got there when the lifts opened! Doug was so great, he got them ready, walked them across the parking lot with their boots on, and all their gear...then signed them up for ski school, and helped out with the class! Lauryn was loving it, and picked it up pretty quickly, Olivia was her normal self, crying, saying she was ready to head home...but with Daddy's "gentle" guidance and persistence, she pushed through and ended up doing pretty well, and even liking it! When I got home today and asked them about it, They told me they had fun, and they loved it! I asked them if they wanted to go again, Olivia said "NO"...Lauryn said "YES"! So we will try again sometime in the next few weeks, after we take out a second on our house....well, not really...but it is NOT cheap!! All in all though, it was a great day for Dad and his sweet daughters! They even got to hang out with their Uncle Mark, Auntie Steph, and cousins Madison and Emma!!

This is what I woke up to this morning...

Isn't it the best thing in the world to see your kids so in love with eachother??? I look at my girls and I see my sister and I when we were young. Lauryn and Olivia are just about exactly the same age difference as my sister and I, and we were always best friends when we were young, and we are still to this day! I love her with all my heart and wouldn't trade her for anyone else! She is the most specal woman I have in my life, and I thank God for her...every crazy part of her!! I love knowing that my girls are growing up feeling the same way about eachother! Lauryn is so much like her Auntie with her quirky personality, and Olivia is a mini me...it will be so fun to watch them grow up together!

Snow Trip

Last Friday we were planning a fun filled family trip to the snow....until I woke up at 4:00 that morning with the flu....soooo no trip! Thank God though, I woke up Saturday morning and off we went! We got to Shaver, picked up some yummy breakfast burritos, and went to find some snow! The girls were so excited, and so was Bridget!! We went sledding, while Bridget just ran all over, chasing the girls on the sleds...along with all the other kids! Olivia made it about two times down the hill, fell off the sled, got snow down her pants and mittens, put her hands on her hips and walked towards the truck saying "Let's go home..." After drying out a bit she made a few more runs, then we headed up to Sierra Summit to let the girls see the kids skiing. They were soooo excited! Olivia said "I want to ride on that...." pointing towards the chair lift...sooooo Doug is taking the girls skiing this Saturday with their Uncle Mark and his two girls! Should be tons of fun! Look forward to seeing the pics!

New Years Eve...17 of them!!

This year was a little different! Usually we spend the evening with friends, or are invited to hang with family, but this year we decided that we really just wanted to stay home with eachother and have a "party" of our own! Me and the girls had just gotten over the flu, and were still feeling a little yucky, so we planned a dinner and decided to play on the Wii (our family christmas gift), and watch "Horton Hears a Who" together. Lauryn set the table...this is her favorite thing...then she helped me cook! We pulled out the camera and took some pictures, ate a great dinner, played a few games, watched the movie, then watched some of the new years specials. The girls begged for us to let them stay up, but we were mean and made them go to bed at about 10:30!! That meant we had time with eachother, reminiscing about all of the past New Years that we have speant together....can you believe 17 of them!!!! Wow! We are so lucky that God has put us together, we both can say that we honestly would not rather spend time with another person instead of eachother! We love being together! Anyway, it was a ton of fun...but we are getting too old to stay up sooo late, especially when the girls still wake up sooooo early!!!

Tucker Family Christmas

We had a really nice time this year for Christmas. On Christmas Eve we went to our church for a nice service, then headed home where we had my parents, my sister and brother in-law and thier four kids, and Doug's mom and Walt over. We made a great dinner, had tons of laughs, and "Santa" even came to pay us a visit! On Christmas morning we woke up to find our stockings full and we each had a gift from Santa! It was such a fun time hanging with our little family! Someday we will stay home all day and play with all of our toys....but after a little play time, we left and went to my sisters to hang with the cousins and grandparents. We had such a great time there! Then we headed to Papa LeRoy and Grandma Vikkis house, where we opened gifts with them, Dougs brother and his family, Dougs great grandma Tucker and his Aunt Terri and Uncle Jack.
It was a very full day and the kids were exhausted...we all were...but it made us realize just how lucky we are to have our family in our lives. God has really blessed us with so many people in our immediate family, who are so important to us...and no matter what trials we all go through with eachother...we are blessed beyond all measure!!!

Lauryn gets her ears pierced...

Lauryn has been begging us forever to let her get her ears pierced...so we finally relented and let her do it for her 9th birthday! My sister has an ear piercing gun, so we went to her house to let her do it. Lauryn was soooo excited, but had a hard time getting over the nervousness....after about 45 minutes of crying, saying "do it....no, don't do it...", my sister finally just did it. Lauryn laughed and then had the hugest smile...she was sooooo excited!! She cannot wait to wear all her new earrings!