Happy Birthday, Grandma Grace!

So, I'm jumping the gun just a little bit, but I was thinking about my sweet little Grandma Grace and thought it was a good time to wish her a happy birthday. I love all my grandparents (Eric's included), but I must say Grandma Grace has always had a special place in my heart. Perhaps it's because she's always so positive and cheery about everything that happens. I really enjoy visiting with her on Sunday afternoons and love the random comments she makes about people. Some of my favorite comments she's made are:
"Turning tricks"-trying to describe Halloween while playing Catchphrase.
"Oh my word, I thought I might have to murder your Dad a couple of times"
"Can you get me the whatsie from the kitchen, Tootsie?"
"They don't come any dumber than her"
I can see where my Dad gets his sense of humor and endless supply of patience. I know this past year has been very hard on her after losing my Grandpa Lee, but she still finds a way to keep a smile on her face and remain positive.
Thanks for always making me smile, Grandma! I love you very much. Happy Birthday!

Happy Birthday, Haylie-bug!

Haylie's fourth birthday came last week and Eric and I are still scratching our heads trying to figure out how she's four years old already. Wow how time flies. I thought it might be a good time to reflect on the past four years since our little Haylie-bug blessed our lives.

Haylie was born on January 15, 2004. She came two weeks early on a very snowy night. Eric and I were so excited to finally meet her and she was the first granddaughter to be born on both sides of the family. Both sets of grandparents were able to be in the delivery room when she was born and got to see her almost immediately. She has been a constant joy and source of entertainment in all our lives ever since.

She loves to dance and sing and draw. She is a very imaginative child and is constantly trying to learn or try something new. She is very inquisitive and observant. She loves to copy other people and drags her little sister, Mikaela, all over the house like a little doll trying to get her to do everything she does. She's so funny to watch and listen to. Some of my favorite moments with Haylie include taking her Disneyland (she loves it as much as I do), watching musicals with her and listening to her try and sing the songs, listening to her recite all the poems and sing the songs she learns at preschool, playing dress up and beauty shop with me as the model, reading story books in bed at night, listening to her say her prayers every night, and watching her play with her sister.

Eric and I are so lucky and blessed to have this beautiful little girl in our lives. She has taught us so much about what's truly important in this life. She makes us want to be better people and the best parents we can be so that we can be an eternal family forever! We love you so much our little Haylie-bug. Happy Birthday, Sweet pea!

Dashing through the snow, on a four-wheel open sleigh!

Eric decided to take Haylie for a sleigh ride on New Year's Eve. We bundled her up and threw the biggest scarf we could find around her face and loaded her in the little sleigh Eric uses to go hunting. He proceeded to pull her around the backyard for several minutes going over all the little bumps and hills he could find. All I could hear from the deck was Haylie's little laugh. She was loving it. We have a large mound of dirt in the northeast corner of our yard that we haven't done anything with yet and Haylie convinced Eric to pull her up and over it several times. It was freezing cold outside, but neither of them seemed to notice.

Dad was having a great time on his mini-playdate.

Oh, Christmas Tree!

I can't believe how fast Christmas came and went. It seems like there's no time to do anything before it's upon us.
As is our normal holiday routine, we spent Christmas Eve at Eric's parents' house playing games, eating and letting the little ones open all their presents and run wild. Mama Ginger tried to get all the older cousins on her little lap to read them the Christmas story-yeah, that lasted about two minutes before the complaining began ("I can't see", "I want to hold the book", "I want to sit on Nana's lap", etc.). Papa Ernie showed old home movies of Eric and his siblings when they were younger. That was AWESOME! Talk about some great blackmail material! :) Kidding, kidding! It was a fun night and Eric and I have really come to enjoy spending our Christmas Eves with the Miller clan. Good times.
We did things a little differently this year at our house. Instead of waking the girls up at the butt-crack of dawn in an effort to let them enjoy their toys for a few minutes before carting them off to my parents' house, we moved the party to our house. I have to admit it was nice to let the girls stay in their pajamas and just veg out watching them play.


Mom and Dad came over with Erin and Darby later that morning and we enjoyed eating our "cajun Christmas breakfast" as Darby called it (a few items got a little crispied this year-but it was still good).


We got up to my Grandma Grace's house later than usual so all my Dad's family had pretty much disappeared or were heading out the door by the time we got there. It gets too crowded in there anyway so I wasn't complaining. I missed Grandpa Lee opening all his presents that he would buy for himself ("To Lee, from Leland.") I also missed the little poem or note he would leave each of us with our Christmas money. I'm glad that I have saved the ones from years past.


Not that this will come as a shock to anyone, but Haylie and Mikaela were spoiled rotten. Haylie has enough Barbies to start a softball team with now and Mikaela has plenty of dolls and cleaning supplies to keep her happy for several years. Their grandparents and aunts must really love them. Oy!


Eric and I were happy just watching the girls open all those gifts. That's always the best part for us.


We also got to talk to Dallin! That was probably the highlight of my entire day. I wished I could've talked longer, but once my mom got ahold of the phone, it was over. Mama Sue holds an Olympic gold medal when it comes to hours talked. I almost felt bad for Dallin-there's only so much your ear can take! :) Suffice it to say that Mom and Dad's phone bill is going to costa plenty! I hope everyone had a good holiday season!