A visit from our Washington Cousins

Our Washington Mitchell Cousins came to visit for a few days on their way to "The Happy Place...Disney Land".  We haven't seen them for almost a year, so we were really excited to see them.  The first full day they were here we went to one of our favorite places...The Jelly Belly Factory!

Anna & Eliza

Ethen, Ben & Jessica

Ben & Eliza

Ben wanted to hold Eliza.  He bounced her just like Aunt Laura did and he put her right to sleep...what a guy!

Some of there friends came down from the Sacramento area to see them and join us at the Jelly Belly Factory.

Daniel loves these cars.

Daniel, Ethan, Jessica, Bradley, Anna & Ben

Anna & Ben

After our tour we went to the park for a picnic.

Aunt Laura has the magic touch!

Since they were missing a couple days of school they had travel journals they were using to document all their many adventures.

Anna was my best helper with Eliza

Ben showed us a new show called "Top Gear" on the Internet.  It has some great races between sports cars, buses, etc...  The boys loved it!!

Getting ready for bed.

Feb. 10-11, 2010

Happy, Happy Birthday Mommy Dear

Andy was home for my birthday this year since he had surgery the day before.  We checked out this Monster Truck School Bus.  We also went to see "The Princess and The Frog."  We had the theatre to ourselves.  It is a cute movie and we all had fun. 

It was closed for the day so the boys didn't get to ride, but we always look for it when we drive past.

Angie made some cupcakes for my birthday.  They had some really good fudged chocolate frosting on them.  The boys wanted candles too.  We lit them and Daniel started saying, "Happy New Year!"  It was pretty funny.  I just love little kids!

This is another super tower constructed by the boys.

New Eyes

This last week Andy had corrective eye surgery.  The proceedure was pretty fast and he was awake the whole time.  He has had a week off to recover from the surgery.  It has been nice to have him home even though he couldn't see very well at times.

Waiting to go under the lazer.

Andy with the surgeon

I am not sure which one is my favorite picture.  He has had to wear these goggles to help protect his eyes.  I am going to miss them! (Sigh...) 

The day of the surgery wasn't bad at all, but the next couple of days were pretty rough.

The third day was the worst for him.  He had to be a pain killers all day!  His eyes where itchy and burned, and they felt like he had sand in them.  His vision was really blurry and sometimes he was seeing double.  Since then each day has been better and better.  His eyes are doing really good now and he can see pretty well.  Give him another week or so and then ask him if he thinks the surgery was worth it!

A Bosom Friend

The other night my sister called and asked me when I received my young women recognition award. It took a few minutes to find it in my memory book, but I did find it... Feb. 4, 2001! Nine years ago! That got me thinking about what has happened to me during that time. As I looked through old photos I remembered the good old days with a special person who has helped me get to where I am today. Without her my life could have turned out very different. I could have missed out on six and a half years with my best friend, soul mate, and husband, and three beautiful and health children. That is why I am dedicating this entire post to my bosom friend Jennifer Marie Windel. Thank you for everything!

I met Jenny when I was working at the BYU Laundry. She is a true Texas Women who won't take no guff from no body! She is an amazing cook, sings like an angel, is very smart and motivated, and has a heart the size of Texas. (Did I mention that she sings like an angel?) She is the one who talked me into moving into the singles ward where I met Andy. She was a great emotional support when my first boyfriend dumped me, and helped keep things going between Andy and I when I wasn't sure I was ready to date him. She was continually talking to one of us trying to fan the flames of our relationship. Her hard work paid off and Andy and I started dating again. I know that being partly responsible for Andy and I getting together is a heavy burden to carry, but we will both be eternally grateful to her for it!

Here are a few pictures of the fun times we have had along the way.

Working at the laundry, haulin' hay on Labor Day, trap shooting in Levan, UT...

Picnicking at Maple Lake, going to Lagoon, seeing the Olympics in Utah, bowling, sleep overs, becoming the "other daughter"...

Feb. 2003

Jenny was a very important part in helping me get Andy to a Valentine's dinner hosted my the young women in my home ward. That was the day Andy and I started dating again. I am so glad you were part of it all Jenny!!

Don't mess with a Texas Women holdin' a gun!

After Andy and I moved to Texas for dental school we took a road trip to El Paso, TX to see Jenny and her family. We have come to love the Windel family. We are so glad they are willing to share Jenny Marie with us!

Jenny & Bradley

One of my favorite things about Jenny are her gorgeous blue eyes!

Darcy & Jenny are my two adopted sisters! (We love you too Brad!)

I love this pictures because it is of the people we named two of our children after. I mean if we are being honest with our selves Bradley is named for Brad Ellis who was dating Darcy. (Darcy isn't really a boys name and I knew they were going to get married.) Since Jenny was responsible for Andy and I getting married, we had to name our first born daughter after her. That is where Marie in Eliza Marie comes from. (We do love you too Abby!)

Bradley & Jenny at Maple Lake

It is always so sad to say good bye!

(Really I think Bradley really spilled water on her.)

Jenny, Karrie, Daniel & Darcy at the Manti Temple

Jenny flew to Utah for my sister Bethany's wedding and to surprise me. I hadn't seen her in almost two years!

Can't you see the family resemblance?

It is hard for me to put into words how much I love and appreciate Jenny Marie. I couldn't have picked a better friend to stand by me over the last 9 years, and she is still helping me today. Knowing that we are moving to North Carolina this year has been hard for me since we have such wonderful family and friends so close by. In N.C. we won't be close to any of our cousins or grandparents, but we will only be about 4 hours from our Auntie Jenny! Knowing that she is out there and that we will get to see her more often that ever two years is very exciting! We can't wait to see you again.

We love you the mostest Auntie Jenny!

Eliza Blessing Pictures

I realized after everything was said and done, the we blessed Eliza, that we didn't get any pictures of the boys and Eliza in their church clothes.  I finally got some pictures later in the week.  They turned out a little darker than I wanted, so I have been waiting to post them until I edited them.  However, I wasn't finding the time to do it, so I decided to just go ahead and post them.  If I get them edited I will just repost or something. 

 Bradley decided we needed to do the pictures in front of the fire place again.

Bradley & Eliza

Bradley is always very excited to help out with Eliza.  It makes him feel very big.  He is also good to let everyone know that she is OUR baby!  Eliza really likes him too.  I am excited to watch Eliza's relationship with her brothers as she gets bigger.  She really is our Princess...and the boys treat her that way!

I had too much fun taking pictures of Eliza.  She is just so cute!  (Yes...I might be bias!)

Daniel & Eliza

When it was Daniel's turn to get a picture with Eliza I tried to get him to hold her.  He didn't really want to so I had to just lean her on him.  He smiled for one picture and said, "Mom...I done!"  Then he started trying to push her away.  It is funny because he will ask to hold her or snuggle her, and just when I get her settled he says, "Mom...I done!

Jan. 21, 2010

(Daniel didn't have the fat lip and scrape on his chin on Sunday, but thursday morning I woke up to a bang and crying!  His little lip is almost healed now.)

Eliza's Blessing Day

We blessed Eliza this past Sunday. Later that evening we had some friends and our cousins over for some refreshments. We want to thank everyone who came for sharing Eliza's special day with us.

Eliza & Elyse:

It has been a couple of weeks since we did pictures of the girls together, so we took advantage of having them together again. Elyse was so alert and happy for the pictures. She kept trying to sit up. Eliza on the other hand was laid back and relaxed. She didn't want to look at the camera. They both did good not to cry during the whole ordeal. We did get some fun pictures of the girls. There would be more pictures if I could figure out how to get the edited pictures to save where I want them...but that is whole other story!

Karrie, Eliza, Diana & Elyse

I just love these girls.

Jan. 17, 2010