Mark Wins a Blue Ribbon!!!!

Most you know Mark has been working for some good friends of Gary and Tracie's over the last few years working horses. He spends hours driving them, cleaning up after them, enduring the crazy weather in Wyoming and spends quite a bit of time traveling to various horse shows throughout the year. Although Wyoming is not the state of his choice, the Messengers have been good to him providing him room and board along with a paycheck.

Equestrian competition is not easy. There are a ton of variables that play into competition, such as the judge's personal preferences, the mood of the horse, the environment you perform in, your attitude that day and more.

Well, apparently the stars were aligned last night as Mark entered into the Amateur Team class last night. Mark drove a nice pair of horses and walked away with a blue ribbon. Needless to say he was thrilled - as were all of us. His work paid off and it is a coo to have accomplished this at the stock show.

I was glad I got to be there and share in the moment. Mark is not huge on expressing his feelings but the smile on his face told it all.

Great drive Mark!

Cooties....again!

So cooties invaded the house again. Kailei has had some sort of bug the last few days. Zeb ended up keeping her home from daycare on Thursday and I stayed home with her Friday. She basically had a temperature and "the coughs" (as she calls them). She was in great spirits and business was usual during the day except for extended naps and the usual wakeful nights. We missed out on a Friday night playdate but by Saturday decided we spent enough time at home.

Keara has had a cough for the last few weeks. Nothing else, just a cough so who knows if Kailei caught it from her. Keara did manage to make it out Friday to attend a birthday party at her friend Caroline's house. It was a cowgirl party complete with pony rides. She had a great time.
At least one of us had some fun entering the weekend. :)

Cousins

This weekend has been a weekend of cousins interacting. Saturday night Khiem came over for a couple of hours and played with the girls. I'm not sure what he thinks when he comes over and the girls have no interest in playing ball with him but they somehow manage to have a good time.

Then Nic and Sydney came over today. If the girls weren't tired from last night, they sure were tired today. With an even number of kids they easily paired off and did their thing. I love when they are together and when they get along so well. Sometimes I think it is easier to have the four kids here than our normal two.

I took Nic and Keara to see the movie "The Water Horse". Nic really liked it and I think Keara did too when her head wasn't in my lap. She cried during the sad parts of the movie and it just warms my heart that she will soon be crying with me during the Hallmark commercials.

On another note, we received some news that my Nana is sick and is going to be undergoing surgery soon so please keep her in your prayers. We love you Nana!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Our Talent Show

So Friday night was "family night" which simply means we make a point of eating together and spending time together. Not that we don't do that other days but sometimes between the dance lessons, Chinese classes, homework and household chores we don't spend as much time together as we like.

On "family night" the girls can choose what they want to do and Friday they decided to have a talent show. I'm not sure if we are Broadway bound but the kids were stars in our eyes. Perhaps you will enjoy some of the footage we captured as well.

Our Little Fashionistas

These fancy girls are routinely found parading around the house. The glamour can be blinding. :)

Date Night

Every once in a blue moon we manage to escape the madness and Zeb and I go out on a date. I treasure this time more than you know. Talking about grown-up-things, in grown-up places is just a treat. Naturally of course we end up talking about the kids but the opportunity is there should we want to talk about something else.

Our date Saturday night consisted of dinner at Ted's Montana Grill and viewing The Chinese New Year Spectacular. Friends from the MWCC group joined together and made this a great evening. Everyone looked great in their dress-up clothes and none of us had to eat mac and cheese. Those items are symbolic of a good night.

I enjoyed kicking off Chinese New Year with friends and we will continue to prolong the celebration over the next few weeks.

Too Cute Not to Share

Keara Wants Her Two Front Teeth

Keara has a toothless grin now. Her two front teeth have been loose for quiet a while and after numerous failed attempts at pulling them, they finally came out on Thursday. She looks quite cute and can be heard singing "All I Want For Christmas Is My Two Front Teeth" as she moves around the house. Once again she is waiting to put them out for the tooth fairy. Let's hope she doesn't loose them.

Naturally Kailei got in on the picture taking and showed us her missing tooth as well.

A Wish For You - D. Dargis

If there could be only one thing
In life for me to teach you,
I would teach you to love.
To respect others so that you may
Find respect in yourself.
To learn the value of giving,
So that if ever there comes a time
In your life that someone really needs,
You will give.
To act in a manner that you would wish to be treated;
To be proud of yourself.
To laugh and smile as much as you can,
In order to help bring joy
Back into this world.
To have faith in others;
To be understanding.
To stand tall in this world and
To learn to depend on yourself.
To only take from this Earth
Those things which you really need,
So there will be enough for others.
To not depend on money or material things
For your happiness, but
To learn to appreciate the people
Who love you, the simple beauty
That God have you and to find peace
And security within yourself.
To you, my daughter, I hope I will teach all these things,
For they are love.

Sign on Keara's Door

"If you are lower than this line, you can not come in."

The Tooth Fairy

So Keara had two teeth pulled at Thanksgiving. She wanted to hold onto them and show kids at her school and promptly misplaced them which is not atypical of Keara. Over the holiday break she found them again.

Apparently she decided to leave them out for the tooth fairy on her nightstand (she won't put them under her pillow) and the "tooth fairy" had no idea so she didn't come to visit. Oops!

Last night, she wrote a note...

Dear Tooth Fairy,
Sorry I held on to my teeth for so long.
Love, Keara

Fortunately the tooth fairy got the note and made a visit. :)

The Purple Dress

When Keara was three we went to the Renaissance Festival in Larkspur. It is a fun event, generally hot since it occurs during the summer but we had a great time. Keara of course loved the fairy's and the princesses and all the attire that was worn.

So one year we decided to invest in one of the dresses. It was expensive but we figured it would get her through a couple of halloweens and would be worth the cost. It was a velvet purple dress and had little shorts to go under it. Keara wore it all the time. She loved it.

We had no idea at the time how valuable this investment was. The purple dress is now four years old and Kailei just loves it. The skirt itself is falling apart and we no longer can find the shorts but it is Kailei's favorite thing to wear around the house. I've tried hiding it but somehow she finds it.

So before it is nothing but thread, here a couple of pictures of the purple dress.

Nic and Keara

Nic came over for a sleepover today. It is interesting to watch the two of them interact but they seem to enjoy each others company.

Catching Up

So, obviously I took a blogging break over the last couple of weeks but today I think I got everything caught up. You can go back as far as December 21st to see what we have been up to.

I've also posted some random shots of the girls in all their glory. Always entertaining around here.

First Playdate of the Year

Cabin fever can come quickly around here so we ventured out today with some of our friends. We went over to an indoor playground nearby and while it was not all that it looked like in the picture online, the girls had a great time. They played for a couple of hours and then we headed over to everyone's favorite restauant - McDonald's. Again the girls had a fabulous time and so did the mom's.

Happy New Year!

Happy New Year to everyone! I hope the year brings you health and happiness.

New Year's Eve

New Year's Eve certainly crept up fast but we had a fantastic evening. Our friends the Merwins, the Trautman's and the Wyman's came over for the evening in an attempt to bring in the New Year family style (meaning bedtime is before midnight). We ate, we played games, the kids had a great time and the adults laughed and enjoyed some wonderful conversation. It was great night and a great way to bring in the New Year.