Happy Birthday Raeleigh!!

Raeleigh was thrilled to have a birthday. Of course having Grandma Crane come from Utah made the birthday extra special. We celebrated the night before. Raeleigh chose to have taco for dinner. Yummy!!

She did not want to wait for everyone else to finish their dinner to open her presents. However she did survive the wait.





The first present Raeleigh opened was a baptism towel embordered by Grandma W. Of course she was also excited about the cards that came with money so she could choose her own present. One tradition that has carried through a couple of generations in that my parents give the kids one dollar for each year they are (until you turn 18). All the kids look forward to the card from Grandma and Grandpa C., because they know exactly how much money will be in it.

That is a card that Raeleigh is holding over her eyes. It is the number 8. Raeleigh was happy also to get lots of clothes for her birthday. She has grown so much lately, she was down to very few clothes that fit!

Cake and ice cream are a great treat for a birthday as well.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY RAELEIGH!!!!

Samantha's a year older!

Samantha has been so excited for her birthday. She was a little disappointed that she had a meeting to attend that evening, but once she got home she was happy.

Patrick BBQed hamburgers. We also ate outside in the dark. We all enjoyed being outside, until the bugs started biting. Yuck! February is to early for bugs.

Samantha was excited open her homemade card from Grandma. All the kids love these and the check that comes inside (the dollar amount is the same as their age). I am glad my mom carried on this tradition from her mother.

Samantha had been looking forward to her birthday present for sometime. She really wanted a drum set & lessons. I wish that was in our budget along with building a sound proof room.

After Samantha's birthday celebration and Family Home Evening, Samantha was still waiting for her present. Craig and I told her that we were taking her to the store. We knew what we had in mind, but wanted her to pick out her choice. She wondered where we were going in the store. Craig led the way to the bike department. She had a difficult time choosing, but in the end picked this red & black bike.

Happy Birthday Samantha, We love you!

Birthday Celebrations

In the last three years I have learned that Craig's family loves to celebrate birthdays. So we like to get to get together and celebrate. Last night they came over for dinner, cake, ice cream and presents. We celebrated Joy and Samantha's birthdays. We only had enough candles to light one set, so Joy stood by and let Samantha blow them out.

Aunt Joy loves her name. So of course we indulged her (and will eventually drive her co-workers crazy) by giving her items that say her name to put on her desk. Also we did include Shea butter foot lotion and toe nail polish.

Samantha recieved many fun pens to add to her collection.

Craig's 48th Birthday

Disney is now running a promotion that you get in free to one of their parks on your birthday. So Craig signed up. It was perfect because he also had the day off work. Craig and I went to Disney's Hollywood Studios. Craig had worked at this park 20 years ago. So he was very interested in what was the same and what was different.



This Dinosaur snack bar, was there when Craig worked there. He only worked in the dinosar when he was giving someone a break. It is a very small working space.

Or course, we had to see the exhibt about Walt Disney and how his dream became reality. Go see this when you come to Orlando. It is amazing the drive that this man had to make his dream a reality.

This is a backdrop used in a movie. I had to take Craig's picture by it. The backdrop is San Fransico. It brought back memories of my grandparents taking me and my sister to San Fransico. Good memories of great times.

We watched the parade. It was great. However we were glad we were watching and not performing!

Lights, Motors, Action - was an amazing show. Our boys would have loved to see this. It is all about how the movies film high speed chases. You learn how they drive cars backwards, split cars in two and many other aspects of the chase. Craig and I both enjoyed the show.

There is also what I would call a Props Graveyard. It was mostly closed the day we went. However I did get to see this "Herbie Car". I grew up watching the herbie movies and of course have bought them for my kids and I. So it was cool to see one of the cars that was used in the movies.

By the end of the day, Craig was relaxed and exhausted. As you can see, Craig took a little nap on my shoulder. This was while we waited to see the Beauty and the Beast.

We had a great day.

Happy Birthday Stuart!

Stuart had a great birthday. Grandma and Grandpap Smith and Aunt Joy and Austin came over to celebrate with us. As you can see Austin blew out the candles with Stuart!



Stuart loves to build stuff. When I asked him what he wanted for his birthday, he said "Wood, some 2x4's." So that is what he got. One of the pictures is of Craig carrying in the 2x4's for Stuart. The Smith's also gave Stuart some wood and an awesome tool set in a Home Depot bag. He was most excited about all the screws and nails to hold stuff together. After opening everything, Stuart said that the first thing he is going to build will be for Austin. I love Stuart and that he enjoys doing for others. He is wonderful.

Stuart also got new bedding. He looks so cozy. Stuart is not so sure about having a sheet and a blanket on his bed. So we pushed the blanket up against the wall. Stuart hasn't liked bedding in the past, so we'll see how this goes!