Sunnee & all her boys!

Sunnee is surrounded by testosterone at her house! She's the proud Mom of 4 boys! OK, well one of those is Jeff; but, still! (Ha Ha...kiddin' Jeff! :}). Her 2 older boys, Hayden & Presley, get to share the same birthday week, so lucky us got to join in on the party.

Always good to see Sunnee & Kakunes
The small world closes in again; as we were recently reunited with long time softball team member back in the day, Valerie Stephens, the last time we were over here. How she recognized me, by hearing my voice after 23 or so years, was crazy to me!
Their dogs recently had puppies. Oh...they are so cute, wish we could take one home! :} The kids had a lot of fun playing with them! Kaley & Bailey getting hold of the camera...what is up with the self poses?! :}
Sunnee & Jeff's latest addition, cute lil' Braxton (and love his shirt too :})

What a ham!

Maddy was having fun bouncing him a little harder! :}

Tina & her recently crowned, "Fiance". Congratulations guys! :}

Silly Tina!

With her own little guy, also growing so fast!

Time for cake!

And we name her,"Pocahantas" :}

The boys had fun getting their game on
That's our Dyl, always putting on a show! :}

Thanks for the invite guys...fun times! Happy Birthday to the boys!

Soloist's Slumber Party

Meet most of Ambree's Soloists this year (the rest just weren't there yet :}). If this isn't a great group of "Sisters", I don't know what is!

Ambree thought it would be fun to have a big huge slumber party at her house (did she KNOW how loud 14 girls can get all together when being silly girls?! :}). She was cute, she had fun little gifts for each of them, things to play with (maybe she was trying to get them tired early?! :}). Kaley's got that hula hoop thing going on! I think her dog here was yappier than the girls! :} (maybe that's because she is forced to wear these clothes! Ha Ha :})
The girls were pulling out all their gymnastics moves! (just wish I got to see the cool tricks I heard they did later!)
I heard all about "This great summer moment!", as Kaley explained to me, it sounds like they had a blast! Thanks again Ambree...she/we sure do lu ya, and all these cute girls! :}

The power of friendship, love & prayer

I was going to originally title this one "A day at the park", since that's what it was. It was a beautiful day for the park too & we thought this time we'd go to one of my old favorites, Murray Park! I wanted to take the kids out to play with their friends, who have had a rough week, and enjoy the sunshine! These are very close friends to our kids, as Chris & I managed to get pregnant about the same time every time (really, not on purpose) and have raised them together since birth. We actually have a lot in common, including growing up right by each other (though we didn't meet until later years), exact same birthday, and much more. So, it's interesting we would have 2 boys & a girl about the same times too! (It's when she had #4 that I decided that was where the likeness stopped! :}). So, the rough week(s) started when their son, Jacob, started getting sick with flu like symptoms. They took him to the Dr, and then ended up staying a few days at Primary Children's Hospital to be told basically that he has blood clots to his liver & an enlarged spleen. This was rough, poor kid! But, he did get necessary medication & got to go home. Though he was weak, he really wanted to join us for the park too, so we let him come along, though he just rested on the hill.

Suzanne joined me, and it gave us a chance to get our girl talk in (you know we never get enough! :}), and be entertained by these kids!
"What's that boys, you're trying to cross somewhere you shouldn't be?!" :}

"Oh, these treats are SOUR!" :}
Kaley's best friend, Bailey. They are only 9 days apart (and no, we didn't plan to rhyme their names, it just worked out that way :})

Then there's Madison, who is just as cute as a bug!

Am I just biased, or are these some of the cutest girls out there?! :}

I think they got it all in between throwing the ball, playing on the playground, climbing trees, hula hoop, and running around being their silly selves.

But, now, as the week has progressed, it's become a lot more than just "A day at the park". Things have gotten much more serious & Jacob has now been diagnosed with cancer. This is so heartbreaking to hear, and hard to watch your friends go through such pain. Life's all ready been a struggle for them, so not sure how much more they can take! Though, as a believer of things happen for a reason, and God has a plan, I have to only hope this will make them/us stronger in the end. I know it doesn't make sense; but, I do believe that. I think of how a simple afternoon at the park became more of a bonding moment, and a time so important for Jacob, and his siblings, to just enjoy life. I love seeing my kids truly appreciate their friendships, and making the most of them. This family is almost like their own. And now, as this new battle begins, I know it's going to take the power of all that combined, and a WHOLE LOT of prayers, to get them through this!!! All I can ask is that any of you out there please include Jacob, and the Moulton Family, in your prayers. And hey, if that's "not your thing", it's never too late to start!!!

We love you Jacob....may you get better soon!!!

Let me take you to paradise awaiting....

So, want to see where the girls & I will be in just a month's time?! You know we love our girl's trips, and I'm sure this one will top them all off!! It's been in the planning for almost a year now, and thank God some of my girl's are experts at the planning process, and finding these amazing places to escape to!! (I certainly don't mind not having to take care of any of that...and they've got all details taken care of, so I just need to pay my $ and enjoy! :}). I'll be honest, I wasn't going to go at first. I didn't even open the email for a long while, because I didn't want to see what I was going to miss. As you've heard, it hasn't exactly been the year for finances!! But, long story short, by the grace of God, I got the chance to go. OK, so maybe not the smartest thing when you're playing major catch up; but, I also believe, in order to make the most of life, you must not miss some opportunities that arise. And, when you do something like this with 14 other girls, it makes it a lot easier to work out than it would trying to take a whole family there (sorry family, you know I love ya; but, Mama must do what Mama's got to do!! :}). And this really was an amazing deal, all considering what we get...so, gotta go for it! Of course you will be seeing some fabulous pictures when we return; but, let me take you away with me for a minute to enjoy the what's ahead. This will be our home we're staying at....

Feeling like a movie star all ready! Now, this is the patio we will be enjoying many meals & laughs with together....

We even get a private chef, Hector, who will have food & drinks available for us at all times. Can't wait for the true authentic Mexican Fiesta, that they are cooking up for us, when we get there!

I'm visualizing us seeing this exact view soon...

Now let's take a tour of the home...

Oh, I can't believe it's almost here, and that I almost missed out on this adventure. OK, so it may be my last in a while, until I catch up again! :} The next one will be with the family for sure, I promise!! But, for now, bring on the memories ahead!!