Family Pictures

So I am very thankful that I have so many talented friends that I have come to know and love... My friend Jill and I were hanging out about a week ago and just out of the blue I asked her if she could take some pictures of Mackenzie and I so I could send out a Christmas card to my family and friends!

She did such an awesome job and I am so thankful! Dont wanna give them all away so here is one to hold ya over till I get the card sent out!

Happy Halloween!

So just as every year with I am sure every child out there Mackenzie went through a million options of what she wanted to be. We went from Buzz Lightyear to Belle to Iron Man to Spiderman to Cinderella and finally settled in on a black cat. Which I was very thankful for as that was honestly the cheapest way to go. I never really noticed how expensive costumes were until I actually looked!

So after deciding on being a black cat we went and got her a full black outfit for less then $10 bucks SCORE! All that was left was ears and a tail which of course were more expensive then her clothing lol!

So on Halloween night we got ready and headed over to my parents house to have pizza, which occurs every year, and to get psyched up to go trick or treating. I fixed Mackenzie's makeup and we were off! Mackenzie actually walked the whole way this time but about 3/4 the way through she was getting tired and wanted to go back to MOM-A and POP-A's house to see what she got!

After thoroughly checking her candy and throwing out the bad stuff she went to town on what I would let her eat! It wasn't too long after that we headed home and she was done for the night... we got her changed out of her costume and off to bed even with all the sugar that she had eaten!

Happy Halloween!

Happy 4th Birthday Mackenzie!

I can't believe that my baby girl is yet another year old!

I can still remember the day that I went to the Dr and she told me that something was wrong and she had to get me to the hospital to make sure that Mackenzie was okay! I remember sitting in my room all night wondering and hoping that nothing was going wrong... not so late in my pregnancy and that in just a few short weeks you would be coming. Little did I know I would be having you within the next 12 hours! I remember the Dr coming in giving me the options the next morning of what to do to ensure that you would be coming safe and sound. I ended up deciding that induction was the best for both you and I. I can remember every contraction every thought that I had... All of it just like I had you not to short a time ago! I remember the moment that the nurse told me after what seemed like the longest day of my life, that you and I were ready and it was time to start pushing! After what seemed like an eternity mommies Dr said just one more and I would be holding you and he was right... the moment I heard you cry I knew my life was changed forever. I knew that no matter what, I would always have you and you would always have mommy. Holding you on my chest with the both of us crying you looked up at me with little squinty eyes and I just knew that the decision I had made to keep you was the best decision I had ever made in my life and I was right!

Now just 4 short years later you have turned into a wonderful little girl... although you have your moments of terror I know that always inside of you is that little girl that is amazing. Mackenzie you are so smart, sweet, caring, loveable, sincere and kind hearted. You hardly ever have anything mean or bad to say about anyone and you are the first child to run up to a friend after they have gotten hurt to make sure that they are okay. Already at your age you are trying to learn how to read and have already mastered writing your own name, which mommy really considers a HUGE accomplishment because your name is so darn long! Your always asking questions and trying to figure things out, most of the time on your own, but you have always been so independent! I know that you are going to do so well in school and I can't wait to see how much you will accomplish!

Mommy loves you so much and I can't wait to continue to watch you grow into an amazing little girl! In just 8 months you will be entering Kindergarten and mommy is already terrified of your first day! I know that, that is the day you will start your adventure as a true BIG GIRL and as happy as I am that I will be there to hold your hand and walk you in the classroom, I will be one of those mom's who sits in her car and crys because your growing up so fast!

I love you with everything I have and am Mackenzie and I am so proud to call you mine and cannot wait to continue this journey called life with you! <3

ONE OF MY FAVORITE MOMENTS.READING WITH HER AND KNOWING HOW HAPPY SHE IS.

So I know that its a little late to be posting about Mackenzie's 4th birthday as it was in August but I guess better late then never...

ABOUT THE PARTY:

This year my gracious friends, Tim and Nicole, allowed me to host Mackenzie's party at their home in Gilbert as I didn't want to ask my parents again since they have hosted her parties twice already =) Mackenzie decided that she wanted another beach themed party this year and so I went with it since I had a lot of things from her first Luau and I was on a strict budget as this was the first time I was throwing her party all by myself.

I think that even though we were on a budget constriction it ended up being so much fun! She was able to see a lot of her friends that she hadn't in a long time and she also had time to spend with some of her family members that she also hadn't seen in forever.

We started off with a good amount of swimming... this is the first summer that Mackenzie has even thought about swimming on her own. I was so proud of her for just putting on her arm floaties and swimming away with her friends who have been swimming for so long all by themselves. All the kids had a blast swimming but soon enough it was time to eat... after stuffing the kids full of hot dogs, fruit, veggies and chips it was time to open presents. I love how all the kids ran inside and sat right in front of Mackenzie to see what she had gotten! It was somewhat like a school as they sat in rows and just watched in awe... Squealing when she did and laughing at the funny things she said.

I want to thank everyone who was able to attend and for all the gifts... I am usually very good about thank you notes and feel terrible that life got away from me and I wasn't able to send them out this year!

After presents we got to sing to my beautiful baby girl... she was so quiet and had the biggest smile on her face as well all wished her a very happy birthday. Although the kids were excited about having delicious cake they were more excited about the fish pinata that they got to bust up and get candy out of! Its crazy how Mackenzie doesn't go after the candy until its almost gone and then she is still happy with what she gets, which makes me happy!

Shortly after the pinata fun everyone started trickling out and it was time to get everything together and clear out my friends house! Mackenzie had a wonderful birthday and she tells me that she cannot wait to be 5! Slow down baby girl please... I can't wait to watch you grow up but I want you to please take your time!

Finally back in action!

So it has been so long since I have blogged about anything going on in mine and Mackenzie's life that I don't even know where to start! I had thought for a long time to shut down the blog and to restart or just up keep Mackenzie's blog alone. After long thoughts and time to really figure it out I decided to keep it. :) Which should make the out of towners happy to finally know what is going on with my littles and I. I cannot believe I haven't let anyone know about us for almost an entire year... There has been so many ups and downs with Mackenzie and I the last year and it is finally starting to mellow out and look up for the both of us.

So to start from the beginning... All know that Mackenzie's father and I split at the beginning of the year and as hard as it was I finally understood that it was the best thing for the both of us to go our separate ways in life. After that I was in a rush to find a job and finally after a long 3 months of looking and waiting for a call back or just an interview I finally got one. I have worked there now for 8 months and hope to find something a little more stable soon. I have been applying vigorously at many different pharmacy's in the valley to actually use my Pharmacy Technician Certification and get the proper training needed to work at a better company in the near future!

Mackenzie has been up to so much lately and getting to be unbelievably smart. She is close to reading and is already writing her own name and a few other words... Its amazing to think that she is only 4. I hope to god that she will be reading and fully writing before she enters kindergarten.

Another great thing is that I have met a great guy... Nick. He has been so amazing to me and absolutely wonderful to Mackenzie and so welcoming to helping with her whenever he isn't working or going to school! =)

A little sneak peak of what to come next... HAPPY 4TH BIRTHDAY MACKENZIE LYNN!!!!

Until next time... Which wont be so long!

Puppy Dog Chow!

This is an all time favorite for me... I have been making it with my mom since I was in middle school and tonight for the first time I made it with my little one! I am sure your wondering what in gods name it is... well in short its deliciousness! LOL! It is a very easy recipe and the kids will LOVE it...

9 cups of Rice Chex Cereal

1/2 cup peanut butter

1 cup semi-sweet choc. chips

1 1/2 cups powder sugar

1. In a saucepan over low heat, melt the chocolate; add peanut butter and mix until smooth.
2. Remove from heat, add cereal and stir until coated.
3. Pour powdered sugar into large plastic bag, add coated cereal and shake until well coated. Store in airtight container.

Like I said very easy and so much fun to do with your little one! 

I am now off to enjoy my after dinner snack with the little monkey who helped me make it! 

Surgery!

Well last Tuesday, Nov. 30th Mackenzie had to have her tonsils and adnoids removed... I have to say that was and still is the highest on my list of the scariest things I have ever done as a parent... Having to watch your child being rolled off while you stand there and pray nothing goes wrong and no freak accident happens... is just a terrible feeling! As Gary and I stood watching Mackenzie being rolled off all that kept going through my mind was, "God please if this is the last thing I ever ask for, let my baby come out of this okay." Thank you for listening! 

Her Dr. said she did absolutely amazing... and her Anesthesiologist fell in LOVE with her. They had some nice 'pillow' talk before she fell asleep on the OR table! The surgery took about 45 minutes which was just enough time for Gary, My parents and myself to go get something to eat @ the cafeteria and get back as they were wheeling her back into her room... The poor thing was just zonked out, but I guess strong drugs will do that to a 3 year old! 

Ready to go in... Such a big girl!

I'm ready mom! 

Thankfully "momma" brought her ipod and Mack was able to play games while waiting patiently!

Right after surgery... 

When she woke up about 11:45am the poor thing was in so much pain all she could do was cry... and here I am telling her not to because it will hurt her even more... Oh it was a huge train wreck that first 30 minutes or so! =) But we finally got her some ice chips and some more "feel good" drugs and she was on top of the world again. She was LOVING the nurses... at one point I went up stairs to have lunch and when I came back she was having a full blown conversation with her nurse about the Nickelodeon channel! It was absolutely adorable! 

Been awake for about an hour... Happy juice and ice chips! 

She loves these slippers... 

Laying down watching Dora the Explorer!

Her and her ice chips and of course her monkey and puppy dog watching over her! 

*Thanks momma and Pop-A for my monkey*

Playing Peek-A-Boo with daddy and the camera... Finally caught her face! 

Unfortunately we did end up having to stay the night in the hospital as Mackenzie has sleep apnea and they needed to monitor her breathing. Needless to say that was a sleepless night as she was up about every 3 hours crying her little eyes out because she was hurting so much! I felt so useless that I couldn't comfort her with just a hug and a kiss... it was much more intense and needed a a little something stronger! lol =) We did get to go home EARLY the next morning which was very nice because as said before I HATE being in the hospital and I needed sleep... 

When we got home on Wednesday it was all just a blur of exhaustion and then sleeping for the both of us... Since then she has been doing really well with all of her medicines and taking her pain stuff, except for at night when she is half asleep and I literally have to pin her to take it so she can fall asleep again! Poor thing... but other than that nothing bad has happened and she thankfully hasn't gotten any side effects of the surgery which is a miracle for this child! I am hoping that this is the start to something great for Mackenzie considering she has been sick so much in her short life... Maybe this is what we needed in order for her to start off healthy and remain healthy! 

Thank you too everyone who prayed for her and sent her well wishes! 

Thanksgiving 2010

Well although Gary wasn't home this year we still had a great Thanksgiving... We spent it with my parents and had a great day just relaxing, cooking, playing Dr, and playing "bags" AKA Corn Hole! It was weird having my mom relax with us for most of the day but she had prepared a lot of the food the night before! 

It really is nice having family and so close too because I know so many who miss their families around the holiday because they are so far away! Until I had Mackenzie I really didn't listen or know the true meaning to Thanksgiving and Christmas! But having her has brought so much more to my eyes and I love it! 

Hope everyone had a great Thanksgiving! 

Mom finishing up the last bits of cooking! 

Monkey and Uncle Michael waiting patiently to eat! 

Dad carving the turkey...

Playing bags with the brothers... Dad/mom was next to me...

Perfect way to end a perfect day! 

Until next year.... 

Whats new!

So many things have been going on in our house and it is so hard to keep up with everyone and everything thats happening! =) So instead of always telling one person at a time I figured," Hello I have a blog for a reason!!!"

Mackenzie: 

Oh the little one... She is way to smart for her own good. She loves getting into trouble and doing things that she knows mommy is gonna lose her mind over! I seriously think children do this on purpose! LOL She is going through a growth spurt right now all she wants to do is eat and sleep all the time! I LOVE it... My big girl =) She just recently stopped going to daycare 2 times a week as I am done with school... but she misses it so much and asks me every day when she can go back... I may just have to give in and take her once a week just for fun! This month she will be having surgery to get her tonsils and adnoids removed... mommy is freaking out... but Gary and I know that it will be a good thing for her since she is always sick and and her sleep apnea is getting worse! Other than that she is just being a normal 3 year old running around all day long playing with her toys and getting into trouble like she should be doing! =)

Gary:

Oh this poor man... He has been working his butt off the last year... Always gone from us and when he is home he gets about a day or two and then is off to work again, sometimes even working while in town. This year he will be missing Thanksgiving as he is still in Washington =( But we both know that he has to work in order to keep our family going! **Cant wait till he is home though** Although he will be missing Thanksgiving we are so excited for Christmas and New Years as he is taking 2 weeks off. During those two weeks he will have his older girls for an entire week... We are so excited about that since we havent seen them going on a year and a half! Mackenzie misses her sisters and Gary misses his other babies for sure! It will be a great holiday this year for sure! 

Adrianna:

Well not to much is going on with me... I just finished my Pharmacy Tech program and can now take the boards to become a certified Technician! I am so excited and proud of myself as I finally actually finished part of my education! Now onto just getting the Associates in General Studies so that when I can get into a nursing school I will only have 2 years instead of 4 years to complete it! =) I am really excited about the future and what it holds for our little family! So many good things have happened this year and a few sad and bad things have happened but that is the story for everyone! I am also still playing softball 2 nights a week now instead of 3... I dont think that I will ever stop as I love it too much and it keeps me active at least 2 days a week! Along with that I am continuing to go to the gym and make an effort to take off the extra "CUSHION" as i like to call it... lol! =) 

Its been an interesting and long year... and its not even over yet! =) WE are looking forwards definitely to the holidays this year and can't wait to see the older girls! 

Until next time... 

**Picture taken by Erin Hicks of http://www.elhicksphotography.com/**

AMAZING!

That is all i have to honestly put for what my mom is... she is the most amazing person i know. She is the type that knows just what to say to her children to make them understand when she is mad, happy, sad, excited, etc. I dont know if i will ever be able to tell her how much she means to me and how much i love her! 

She has gotten me through so much and has changed my life the last 13 years! She knew what i needed, LOVE, and she has given me that more and more each day and continues to do so! She has always been there for me through EVERYTHING... when I was in trouble, when i needed cry, when I needed to yell, or just sit there and be there with her. I can't believe sometimes how she puts up with my nonsense... i put her through so much and yet she is there and never gives up on me. When I tried hurting myself in high school she was there with open arms and she cried with me and helped me through what was bothering me and what was making me want to not go through life anymore! I have a picture from the night i graduated high school, she was standing right next to me with the biggest smile and shine in her eyes. I knew she was proud of me and she would have never had to say a word. 

Now I am not saying that my mom and I haven't had our ups and downs we have had many downs... some that I didn't know if we would get through, but being the amazing person she is... she waited till I pulled my head out of my behind and was there with open arms ready for more! 

Why do you ask am i making a point to say so many things about my mom! Aside from the fact that she is my mom and she is AMAZING! But because I owe her a thank you for the person that I am right now and someday hope to become! 

Mom,

Thank you so much for always being here for me... through anything that I may have put you through and will put you through in the future. Thank you for doing what she wouldn't for me and being my mom! You will never know how much you have changed my life! Thank you for helping me to admit that I do have things that need fixing in my life and that before I can move forward that i need to fix what is behind me so that i can have a great future with my daughter! You are the type of mother that i want to be and hope that i can be to Mackenzie! I love you mom! 

Adrianna

So proud!!!

On June 21st, almost 6 years ago my nephew, Dom, was born! It was a hard time for all of us considering all that he had to go through and how he had to fight to stay in this world! I can still remember the day that my family and I had to go down to the hospital to baptize him just because we didn't know if he would make it or not! It was a very hard time to deal with for me as this was my first nephew and I was his Godmother, I just remember going to work after and crying in the bathroom because I was so scared... All the things this little man has endured over the years is almost enough for a person to go through in there whole life! But he has taken everything head on and never had a doubt in his own mind that he would make it and become a strong little person!

On Tuesday, May 25th, Dom graduated from kindergarten and I couldn't be more proud of him! Although I missed the ceremony I was able to make it for refreshments and to get a few photos of him. He looked so happy and it just made me realize how special this little boy is and how much he could do if he really set his mind to it!

On the way home this evening we were talking about just random things and he just so happened to tell me what he wanted to do when he grew up, "auntie, I wanna be a soldier." I just thought it was the cutest thing in the world, and as we got to talking I asked him if after high school would he want to go to college, and he told me no! I was curious so I asked him why, he said because school isn't as important as being a soldier, and I cried, tears of happiness! He made me so proud and happy when he said that... I eventually told him that although a soldier is an important person, school is also important. I continued to tell him about how becoming a soldier could help him pay for school and that just made him so happy... so he finally told me, "okay auntie, i am going to be a soldier and then for you ill go to college. *tear*"

I cannot wait to see what this little boy does with his life. I love him so much and cannot believe that he will be six in just under a month!

I love you sweet boy!

Mothers Day 2010

In the 3 Mother's Day's that I have had, Gary has not ever been home for one of them so this was a very special time since he was able to be here this past weekend. He started out the morning by getting up with Mackers and heading out of the house for a little while! As soon as I got up I went and showered, quite and alone *one of the best gifts ever*, I got ready alone as well which was nice since I didn't have to tell the 2 year old to stop it 1200 times! After that I headed downstairs to finish up the dessert for my family...

Gary and Mackers showed up about 45 minutes before we had to leave to take my brother to work and to head out to lunch with my family! We are making a tradition of going to one of my mom's FAVORITE restaurants Buca De Beppo, every year! I love spending time with my mom on Mother's Day. We had a fun lunch and a awesome time afterward at my parents house with my grandparents here from out of town!

All in all it was a great day and I got some wonderful gifts from the loves of my life!

I LOVE my coffee cup that Gary and Mackers got me! Say's MOM in all different languages!

The AMAZING cross that Gary and Mackenzie got me...

The flowers my grandparents got me...

The cake I made for Mother's Day!

Thank you everyone for a great Mother's day and happy Mothers day to everyone I know and love!

Aubut Family...

I found this AWESOME blog about a year ago and just started participating in her giveaways.... I love everything that she reviews and even if I dont win I try and go and get something from all the posts!

This week I entered a contest to win a Misikko Hana Professional Flat Iron since mine is about to go bad on me! I hope to win this one!

But check it out whenever you get the chance she has some great stuff on her blog! =)

http://www.aubutfamily.com/

Been too long...

I think the title says it all, its been entirely too long since I have been able to sit down and let everyone in life know how we are doing.

I don't even know where to start honestly, the last time I actually had time to sit down and blog was Christmas time... Scary to think that was 3 months ago...

So in the last 3 months A LOT has happened... Mackenzie and I came off the road (kind of sad to think about it), we lived with my parents (thank you so much =0)), got a new place to stay, and of course I am back in school (although not doing to well right now) and the biggest accomplishment: MY TWO YEAR OLD IS POTTY TRAINED!!!!! I love it and am so thankful that it was as easy as I was praying it would be. Although I tried three times to start trying to train her it fell through twice and well I guess like people say, "third times a charm" and it was for us! She took to it within two days, with #1 and about a week for #2 and I am so proud of her she even stays dry all night and is in underwear all day long and to sleep in. Its amazing what a little hard work could do. =0)

Our new house is nice, although extremely far I am very thankful and grateful to have a home to call our own, at least for a year lol. My younger brother Michael is living with us again, which all in all is the best situation for him as he seems to only listen to Gary and I anyways, (sorry mom and dad). He is working and going to school at the moment so he is always busy which leaves me without a car a lot of the time, but that also makes me focus on the more important things in life. Like my daughter and all the fun things we have been accomplishing lately, everything from: hair bow holders, quilts, finger painting, watercolor painting, coloring, playing out in this gorgeous weather AZ is seeing right now and planting flowers.

We recently attended a birthday party for one of Mackenzie's friends: Madison. Her mom was an amazing hostess considering she had a baby no more than 2 weeks prior to the party. In Mack's gift bag when she left there were flower seeds. The next morning, after promising Mack, we went to Walmart and bought things to plant the seeds. I honestly DO NOT have a green thumb at all but luckily the are growing and she loves looking at them everyday. Well at least at the green stems and leaves no flowers have come out of it yet but its only been a few weeks. Thanks Lisa for the great gift bag, it made my little one VERY happy! =0)

So not to much else has been happening around here. We are trying to stay sane while being stuck at our house 85% of the week, and I think I am keeping the 2 year old well entertained for not having too much to do! =0) I think tomorrow we will go look around for the neighborhood play area and start heading over there once a day until it gets too hot! =0)

Well until next time which I promise will be sooner than 3 months....

Our destiny changes with our thought; we shall become what we wish to become, do what we wish to do, when our habitual thought corresponds with our desire.

Orison S. Marden

A nice quote I came upon just the other day...

*Sorry no pics...havent had time to upload any to my computer!*

Happy Birthday....... Jill!!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO YOU... HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO YOU... HAPPY BIRTHDAY DEAR JILL.... HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO YOU!!!!!!

I am so lucky to have this lovely lady in my life! She is a WONDERFUL friend and such an inspiring woman! She has always made sure that everything in everyones life is alright sometimes even before herself... You are a wonderful woman, wife, mother and friend!

I love you Jill and I am so lucky to have you as one of my best friends! Thank you for all you do whether or not you want to!

Jill and I at Jessica's shower!

Jill and I at MNO!

Redwood Forest!

AMAZING is one word that I can think about when I think about the Redwood Forest. It was absolutely beautiful and just HUGE! The trees were gigantic and just the neatest thing I have seen in a long time! We were able to stand in the middle of one and I was taking pictures looking up out of the center of the tree! It was so cool and Mackenzie thought so too... she just kept saying, "whoa big trees mom." Gary had been before and knew exactly where to take us, but he didn't mind because he loved it last time and said he couldn't wait to go back! On the way we were able to stop at a river and we played around there for awhile. Mack and daddy threw rocks in the water for about thirty minutes and just laughed and played in the FREEZING water. I of course was behind the camera except for one family shot inside of a tree! =o) Its alright with me though I love taking photos of my family, just being there is enough for me!

Love the colors of winter/fall... GORGEOUS!

LOVE my little happy family!

I had so much fun going through here... It was an amazing experience and I would go back in a flash! The biggest Redwood that I saw was at least 15ft in diameter! Just a great time!

Utah, Idaho, Washington and Oregon!

FINALLY... is the word that comes to mind when i think of the Northwestern part of the USA! I have been waiting very patiently to get up to Washington and Oregon since our little journey started in September! When I heard that we were headed up here I jumped literally for joy and was just happy as could be!

I have to say that when we first got into Oregon it wasn't as pretty as I had hoped and then all of a sudden we came upon mountains, and that i have to say is just drop dead beautiful! All the green and trees and the smell.... oh if only I can keep it in my thoughts and the scent in my nose forever. There are parts to Washington and Oregon that are just bleh and then there are areas that are so vibrant and green and GORGEOUS! The last week I have had the best time just watching the trees go by and the water...

While in Washington we were up in the Puget Sound and my goodness was it COLD! Being right there on the water was amazing but it was amazing from the truck! =o) Even Mackenzie didn't want to go outside, which says a lot for her! But I was able to get a few pictures from the customers house that we were unloading at!

Over the weekend we sat in Tacoma, WA, which by far is no where near as pretty as Bremerton, WA. But none the less we had a great week and weekend.

This week we were back in Oregon but in another area! We were in Portland and now in Oakland, OR on our way to San Diego, CA! Where I might sadly say is going to be great but not nearly as amazing as WA and OR have been. We will be hitting warmer weather, which is weird for us now that we have been to 0 degrees and below. I am just happy that we were able to make a run up here before our journey comes to an end!

Although I did not get any photos of Utah or Idaho, well ones worth using, I do say that I made up for it in Washington and Oregon! I had such a blast going through these two states and now look forward to traveling California literally from top to bottom.... until next time!