Hooray for Skype

Audrey's best friend moved to France just after Thanksgiving. This was the hardest thing I think Audrey has ever experienced. Sariah and Audrey were nearly literally attached at the hip. We loved having Sariah at our house. She just fit right in with the family. Audrey spent tons of time at their house as well just hanging out, playing games, and being creative. That was one of the best things about their friendship - they were so creative toghether! Before Sariah left, she went with us for a Saturday up to Grandma's house. The girls climbed trees, had adventures, made Christmas ornaments, and just had a great time together. I had forgotten my camera, so I have to thank my sister for taking these cute shots of the siamese twins! Skype isn't nearly as good as climbing trees and having grand adventures side by side, but I am grateful for it. It has been a great adventure in itself for Audrey to have a best friend in a foreign land where she can see her face to face, and talk to her lots and lots. Skype has been a big huge band aid for a little girl's broken heart, so I have to say thank you for that too. We sure can't wait til summer comes so that Audrey and Sariah can be side by side for a few weeks. Until then, they can Skpe!

While the boys were away

Since the boys were gone for a few days, we decided to spend some mother/daughters time together! We went ice skating, out for dinners, shopping, grandma's house, and friends over... The ice skating was a great outing except for the fact that the whole metroplex seemed to have the same idea. We waited in line at the Galleria Mall rink for over an hour just to pay to get in. Then another shorter line to get the skates. This was Maddie and Audrey's first time to try ice skating. Audrey took right to it, and Maddie eventually got the hang of it. I think we definately need to go again sometime...

Winter Camp

The boys in our ward went on a winter camp down in San Marcos, Texas. It was perfect camping weather with temps in the mid 60's during the day and good sleeping temps at night. The river is spring fed, so the water is about 72 degrees year round. They spent most of their time kayaking in the San Marcos river. I know - not much of a winter camp! But, we have to take advantage of the amazing winter weather we get here!

MERRY CHRISTMAS!

We had a wonderful Christmas season. We loved staying up late, sleeping in, serving our friends, Christmas parties, and dinners. Best of all, we loved having some much needed time together without the phone ringing or losing Daddy for an evening here and there. Here are a few pictures of our Christmas morning!

Surprised by Santa

One evening a few days before Christmas, I had gone out to do some shopping by myself. As I drove onto our street, I followed a firetruck and ambulance whose lights and sirens were on. Then, they turned and stopped right in front of our house blocking the driveway. Since I had given Kevin dinner duty, I became a bit concerned. (Although, he does make great spaghetti without any fires!) I called home to see if everything is okay. Audrey seemed surprised that I was concerned, so she ran out the front door to see what I was talking about. She started jumping up and down because Santa was at our house in the firetruck! It was quite a fun surprise, but I sure had my heart rate up. Thank goodness:)

Boo to You!

Our Halloween was a bit unusual this year. Kevin was put in as Bishop of our ward that day, so our day was all about this big new change for us. We had family over all day to participate in this event, so we were glad that we got to celebrate Halloween a few days earlier at the trunk-or-treat! Brandon decided to go to a friend's halloween party, so we didn't get any pictures of him. So sad!

Happy 10th Audrey!

Audrey turned 10 years old this year! My the time has gone by so fast. We enjoyed a family celebration and even enjoyed having Grandma Beech here for her special day.

Magical Trip

We had an extraordinarily magical trip to Disney World in October. It had been a long and hard summer, so we were celebrating and enjoying some much needed family time. We stayed at Pop Century on site, and got to see every park multiple times. We loved the new Toy Story Mania ride at Hollywood Studios. Kevin said it was his favorite ride now. I think Maddie agrees! Audrey loved the Rock-n-Roller Coaster! The weather was perfect, sometimes a bit hot even. It was extra special to celebrate Audrey and Whitney's birthday while we were there. We spent Whitney's actual day at Magic Kingdom and then went to the Spirit of Aloha Dinner Show. Right as the show ended we watched the fireworks at Magic Kingdom fromthe beach at the Polynesian Resort. It was an amazing way to celebrate with Whitney! The week went by too fast, but our memories will last a lifetime!