Sleepover with Landon & Claire

Rather than give up a night together in Tahoe Tim & Casey accepted our offer to take the kids overnight on Casey's birthday. It turned out that Hailey & Keagan stayed the night with a family from school so we just had the evening with the little guys.

Casey- I think we might have figured out a solution to the "peaceful dinner" we've been talking about. Claire didn't make a peep for 20 minutes. She ate like a champ and felt like a 'Big Kid'.
Maybe forgetting the high chair was a blessing in disguise.

She sat on her bottom the whole time and ended up eating more than Bethany or Landon!

Uncle Brian took charge at bath time , bathing all three kids; so I could finish putting away the laundry from our snow trip.

I have to say, we've come along way and we are enjoying every minute of it.

Landon just loves it when Uncle Brian reads him a Little Jake book (hunting & fishing stories).

Claire you are so pretty!

Thanks Tim & Casey for sharing your kiddoes with us! We're glad you had a relaxing Birthday.

Snow Trip in Tahoe

We spent 4 fabulous days in Lake Tahoe with Tim, Casey, Landon & Claire-Bear. Pop on over to Tim & Casey's blog for even more pictures of our trip.

There was a light dusting of snow on our first and second day which made for exciting travels. The kids enjoyed watching the snow fall.

Hailey stayed up with the adults one evening to learn the game of Settlers. She caught on quickly and just might be Aunt Casey's competition by the time we go to the cabin.

Oh, yes. That is my crazy husband strutting his toughness. Tim, Brian and Keagan walked from the condo to the outdoor spa in freezing temperature dressed in their swim trunks & snow boots.

It was quite the scene!

Outdoor Spa + Freezing Temperatures + Snow = VERY ICY SIDEWALKS!

Thank you Lord for your hand of protection.

Keagan thought it would be better to attack his cookie before it ate him!

Decorating Valentine Sugar Cookies after the spa.

Hailey and Keagan enjoyed a game of Twister as Bethany and Landon worked the spinner and shouted out the directions.

Making snowflakes with a collage of stickers, glitter glue, and foam shapes. Landon enjoyed cutting with the scissors best.

Bethany can spend hours working on a single project. She was very proud of her final masterpiece.

What is it with babies and snow hats? Just too cute for words.

You can see the laughter in their faces. Landon and Bethany played so well together.

I just love the look on Keagan's face. Brian and Keagan share the same zest for life.

Hailey could not jump in that snow fast enough.

After Casey scared her son on his first run (Ha!) Uncle Brian and Landon became inseparable.

I just love this picture of Keagan! He sure is growing up.

Bethany never tired out. She absolutely loved the snow. Mya-You and Bethany would make great snow pals.

The snow was very dry but Hailey persevered to make a small snowman.

Tailgating it at lunch-time. This picture really shows the pretty girl that Bethany is becoming.

Let the snow-ball fight begin...

The End to the snow-ball fight...to the day...& maybe even to a friendship.

Auntie Casey got Keagan back GOOD! He didn't think it was so funny at the time, but he got over it rather quickly and still thinks you're a pretty cool Aunt.

Thanks guys for a super fun time in the snow!

Maybe a future songwriter?

The imagination behind this song just cracks us up. I hope you all enjoy listening to our little singer and her love for daddy's cowboy music.

Future Contestant for American Idol!

Bethany really enjoys making up her own songs. Maybe she'll be a music teacher someday.

A Future Casting Champion?

Over the weekend we went to the Sportsman Expo in Sacramento with Tim, Casey, Landon & Claire. Thanks guys for a very fun day!

Much to our surprise, Hailey was asked to come back on Sunday to compete for the State Championship for the Casting Kids, a national competition put on by the BASS organization. The winner of Sundays competition would go on to compete in Washington at the national level for a $25,000 college scholarship.

Hailey had the top casting score for that day in her age category. She was given an award, a gold medal and a free fishing pole for practicing at home. She was so excited!

A group shot at Sundays competition.

Hailey practiced casting for an hour before the competition. She was hitting the 40 and 50 mark almost every time. She was the first to compete. No pressure. Hailey was very tired by this point but still gave it her best. Her scores were not as high as during her practice time. She still placed 3rd in the state! Congratulations Hailey! Best of all, she wants to do it again next year!

Receiving a gold medal on Saturday evening for the top caster in the 7-10 age category.

Hailey casting during Saturdays competition. At this point, we had no clue of her potential.

Ringing in the New Year Grandpa & Grandma style!

For the past four years, our mom's parents have hosted a New Year Eve's sleepover for all the grand kids. We don't know who looks forward to it more, us or Grandpa and Grandma. This year was no different.

The night was filled with games, confetti, feather masks, movies, & fireworks. Oh, we can't forget the count down to the ball drop in Time Square. Ah,Yes we all stayed up past midnight to ring in the new year.

The morning began with Grandma's traditional ice cream on waffles- our favorite!

After this much fun, we all took very long naps on New Years Day for our parents!

Thanks Grandma and Grandpa for a GREAT time!

Future F.C.S. Cheerleaders...

For the past week, Hailey has been practicing cheers wherever and whenever she gets the chance. She has enjoyed dressing Bethany up and teaching her the cheers. I have to say, Bethany's got the moves, the voice, and the charisma. We definitely have another cheerleader in the making.


As a fundraiser the high school cheerleaders put on a cheer clinic for girls K-6th. Hailey looks forward to it every year. This was Hailey's first year participating in the clinic without one of her Aunts as a coach. That did not stop her from having a fantastic time!

A few a Hailey's closest friends that made this week special.

The fourth grade girls were the oldest participants. This made mom very sad to think that Hailey was one of the "big girls" of the group. Where has time gone?

Aunt Kate, Aunt Ashlie & Aunt Sarah you would have all been so proud of Hailey's boldness in getting to the middle during "Little Sally". She was just too cute for words.

This video is for the three of you!