Thanksgiving fun!

We started off our Thanksgiving week with the arrival of the Grandparents! We had a lot of fun and enjoyed their company so much. Samantha particularly took to her Grandma and would go to her whenever she could! Wish I got a picture of that.

A little random, but we made homemade pasta one evening and I ALWAYS have so much fun making it!! It's like playing with play-dough, but as an adult. LOVE it.

All three of the children had "Thankful" parties at school. Tyler and Audrie and Kaylee basically had them all at the same time, so we had to get creative in our responsibilities. Whenever their are special events at school I always have the words run through my head, "if you're not there, for whatever reason, all they know is you're not there. So BE THERE, no matter what." So hopefully someday they will appreciate the effort it is to always be there for them even if it means juggling a baby while running from one classroom to the next :) Andy and his parents went to Kaylee's party and I had the camera, so thus no pictures of her.

Cute Audrie making her "Thankful" craft :)

Our special visitors, Grandpa and Grandma Hart. Love them.

Samantha in the Texas tradition for Thanksgiving week. Too bad that's about as much football that happened in our house! We just aren't football people, but man she looks cute!

We went to the park the day before Thanksgiving in order to get out of the house. The weather was GORGEOUS and the kids (and Mom) had a great time. I love that little Sammy's hair...

While making pies and getting the festivities together Samantha found something to entertain herself. She had SO much fun emptying that cupboard. She was completely inside of it once she was finished. She is so dang cute!!

It's no secret I can't seem to cook a turkey for Thanksgiving, so this year I delegated to Andrew. He immediately ordered an oil-less fryer. It turned out great! Little does he realize that this will forever be his job now ;)

This is our other special guest. Elder Lindsey, my cousin. Obviously my Whicker cousin. He is actually on his mission here in our ward and has been for almost 9 months! Samantha was only 3 months old when he got here and I was in the thick of baby craziness. It has been so much fun to have him here and he has been a great blessing to our ward, in fact our whole area! They just LOVE him here.

Thanksgiving dinner. I'm hungry just typing this, yum.

Elder Lindsey the comic relief!

We played some classic Whicker games. It really was fun and surprisingly we didn't have any tears! Hallelujah!

Clearly this was one of the funnest games we played. Everyone had such a good time. I can't help but giggle every time I look that this. It captures everyone in the BEST way. CLASSIC.

5x7 Folded Card

With Love Christmas Card

Find unique and modern Christmas cards at Shutterfly.

View the entire collection of cards.

Family Pics 2011!

We tried our hand at our annual amateur family photography session and I think we got some really cute ones :) Don't I have a handsome family? Goodness they are all so dang cute! Enjoy some of my favorite shots. Be aware you may see these again on our Christmas cards this year...

'Till we meet again Grandpa

My sweet Grandpa Stones passed away yesterday. As I reflected on him and his life as I knew it I couldn't help but think about my very fond memories of him as a child. Whenever we went to visit it was always a very long road trip, but we would always look forward to the moment we pulled up to his Texaco gas station! He would always have treats in hand waiting to give us some of his yummy treats! He was a very hard working man which was clearly passed down to my mother who in turn taught us kids. He was always so pleasant to be around because his eyes always sparkled with happiness. Love you Grandpa, I can feel you smiling down on all of us!

1980, 31 years ago when my sister and I were born. (I'm on the left, Cami's on the right in case you were wondering)
2002, after my Tyler was born. Grandpa always wore this kind of work jumper. I can't remember him wearing anything different!

2006, Aunt Tamra, Grandma Stones and Grandpa Stones. Andy and I visited them on our 5 year anniversary trip :)

LOVE YOU Grandpa!!

Natural Bridge Caverns II

These pictures kind of give you an idea of the MASSIVENESS of the caves. They were HUGE. I couldn't help but think about the time I went spelunking in college in the Nutty Putty caves. I kept telling my kids how I went through what they called the "birth canal" and we had to army crawl, (if you could call it that, it was SO tight it was more of a slither) through this terrible narrow opening. (Arit, if you are reading I'm sure you recall how claustrophobic it was! We had to talk her through a couple of almost panic moments). Then on the other side of the "canal" was an opening with a waterfall. It was very cool!! I would love to do it again sometime, assuming I would still fit through it!
My kids now think I am slightly cool :) I was once upon a time.

I guess they were a little tired because they ALL look spaced out in this picture. Hahahaha...

Natural Bridge Caverns

Spontaneity seems to be the theme of our adventures as of late. We decided, last minute to drive to New Braunfels, TX to go visit some caves that had rave reviews. It was Awesome and very fun for us all! You can see the Natural Bridge above. Very Cool.

The entry in the ver dark cave, thus a lot of fuzzy pics as we havent figured out the night settings very well.

The baby was really good thanks to an awesome carrier borrowed by some friends! She even napped for a while!

But was also awake to enjoy the scenery :)

The kids loved it , despite their faces in this pic!

They got to "mine" for precious stones and metals. Very fun for ALL of them.

We rested for a minute or two and then went to go down into the second cave.

My Sweet Katie

Here is Katie Sept 19th, a few days after her 8th surgery and the first picture we saw of her after the swelling had significantly decreased. She's had so much metal gear screwed to her head and sticking out of her face that we haven't been able to really see her face for months. This surgery was planned, but there was an unexpected addition. She recieved the first layer of cheekbone.
I can't adequetly express the feelings I had the moment I saw this picture. I saw Katie, but immediately recognized her as I have seen her before. Silently I said "I KNOW that girl! She looks so familiar!" Then it hit me. Like a ton of bricks. She was still the Katie I know and love, but she was begining to look the way her Spirit looked. I was floored that I recognized what was what I was seeing. The spirit works in mysterious ways, but my dear friends these are the moments I will carry with me into the eternities.

Katie Whicker, I love you now matter what you look like, but now I can SEE you my sweet sister!I love you Katie.