Nutcracker Part II

I found this picture of Lila on Marti's facebook page only after I had updated the blog. We thought it was worth updating the blog. This is NOT a pose. This is just Lila being Lila...

"The Nutcracker"

The girls had their ballet recital. They were the prettiest ballerinas I have ever seen.

Emma was more nervous than I have ever seen her. It was cute to see my childs first stage fright.

Lila was so calm and completely unaffected...that is until it came time to dance and then she was so mesmorized by the ballerina who was dancing with her that she didn't move a muscle!

Overall I was so proud of my girls and we were so excited and blessed to be able to share the night with our family! Josh, Marti, and Chris were down for the weekend and it was so much fun to be able to share it with them!

Christmas Wishes

Merry Christmas Everyone! We hope you all have a wonderful Christmas Season and a Joyful and Grateful New Year!

Sisters Then and Sisters Now

This weekend we rented a movie for our girls and blew up the air mattress and they got to have a slumber party in the living room. As I was preparing to do the blog, seeing this picture reminded me of a sister's moment captured when I was just a baby like Lydia.

It's been four years since I have seen my sister. What a blessing to be able to look back and appreciate the time we did have together. It also helps me to appreciate all the more the sister I do have. I love you Marti!

Emma's Birthday

So I know I am a month late but at least it is finally here. EMMA'S BIRTHDAY PICS!!!

Emma's birthday was the epitome of a runaway train. We had told her all year long that this year was going to be a lowkey birthday. Next year she is turning 8 and so we thought we would save the big party for then. However, the day absolutely snowballed. However, we had a great time, with awesome gifts, and even more awesome friends. It was really a fun day for Emma.

This year she asked for a stage. The mind reels at how to accomplish that task. However when we presented the idea to our great friends Ambur and Eric Jones, within three hours they had it designed, materials purchased, and the stage built. Here is a shout out to them for putting this smile on our daughter's face...Thank you just doesn't seem to be enough!

This is the exact moment she saw the stage. She had no clue! That morning she woke up and said she just knew she was going to get a Swim to Me Puppy because it is her birthday and she gets what she wants. However, a lesson was learned that day. Sometimes Mom and Dad know more what she "wants" then even she does!

Uncle Chrissy also bought her a karaoke microphone that lights up with stage lights and allows her to actually sing to her high school musical music in her CD player. I am amazed we haven't had any complaints from the neighboors!

Before the opening of gifts we had to take Emma and her friends to the park so the guys could get the stage into her room undetected. Here are some of the pics from that fun...

And the birthday would not be complete without the HSM cake. I had a BLAST decorating this cake with Ambur -- Anytime girlfriend, I'd collaborate with you again!

Here is Emma opening Grandma and Grandpa Cranney's gift. We took video of it so they could see. We would also like to send out a shout out to Grandma and Grandpa Zollinger who came and celebrated both November girls birthday's on Halloween. Thank you so much...thanks also to Uncle Chrissy who celebrated then with us as well. Thank you to all who has made our girls feel so special and loved!!

Lydia was absolutely aDORAble this year on her 2nd birthday. She loved her DORA cake. She did not want to eat it, all she wanted was to sit next to it and pet it.











This was definitely a DORA birthday. Between the Dora books, dress up, movies, and toys she received, she is pretty much set in that department.

Lydia's birthday this year was a lot of fun. She really loved all of her gifts and loved her cake. Thanks to Ambur, her cake turned out beautiful! Thanks to all who gave gifts and helped us celebrate!

The Cranney Family Halloween was pretty simple this year compared to previous years but we did manage to do the essentials. Our Grandma Cranney made our costumes. If you can't tell already we decided to make our trip down the Yellow Brick Road to see the Wizard of Oz!! There was not one house where someone commented on how cute our girls looked...:0)

Thank you Grandma Cranney!! We love you!!

This was Lydia's first year trick or treating and she did not miss a beat! She said "Trick or Treat!" at every house... She asked for M&M's at every house.... She said, "Thank you!" and "You're Welcome!" at every house! She was so excited for all the treats she was getting that she absolutely refused to let go of her candy bag. It was a blast!!

The best part of all was our Grandma and Grandpa Z and Uncle Chris came and shared it with us. They trekked the long trek, packed brooms, Toto, candy bags, and wands and all the while Grandpa Z was back at home watching the World Series and handing out candy. It was an awesome night!

Thank you Grandma and Grandpa Z and Uncle Chrissy!! We love you!!



It wouldn't be Halloween without our traditional Halloween pumpkin carving event. Lila wouldn't go near the insides...she just kept saying "No Daddy. You do it. I'll watch."

Emma swore she was going to be the one to take the seeds and yuck out of the pumpkin. She didn't make it. She put her hands in, gagged, then ran to the bathroom to wash her hands! Here she is carefully placing her hands in the pumpkin so I could get a picture. You can be assured she is not touching anything unbecoming!

Lorna's Visit Part VI

We decided to do the festivities at Worthen park like we did last year. We were going to do stuff around Hurricane but Emma was just too excited about going into town. Here's a glimpse...

The choo-choo. If you look closely, you will see all kids except the nut in the caboose. Yeah, that's me riding with Lydia.







Mmmm ... Snow Cones













The kids favorite, the swings!















Larry, Mo, and Curly... not necessarily in that order.

Later that night we watched the Hurricane fireworks from our front yard, and did our own. Then we had to say good-bye... :( It was a wonderful week. It filled my cup for sure. I just hope I don't have to go another three years before I get to see them again.

To Lorna, Jossy, Bubba, and Derrick, Thank you for coming to visit us and letting us get to know you better. Thank you for spending the little time you have as a break to come and play with us. We love you and will miss until we can see you again!

Lorna's Visit Part V

Our second to last day we decided to take the kids for a drive to let them rest. We ended up in Pipe Springs. Previously, when I had visited the tour was not available. This time we got to do the whole thing. It was incredible and I would highly recommend it to anyone looking for a fun and educational activity for their kids about pioneer history.

It was really fun for the kids because they got to be made into Junior Rangers. Here they are taking the oath and then the Ranger pinned little badges on them.

This is the end of Pipe Springs. This is the pond that the irrigated water dumps into.

Lorna's Visit Part IV

After a day inside, we figured the kids were going to revolt if we didn't get them busy so we took them to the Wildlife Museum. The kids LOVE this. They each receive binoculars and they get to play in a treehouse where they can dress up like zoologists. We had fun asking them if they could see certain animals and having them point them out to us. Here Joslyn has found a giraffe.

Lorna's Visit Part III

We took the opportunity to take the Madsen's to the St. George Temple for FHE. This was fun for us because it was something we had always wanted to do. We visited the visitor's center and did some of the presentations on eternal families and also saw the Cristus.















We took advantage of the Kodak moment that presented itself...

















And we let the kids climb the stairs and touch the temple doors. It was such a special day, that allowed us to teach our kids about eternal families, reverence for the temple, and strengthen family bonds.










Another really beautiful picture moment!

Lorna's Visit Part II

We had a neat surprise come our way. Marti and Alex stopped by on their way down to Vegas. We were excited when they agreed to come have Golden Corral with us. Joslyn was funny because she just accepted Aunt Marti as her own. She had to ride with the "other aunt" the entire time Marti was here.

Here is Saxon with his cone!




















The girls all together!














On one of the days, I sent Lorna and Derrick away to go have some time alone and I took on all 5 kids by myself. We had a blast playing playdough. You can see Saxon with his brick of Playdough. That is about the extent of his playing. Really funny ...







We just had to hit our favorite eating spots. After playing at the water park with had icecream at Judd's General Store and then went to have lunch at Marv's. It was sooo yummy!

The Madsen Family Came to Visit!!!

My best friend in the whole wide world chose to spend their one vacation this year with us! It was a wonderful week. I especially enjoyed taking them to see all of our favorite places and do our favorite things. Her kids were just so sweet, and I love that they call me Aunt Sue.

One of the days they were here we went to the water park. This is not something they get in Carson City, NV so this was truly a treat. The kids loved it and had so much fun. Here is Joslyn with such a sweet grin on her face. I don't think she even stopped for a minute!









My kids usually don't play at the fountain but this day, Joslyn was able to show them the fun of it. They especially loved waiting for the water to turn on and spray them all!
















Saxon had a good time too. He and Lydia just puttered around and splashed in the water.

















This is a bit out of order but the first day we ran in the sprinklers. Lydia was not going to be left out. She got drenched and she was fully dressed!

Happy 3-0!

My birthday was an absolute blast! We did a 50's style murder mystery. Here is Nate in full scale costume!
We have always had a good time doing murder mystery's and we are so excited that we have finally found a group of people who are excited about it. We even got Grandma and Grandpa Zollinger in on it as well. The memory of Grandma playing the town huzzy (her words) and Grandpa calling the bad guys out on the carpet will always live fondly in my mind!











Here are the kids having cake and icecream at the kiddie table. They were such troopers. We didn't end until past 11:00 and they were just happy little campers!
















Ambur and Eric in their costumes, eating her fabulous cake!










And here's the birthday girl. I vow next time I will have a costume that looks a little less of a marm. This is the cake that Ambur made for me. Isn't it awesome?


Sadly, we don't have any pictures of Gavin and Brooke, we will rectify that situation next time if we haven't scared them away. Thanks again to everyone that came! It was a fun night and I hope we can do it again!