BREAKING NEWS...

You see the jeans I'm wearing in these pictures?

I'm wearing those exact same jeans

TODAY!

That's right, check out the date on these photos...

January 3, 2004.

7 months after I graduated high school...or 1 month before I got engaged.
However you want to look at it.

Pretty.Dang.Exciting.

I won't post a picture of me wearing the jeans today.

Maybe next month.

Let's just say the barely fit.  Haha.

Talk about a

Crazy

Emotional

Fun Filled

Busy

Happy

All Around GREAT

Weekend!

It all started off with McKay's official swearing in ceremony.

That's right, folks!  I'm married to an official LAWYER! ;-)

Good lookin' huh?

 By the end of the ceremony the kids needed to get some energy out.

 Sitting in front of us at the swearing in was this guy with crazy orange hair....some Carrot Top impersonator for sure...

Wait...maybe it IS him...

 Oh snap!  It's him!  Crazy huh?

After the swearing in me, my mom, and sisters headed straight over to "Time Out For Women".  This is a conference held each year to go and listen to presenters and musical artists on several different topics.  The overall theme this year was "Infinite Hope" and we learned to find hope in and for all things.

Hope for ourselves.

Hope for our families.

Hope in this scary crazy world.

Hope in Christ.

We laughed, cried, then laughed and cried some more. 

We bought tickets for the event last November, so it was very anticipated, and MUCH needed.

It was great to be there with my mom and sisters.

The conference was Friday night and then again Saturday from 9-4.

After Time Out For Women on Saturday I rushed home to get ready for McKay's 10 year high school class reunion. 

Crazy huh?

10 YEARS!

My sister Kelly came over to babysit the kids and off we went.  It was a nice night out and I had fun meeting McKay's friends from back in the day.

What a great weekend!

And he's off.

Carter took his first 4 steps about a week ago, but decided to really start walking last night.  He went back and forth between me and McKay for half an hour last night.  He just turned 11 months.

He had his first fall down the stairs this week, too.  It's been quite an eventful few days for him!

Pumpkin Patch

We have never taken our kids to an official pumpkin patch.

I've always wanted to.  They look fun and enjoy walking around and just looking. 

I guess part of it is that I know I'm not going to purchase pumpkins there when I know I can get them at Wal-Mart for $3 a piece. 

Another part is that last time we lived in a city that actually had a pumpkin patch the kids were too young to ride rides, or enjoy it at all.

So, this year we went to one.  We spend a couple bucks on tickets and let the kids ride 2 rides each.

We looked at all the pumpkins, walked around, and enjoyed the rare perfect Las Vegas weather.

And of course I took lots of pictures.

The BIG one.

The GREEN one.

You had to pay to go inside the petting zoo....but not to stick our hand through the fence. 

Muwa ha ha ha.

The three kiddos.

All of us.

Look at the stem on this one!  Dang!

The next day Mckay took the big kids to a nearby car show that had trunk-or-treating.  They ran into Tow-Mater.



It's hard to believe that October is more than half way over.

Another few blinks and Thanksgiving will have come and gone.  Then Christmas, and before you know it we'll be half way into January.  Hold on to your hats!

Other October Happenings.

Here are a few random pictures from our October.

The kids are playing soccer and although they rarely get close enough to the ball to actually kick it, they love it.  We go to practices every Wednesday evening and games on Saturday mornings. 

McKay built a fire pit in our backyard.  We've been roasting lots of  hot dogs and marshmallows.

Soon it will be cold outside and it might actually feel good to sit by a fire.

Carter likes to suck on the marshmallows.

We were out past bed time a few nights ago.  Here's what I found when we pulled into the garage.

I thought it was cute that all their heads were turned the same way.  Maybe I took that last turn a little too hard...?

And lastly, I've been a sub for a BUNCO group a few times and last month someone dropped out, so now I'm official!  One evening a month we all get together and play bunco.

Just women.

No kids.

Pure fun.

For October we all dressed up.

My sister Kelly is in the group, and we needed two subs this month, so my sister Sherri and my Sister-In-Law Becky got to come too.  It was really fun.

b.r.e.a.t.h.e.

Yesterday was a very emotional day.  Bar results day.

Although the idea of McKay not passing the bar has been in the back of my mind all along, we have planned and talked as if he had already passed the bar for months now.

Our financial planning,

family planning,

vacation planning,

house planning,

LIFE planning,

has depended on McKay becoming an official attorney.

Yesterday was the day.  The results were scheduled to be posted on the Nevada Bar website at 3:00pm, however earlier this year the February results were posted early, around 11:30am.

So, McKay was at work...I was at home...and we both sat on the web page hitting refresh waiting for the results to be posted.

Not until this point did I really consider the fact that his name might not be on the pass list.  

What if he doesn't pass...

What if he has to start studying again...

What if we have to wait until February for him to take the bar again...then another three months to get those results... 

What if, what if, what if.

HEADACHE.

SICK TO MY STOMACH.

And I'm not even the one who took the test!

McKay was just as bad...no...worse.

Around 1:15pm McKay received a call from a friend who works in the judges chambers.  She had the information early....and he PASSED!

He.Passed.

No more studying.

No more wondering.

No more.

No more.

No more.

After thoughts of calling everyone we knew to come celebrate with us, we decided we were pretty worn out and chose to have a nice calm dinner with just our family.  We ate small portions of our huge meals, laid our heads back, and breathed (is that a word?).

And now as all the attorneys we know have said.

The real stress begins.

McKay

THE

Are you ready for this??

7 months ago we decided to change.

Change is good.

Here's to the next 7 months of change.

Sedona : The Second Time Around

I took the kids to Sedona back in June while McKay stayed behind to study for the bar.  We got the chance to go there again this past weekend.  We've been on several trips over the Summer, but this was our first with just the 5 of us.  It was so relaxing and we loved every minute of it.

We went on a little hike down to the river where you get a perfect view of Cathedral Rock.  I ventured across some rocks with the kids.

This is me right after a close call...I still don't know how I righted myself, but I had visions of how I would rescue the kids when they fell in behind me....luckily that didn't happen.  And off the rocks for me.

Then McKay had to go show off, jumping rock to rock with Jackson on his shoulders.  Ya, ya...

I attempted a picture of the kids....and this was the best I got.  That's Cathedral Rock in the background.

 Sydney even snapped a picture of us.

I didn't realize until I looked back at all of our pictures, but we found lots of creatures to play with on our trip.  First was Mr. Lizard.  The kids followed him around for a good 25 minutes.

 Then there was the stink but that McKay got a little too friendly with.

And then Sydney's butterfly that she affectionately named Flappy Wings.  She brought him all the way back to our room and cried when I told her it was time to let him free.

We ventured to a little town near Sedona called Jerome.  It's an old mining town and we enjoyed walking through the shops and eating at a little place called Haunted Hamburger.

 We sat on the balcony of the restaurant and it overlooked the little mining city.  It was nice and cool and a perfect end to our day. 

 We passed a park as we were walking back to our car and had to stop and play.  It was old, with a really tall metal slide.  The kids were pretty unsure...

 And I don't know if Jackson will ever forgive me for this...

It was a great weekend away.