And the fun continues

Our sweet Brooke turned 9 on December 27th. She wanted to have a birthday party at Incredible Pizza. I knew the place would be packed on her actual birthday since it landed on a Saturday. So instead, we had it on the 26th. She wasn't able to have all of her friends there since some of them were out of town, but she had a good time anyway. Uncle Ben and Aunt Holly were still here, so they came with us with their kids. She had a great time! The next day, on her actual birthday, we had a fun day shopping with her and eating her favorite foods. I guess when you have a birthday that close to Christmas, the fun never stops! Here's the group that was able to make it. Regan, Bailey, Hailey, Sarah, Brooke, Scott, Jadyn, Taelyn, Madison and Natalie. Since Incredible Pizza is kind of far away, we ended up having this group for almost 4 hours. Luckily, they're a great group of kids. She's blessed to have such good friends. We are blessed to have such a sweet daughter. Brooke has always been kind, sweet natured, a little sensitive and really the peace maker of our home. She is a beautiful girl inside and out. We are so blessed to be her parents.

Jeff had another week of vacation left at work. So, from Christmas day on, we've been able to have him home. We've had a fun week together. The weather finally got warmer and sunny. I was so grateful. I hate the cold. So, we tried to spend as much time together outdoors as we could. One day we went to the zoo. The next day we went hiking. Here's the girls with their walking sticks.

My boys.

Me, Brennan, Brooke and Jadyn enjoying our time in the sun! Luckily, we have a big park down the road with some amazing walking trails that go around a big lake. We got to jump over mud, walk on little bridges, cross over water on a log, and Regan got to learn how to pee in the forest. Luckily we learned from last time to bring toilet paper with us. Funny thing was, we dropped Jeff off at the airport today so he could go to his Grandma's funeral in Utah. On the way home, Regan needed to go to the bathroom. I told her she had to wait a while because we were on the freeway and not near a bathroom. She then said, "Well mom, just find me a tree!" Too funny! Overall, it was just so nice to be together as a family. No little friends. No phone calls. No interruptions. Just time together. Heaven!