First day of Kindergarten

Mady showing us her school uniform
Ethan wanting to join in on the big day
Ready to go after saying bye to mom & dad


It's official we have a kindergartner! :) She was so cute and excited to go. She went to bed early but didn't get much sleep. She woke once asking for water which she never does and then somehow ended up in our bed, I'm sure she was just anxious for her big day! I got her up and got her ready why Bri fixed breakfast and then it was off to school. The whole family walked her in gave her quick hugs and said goodbye. She gets so shy in new situations but she did go right in and no tears were shed. What a long day though from 8:15-3:45 when we picked her up she was excited to see us but also excited about all the fun big things she got to do. Her favorite part was making their official kindergarten crowns!

Bri and I also celebrated our 6Th anniversary on Sunday so after dropping Mady off we cleaned the car and took the kids to play with their cute friends Dallas and Kyson so we could enjoy a quiet lunch together. It's crazy that we have been married 6 years already but we are looking forward to the next 50! I love you Bri... you are the best dad and husband!

Family Pictures...

We had heard of a photographer out here that does newborn pictures from one of Bri's co-workers a while back and decided to give him a call. He came to our house and took the pictures three weeks ago and we finally got them back! It was a really great experience, he only does newborn pictures but he did take individual pics of the kids and a family picture and all from the convenience of our home, so much better than trying to get the kids all out to JcPenny or somewhere. We got all the prints on CD in black & white and color to take anywhere to print. He also does a online slide show of our pics if anyone is interested in checking it out. www.poeticexposure.com/alicia He did such a great job and we would recommend him to all our friends with new babies!
On a side note today was meet the teacher night for Mady... she got to meet her teacher and then we took a quick tour of the elementary school. Her teacher seems great and although Mady was very shy i think she is excited and is going to do just fine. (I might not survive) One of the cute little girls from primary is in her class too so that will be good! I still can't believe she starts school on Monday!

Dance

Mady started Dance last thursday and loved it! It was so much fun to see her so excited and everyday she asks if it is dance class day! She also learned to tie shoes, she doesn't have any shoes that we have to tie but I thought it may be a good thing to learn before school starts and after a few minutes she had it down!

The Childrens Museum

We took the kids to the Childrens Museum to get out but escape the heat while Grandma and Grandpa Hooley were in town. The kids really liked it! Ethan thought it was cool you could dress up like a fireman, Logan loved the slide, and Mady thought dressing up was pretty fun. (although she doesn't look very excited in the picture.) After we were finished there Grandma and Grandpa took the kids to mcdonald's, had cake, popped popcorn, and watched a movie while Brian and I went to a movie! Thanks Grandma and Grandpa the kids loved it and it was so nice to be able to go out on a date!

Happy Birthday Mady!

Happy 5th Birthday Madyson! Mady's Birthday is on August 4th, but we got to celebrate twice with all the Grandparents being in town! We celebrated with cake and presents with Grandma and Grandpa DeLong the week before her birthday and then again with Grandma and Grandpa Hooley on her Birthday! We loved having the grandparents her to celebrate with us! I can't believe Mady is 5 and headed to kindergarted in a week! She has always been our little spunky one! She always keeps us on our toes and entertaines us! She is so outgoing... but is starting to get a little shy, she is the best big sister and helper we could ask for! She has been so helpful with Ali and keeping the boys entertained lately and she is always trying to do what is right! We love you Mady and are so proud of you!

Our New Addition

Alicia Abbygail was born on July 16, 2008 at 8:02 am. We had to be at the hospital at 6 so we dropped the boys off at Jill's very early in the morning! (Thanks so much Jill!) Madyson and my mom came to the Hospital with us, Mady was so excited to finally have a sister I don't think we could have gotten her to stay home. We went to the c-section room at 7:30 so they could do my spinal and she arrived at 8:02. She was 7lbs 90z and 19inches. Everything went smoothly and the recovery has gone great! So much better than I had anticipated. She is such a good baby and sleeps so well at night already! We are so spoiled with good babies (maybe that is why we have 4 :))

We're gonna give it a try....

After looking at all our family and friends cute blogs I thought we'd give this a try. I can't promise much... i am apparently out of date and fairly computer illiterate these days. I hope that you enjoy keeping up with our family as much as we have all of yours!