The 4 Dollar Bills

MY FIRST UGA GAME!!!

2010-11-06T18:11:00.004-04:00

Today was the BEST day ever. I got to go to my first UGA game with my two favorite guys! Our friend Scott Kaiser got 4 free tickets from his friend Alex. He invited us to go with him and his friend Christa. We picked them up at 10:00 and we headed to Athens. I can't believe that I have lived here my whole life and never been to a GA game. I was so excited I cold hardly stand it. We got to Athens around 11:00 and parked at the institute building so we didn't have to pay for parking which was a big plus. We had great seats. We were on row 22 on the side of the endzone. UGA was Playing the Idaho State Bengals or "BINGals" if you ask the announcers or Scott. We had a fun time making fun of that all day. The game was a huge blowout! UGA was leading 41 to zero at halftime. They ended up winning 55 to 7. It was not the most exciting game obviously but it was still really fun to be there. GO DAWGS!!

My first Apple Pie

2010-09-23T21:53:00.000-04:00

You would think that since I help my mom with her Catering/Wedding business that I know how to cook. Well I do know how to cook, what I don't know is how to Bake. Today my mom taught me how to make a homemade apple pie from scratch. We had a really great time and the pie turned out really good. It was actually really easy to make your own crust. I assumed that it would take a lot longer than it did. Since Alexis is allergic to cinnamon I made her her own tiny pie without cinnamon. It was really cute. I love that I am able to be close to my mom and that we can share days like this together. She decided she needed to get a picture of me with my leg perched up because I always have my leg up while I am cooking in the kitchen. It's not so weird, my sister Jenn does the same thing!!

Megan starts 5th grade chorus!

2010-09-14T09:00:00.003-04:00

Megan tried out for chorus a couple weeks ago. She had to sing My Country Tis of Thee. We are excited to say that she made it. Today is her first class. She has practice every Tuesday and Thursday morning at 7:45. She is so excited for this. She has a beautiful voice and I can't wait to go hear her sing. We are very proud of Megan!

Six Flags and Mitchel Musso

2010-08-04T19:15:00.004-04:00

The Moore's had friend passes to six flags and they invited us to go with them to see Mitchel Musso in concert. The girls were so excited. He is from the Disney tv show Hannah Montana. It was so completely hot outside so we rode Thunder River and played at the water park to cool off. The girls were so excited to watch the concert.

Learning to Croquet

2010-07-28T19:02:00.001-04:00

The girls really wanted to learn how to croquet. They asked Grandma to teach them. They had a fun time learning.

Mom and Andy Knee Surgery

2010-07-22T21:14:00.002-04:00

Today Mom and Andy both had knee Surgery. They have the same Doctor, Gary Levengood, who did their Surgeries back to back. They both had an ACL replacement and Andy also had his torn Meniscus repaired. We figured it was a great idea to just get it all done in one day. That way I could take care of both of them at the same time. Mom has a chair at her house that we call the two butt chair, this is where mom and Andy sat for a week after surgery. We decided to stay the week at moms house so I could help take care of mom while dad went to work. They both had a huge brace that was hooked up to an ice machine. They had to unhook it anytime they needed to get up. Since it was such a project, if one got up to go to the bathroom I made the other one get up too!! Dad and I had to get up in the middle of the night to give medicine and replace their ice. Hopefully they will feel better soon.

Getting ready for surgery!

Waiting, Waiting, & more Waiting!

Finally home!

So Tired!

Firehouse with the Calicone's

2010-07-17T23:38:00.000-04:00

After the County meet we went with our friends the Calicone's to the Firehouse. Fred works there are decided it would be fun to let the kids sit on the trucks and spray the hose. The kids had a really fun time.
Megan and Anna

Having fun with Fred, Steven, Julie and Anna

Gwinnett County Swim Championship

2010-07-17T22:41:00.002-04:00

Megan Made it to County her first year swimming in the Summer League. We are so proud of her. She was able to swim with her relay team. She was invited to do both the 100Free relay and the 100 Medley relay. She ended up only swimming in the free relay so that another little girls got the opportunity to swim one of the relays. She did such a great job. The County meet is held at Georgia Tech in their big indoor aquatic center. This is the same place that the Olympics were swam back in 1996. Megan was so excited that she got to swim in the same pool as Michael Phelps. We decided that since we had to be at the pool so early in the morning that we would get a hotel close by and spend the night down town. Megan thought that was awesome. We spent the night playing Rummy cube together. That next morning we got to the pool bright and early and got Megan all ready to go.
In the Hotel all ready and excited to go!

Georgia Tech

Warm ups

Warm up and Team Picture

This place is Huge!

It finally time for the race. Girls 9-10 100 yard Free Style Relay. Megan is swimming in the 4th position. Her relay consists of Anna, Jayla, Ava, and Megan.

Megan's relay was in lane 6 and they held the lead and won 1st place in their heat. I am so proud of Megan and her finishing strong for her team.

Megan's relay ended up with 1st in their heat and 23rd out of 50 overall.

WAY TO GO MEGAN!!!

Girls Camp

2010-07-14T11:17:00.000-04:00

Since I am the 1st counselor in the Grayson Ward YW Presidency I was able to go down to girls camp for the night to see the skits. Our girls did a fantastic job. The theme this year was Dr. Seuss, Oh the places you will go. Each ward was given a different book to use for a skit. Our ward got The foot book. Chloe McWilliams choreographed a really cute dance to some music with the words to the book in the background. Our skit was the best by far!!

Rachel, Jess, Trudy, Mary Ann, & Kristina

Waterton Waverunners Pool Party

2010-07-13T22:22:00.000-04:00

Tonight was the end of summer swim pool party at Waterton. The girls had a really fun time. Megan got a cool metal from here coaches, so that made her night. They got to play Limbo, hula hoop, and do relays. Megan and I swam in the relay and she almost beat me. She is a great little swimmer. Alexis won limbo, which made her extremely happy. Also the kids got to shave Coach Jeremy's head. For some reason Megan didn't want to do it so she just watched her friends do it. We had a great night with friends, and are grateful we joined such a great swim team.

UNO with grandpa

2010-07-11T08:14:00.000-04:00

The girls had a fun time playing cards with Grandpa today. They really love their grandpa.

Black Widow

2010-07-11T07:50:00.000-04:00

A few months ago I took the trampoline apart and put it in the garage. When we were leaving today and got in the car Alexis yelled spider! Well it happened to be a BLACK WIDOW and she had layed eggs and they had already hatched. There were a million little black widow spiders all over the wheel of the trampoline. I thought I was going to have a freak out moment, but everyone was calm and Andy took it down to the road and we torched her and her babies! It was terrible.

Waterton vs. North Fork

2010-07-06T22:59:00.001-04:00

Tonight was the final swim meet of the season before County. Megan did such an amazing job. She swam her heart out and got her best time of the season on her 25yd free. We are so proud of Megan and how hard she works.

Tonight Megan swam...

25 yd backstroke 21.42 3rd place
100 yd medley relay 1:21.02 1st palce (personal free 19.75)
Anna Calaicone, Melanie McKnight, Jayla Gillis, Megan Dollar
25 yd freestyle 18.75 rainbow ribbon-0.54 seconds (her personal best of the season)
25 yd butterfly 24.75
100 yd freestyle relay 1:12.89 1st place

More Fireworks at the Cano's

2010-07-05T23:23:00.001-04:00

I guess we haven't had enough, so we came to the Cano's for more firework fun! The girls always love spending time with their cousins.

4th of July

2010-07-04T23:08:00.000-04:00

The girls wore their cute dresses to church.

We had a fun time with Grandma and Grandpa Cersey doing sparklers and throwing popping things.

4th of July Fireworks on the 3rd!

2010-07-03T23:00:00.000-04:00

4th of July is on a Sunday this year so we watched fireworks on Saturday night. This year for fireworks we were invited by some friends, Fred and Julie Calaicone, from swim team to watch fireworks in their neighborhood. Their daughter Anna swims at the YMCA and Waterton with Megan. We had a really fun time. The fireworks were great and we had a front row seat in their driveway. Megan and Alexis sat even closer than us with Anna a few houses down. Fred is a firefighter and was near by in case anything got crazy. There are a few guys in the neighborhood who set the fireworks off themselves with a homemade switchboard. It was really cool to see how they did it.

Yearly water slide at the Baugh's

2010-07-03T13:35:00.000-04:00

It was finally time to bring out the water slide. This is such a fun tradition. We have been enjoying it for several years now. The kids have so much fun but I think the adults end up acting more like crazy kids than the kids do. Andy had a bad knee so he couldn't play this time. After much fun we relaxed and had some lunch. Such a fun day was had by all.

Megan

Alexis

Alexis got a road rash on her face and that ended her day!

Someone always ends up bleeding and this year was no different!

Waterton vs Eastmont Cove

2010-07-01T21:48:00.000-04:00

Tonight Megan swam against Eastmont Cove. She did a great job. We are really enjoying swim team. It is nice to have friends on the team. It was fun to see the girls at the end of the lane screaming for each other. Good times!
Tonight Megan swam...
25 yd backstroke 22.89 4th place rainbow ribbon -0.19
100yd medley relay 1:23.07 1st place (personal free 19.00)
Anna Calaicone, Ava Callis, Jayla Gillis, Megan Dollar
25 yd freestyle 20.33 5th place
25 yd butterfly 24.25 (her first time swimming this stroke) No ribbon
100yd freestyle relay 1:12.11 1st place (don’t know personal free time)
Anna Calaicone, Ava Callis, Jayla Gillis, Megan Dollar

Braves Game

2010-06-30T21:45:00.000-04:00

Tonight Megan and I went to the Atlanta Braves game with my mom and Dad. We had a really fun time. Megan made a poster for Chipper Jones because that is her favorite player. Who doesn't love Chipper? Also the manager of the Braves, Bobby Cox, is retiring after this year and it was fun to go see him for the last time. He has been there since I was a little girl watching the Braves. I have been going to braves games with my Daddy as long as I can remember and it makes me happy to be able to share that with Megan as well.

Megan Makes County

2010-06-29T16:47:00.000-04:00

Today I got an email letting us know that Megan had been selected to swim at County on her two relay teams. We are so excited for her. She has worked hard for this. When she got home from school I let her read the email. She was very excited and so are we! She will get to swim at Ga Tech, which is where the Olympics were.

Waterton vs. Mountain Park

2010-06-24T23:50:00.000-04:00

Today we had our first home swim meet at Waterton. Megan did a great job. She swam in 4 events and received 3 ribbons. We are so proud of her.

25 yd backstroke 23.20 4th place
100 yd medley relay 1:23.31 1st place (personal free 20.28)
25 yd freestyle 21.04 no ribbon
100 yd freestyle relay 1:14.03 1st place

Backstroke

Freestyle in Medley relay

Freestyle

Freestyle relay

Megan turns 10!

2010-06-21T15:40:00.000-04:00

Today is Megan's actual birthday. We didn't give her any gifts at her party so that she could have some to open today. She was very happy about everything she got. Herold Galvez stopped by and brought her a stuffed animal, which he does every year. We went over to the Moore's and Cherie bought Megan a cake so she would have one on her actual birthday, since the one I made her was for her party. I am so grateful for such wonderful neighbors and friends that we consider family.

Father's Day

2010-06-20T15:35:00.000-04:00

My girls have the best daddy in the whole world. They love Father's Day and being able to give daddy a gift. It makes them very happy. Andy is a wonderful dad and we couldn't ask for anything more.

Megan's 10th Birthday Party

2010-06-19T23:30:00.000-04:00

Megan's 10th birthday is on Monday, so we had her party today on Saturday so everyone could come. She wanted to have a pool party this year which we have done before, but when your birthday is in the summer what better to do then swim. I made her a swimming pool cake which she loved. She had all her family there as well as the Baugh's, Moore's and Andrade's. We had lots of fun swimming and doing relays. She got lots of great gifts. She had a very happy day. I love my Bruiser and can't believe she is 10!

After the party we went to Grandma and Grandpa's house. She got to open more gifts from them. Then we played a game Kristina brought called Quelf. It is one of the funniest games ever. We laughed all night long. Today turned out to be a great day for all.

Waterton vs Parkview

2010-06-17T21:30:00.000-04:00

Today was Megan's 2nd swim meet. It was an away meet at Parkview. I believe it was the hottest day ever. Alexis was so miserable that right before the meet started I dunked her entire body in the water with her clothes on. She sat there soaking wet the entire time and was definitely cooled off. She was pretty happy after that. I wish I would have taken a picture of her.
Megan did a great job tonight. She swam the 25 yd backstroke, 25 yd free style, 50yd free style, 100yd medley relay (free style) and 100yd free style relay. Her team has something called a rainbow ribbon which is given anytime you improve your personal time on a stroke. She received 3 rainbow ribbons tonight.

25 yd backstroke 23.08 2nd place/ rainbow ribbon -0.37 seconds
100 yd freestyle relay 128.27 2nd place
100 yd medley relay she swam freestyle no time available no ribbon
25 yd freestyle 19.32 4th place/ rainbow ribbon -0.14 seconds
50 yd freestyle 41.78 5th place /rainbow ribbon -0.52 seconds

Utah Trip June 2010

2010-06-15T12:31:00.016-04:00

Our annual Utah Trip came in June this year. There were a few reasons for this trip. One, Robert was returning from his two year mission to Mexico and Second, the Rudd family Reunion.

Before making our trip to Utah Albert and Jenn went to Mexico to visit Albert’s family. While they were there they picked up a number of small Mexican flags and one large one. This was planned so that we could decorate things for when Robert came home off of his mission from Mexico. The day finally came for Robert to come home and we decided to do a lot of decorating around the house. We decorated the outside with Red, White, and Green lights as well as hung a few Mexican Flags. One of the activities we did with the kids is made a large banner. This banner had everyone’s hands on it with our names and colored with the same colors of the Mexican flag.

We all finally left to meet Robert at the Salt Lake International airport where a few of us dressed up in Hispanic attire. As we entered the airport Andy was approached by a Hispanic man that started to speak to him in Spanish. Andy quickly told him that he didn’t understand a word he was saying. We all got a great laugh! We definitely brought a lot of attention to us by the way we were dressed. We had a great time though. After about an hour of being at the airport Robert finally made his way to where we were. He looked great! Hugs were given to all and he looked SOOOOOO happy and extremely skinny. The day was so long that we finally got to President Nielson’s office around 11:30 PM to get Robert set apart.

Rudd Family Reunion at Property
The Rudd family reunion was held at Mom and Dad’s property. We got down to the property a day before everyone else to get things set up and prep for the arrival of all the Rudd’s except for the Nathan Sharp family, the Jason Rudd family and Thomas Albert himself. They were all greatly missed. There were many activities that were done while we were at the property.

Megan and Alexis were able to drive four wheelers for the first time in which they had the time of their lives. Most of the time was spent just enjoying one another’s company and there was plenty of time for activities despite the weather not being the greatest.

Some of the activities that we did you can see below.
Tubing and Canoeing down the freezing cold river

Roasted lots of marshmallows and making ourselves sick

Kids 3 Legged Races and Kids Potato Sack Races

We made water rockets as teams and then launched them in the open fields

Rode Wave Runners in the river

Real Time Minute to Win It

The Watermelon eating competition was one of the grossest activities that one could be involved in. Many of those that participated spoke of the need to puke after consuming the amount of Watermelon that was eaten.

The Lay of the Land

One of the highlights for my wife was shooting clays with the shotguns. Jess had never shot clay and was unsure what to expect. She sat back and watched a number of people shoot and then decided that she would take a turn. As she got ready she placed the gun to her shoulder and then cried, “Pull”. The thrower was pulled and the clay threw the air. As Jess pulled the trigger and to her surprise the clay broke into many pieces. She looked around and said, “I hit it”. She is a natural.

Jess and I left the family reunion one night to enjoy some time away at the 1995 Chamber Choir Reunion that was held at Lone Peak High School. Josh Pehrson the Chamber Choir President had decided that we would try to hold a reunion and bring together as many people from the choir as we could. It was great to see everyone again. There were only a few people that were missing. We spent time just catching up from the many years many of us had not seen each other and then we were able to take some time and sing some songs. “Mamma J” mentioned that this was the first time ever that any of her choirs had come together for a reunion of any kind in her many years of teaching. We took a group picture and then had it developed during the time we ate and sang songs. Miss J was presented a frame with the picture that was taken in 1995 for the yearbook and also the picture we took of the group during this reunion. A great time was had by all as we came together from all over the country including: Texas, New Mexico, Georgia, Idaho, Nevada, and Utah.

The river at the property was freezing cold due to all the rain that we received but that didn’t stop many of us from bathing after our float down the river. Poor Jess even had to get in due to the mud that was put on her while sitting on the dock. She was not happy but was a good sport.

One morning Jess decided that she would take the girls to the dock and go fishing. Nothing came from this experience except for holding the pole while sitting on the dock. The girls said, “This is very boring.”

Happy 11 year Anniversary!!!!
Once again, Jess and I spent our anniversary with many of those we love. Our 11th Anniversary was spent during this reunion. For our anniversary dinner we were able to have Dutch oven Fajita’s. A special thanks goes to Darrell for the wonderful meal, Mom Dollar for the Martinelli’s drink, and Kerrie for the half burnt candle we used for our candle light dinner. This is one that won’t be forgotten.

Megan's first Summer Swim Meet Waterton Vs. Saratogo

2010-06-03T12:04:00.000-04:00

Today was Megan's first summer swim meet. I was not able to go and it broke my heart. Alexis and I had to go on an earlier flight to utah today and Andy and Megan are coming tomorrow. I really hate missing my children's activities but I was glad that Andy could be there with her. She did a great job.

25 yd Backstroke 23.45 4th place
25 yd freestyle 19.46 2nd place
100 yd freestyle relay 1:25.47 2nd place
50 yd free style 42.30

So proud of her for getting 3 ribbons in her first meet.

Tavaci in the Memorial Day parade

2010-05-31T15:19:00.002-04:00

Today is Memorial day. The girls get to participate in the Dacula Memorial Day Parade with their Tavaci group. They get to ride in the trailer and throw candy out to all the people. They have their music playing and they sing the entire time. We are definitely one of the louder floats. They love doing it. Andy and I always get to walk behind them and hand out flyer's for Ms. Betsy. We had a fun morning with all our friends.

Jackson turns 4!

2010-05-29T13:01:00.000-04:00

Today we went over to Justin and Kristina's house for Jackson's 4th birthday party. The kids had a great time playing on the water slide with all their cousins. We had lunch and enjoyed the day together. We love our little Punkie, as I call him. Happy Birthday to Jackson!

Tavaci Concert

2010-05-28T23:30:00.000-04:00

It time for another Tavaci Concert!. I love watching my girls perform.I know that they love it and I'm grateful that they have the opportunity to do it. They always look so dang cute. This year Megan had a speaking part and Alexis was in the Grouch speciality. She got to dress up and be carried out by her daddy in a garbage can. they sang a song called I like trash. It was really funny and cute. Alexis was very happy because her teacher Ms. Fisher came to watch. She brought Alexis and Megan each a big gift. Our neighbors the Moore's and my family all came to support the girls. We are grateful for Ms. Betsy and Ms. Esther for all their hard work. Another grate concert completed!

Megan

Alexis

ThunderCats double header

2010-05-27T11:07:00.001-04:00

Tonight we had our last ThunderCats game of the season. We had a double header against the Stumblin Drunks. We lost both games but we had a good time. I love playing softball and I'm glad I had the opportunity to play this season.

Game 1

Game 2

Megan's end of the year school party!

2010-05-26T23:29:00.001-04:00

Today was Megan's end of the year party for 4th grade. Megan has had a wonderful year and has loved her teacher Ms. Conklin. She has been a great teacher for Megan. Megan's party was lots of fun. She was excited because Andy and I were both able to be there. There theme was a Luau. They played a fun relay game where they had to put on a Hawaiian skirt, a tube, goggles, and water wings and run to the other side and switch with a team mate. It was really fun to watch them. Then they had a fruit by the foot eating contest which Megan blew her opponents out of the water. Way to represent Megan!! Then we had some yummy snacks. It was great being with Megan today.

Megan's practice swim meet!

2010-05-25T23:55:00.001-04:00

Megan has been swimming at the YMCA since January. They YMCA does not have a summer swim team so we had to find a place to join. we have never done summer swim before. We joined the Waterton Waverunners team because her coach at the YMCA, Jeremy, is the coach at Waterton as well. We are so excited to do summer swim. Tonight they had a practice meet so that the kids would know what to expect when it was time for a real meet. Megan did a really good job and I think she is going to love summer swim. Megan's friend Anna Calicone from the YMCA is also on this team. Our friends the Baugh's and the Andrade's are also joining the team with us. Tonight Megan got to swim the back stroke and the free style.

ThunderCats scrimmage game

2010-05-25T23:00:00.000-04:00

Our friend Scott kaiser is home from Utah for a couple of weeks and he wanted to have s scrimmage game with the thunderCats. He was on our team before he moved out to Utah. So we got a big group together to play some ball. There are never any open fields around to play at so when we practice we use the elementary school. Now to explain, the school doesn't really have a field. It has a backstop but that is about all. The infield is made up of gravel with a tiny bit of grass, if you can call it grass. We had a really fun time playing and the Cats even won. Andy got up to bat and really cranked the ball. He decided that he could make it an in the park home run. He came running around third and had to slide in to home. He made it but by the skin of his teeth. Let me remind you that the infield is GRAVEL. Not sure why anyone would choose to slide on gravel but if you know Andy you know that he is pretty competitive. As you can see the result is a really skinned up leg. The Cats did only win by a couple runs so to him it was worth it!

Alexis end of the year party!

2010-05-24T22:41:00.000-04:00

Today Alexis had her end of the year party at school. The kids had a lot of fun at the party. They got to play games like heads up seven up and ABC picnic. They had some yummy snacks as well. Ms. fisher got carried away with the cool whip and was spraying it in the kids mouths. Then one of the parents did it to her. They kids thought it was so funny. Alexis is excited for summer but is going to miss her teacher and friends. It took Alexis about half the year to get used to Ms. Fisher and first grade. First grade is so different than kindergarten and Ms. Fisher is completely different than Ms. Pruehs. She went through a period of time where she didn't ever want to go to school at all which is not a normal thing for her. She finally got aver it and loves first grade and really loves Ms. Fisher. When she got off the bus this afternoon she was crying. I asked her what was wrong. She was crying because she was going to miss Ms. Fisher. It is always comforting when your child loves their teacher. It makes it a little easier to send them to school in the morning.

Temple Trip

2010-05-22T10:27:00.001-04:00

The Atlanta temple is closed for remodeling and will be closed all year. Our Elders quorum planned a trip to the Columbia, SC temple. We rode with Thayne and Rachel Shumway. We had a really fun time. We stopped at some hole in the wall hamburger place for Lunch. This temple is a lot smaller than the Atlanta temple so it was cool to see how different the two were. We had a wonderful day. We met up with the Burkart's, Frailey's, Martin's, Cersey's and Mandi Dale once we got to lunch. A great day was had by all.

ThunderCats vs. Birds of Doom

2010-05-20T22:07:00.000-04:00

Today we played Birds of Doom. I can't remember what the score was because I am posting this at a later date. I do remember that we had a lot of fun though. Our team is as follows, lf to rt Billy, Scott (filling in for Brandon), Ryan, Lacey, Jessica, Kristina, Brindi, Becky, Jonny, and Justin

Tavaci performance at The Bridge Assisted Living Center

2010-05-19T17:02:00.000-04:00

The girls had their performance at The Bridge Assisted Living Center tonight. This is always a great performance. They enjoy performing for the elderly and I know the the elderly love having them come twice a year. It was a great night.

Megan's 5th grade field day Ms. Conklin

2010-05-18T16:46:00.001-04:00

Today it was Megan's turn to have field day. She was just as excited as lex. Her class didn't win the tug of war but they did good and had a lot of fun doing it. After tug of war we went around to al the station and had a really fun day together.

Alexis field day 1st grade Ms. Fisher

2010-05-17T16:24:00.002-04:00

Today was Alexis field day at school. The girls always love field day. The first thing that happens is a tug of war contest. Alexis class won the entire thing. She was so very excited. It was so fun watching her I even cried. (surprise surprise) After the tug of war the kids get to run around to all different stations. Alexis and I had a great time. Cherie was teaching today and we got to stop and see her for a few minutes as well.

ThunderCats vs. Assurant Allstars

2010-05-13T16:11:00.000-04:00

Tonight we played the Assurant Allstars . We won 16-3. You can say we played much much better. Really fun when you play good and can pull out a win.

Outrageous Outfit day at school for Alexis!

2010-05-11T16:02:00.001-04:00

It is "O" day at school for the ABC countdown. It was Outrageous Outfit day for Alexis. She was most excited about this day. I have to say that I think she looks beautiful. We had fun picking out what she was going to wear.

Mother's Day

2010-05-09T22:44:00.000-04:00

I love Mother's day for two reasons. I love my mother more than words can explain and being a mother is like nothing else in this world. My girls got me a gift card to get my nails done and Alexis make me a beautiful flower pot at school. I love them so much and I am so greatful and lucky to be their mommy.

After church we went to mom and dads house to have dinner. We celebrated Ta's birthday and then we gave mom her gift. We all went in together and baught her a bridge for her backyard. She was really excited. After we gave it to her we all worked on putting it together. We shared a lot of laughs as we usually do when we are all together. I love my family.

ThunderCats vs. Sons of Pitches

2010-05-06T21:35:00.001-04:00

Just another ThunderCats games. Today we played Sons of Pitches. We lost 7-11. We made lots of stupid mistakes which caused us the game. The top left picture shows me about to catch a pop fly. The ball was right above me at 2nd base. I guess I didn't call the ball loud enough because I got take out by our short stop Jonny. I did make the catch though right before he laid me out. My ear was a little sore from hitting the ground but other that that I'm just glad I made the play and could hang on to the ball!! As always it was a fun night!

Heinous Hair Day at school for Megan!

2010-05-05T15:24:00.000-04:00

At the end of the school year the kids have an ABC count down, which means each day is assigned a letter of the alphabet with something fun to go along with it. Well today was H day for Megan and the H stood for Heinous Hair day. I pulled Megan's hair into three sections and braided pipe cleaners into the pony tail so that I could bend her hair and it would stay in place. We put some crazy bows in and sprayed it with glitter and she was set. I think she looked pretty darn cute! She was really excited about it.

Golf Day!

2010-04-30T15:17:00.000-04:00

Today Andy decided to take me golfing with him. He loves to golf. I think he would do it everyday if he could. I have never been golfing. I didn't really golf today but I did hit some balls at the driving range. I think driving the cart is the fun part anyway. We had a fun time together. I enjoyed watching him do something he loves.

My poor baby!

2010-04-30T08:10:00.000-04:00

Alexis has Asthma and has had to do breathing treatments since she was just a baby. She looked so cute today I couldn't help but take her picture. I just love her!

Tavaci performance at PTA

2010-04-29T22:19:00.000-04:00

Tonight the girls had a little short performance before the school PTA meeting. They did a great job as always. I love watching my girls perform.

Field Trip to Texas Road House with Alexis!

2010-04-28T03:57:00.001-04:00

This year for a field trip Alexis' first grade class went to Texas Road House Grill. She had a really fun time with all her friends. They had several stations that they were able to visit. The first station they were read a book and then were able to draw with chalk on the floor of the restaurant. Of course they thought that was fantastic. Alexis drew an armadillo which was what the book was about. I think she did a pretty good job. After that they went in to the meat closet and got to see how a steak was cut. Then they got to see a lady make an awesome blossom. Alexis did not want to try it of course but sh did anyway and spit it out. She was not impressed.

Next the kids were each given a piece of dough to shape their own roll. Alexis made her roll into the shape of a heart. They will be able to eat the roll they made when we have lunch.

Next it was time to learn some line dancing. Of course this was Alexis' favorite part. She loves to dance. After the dancing they went on a little scavenger hunt looking for things in the restaurant. Then it was time for lunch. I had a chicken salad and the kids had chicken fingers and fries. I think I would have rather had the kids basket! Alexis' roll turned out great. We had a really fun time today. I'm glad I was able to go with Alexis and all her friends.

Spring Break Fun

2010-04-10T22:38:00.001-04:00

April 6th
This year for spring break we decided we would just stay home instead of going out of town somewhere. We had lots of fun playing with friends and family. One day we went bowling with our friends the Baughs. We also spent some time at the Waisath's house playing water games with Ashton and Ella.

April 9th
Today We took Alexis to the park while Megan went to Meet grandpa for lunch with grandma and Ethan. We took a picnic and then played some softball with her. We had a really fun time being with Alexis.

April 10th
Today we decided we would try and teach the girls to ride their bikes. We are a little late with this. It was no easy task and it was so hot outside. We tried for about an hour but with little success. Alexis was getting frustrated because Andy was spending so much time with Megan so she decided she would just get on her bike and do it herself. Of course she fell over. At that point she decided she would wait for one of us to help her.

Later that night we went over to Justin and Kristina's house for Nicole Wood's 30th birthday party. The Horsley's, Shumway's, Fox's and Quale's were there as well. The kids had a great time. We played a little Rock Band too.

Easter

2010-04-04T14:19:00.007-04:00

Easter morning at our house is always fun. The Easter Bunny always hides the girls baskets. When I was a little girl I always had to hunt for my basket too. It didn't take Megan very long to find her basket. Alexis on the other hand had a harder time finding hers. Once they both found them they enjoyed opening all the eggs. Especially the one that had money in it.

After Church we headed over to mom and dad's for the rest of the day for lots of yummy food and tons of fun. When we first got there we took a few family pictures.

Time for dying eggs. This is always fun for the kids. They have so much fun being together with their cousins. They all did a good job with their eggs. Andy made an Obama egg, he thought it was hilarious.

Ethan brought a few nets and wanted to play the egg toss game. We all had a fun time with the kids throwing the eggs.

Grandma made the most yummy and cute cupcakes for the kids. They loved them.

Jackson was so happy that he won the jelly bean counting contest.

Time for the egg hunt. I think the kids love this part the most and the adults dread hiding all the hundred of eggs. Grandpa hid a $10 bill in one of the eggs this year and Ellie found it. The kids found a ton of eggs and had a really fun time.

Grandpa created a scavenger hunt for the kids to go on to find their treat for the night. He put Ethan in charge which made him completely happy. They had to go through the entire house looking for clues and searching for the treasure. They were so excited to find they treat bags. They worked so well together as a team.

Today was a really great day. I love being able to be near my family. I love my family.

Working in the yard

2010-04-03T13:13:00.001-04:00

My mom and dad re-did their entire yard. They put in fescue grass instead of Bermuda. It looks so beautiful! We decided to spend some time helping them plant some flowers and Andy was helping dig the big holes for the trees and stuff. The girls had fun helping grandma and grandpa. I pretty much just watched and did a few things here and there. Gardening and being outside is not my thing.

Easter Egg Hunt at The Baugh's

2010-04-03T11:33:00.003-04:00

Every year our good friends the Baugh's have an Easter Egg Hunt. It is getting bigger every year. The kids always have a wonderful time hunting eggs with their friends. Thanks Mike and Betsy for always inviting us over. Once the hunt was over the kids had doughnuts and juice.

ThunderCats Vs. Birds of Doom

2010-04-01T23:53:00.000-04:00

Tonight the ThunderCats played Birds of Doom. We lost 5-9. I made a few good plays but nothing to spectacular.

Baby Shower

2010-03-30T23:10:00.000-04:00

Nicole Wood is our Secretary in the YW presidency. I thought it would be a great idea if we had a SURPRISE baby shower for her with all the girls. I got a little crazy and decided that I wanted to try all these new craft ideas. I made a diaper cake and some washcloth candies and some burp cloth cupcakes. they all turned out really cute and made great gifts for Nicole as well as cute decorations. I also made some tissue balls to hang from the ceiling. We had the girls and leaders bring some snacks. We had a fun time playing games.

Megan's Swim Party

2010-03-27T23:23:00.000-04:00

Today was Megan's swim party at the YMCA. They had a really cute cake made to look like a swimming pool with swimmers in it. She got a cute little trophy. She was really excited.

Time for softball again

2010-03-25T12:42:00.001-04:00

Andy and I decided that we were not going to play softball this season. Well at the last minute I was asked to play because they were down one girl. I Love playing softball. I will miss having Andy there every week. He is going to be the great husband that he is and take the girls to their dance class instead. Here is what our new team looks like.

Brandon Earick, Ryan Horsley, Brindi Horsley, Justin Cersey, Billy Quale,(Nicole Wood )Johnny Wood, Becky Facer, Jessica Dollar, Lacey Quale, & Kristina Cersey.

St. Patrick's Day Breakfast

2010-03-17T14:11:00.001-04:00

The girls are always so excited for St. Patrick's Day. They woke up and got on all their green clothes and accessories to wear to school. When they came down for breakfast their wonderful daddy had made them green eggs and bacon for breakfast with some green mango juice. Their plate and forks and cups were even green. Megan was pretty excited but Alexis was a little unsure of eating green eggs. I am so grateful that my girls have such a wonderful daddy.

Cinderella

2010-02-16T23:09:00.000-05:00

Today we took the girls to the ballet to see Cinderella. Chloe McWilliam was one of the fairies in the show. The girls were so excited to see her. We sat with several friends. After the show we went down to see Chloe and meet some of the cast. We had a fun time.

New Beginnings

2010-02-16T22:50:00.004-05:00

Tonight we had our New Beginnings program for the Young Women. I have been working on putting it all together for a few months. Betsy Baugh got the theme idea for the night from her cousin who did it out in Utah. I took the idea and changed it all up. We called it NBA, New Beginnings Association. The night had a basketball theme. We treated it as if we were holding an NBA Draft. I sent out invitations that were basketballs and inside it said you are invited to the NBA Draft "New Beginnings Association". Each girl also got a program of the events of the night and at the back of the book it had a picture of each girl with their stats listed. A week before, Kristina and Nicole sprayed numbers on the back of white shirts and then we let the girls decorate their shirts and they all signed each others. The girls all wore them except for the new Beehives.

We have eight leaders, so Rachael spray painted a megaphone on white shirts for each of us. We each had a megaphone on our shirt with the value colors on. We were the cheerleaders for the night. I made a set of pom poms out of trash bags for each of us. The room was set up with 5 round tables on the outer edge and the girls were in chairs in the middle of the room and we as the cheerleaders were up in the front of the room. I made basketball centerpieces for each table. When it was time to start we turned the lights out and had two spots on. The girls were all in the hall and we as cheerleaders lined up at the front door. I had the jock jams cd that played as each girl was announced by the commissioner (Andy) who read off their stats as they ran out through the leaders into the room.

After the introductions the girls all sat up in front and each new beehive was drafted into the NBA and was given her shirt and a contract that she signed as well as the YW president and Bishop. We also gave them a large candy bar shaped like a dollar bill.

I had Bill Brown come to act as the paparazzi and take photos all night. Between the drafts we had a some speakers. The laurels each read a scripture that goes with each one of the values and the stake YW President, Nancy Goodyear spoke on what it means to be a member of the NBA or YW association. Our bishop spoke as well, and Kristina did a presentation on personal progress.

We had a half time show in which us as leaders performed a few cheers with the crowd. It was pretty silly to say the least. After all the new beehives were drafted we retired the jersey’s of the YW who received their medallion that year. We had them take the shirts off that they had made and we hoisted them up on the basketball rim and raised the rim up to the ceiling as music played and we cheered. For dessert we served popcorn in little bags, as if you got it from a concession stand at an NBA game.

I think the night turned out to be a success. I hope that the girls had a great time and that they felt appreciated. We as leaders had a fun time putting this on for the girls. We decided to do a pyramid after it was all over. The pictures all turned out so cute.

Big Snow Storm! 2/12/10-2/13/10

2010-02-13T23:42:00.004-05:00

We finally got enough snow to play in. The girls were so excited that they could actually play in it. The funny thing is the last few years when we have had a snow storm my sister, Jennifer, has been out of town and her kids have been down here staying with me and my mom. It has been great to have it happen that way because the cousins get to enjoy the snow together. This time we got several inches of snow and it was the perfect kind of snow.

The kids and adults were having a great time sledding down the hill.

I was also babysitting Jackson and Drake while Justin and Kristina were on a date so it was really fun to have them over to play in the snow. They were both so excited. The neighbors all started coming out and a huge snowball fight broke out. Andy was having a great time fighting with all the guys. After that Andy decided he wanted to make a toilet out of the snow. Only Andy and his brothers would think of making a TOILET instead of a snowman.

The next morning Grandma and Grandpa and the kids came back over to play. We had a fun time sledding down the side of the house. I had to take some funny pictures of Andy with his toilet.

Grandma decided that this year we needed to make a real snowman, "Idaho style". This snow man was over 6ft. tall. It turned out really cute. It took several guys to lift the snowballs up. It was really heavy.

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The kids, Grandma and I built two snow forts so that we could have a snowball fight. IT was pretty fun. Ethan looks forward to the huge hill that is behind the neighbors house that we have been sliding down the last few years. Him and Casey went down several times. We had a really fun time playing with friends and family. We love the snow.

Daddy Daughter Dance!

2010-02-06T18:28:00.006-05:00

What a night! Tonight I was fortunate to take my beautiful girls to the annual "Daddy Daughter Dance" at their school. This is always an exciting time for all. I truly love the opportunity that I have to be called Daddy. This is something that I treasure and it is experiences like tonight that remind me why I love it so much. To see the smiles on the girls faces as they not only danced with me but also danced with each other and some of their friends was priceless. This is truly what life is all about. I love being a daddy. My girls are my everything!

Megan's 2nd swim meet at South Dekalb!

2010-02-06T16:47:00.004-05:00

Today Megan has her second swim meet. We had to go to the YMCA in South Dekalb. We had to be early for warms up. After warm ups finished the meet was supposed to start. We ended up waiting about 2 hours because they couldn't get the heat sheets to print. It was so so hot in there and everyone was getting impatient. Grandpa took a nap, Lexi went to the snack stand and I ended up having to take Megan out to the lobby because her stomach was getting up set and she was overheating. Once the meet finally started Megan did really well. She swam the 200 Free relay, which I don't have the time for. Then she swam the Back stroke in the 200 Medley Relay and the team time was 3:37. Then she swam the 50 Free and her time was 1:02. She also did the 50 yard back stroke and her time was 1:05. She was exhausted by the time she was done. We are so proud of how well she is doing. No ribbons were handed out for this meet for some reason. This YMCA was not on top of their game, so we are not sure of her overall places. As soon as the meet was over Meg, Lex and daddy headed to the daddy daughter dance at school.

Megan's first swim meet

2010-01-23T15:59:00.005-05:00

Megan had her first swim meet today. She was really excited but nervous. She had to swim the 50 Free Style, 50 Back Stroke and the 200 Medely Relay. She did a really great job. Her time for her 50 free was 56.09 and she placed 7th over all. Her time for her 50 back was 1:02.59 a 17th place over all. Her Medley relay team time was 3:06.35 and they placed 1st over all. Grandma and Grandpa Cersey, Big Meg, Ellie Lex, Daddy, and I were all there to support her.

Megan starts swimming!

2010-01-08T23:59:00.000-05:00

Today is Megan's first day of swim practice. We enrolled her at the YMCA for year round swimming. She will be going 3 days a week for an hour. She is pretty excited about swimming.

A light Dusting of Snow!

2010-01-08T14:16:00.002-05:00

So here in the south a snow storm is few and far between. Last night it started to snow and we ended up with a really light dusting of snow. The girls were so excited and insisted on going out to play in it. I tried to explain to them that it would be difficult to actually play in it. Of course, I was just as excited to go out so we did and the girls tried to slide down the hill. It really didn't work but they still had a fun time.

Wedding Time!

2010-01-02T23:57:00.000-05:00

So it is time for another wedding. I love working on weddings with my mom. We have a great time working together, I have learned so much from her. It is nice that my dad and Andy are able to help as well. We are doing a reception for Rachael Fairclough. This wedding had a lot of Live flowers that mom had to arrange. She does an amazing job. We had to ride in the back of the car completely surrounded by flower arrangements that were already filled with water. It was pretty funny. The place looked beautiful and of course the food was amazing.

New Years Eve at the Shumway's

2009-12-31T14:17:00.000-05:00

We usually spend New Year's Eve with my parents but this year we were invited to go to a friends house. We thought we would go for a while and then go to my parents just before midnight, instead we decided to stay at the Shumways. We spent the night eating, dancing and playing games. We were having a fun time. The kids were so excited to see the peach drop. This is their favorite part of course. They were getting tired but managed to make it to midnight. We unfortunately did not get to see the ball drop, due to everyone else wanting to watch the crazy guy jump over a building or something like that with his car. My attempts to get the channel changed for my girls who had been waiting all night, did not work out (even though you can watch the stupid car jump a million time on ESPN) My girls were very sad and we had lots of tears but all in all we had a fun time. I'm pretty sure next year we will stick to what we know and go to my parents. I love my Rachel and I'm glad she invited us over.

Faking a smile so mommy could at least get one picture of them at midnight. We just said happy new year ourselves drank our sparkling cider and left.

The dreaded day has come! Jess turns 30!!!

2009-12-28T23:03:00.001-05:00

Well it is finally here. I turned thirty today. Turning thirty seems like no big deal but to me it was like the start of being old. Haha! My best friend Megan and my wonderful husband prepared a huge party for me. We had a great time. My cake was a GA Bulldog cake and we had the GA game on through out the party. We had lots of great food of course and played pool and just had a wonderful time being together as friends. People who came were Megan & Lee Bartlett, The Moore's, Ryan & Brindi Horsley, my sister Jana, Thyane & Rachael Shumway, Stacey Christian, Haley Flanders, my parents, Justin and Kristina Cersey, Scott and Dan Kaiser, Fernando Lobo, Brandon Earick, Mike & Betsy Baugh, and Patrick & Esther Andrade. All my favorite people were there. I love all my family and friends who made this a wonderful night for me.

Christmas Day

2009-12-25T23:09:00.001-05:00

I love Christmas Morning. We get up and read the birth of Christ in the scriptures together as a family before we let the girls go downstairs. This year grandma and grandpa Cersey came over to see the girls open their stockings and gifts. This was really exciting because they don't usually do that. The girls were very excited about all the fun things they got. Alexis was especially excited about her HSM doll house and her Hannah Montana roller skates. Meg was in love with her American Girl doll and wouldn't put her down.

After they opened their stockings we went up to the loft where their tree was and let them open their million presents. Happiness for sure filled the room.

As you can see Andy loves to make crazy faces in all his pictures.

Christmas with the Moore's
We have to BEST neighbors in the entire world. They are like family to us. This year Cherie bought Kevin a Flat Screen TV for his loft and asked us to keep it under our tree for him. He had no idea and was totally surprised. The kids enjoy exchanging gifts with Casey and Cierra. As you can see there are no pictures of me and Cherie which is fine by us. Cherie's sister Stacy was also here and came over for the fun. We really love the Moore's.

Christmas Eve

2009-12-24T23:09:00.002-05:00

We went back over to Grandma and Grandpa's house to have Christmas eve. Every year we let the kids open one gift on Christmas Eve. It has been a tradition for both Andy and myself since we were kids. In Andy's family they always got to open a new pair of PJ's, so that is what we do with our girls and each other. It has become a great tradition for our little family. Funny thing about Andy's gift was that he had lost his BYU sweatshirt several months ago and has been really bumbed about it. So that is what he wanted me to get him this year for his pj's. Well a few days before, I was over at my mom's and she had found a BYU sweatshirt in the front closet and wanted to know if I knew who's it was. I got so excited because Andy has been looking everywhere for it. So I decided to wrap it up with his pajama pants and stick a little note in the box that said "I FOUND IT" Needless to say he was very excited.

After we opened our pj's we let the kids give grandma a Paula Dean Cooking CD that Lexi had found and thought would make a great gift for grandma. We also gave them a Cocomotion Hot Chocolate maker. Grandma was so excited about it because she loves hot chocolate. We definitely tried it out tonight and it was awesome. The gift that my dad opened was one that I was very excited to give them. A few months ago I had the thought to ask the entire family one night at dinner if they would all write their testimonies down and send them to me. Once I received everyone's I compiled them all into a book and had it printed up. Each page had a picture and a testimony on it. It was so amazing to read them all and I believe it is a treasure that will last a lifetime.

When we got home it was time to feed the reindeer and leave some cookies out for Santa. Then we went up to bed and daddy read the girls "The Night Before Christmas." This was a great day.

Christmas Caroling with Friends

2009-12-21T23:54:00.001-05:00

Today we went Christmas Caroling with a group of our friends for Family Home Evening. Each family made a few plates of cookies and we went to several houses and sang for them a the kids handed them some cookies. We are so fortunate to have such great friends that we love dearly. The families we went with were Mike and Betsy Baugh and their 4 kids. Patrick and Esther Andrade and their two kids. Chuck and Jenn Dalton and their two kids. We had such a great time. Everyone looked so cute in their Christmas hats.

Cersey Family Christmas

2009-12-20T23:32:00.002-05:00

After Church we went over to mom and dads to have our family Christmas. The grand kids usually decorate a tree at grandma's house on Thanksgiving but since we were at Disney World we weren't able to do that. The kids always love decorating the tree with their cousins. This year we had several little helpers and to say the least we had a few broken ornaments. After the tree was all up the kids opened their gifts from each other and a few from grandma and grandpa. Part of our Christmas this year was our tickets to Disney World, but of course mom and dad still had stuff up their sleeves for more gifts. The kids were given two gift certificates, one for a shopping spree and one for a weekend with grandma and grandpa. They were very excited. Dad also wrote a poem which he usually does at every holiday. I love my family very much and feel lucky that we all live so close to each other so that we can make memories that will last forever.

Christmas Sunday

2009-12-20T10:16:00.000-05:00

I love taking pictures on Christmas Sunday. The girls always look so pretty in their Christmas dresses. This year my mom came over and helped me put up a second tree in our entryway. I put the one that the girls decorated up in the loft.

Tavaci Christmas Concert

2009-12-19T23:34:00.000-05:00

Another great Tavaci concert. This is really one of my favorite things in the world. I absolutely love watching my girls perform. It brings me great joy. I am so grateful to Betsy and Esther who make it possible for my girls to share their talents. Every year at our Christmas concert Santa comes for a visit. The girls are always so excited that Santa would come all the way from the North Pole just to see their concert. We love Santa.

Megan's Christmas Party

2009-12-18T10:30:00.001-05:00

Megan is in 4th grade this year. She is really enjoying it. She has made some good friends and is loving her teacher Ms. Conklin. We had a fun time with her at her class Christmas Party. Grandma was able to come and have fun with us.

Alexis Christmas Party

2009-12-16T10:04:00.000-05:00

Alexis is in 1st grade this year. She has a wonderful teacher Ms. Fisher. She is having a great year so far. She loves playing with all her friends and getting tons of attention from her teacher. We had a fun time at her class Christmas Party.

Megan's projct on South Carolina

2009-12-16T09:55:00.001-05:00

Megan had to do a project on South Carolina this year. Megan is in 4th grade and she is loving school. She has a wonderful teacher in Ms. Conklin. Megan had a fun time doing this project with her daddy.

YW Christmas Party

2009-12-15T22:36:00.001-05:00

I recently got called as 1st counselor in the YW's presidency. The really cool thing is that my sister in law Kristina is the 2nd counselor and our President is her mother MaryAnn. We are keeping it all in the family to say the least. Our advisers are Betsy Baugh who works with Kristina, Laura Kaiser who works with me, and Rachael Shumway who works with MaryAnn and we have Nicole Wood as our secretary. I am really excited about this new calling. I love being with the youth. We decided to have a Christmas party with all the girls for our joint activity for December. We all got together at my house and had some yummy food and then we had a White elephant gift exchange. It was fun, the girls brought some silly things. I ended the night off by reading a poem called The White Stocking. I put the words to the poem on a scroll and rolled it up and placed it in a white stocking and gave one to each of the girls. I think that the night went pretty well.

The White Stocking
`Twas the night before Christmas as I walked through the house,
Not a creature was stirring, not even a mouse.
The presents had been wrapped and placed under the tree,
I paused, tired, excited, and then giggled with glee.
The stockings were hanging and were beautifully filled,
No one had been forgotten, though the credit card was billed.
As I looked at the scene with the stockings on the ledge,
I noticed one empty, the one on the edge.
Where's the Spirit of Christmas – What have I done?
The children's stockings are full, except for this one.
It was the stocking intended for the child of Bethlehem.
The white stocking for Jesus that was hung up by them.
Of all the people at Christmas, that might be forgotten
How could I not remember the Fathers Only Begotten?
Only He had been left out of the festivities,
As we planned and prepared all, for our families.
As I pondered, I realized this just was not right!
It was His birth that was being celebrated, after this night.
I resolved then and there to remember The Lord,
And quickly made changes that were easy to afford.
I hung the white stocking in a special place in our home,
And corrected the atmosphere to provide a more spiritual tone.
On Christmas morning I gathered the family together,
And each of us wrote on a special piece of paper.
We gave Jesus a gift which we placed in the stocking,
A sincere change of heart, not there for the mocking.
The white stocking hung in our home as a symbol for us,
Of the true meaning of Christmas – the Savior, The Lord Jesus.
So take your white stocking and hang it with pride,
Remember the Savior, put his gift inside.

Tavaci at The Bridge Assisted Living Center

2009-12-09T22:27:00.000-05:00

Each year the girls get to go to The Bridge Assisted Living Center for a performance. It is always so fun to go and see all the elderly get so excited about the kids singing. We have been going for several years now so it is cool to see familiar faces when we go. The girls always enjoy this performance.

Here comes the tooth fairy!

2009-12-09T21:47:00.001-05:00

Alexis finally lost her very first tooth. She was so excited. She thought this day would never come.

Alexis 7th Birthday

2009-12-05T16:31:00.002-05:00

This year for Alexis Birthday she wanted to have a slumber party. We borrowed the Cano's projector and big projection screen and put it up in the loft. We bought a bunch of snacks and let all the girls just pig out. They had a really fun time eating and watching movies. Her friends that came were Cierra Moore, Ellie Cano, Megan Dollar, Savannah Baugh, Emily Cano, Alyssa Baugh, and Natalia Andrade.

Tavaci Performance at Harbins Elementary

2009-12-05T16:24:00.001-05:00

Today the girls had a performance at Harbins Elementary to prepare for their upcoming concert. They always look so cute in their costumes. They love performing and being in Tavaci.

Afro Hair

2009-12-04T16:10:00.000-05:00

I braided the girls hair while we were at Disney World so that it would stay out of their face. This is what they looked like when I took all the braids out.

Locate the Bishopric

2009-12-01T16:02:00.001-05:00

It has been a tradition since I was a youth that the YM/YW have a Locate the Bishopric at the mall activity. The bishopric try to disguise themselves and walk around the mall and the youth have to try to find them all. Since Andy is the executive secretary he got to participate this year. We turned him into a poly with tattoos. We had a fun time getting him ready. He looked pretty scary and even scared a few of the youth. There was also a group of ladies clinging onto their purses in fear that he was going to mug them. It was pretty funny.

Decorating Christmas Tree

2009-11-30T11:13:00.000-05:00

I love watching the girls decorate the Christmas tree. It is one of my favorite things. We play loud Christmas music and just let them put the decorations one right on top of the other.

Thanksgiving Week at Disney World

2009-11-28T12:36:00.006-05:00

The time for a family vacation has come. This years vacation was over Thanksgiving week with the entire Cersey clan. We all took off to a place that is “Magical” for all ages. That’s right! We went to Disney World for an entire week. Below you will find pictures by day of what we did.

On the way down to Orlando it is a tradition anytime that we travel to Florida we stop at Dairy Queen to get a blizzard. This was a highlight every time that my wife used to go see her grandma and grandpa as she was growing up so we’ve kept that tradition with our children. We arrived in Orlando and got settled in the great home that we were fortunate enough to stay in thanks to some good family friends.

Day 2 was spent at Magic Kingdom. This was a day full of teacups, Dumbo, 3-D Shows, Peter Pan, Racetracks, Buzz Lightyear, and many other activities.

Day 3 was the Sabbath so we all know what to do on vacation on Sunday, RELAX!!! That’s what we all did. Jess spent along time braiding the girls hair so that we wouldn’t have to worry about doing it the rest of the week. What a great idea.

Day 4 we were off to MGM. Jess & Kristina thought they were all that with their cool fanny packs. The favorite ride here at MGM, was the Aerosmith Rockin Roller Coaster. We were able to witness one of the coolest stunt shows that there is. We saw Light’s, Motor’s, Action! Extreme Stunt Show. This was 33 minutes of high-octane excitement! Then I was selected to be a special guest in the parade with my girls favorite float, “High School Musical”. Zac Efron has nothing on me and my top hat.

Day 5 was day two of Magic Kingdom in which we rode the ferry over to the park, saw Mickey and Minnie’s houses, pulled the sword from the stone, and watched one of the most amazing firework shows you could see. Yes that is the one on Main Street over Cinderella’s Castle. This was a long day and plenty of tired girls.

Day 6 was a stormy one in which we all went our own ways to whatever park we wanted to go to. The girls wanted to go back to Magic Kingdom again and so we have day three of the same park. This was one of the best days in that we as a family got to spend it all together all by ourselves and just ran as hard as we could. Teacups, It’s a Small World, RaceTrack, Buzz Lightyear, The Princess signing event, Space Mountain, Splash Mountain, and much more. As you can see from the pictures the girls were exhausted again.

Day 7 was Thanksgiving in which we took off early in the morning and went to Animal Kingdom. Events that we did were An African Safari, Lion King Show, Jurasic Park Ride, and the favorite of ALL “EVEREST”. After spending the morning at Animal Kingdom we all went back to the house for our Thanksgiving Dinner and the long needed RELAX time. It’s been a tradition for grandpa to write a song for the kids to learn and perform for the adults so he wrote, “The Turkey Wobble.” Oh yeah there was Thanksgiving day football and the Macy’s Day Parade as well. Thanks mom for the yummy food.

Day 8 was our cultural experience as we took off to Epcot. We visited many countries and partook of many cultural experiences. The girls had a great time visiting these areas of the different countries. We then stayed for another great firework show that was over the water of the lake in the middle of the park. Alexis really loved the show as she fell asleep before it started and even stayed asleep during the loud noises that were made. Everyone was freezing cold but all had a great time.

Day 9 was the final day in the parks. Today we went to Animal Kingdom again and the kids wanted to ride Everest multiple times. We also went and saw the Finding Nemo musical, A Bugs Life 3-D show, and ate at the Rain Forest Café. What a great time all had as we built memories that will last a lifetime. Thanks mom and dad Cersey for providing the opportunity for such a wonderful time.

Andy and Esther's Disco Birthday Party

2009-11-14T15:27:00.000-05:00

This year for Andy's 33rd birthday we decided to have a Disco Party. One of our good friends Esther was having a birthday as well so we made it a combinded Birthday Party. Of course I went over baord with my vision and we turned Mike Baugh's work wearhouse into a disco dance room. We had Herold Galvez come and DJ it for us. We had so much fun dancing the night away and we were able to put our halloween costumes to good use. We had a ton of people there and most everyone dressed up so I was pretty happy about that.

Halloween 2009

2009-10-31T15:16:00.000-04:00

This year we went Trick Or Treating in my parents neighborhood with my parents and with the Baugh's. We ended up running in to Justin and Kristina as well. They were with her parents. We had a fun night. Mike drove us around in the back of his SUV. The kids had lots of fun with their friends.

Trunk or Treat

2009-10-30T11:07:00.000-04:00

This year for Halloween The girls and their Grandma Cersey dressed up as Dalmatians and Cruella De Vil. My mom actually made the costumes for them. They turned out so cute. Every year we go to the trunk or treat at church. They always do a costume parade. This year mom and the girls won for the best over all costumes. Mom had them on leashes while they walked around the parade. It was awesome. Mom's makeup looked so good. The kids also had a fun time playing games and trick or treating around the building. For Halloween Andy and I dressed up as Disco people with the Baughs and the Andrades. Andy had a football game tonight so he wasn't able to come.

Costumes to School

2009-10-30T10:59:00.000-04:00

This year for Halloweeen Grandma Cersey made the girls Dalmation Dresses. She also made herself a Cruella De Vil Costume. The girls were able to wear them to school. They loved it.

Randy's Pumpkin Patch

2009-10-28T21:27:00.001-04:00

We have been going to Randy's Pumpkin Patch since the girls were tiny. They always enjoy going and playing with the bunnies. This year we have been receiving a lot of rain so it was pretty muddy there but that didn't stop the girls from playing.

Carving Pumpkins

2009-10-26T17:19:00.001-04:00

Carving Pumpkins is always a fun family activity. Daddy helped Megan and I helped ALexis. Getting the seeds out is not really fun for me so I try to stay away from that part of it. The kids had a great time.

Halloween Party at cersey's

2009-10-24T15:54:00.002-04:00

It's time for our annual halloween party at Grandma and Grandpa Cersey's house. The kids look forward to this all year long. Grandma makes this day so fun for the kids and the parents.

Grandma made some really cute things this year to eat.

The kids having fun in the dress up room.

I think the adults might have had more fun in the dress up room, as you can see here.

Having fun in the jumper with Grandpa.

Doing some fun crafts and getting their face painted.

The haunted house this year was bigger and better. Grandma added the office room in as well. Also, most of the adults had a place in it as well. I was dressed as a witch with a mask, and I sat at the entrance of the haunted house when they first came in I was holding an ax and moving it toward them. Grandma was hiding in a box in the office like a jack in the box and jumped out at them. Grandpa was the mad scientist that had them try eating some crazy treats. Albert was dressed with a scary mask and was hiding in a closet with a strobe light and really scared the kids. Justin was the best. As you can see in the pictures he is lying in the bathtub which we covered to look like a coffin. He was in all black so the kids couldn’t tell he was real. There was a treasure box on the top of the toilet for them to get some candy. As they came in the bathroom, Justin dropped a ghost on their heads which he was holding with a fishing wire. Then as they tried to get a treat he would slam closed the box, all the while the kids still didn’t know he was there. Then he would jump out at them. He was for sure the best. As they exited the Haunted House Andy was standing with a leaf blower and turned it on and really scared them because they thought it was all over. We sent the kids in one at a time so they could experience the entire thing. We did have some tears this year.

Next it was time to decorate pumpkins and Homemade Gingerbread houses. The kids always have fun with this part.

Now it was time to have the donut eating contest. This is always so funny.

Megan and Ellie were the winners.

Justin brought it home for the adults.

We decided that we would do one last trick on the kids. Me and Jenn took them all out to the jumper and we had Andy dress up in a scary costume. It was dark out by now so it was hard to see outside. Andy came running down the hill with a real chain saw and it scared to kids so bad I thought they were going to pass out. Of course both my girls were crying and I had to tell them it was just daddy. Needless to say they were mad at him for the next little while. He did look really scary.

To finish off the night we played some limbo.

Alexis photo shoot!

2009-10-18T15:51:00.001-04:00

Alexis always loves taking Pictures!

Apple Picking

2009-10-17T15:56:00.002-04:00

We decited we would take the kids to go pick apples with their cousins and grandparents. We drove all the way up to the North Ga Mountains. When we finally got there and paid to go in the orchard we found out that there were basically only baking apples left to pick. So we played in the orchard for a few minutes and took the kids back into the store and let them fill there bags up from the shelf. Not as great as atually picking them off the tree but we wanted apples that would taste good! The kids still had a really fun time. After we were finished we all went and ate lunch together. It was a really fun day.

Pumpkin Patch with The Moore's

2009-10-10T15:31:00.000-04:00

This year we decided to go to the pumpkin patch with our neighbor's the Moore's (Kevin, cherie, Casey and Cierra. We went to the place they always go out in Athens. The kids had a fun time. I finally got Casey to let me take his picture even though he was not very excited about it. After the kids ran through the fields we walked over to where they were having PIG races. The kids thought this was hilarious. It was pretty funny to watch and it was stinky! We had a great time.

Grayson Football

2009-10-09T15:25:00.001-04:00

Andy and I got the chance to go to a couple Grayson Football games and watch from the side lines. We had a great time. It is very fun to watch a game from the 2 yard line.

Thundercat Double Header

2009-10-06T15:08:00.002-04:00

We finally had our last 2 thundercat games. We had a double header tonight. We played Auto N Autio and Hungry Hippos. We really didn't do very good but we always have a fun time playing together with our friends.

Megan Citizen of the Month!

2009-10-02T14:16:00.000-04:00

Megan got citizen of the month at school for "Goal Setting". She was relly exited about it. It is always fun to go see the kids get an award and then we get to enjoy a cinnamon roll and some orange Juice with them.