I admit it, I do not keep good family memory records like a journal or an updated blog.  If I were to be gone from this earth tomorrow, my girls (and future children) would have no record of our family memories especially since they are so young.  Colby and I agree that he will not remember all the details and stories.

My SIL Cori shared a blog with me today about a family who recently lost their mother (who was an avid family blogger) and the dad was left with three little kiddos.  As I was reading the blog post he wrote to his wife after she passed (which was so sweet), I scrolled down to some of her last couple posts all about her kids and family. Then...It hit me, that blog (which dated back quite a period of time) will be treasured by that family forever.

From this day forward, I will devote sometime to show my family for now and the future my love for them through trying my best to record our family happenings.  I know that I have to start somewhere, so to not feel overwhelmed by the length of time I have not blogged, I will start here and go forward.  I will back post about big events as time allows for our family records.

 Plus, everyone (friends and family) keeps bugging me about updating my blog...
Love to all, Lori

We went camping at Devils Den all weekend (Sat-Mon) with our friend Wade (Nicole, his wife went out of town for a wedding...p.s. we missed you) and their kids Nora (Calie's best friend) and baby Audrey.  

It rained here and there (I didn't carry the camera around much due to the rain but below are some) but it was still a lot of fun...lounging, hiking, eating, playing cards (Guthrie's...thanks for coming out to play cards)...you know...all the fun things about camping!

As Colby was taking down our tent, Calie asked "daddy, when we going camping again?"  

Great Weekend!

 

  

 

  

 

MOMS and GRANDMAS...We hope you find this post filled with love and we hope it warms your heart on Mother's Day and everyday knowing of our love for you. You are thought of everyday!

Colby and Calie gave me lots of love on Mother's Day!..

Oh, and a yummy Cold Stone Creamery Cake...so good!

 

 

Easter Morning before Church...The Easter bunny came to visit at our house :)...

 

Our first attempt will Calie to dye eggs...(I forgot to take pics our cool finished eggs)...

A fun egg hunt at some friends house...

 

I am so excited!!! I have officially caught up our family blog since last summer all the way with my latest picture I took last weekend!!! I can’t believe I actually did it…well I’ll have to admit it took a few late nights :) I wasn’t going to go back that far but so many fun and memorable events have happened. I really wanted just for the sake of record keeping for our family. I hope you enjoy seeing what our family has been up to the last 6 months or so…not that I expect you to look at it all. I love looking at those of you that have blogs, those that are near and far… Lots of Love, Lori (and Colby and Calie)

Last weekend I bought Calie her first board game...one of my favorites growing up...CANDYLAND!!! I think she really liked the idea of this game thinking there was really candy involved...it took her a second of playing the first game to get the game... Calie was so excited every time we drew a card and moved the spaces...she squealed every move and would get excited for us whatever color we drew... On Saturday afternoon, we played one game as a family, two games just Calie and I, and two games with Grandma Suz the next day. We played by the rules and guess what? Calie won all five games. One of us others would be ahead and then she would pull ahead to win. Colby said that I handled losing well...Thanks Daddy!

I think Calie is a beach bum even in Arkansas!

I kept asking Calie what kind of party she wanted for her birthday...I gave a few choices of her favorite things...Dora the Explorer, Little Mermaid, or Tinkerbell...She kept insisting Tinkerbell! I made green tulle tutus for all her little friends (and one peter pan hat for her only boy friend), we had good food and I bought a delicious cake from a great bakery in town (actually the lady just won a Food Network Cake Challenge)..., a fun pinata, and Calie and her friends all made green glittery wands to compliment there tutus. I know she is only 3 but it seemed as though they had a fun time in all the chaos and good times... Calie was blessed with a lot of great gifts, all of which she has continued to play with and enjoy! Mommy & Daddy gave Calie a new Dora scooter for her birthday...I did not expect her to love it as much as she does! Colby assembled it that afternoon and for days & days, she would not walk anywhere in the house. If I asked her to go get something, she would say, "Okay mommy, I go get in on my scooter!" or if I asked her to put something away, she would put it in her Dora backpack on her scooter and wheel away. Even to this day, she rides it everyday, she will take it with her often to the bead store and ride up and down in front of the store, she rides it in the driveway, and around the house still. It is great to see she loves it that much!

After 10 years of marriage...we agreed we needed to celebrate!

We wanted to do something fun, affordable, and somewhat close to home...Colby suggested we go the ski resort right outside of Kansas City "Snow Creek Peak Resort"...Colby asked if I wanted to ski or snowboard...I told to him he should know what I like and what I am capable of learning (I have neither done either; remember I am used to the sand under my feet with the offshore breeze against my face :)... Colby chose snowboarding and I said "Sure!"... We left for our Kansas City hotel (which was very nice) Friday afternoon, snowboarded Sat & Sun and ventured back home Mon afternoon...Thanks again to all of our loved ones who took care of Calie while we enjoyed some time away...we definitely missed her but had a blast as well...It was hard to take pictures when you are all bundled up...Here are the few that we took...

The one and only picture of us together on our trip!

me making my way down hill...notice the snow on my behind...i'll have to admit it was there quite often on our trip...as sore as I was, I have to say that I had a blast!

Colby waiting to get on a lift...So Fun!

As many of you know, we (Arkansas, Kentucky and Tennessee) were blasted with a major ice storm end of January...doesn't sound like it could be that bad...I have never seen anything like it...I heard a few people say it looked a little like Narnia...A thick glaze of ice (upwards of three inches) and heavy snow snapped trees and tree limbs causing them to fall onto homes and power lines. Over 300,000 homes and businesses in Arkansas lost electricity during this storm system.