Christmas Eve

We always have the privilege of having Santa come pay a visit at the Trayner family Christmas eve party and here are a few pictures from the party. There is one picture that I did not get taken and that was of Jordyn doing a little dance performance for the entire family while Santa and Skylar led us all in singing "Jingle Bells." It was so funny, but I did get it on video.Here is Alexis with Santa. Last year she was terrified of him. This year she was his best friend.

I wondered how Jordyn would do, but I should have known she would love him just like every other person she sees.

Alexis is just chillin with her cousins, This was such a cute picture I wanted to put it on.

This is from my family party the night before Christmas Eve. We make matching jams for all the cousins on my side of the family. They all turned out so cute. I even had extra material so I made Rusty a pair of matching pajama pants, but I didn't make him wear them with the kids. :)

Lovly Leaves

I think the leaves in fall are so much fun. I wanted to post these fun pictures a long time ago back when I took then around Halloween, but my computer was having issues. I just want to give a shout out to Ryan. Thank you for helping our poor computer. It is working better.
I always liked playing in the leaves as a child. My brothers and I use to make trails and mazes and play tag in the trails. It was a lot of fun. My kids aren't quite big enough for that yet, but they definitely know how to jump in a pile of leaves like champs.

Halloween

Halloween was a lot of fun this year we had a last minute party with some of our friends and then Kara and Jake invited some of their friends. It was fun to have a night without the kids. Unfortunately I don't have any pictures from that party Kara was the photographer that night.

The sunday before Halloween we had a big Halloween party with Rusty's side of the family. All the kids had a great time. There were all sort of fun activites for the kids that Rusty's cousin had put together for the kids. It was fun to see everyone in their costumes. Above is a picture of Grandma Hughes with all her grandkids and Kara all dressed up in their costumes.

Jordyn had a lot of fun playing with Great Nanna and Great Grandpa Forest. She is such a love bug and will play with anyone that will show any attention.

Here is aour family in our costumes. For those who can't tell what we are, we have Indiana Jones, Bo Peep, a sheep, the Headless Horseman and I was a Ridell High cheerleader. This year a was feeling domestic and thought I would save a few bucks and make the girls costumes. I was very excited with how they turned out and I think I might give it a try again next year depending on what they choose to be for Halloween.

This is the cake that I made for the Halloween party. I was very happy with how it turned out so I wanted to show it off.

The kids had a really good time trick-or-treating. Some lasted longer than others. The girls had a great time going around in my mom's neighborhood. Alexis kept saying "I want another" so we would go on to the next house. But she didn't last too long once we met up with Carter and Daddy at home. We went around our neighborhood with the neighbor and that was a lot of fun.

Meg, send me an invite to your Blog

New York

So, I had the privilege of going to New York for a few days with my Mother in law and Rusty's sister's at the beginning of the month. It was so much fun to get a break from real life and go play in New York City. We had such a good time. I definitely want to go back again. He are already planning a trip in a few years when our girls are a little older to take them out there. This is a picture of Kara and I in Time Square.

We went and saw a few Broadway shows while we were out there. We saw "Grease" the first night "Lion King" the second night and "Equux" the last night we were there. They were all very good in there own ways. "Lion King" was amazing and I would recommend anyone who goes to New York you have to see that one if you don't see any others. The costumes were incredible and the stage and scenery was so neat. This is a picture of me next to the costume for Scar.
We went on a boat ride that took us down and around the Statue of Liberty. This is a pictures of me and the girls.

And here is Lady Liberty. That is a neat city. I love visiting it, but I would never want to live there. I'm not a city liver. I like being in the suburbs.

We spent the whole day in the airport Sunday trying to get home, because we were flying stand by and it was a tight flight and it is priority and then first come. So we wanted to be the first signed in. The flight wasn't as tight on Saturday, but 4 ticket sold late on Saturday night, which according to Sheay never happens. So then we were sweating it and wishing we would have gone home Saturday. Anyway, After sitting in the airport for 2 hours so we could be first to checking we then had to hang out in the airport for 4 more hours till our flight left to find out if we were going to make it on the flight. While waiting i saw my Mom and Dad. Of all the places to run into your parents, in an airport in New York. They were flying home from a cruise they had been on and were on the same flight as me. After talking to them we found out they missed their flight the day before and my parents and their friends were the four tickets that were sold for our flight the night before. Needless to say we were the last people allowed on the flight and actually one of would have not made the flight and been stuck in New York because there were not enough seats. Luckily Sheay works for the airline and she could sit with the flight attendants. So we made it home and I was able to see my family that I missed very much. And I couldn't believe how much older Alexis seemed after not seeming her for 4 days.

Happy Birthday Jordyn

Jordyn, it is hard to think it has already been a year since you were born. This last year has gone by so fast and you have brought so much joy into our lives. We love you so much. You are so sweet and fun. You have a contagious smile and I love your giggle. You have such a fun personality. You are such a cuttle bug and you warm the heart of anyone who comes in contact with you.
You want to be just like your big sister and you watch her very closely. Lately you have tried to do summersaults because Alexis has recently figured out how. And you younger age and little size keep you out od the game. You think you are just as big as the rest of your cousins and will get in there and play with them all. You are such a tease and you love to chase. You are always so excited when Carter comes home for the weekend because you two are buddies.
We love you so very much are so glad you are a part of our family.




On Jordyn's birthday saturday we had a little Birthday Party for our little girl. They had a lot of fun decorating cookies and eating them and then there was the always popular cake and ice cream after we sang to the birthday girl. Mommy tried to get to make you a great cake, but it didn't turn out as great as she had pictured it in her head. Oh well if it didn't look great, it sure tasted good.



As you can see Jordyn liked the cake she dove right into it. She wasn't too thrilled when great grandma started to wipe off her face. Hance the not so happy face. But she was getting a little crazy with the cake and hitting people around her with it.





Present time. She really got into opening her presents and had a great time playing with them all as well. She had a really great birthday. It makes me sad to see her grow up so fast but happy too becasue this is such a fun age.


We love you Jordyn!

Disneyland

September 13, 2008 was marked the day we start of our Hughes

family vacation to Disneyland. After much planning and negotiations we were able to get all the planning settled for this date. We were going to go on a trip with Rusty's whole family plus three extras. It was going to be a group of 19 people flying to California on stand by and staying in two hotel rooms. But the week before the trip Rusty's dad got sick and had to have surgery. So He and Sue were not going to make it.

The kids were so excited Carter felt as though he had been waiting for this trip forever and now we were on our way. Alexis and Jordyn got to fly in a plane for the first time. They did very well, except Alexis did get a little antsy toward the end of the flight. Hauling all our stuff and children through the airport was interesting, but we made it to our hotel without too much trouble.

The first few nights we had 13 people in out hotel room, but it was a nice sized room. It had three queen beds and two queen pull out couches. The kids thought it was so cool how they were all living together and did their usually chasing around.

Sunday was the first day that we all went to Disneyland. It was so much fun. It is so fun to watch how excited your kids get over all the characters and the rides. This was the fist ride we went to when we got into the park, The Jungle Cruise. And here are pictures of the whole group Sheay and Brady are barely in there.

Alexis loved every character she say and would run up and give them big hugs. There are many pictures we couldn't even get her to turn around in because she just wanted to hug them all. Jordyn on the other hand was not a real fan of the characters. She did give Winnie the Pooh a kiss on the nose, but for the most part she wanted nothing to do them. And as for Carter, well he decided he has gotten to big to care too much about the charaters and he was all about the rides. This was the first time he has come to Disneyland and could ride everything. He was pretty excited about that.

Jordyn and Alexis loved the main street parade they were so excited to see all the fun floats and characters and animals. Alexis liked it so much that was the last thing she wanted to do the last might we were at Disneyland.

Monday we took a break from Disney and drove down to Sea World. I was worried how the kids would do with all the shows, but they were really good and enjoyed watching the three we saw. Here is Carter Posing with a seal.

Here is Jordyn Touching a sting ray. the kids all thought that was pretty cool. They liked the way it felt

And here are Carter, Cameron and Alexis looking at eels. Those were some funky looking creatures.

Alexis found more characters to love in Sea World's Sesame land. Jordyn wasn't really loving that. But she did love the water as it pelted her in head. I pulled her out of it a few times beacause it didn't look pleasant. But once I let her go she would go right back to it. She was soaked and loving it.

We went to Goofy's kitchen for dinner one night and the kids got to meet a lot of characters and dance every few minutes and bang pots and pans. That was a lot of fun for everyone.

Here is our happy family on the Tea Cups. That was one ride everyone liked a long with six or seven others as well. Overall we had a great trip and a great time. We can't wiat to try to go back again in another few years.

Koosheram

Labor Day weekend, is the traditional Hughes family getaway. We all had a really good time. Is was pretty crapped quarters, but I think it was good for every one to be so near and dear. We had a mere 18 people living in a four bedroom "cabin". It was cozy. :) Anyway we got to play a lot of games and ride four wheelers. We were so excited, it was the first time both of our four wheelers were working since we had gone camping last year. I am so proud of Carter he has become a lot more comfortable on the four wheeler. He was a wild man out there. He tried taking it over a few hills and attempted to jump it and he became really good at doing doughnuts. I love to see that. I child after my own heart.Alexis and Brady were also big fans. We couldn't keep those two off the bikes.
And if they weren't on them they were watching other people riding them. It will be fun to watch Alexis ride when she gets a little older. We might have to start looking into finding her a four wheeler of her own for next summer.

The kids all have soooo much fun playing together and having each other around and they love their auntie Kara and Jake.
This is a tradition that has gone on as long as I have been in the family and I really hope it will conyinue for years to come. I really think it is neat how close the family is and that we do so much together.

She's a walker

She likes to use the kitchen stools as a walker.

It is now official. Jordyn can walk. She has been doing it for a week now. She really started doing it a lot when we were out of town with Rusty's family for the Labor Day weekend. She really wants to be able to run around with all the rest of those kids surrounding her. She really knows how to hold her own. She is still a little unbalanced, but she is still trying to be able to get better.

To go back to the part about her holding her own. It is fun to watch her interact with her cousins and sister. She is quite the tease and she will tease those older kids and thinks she is so funny. She will sometime bring them to tears when she takes food from them. What can I say, she is a hungry growing girl. I feed her, I promise, but the way she eats you might wonder.

She will now give you a big sloppy open mouth kiss if you ask for one, but beware she does not stop at just one. She will usually give you two or three more after that. And she is so lovey and snuggly with everyone. Whenever she sees someone new she always wants that person to hold her and she will snuggle right up to them and give them a hug. It is so cute. She didi that to my cousin Alex the other day when we were at my Grandma's and he didn't quite know what to do. (He isn't around little babies much) It was pretty funny.

At this point in her life as well she has some obssesion with sippy cups. She loves them and tries to get her hands on any one that she sees. She has not mastered the art of drinking from a sippy cups, but is improving. She usually ends up drenched in whatever beverage was in the cup. SHe is such a content and chill little girl as well. She is such a fun addition to our famiy.

oh yes, and did I happen to mention she is the cleanest kid I have ever seem. (I wish)

Baby Steps

Jordyn is getting so close to walking. It is so much fun to watch her. She gets so excited when she stands up all by herself. Her new game she likes to play with Alexis is she stands up and then falls over on Alexis. They both think that is so funny. There have benn three or four different times when she has taken one step and then flops to me or Rusty, but last night she took 3 steps before she flopped onto Alexis's bed. And she thought she was pretty cool stuff especially because I was cheering for her and making such a big deal about it. So she thought she would try it again and well, she only took one step and flopped, but was not close enough to the bed and hit her head. I really hope she doesn't stop trying because of that. If she keeps this up she will be walking by next week. She is growing up so fast. I love this age when they start being able to really show their personality.

Happy Birthday Carter!

Yesterday was your Birthday and you turned 7 years old. Your birth was a long awaited event. There were many people that were excited for you to come. You were to be the first grandchild on both sides of your family and the first great grandchild on daddy's side of the family as well. It took some persuasion to get you out. After 26 hours of labor they finally broke out the vaccuum and forsepts and you finally were here, Carter Brian Hughes.

I can't believe how big you are getting. It seems like it was only two or three years ago when you and daddy came into my life and now it has been five. You were only two years old when we first met, and you were such a doll. That is such a fun age watching you learn and discover new things.

Now look at you. You are so old. :) You just started 2nd grade last week and you are still learning and discovering new things. You are such a smart little guy. You do very well in school. You are a very good big brother to your sisters and they love you so much. They are always so excited when you come home. You love to play video games as does every little boy your age.

You like Ninja Turtles, Spiderman, Batman and anything related to Star Wars. You play currently play baseball and football and have recently decided you would like to try basketball.

You are a very good swimmer and you spend as much time in Grandma's pool as you can. You are so lucky to have such a big family and so many people in this world that love you.

-Happy Birthday Carter, Love Kristen

Catch up

I quick update of the things we have done.
-24th of July we spent the time shopping for Daddy's birthday and cleaning for a BBQ at our house. That evening we had family over. We had a really good time and then once almost everyone left we lit fireworks with neighbors.
-The 24th weekend we went camping and boating with half of Rusty's family up at Strawberry Reseviour. He had a lot of fun. Carter, Seth, and Grandma all were brave and rode the tube and the rest of the adults did too. We mad enchiladas in the dutch oven for the first time and they turned out really good. I was really pleased with that.
-Last week Jordyn got her second tooth and she now say "hi". It is so cute.
-Alexis has started to talk in much more full and correct sentences lately. It is funny to hear her talk like that.
-We also bought Alexis a 2 wheel bike which she loves and hates, depending on the day.
-I just started to sell Lia Sophia. LAst Friday was my first party and it went pretty well. I am really excited to start this new adveture. And I hope it will be seccessful in the near future.
-I know there are more things I just can't think of them right now, but that is the jist of our last few weeks.

Obsession

Okay so it had been awhile since I have done a new entry on my blog. I am sorry to say I temporarily have a new obsession. It is the Twilight Saga. I have been very involved with reading the books. I have never been much of a reader due to lack of interest, I can't really ever find a book that really grabs my attention. This one had me from the very beginning. And two I just don't usually have that kind of time. But I have made an exception for these books. I have to admit my house isn't as clean as usual and I haven't done many projects with my kids lately, but I think they are surviving alright. I am currently on the 3rd book and will soon be reading the 4th I'm sure. So I may come back to blogging more regularily soon.

Mischievous

I have to say Alexis is quite the wild child and love to get into things she knows she should not get into. And at this time in her life she loves lotion. So she is very excited anychance she get to put lotion on.

Well Sunday afternoon the girls were sleeping and Rusty and I went down to play Xbox with Carter and when we came upstairs this is what we found.

Doesn't she look lovely? One of her favorite spots to put lotion on is her neck for some reason and aparently her feet now too. Unfortunely this wasn't regular lotion. It was Desitin. Have you ever smelled that it does not smell good, it is diaper cream for heaven sakes. She didn't only put the lotion on herself. She also put it on the wall, window, the stairs and on out brand new couches. And my entire house smelled like diaper creme, yummy. It was pretty funny and it cleaned up pretty good, so I couldn't really get mad at her. Seriously, who could get mad at that sweet face?

The Dentist

Alexis got to go to the dentist for the first time on Thursday, last week. She was pretty excited to go and had a good time playing in the waiting room. I was a little worried how she would do when they were going to do her x-rays. But I had nothing to worry about. She did great! She was such a big girl sitting there with that heavy vest on and holding that thing in her mouth.

What she didn't like that got her kind of nervous was the chair as it reclined. And then the dentist tooth brush. She was not a fan of that at all. They were only able to clean her four bottom front teeth. So she was less than excited to sit in the seat to let the Dentist look at her teeth. But, He was able to count her teeth and to notice that her mouth will most likely be too small for her grown up teeth. And we all know what that means, braces. Well at least he let us know now so we can start saving up.

She did like holding the dentist's little mirror and at the end she got to pick a prize which she thought was pretty cool. It must not have been that bad, because later that day she was asking to go to the dentist again.

First Tooth

We are excited to announce Jordyn got her first tooth and turned 9 months old on friday. I was surprised because she didn't act really whiney or anything like that. She has been a little slower than Alexis when it comes to getting her teeth, but she it sure a lot quicker when it come to crawling and possibly walking. Jordyn had been getting pretty daring in trying to stand up and balance on her own. She is so much fun. She is such a sweet baby. She seems to be much more mellow than Alexis. She loves to laugh and eat anything that is near her, even if it is a leaf. She is a silly little girl.

She is by no means a clean eater. She really gets into her food.

The Big News

Sorry to keep you all in suspense like that. And for those of you that were wondering, no Jordyn did not take her first step and no I am not pregnant, unfortunately. I wish. Anyway, The big news is we got a new car this last week. I am so excited. You are looking at the proud owner of a slightly used 2004 Honda Pilot. I have always liked them, but now that I have been driving it for a few days I love it. I can't tell you how happy I am to have this beauty.







I do have to say I was really sad to say goodbye to my jeep. I loved that car and it was a great car for me. That car had been through a lot with me. The last eight years with that jeep had been great. We have made many memories together, but like Christa said. There is a point in audulthood when you must buy a real serious family car. I was hard for me to give you up. Jeepy, I love you and will miss you.