Father and Son's campout!!

+

 3 sure signs this is a

 FATHER and SONS

 campout...

• Justin and Mitch eating Twix candy bars and drinking pop as they're headed to bed!
• Justin wearing his brand NEW shoes.
• lastly, click on the photo...see thosefingernails? See what is holding that sandwich?

 3 reasons mom is very OK
with this father and son's campout!

• flowers and kisses for mom
• smiles from ear to ear
• stories to last all year

oh...one more,

• Girls night at home! The evening consisted of u-swirl yogurt and watching Justin Bieber.

Let's just say, Gracie definitely has

 "Bieber Fever"

" Justin can't marry me right, I'm too young ????"

" Some boys are Gross, but some are

oh, soooooo cute."

oh, my.

Heaven help us.

She's 5.

 PURE JOY!!

 Getting the PERFECT marshmallows!

Love my boys.

 Mac couldn't go, but no worries...

bring on the camping this summer!!

(especially the father and son camping!)

;)

Junior Prom!!

Junior Prom

 was a night to remember!

Especially memorable that Mac

shared it with cousins Mitch and Jake

These boys are so close....and all so very

 handsome

 if I might add!

 Beautiful Girls!!

Thanks to Monica, the setting was elegant

and the dinner delicious!

I love the special relationship

these boys have.

Love they are getting the chance

 to create such fun memories together.

The Girls in Vegas!

Soccer in VEGAS!

We don't need much of an excuse to jump at the chance for a girls trip!

I love spending time with this girl!

Mandi has really enjoyed this season and the

 sweet girls on the team.

 Not to mention...they are playing really well!

 (which always adds to the fun.)

The team feels Mandi is the good luck charm

and has officially named her the team "pray-er".

She is now the one who says the team prayer

 before each big game!

We spent an afternoon site seeing

 and getting a frozen "hot" chocolate at

 Serendipity!

 Highly recommend.

 Delish!

We weren't quite ready to end the fun!

so...

we decided to miss our return flight!

It had nothing to do with getting a little lost

 on the way to the airport.

Good times!

Let the games begin!

Spring Season has begun!

Before the official first kick off this Saturday,

here are pictures of our fall season!

The

 Stinging BEES!!!

 Don't you love the hair bows on these little soccer diva/bee's!?

 After Gracie's first game,

which consisted mainly of taking turns kicking the ball!

(kids from her own team as well as the apposing team)

 She asked,

"Mom, what does it mean to, 

 "just go out there, work hard, and do your best?"

 Hmmm....

" I guess it means you try and get the ball

 from the other team,  keep it away from the other team,

 and get it in the other teams  net."

 My vast soccer knowledge,

 seemed to satisfy.

The next game came. 

 Gracie went to the field with her game face.

She "worked hard and did her best".

 Her best happened to be scoring 5 goals.

Wow, who knew?

 Especially, after her first game of  "take turns"!

( which ironically is what we drill into our kids

 until all of a sudden we tell them," have no mercy!")

 It looked like an exciting season ahead!

 However, after experiencing 

working hard and doing her best,

she was over it! 

Been there done that!
 The focus of the following games-

  hair, friends, and snacks! 

Sweet, glittered haired girls standing
 in the middle of the field
talking, 

during the game.

pretty darn cute.
 Unsure what to expect for spring season!?

BUT

we do know what this little bee

 (who now, as of yesterday's practice,

is a green butterfly)

 is capable of! 

p.s my favorite picture of the stinging bees season?

 Gracie consoling her BFF.

 Must of been a tough game. 

THE 

Blue Leopards!!

 Oh, this little guy.

 Love watching him.

Love how he wanted to be seen

working oh, so hard!

 Justin really enjoyed the practices

 MORE then games!

 This kid LOVES to play.

This kid really LOVES to have
FUN
 And the games,

  "were a LOT of work!"

 He definitely kept the season FUN for all,

as well as squeezing in the final goal of the season!!

The Hawkeyes

We always knew Mitch liked to play basketball.

 However, this was his first time on an official  team.

 (which I don't think people believed!)

 Truthfully, while watching his first game

 and seeing him score the first 5 baskets,

I was like, ummm maybe he should share??

( I was sitting by the other kids moms!)

Lou didn't agree and loved every second of it.

 In many of the pictures it looks

 like he is about to loose the ball

because the ball is so low. 

 But No!

 He keeps total control

and no one steals from him.

Highlight of the season...

Buzzer 3 pointer

Mitch made the shot as the final buzzer was ringing!

 And I was turning off the camera.

Ooops!

 Every kid deserves a moment like that!

 FUN.

(I'm still waiting for mine.)

Part 2...Disney Christmas!

Buhrley family

Christmas 2010

We will never forget our

Disney Christmas!

I knew Disneyland would be fun,

but I had no idea it would be at the top of our

favorite family vacations!

It truly was the perfect family vacation, for us.

 Having older kids that help with the little ones,

makes it really fun for mom and dad!

 Especially, when I now have a son

bigger and stronger then I am!
Translation:  Lou and Mac were the ones to carry
the dead weight of sleeping toddlers
all the way to the tram at the end of a long day!
I love this stage of my life! 
 It really was a vacation for me!
However,
I'm not so sure if Lou would say the same! 
He must have run the length
 of a marathon during our stay!
Each night he would map out our next day's schedule
 knowing exactly
 when and where to 'run' and get fast passes.
and Run he did!
 We hardly waited in line,
 at all!!
A dream.

The older kids really wanted it to be fun
 for the younger ones,
and truly found joy in their excitement.
 This was so rewarding.
There were only 2 rides in the entire park/parks,
 that we all couldn't go on together!!
Which meant we spent our days,

together!

Our darling Mickey/Minnie Santa hats
were thoughtfully made by my sweet sis-in-law.

They really are so cute
 and made keeping track of each other, a breeze!

We had several people ask us where they could get one!!
"Designs by Amber"
 has a good ring to it, don't you think?

When we came home,

 we were able to celebrate more of Christmas
 with Grandma and pa Buhrley!

.

Notice Mandi below caught on her cell phone..

headed to her first Stake dance!!

We had to pull her dad back from following her.

 Between her dad and older brother,

this girl will be very well watched over.

Mac has already said any boy that talks to her,

 will go through him first.

I don't think he was joking.

Amber made

 New Years Eve

such a fun night for the kids!

 Crafts, countdowns, silly string.

Really fun memories for the cousins.

( Have I mentioned how much we love having family close?)

A wonderful way to end 2010,

and

 Welcome in 2011.

December 2010 part one!

This past December was one

 of those times I wish I could freeze

and just replay over and over.

The story actually begins

 with the last picture of this post and goes up...

however, condsidering I haven't posted in 2 months,

I'm not going to worry about the mix up.

We will just start at the end.

 Well, kind of the end, as this is only part one!



 We were greeted in San Diego,

 with pouring rain!

So much so, that Sea World had to close because of flooding.

However, a little rain couldn't scare us off!

 We headed for a day...
at the Beach and the Zoo!

After a quick run into Target...to purchase

7 umbrellas.

 The Zoo was empty, go figure?

 We took advantage of the lack of crowds and sang

 "Singing in the Rain" while twirling our umbrellas

 down the streets of the Zoo.

 Really. we did.

We have video to prove it!

 Most memorable Zoo day,

 ever.

 To celebrate

 Mandi's 14th birthday,

 Lou took the b-day girl along with Mac and Mitch,

to a professional basketball game at the Staples center!!

Yes, my daughter

 wanted to celebrate her birthday at a basketball game!

 Where did she come from?

 This girl is going to make some boy very happy one day.

 She is the perfect mix of girly girl and tomboy.

 They had a blast!

We truly LOVE,love,love,

 this beautiful,smart,fun,talented,determined

 14year old.

 Happy Birthday

Mandi girl!!

 SO...scrolling down to the bottom of the post,

 you will find the real reason behind our

 Cali Christmas!

It first began in Arizona,

 where my niece Joslyn was sealed for eternity

to her now husband, Justin.

 This was such a special occasion and we felt blessed to be a part of this sweet day.

 I just love these pictures of Justin and Gracie

 dancing at Josy's reception!

 They will be fun to display at their weddings....

one day!

The morning of the wedding,
Justin came to greet his bride,

 dressed in this dashing BLUE tuxedo.

 Hilarious.

 Time with family, 

the perfect way to start our vacation!

....to be continued,

 part 2!!

Still time to be Thankful!

I've somewhat neglected blogging,

 and I'm really excited to post about

Christmas..

however, I could NOT forget

Thanksgiving!

 For many reasons this Thanksgiving

 will always have a special place in my heart.

 Perhaps the biggest reason of all is simply

 the love that could be felt as

 I had all my kiddos together.

 With grandparents,uncles,aunts,and cousins

  unconditional love was truly felt this Thanksgiving.

 I feel such gratitude to a wise and loving

 Father in heaven that made

family the center

of his plan of

happiness.

  

The LONGEST picture in the World!!

The cousins were inspired by Ramona Quimby

 and made their own version of

The LONGEST picture in the World!

 (as seen above.)

They spent Many busy, creative hours

 together on this fun project.

 It really is impressive and really is

 LONG!

We ended our Thanksgiving weekend

with special visits to both of Lou's grandmother's.

Grandma Atwood is 95 years old and

you would NEVER know it.

She is absolutely amazing.

She has overcome so many obstacles in her life

 and is such an inspiration.

I don't think the women of this family age.

It's a little disturbing.

Pretty soon I'll look older then my mother-in-law.

 really.

Visiting Grandma Buhrley

was such a tender experience.

 Oh, how

we love her.

While in her presence,

 you feel of her goodness.

You just want to soak in her sweet spirit.

Truly a Thanksgiving to remember. 

"You are...WHAT?"

I have always felt lucky

to have been blessed with kids

that can entertain themselves.

They are very creative while doing it,

I might add.

Justin had a particularly 'creative' day of play last week.

Mandi and I had just finished saying,

how cute Justin had been playing all afternoon,

when I entered the (just cleaned) kitchen,

to a smell.

a very strong smell.

A smell of cumin, sage, thyme?

And could it possibly be

MORE CUMIN?

What in the world???

My jaw drops.

My eyes and nose,

are in disbelief.

empty spice jars lay as evidence.

me: "Justin, WHAT are you doing?????"

Justin: "I'm a giant, and I'm cooking my dinner.

I'm cooking...army guys."

me: "seriously, an entire bottle of cumin?"

Justin: "Yes! And there is some more in the freezer."

The army men in the freezer were in bags of water...

to freeze?!?

Along with an army helicopter..

a large army helicopter.

Oh, don't get me started on all the unusual things

I've had in my freezer during the last 6 years !

Combine all the mischievous behavior

of all my other children.

Although, it may be a close race...

Justin would still win.

( You really can't include Gracie.

90% of her mischief...is with Justin.)

Ever since Justin started walking,

he has had an agenda.

Play,play,and more play.

When I think back

at all the crazy things this child has done,

in the name of play...

Oh, my!!!

Crazy thing is,

I haven't ever thought of him as trouble!

Never once.

Was I delusional?

No, I really don't think so.

I would take 10 of him.

(maybe just not all at once.)

Maybe it's because his mischief is always tied up

with some great imaginative play that appears to be innocent.

( yes, I'm realizing now, it may not have been all that innocent.)

Maybe it's because of those

big brown eyes and long lashes.

Maybe, yes, just maybe it's because

he always knows the right thing to say

and says it in the sweetest,

tenderest possible way.

Whoever marries this guy,

is a very lucky girl.

Example:

Keep in mind this example,

is from the same week,

if not the same hour,

as the cumin army men.

me: "Hey, Mandi. Can you come here?"

Mandi walks into the kitchen.

Justin comes in a few seconds behind her.

Justin: As he takes Mandi's hand,

"Did mom just say 'hey' Mandi?"

Mandi: "ya"

Justin: "Oh, well she should have said,

Hey BEAUTIFUL."

Hmmm...YES!

I'd say it's because he always knows

what to say.

This kid is good.

So,SO good!