New Years Resolutions?

So, I'm not really a fan of New Year's Resolutions. In my opinion they're pointless. If they were something people were really going to do, they'd already be doing them! Generally people try these crazy new "goals", which are not enjoyable, if they were, like I said, they'd already be doing them! Then they fail and just end up feeling bad about themselves - pointless! So I came up with a list of resolutions that I should make, but most likely won't - why set myself up for failure?!

1. Wake up earlier
2. Save more MONEY!
3. Exercise more
4. Drink less Diet Coke w/lime - that would help with #2
5. Eat healthier
6. Keep my house cleaner
7. Eat Out less...a lot less - that would REALLY help with #2

If you know me well, you know that this is likely NOT going to happen! Well, I'll probably find a way to save more money, but not by cutting out my Diet Coke w/lime or eating out less - it's just not in me!

I did, however, hear of a New Year's Resolution that sounded FUN, so I decided to do it! The goal is to take a picture every day of the year to document the "happenings" of our daily lives. Since I love pictures and I love scrapbooking, I knew this was the resolution for me - definitely something I can accomplish!

I know you might think a picture a day could possibly get boring, I worried about that myself. Fortunately, I have found it to be enlightening. It has helped me to pay more attention to the little things that happen in our life. Things that five years down the road would most likely be forgotten, but now that we have them documented, will be treasured for decades to come! Here's a glimpse of the past few weeks!

Dinner at Texas Roadhouse on New Year's Day

Bargains galore at Gymboree!!!

We were "Heart Attacked"

One of our favorite salads - spinach w/ grape tomatoes, walnuts and balsamic vinaigrette

Check him out!!!

New Pasta Recipe - Yum!Maya, Jackson and Macie making scones for dinnerMatt, Jackson and Mark working out with Mark's "early Birthday present" he bought himselfFuzzy dice that Jackson hung in my car - I now have the coolest SUV around!Jamie, Macie and Maya having a "girls day out" at Chili'sHas anyone noticed that food seems to be our constant theme? Maybe I should have made a resolution to exercise more!!!

What the...

This is for all of you who just love to say that my house is always clean!

Holy Crap! What happened?! Where was I? I definitely couldn't have been BLOGGING! And I certainly would NEVER leave my sweet girls unattended long enough to make such a mess!

It's a mystery, but made for a very good "picture of the day!"

Miss Crockely the Platypus

Yep, that's right, Crockely the Platypus! Macie has recently decided to rename herself. She no longer likes "Macie" and started calling herself Crockely a few weeks ago. It took me awhile to actually figure out what she was trying to say because when she says Crockely it sounds more like "cwockewey", which makes no sense because she speaks absolutely perfect English, except for when she says "Crockely". After about ten minutes, several mispronunciations on my side and an absolute loss of patience on "Crockely's" side I was finally able to decipher the new name. Today she informed me that she was now Crockely the Platypus and we can call her Crockely or Platypus or even both, but absolutely NOT Macie! I asked her if she even knew what a Platypus was and she said it was her. Who knows where this child comes up with her silly ideas!!!

Today Crockely also informed me that when she grows up she is not going to have any kids because she does NOT like babies. I asked her if she was going to get married and she said "No! I don't like babies!" At least she realizes babies and husbands go hand in hand! I then asked her what she was going to do when she grows up since she doesn't want to be a mom and she said she wants to "paint nails and make people's hair a different color they want." I'm glad she realizes what is really important in life! She also said that she is going to babysit Matt's kids, but only Matt's, no one else's. She will also live with us, since she won't have a husband, I'm glad she loves me soooo much!

Crockely is the best little girl ever, I am so happy she is in our family! She is always making me laugh and smile. I love her so much! And look at her pictures, she is freakin' CUTE!!!

Happy Birthday Maya!!!

Maya is finally six years old! She waited for this day for soooo long! Fortunately it turned out to be all that she wanted...and more!

For her friend birthday party she chose to go bowling. At first I thought, no problem! Then I called to book the party and realized we might have to take out a 3rd mortgage just to afford it! I told her if she wanted to go bowling she would have to narrow her invite list to only 5 people. She was so sweet about it, after she narrowed it down to her 5 most favorite friends she said she would even go down to 4 because she knew it was so "spensive". How sweet! That is one thing I just love about her, always putting others before herself. She ended up having a great time bowling over and over and over! She's great at it, she walks right up there and just chucks the ball down the lane like she's throwing a huge boulder across the yard! She even got a few strikes - granted, she did have bumpers, but hey, a strike is a strike, right?! She and her friends also enjoyed pizza, barbie cupcakes and running around like giddy six year old girls with 1 four year old joining in as if she were one of them!

Macie, Akaysha, Katie and Maya
Maya and Jamie

Mark and Maya

Maya wanted a doll house for her birthday because everyone has one except her. We kept telling her we couldn't afford it because her bowling party cost so much. She was so cute and accepting when we would tell her that, but you could see in her face this little glimmer of hope that we might be teasing her. After we got home from bowling we made her stay down stairs while Mark, Macie and I put her "present" together in her room. Macie kept telling her it was BIG, so, of course, she thought is was her doll house. I kept insisting that it wasn't, but that she would still love it - the poor thing was about to go crazy with suspense! When she finally came into her room for her surprise she couldn't stop screaming, it was the best squeal I've ever heard! She was so happy I think she almost cried!

Maya wanted to go to her favorite restaurant for her birthday dinner so we all headed out to Texas Roadhouse! She wanted to share this experience with as many people as she could so she invited Grandma Tracie and Grandpa Ed, Grandma Gloria and Grandpa Bob, Aunt Julie, Uncle Kevin and Cole, Aunt Kellie, Emma and Katelyn, Thomas, Katie and Kristin and of course Matt, Jacks, Macie and Mom and Dad. Imagine a birthday party of that size at Texas Roadhouse - presents, cake and all! Her favorite part was being able to sit on the saddle while everyone yelled "YEE HAA!" She didn't even order dinner she was so excited, she just kept asking, "when are they going to bring over the saddle?" It was so worth it, just look how cute she is sitting there!

Aunt Kellie made Maya one of her famous cakes and Maya loved it! Maya couldn't decide what kind she wanted so she asked Aunt Kellie to surprise her. Maya said it was the cutest cake ever!

Happy Birthday my sweet little princess! I hope you have the best year ever - you deserve it!

2008 Travels Around the World...Or so it Seemed!

This year Mark and I were very fortunate to have the opportunity to travel...a lot! I honestly got to a point where I told Mark that if I saw another airport I was going to scream! The airlines seem to not like us very much and have a tendency of losing our luggage or having the plane take off without us! Never-the-less, all of our trips were full of adventure and extremely fun!

Our first trip was to Cabo San Lucas, Mexico. My parents have a time share at the Pueblo Bonita, one of the most amazing resorts I have ever been to! We have so many pictures from that vacation that I will have to do a whole separate post to include all that we did that week! For now here's a little sneak peak!

The famous arch off the coast of Cabo

Mark - The Surfing Pro!

He really did surf more than just the first two feet of the ocean, I'm just a little camera challenged!

Yeah! Jamie finally got to swim with dolphins!

After three trips to Mexico, Mark finally agreed to let me swim with dolphins! I did, however, have to accomplish my goal of finishing my scrapbook room, which probably would have taken me at least a year, rather than my amazing six months - I was extremely motivated! I was definitely rewarded with one of the most amazing experiences of my life!!!

Cabo Night Life at El Sqid Roe and Cabo Wabo

There is no such thing as too much dancing!

~ August, 2008 ~

In September Mark had to go to Seattle, WA for work so I decided to tag along! We were able to have fun exploring in the evenings and at night would walk among the "posh" homeless people who read classics with their dogs while sitting outside Starbucks. Seriously, I have never seen such sophisticated, well-off homeless people in my life! During the day while Mark was working, I did what I do best - SHOPPED!

Pike's Market - Absolutely the most beautiful flowers for amazing prices!

Fresh Seafood of every kind - YUM!!!

That shiny silver thing is a fish - what a fascination, flying dead fish!

View from the Space Needle

A Romantic Dinner Above the City

From Seattle, we flew to San Francisco, CA. Mark also had to work there, too. I spent my time reading Breaking Dawn at the window of a cute little cafe overlooking a sunny California courtyard. So storybook, I know!

When Mark wasn't working we were able to take the famous San Francisco Trolley to the bay. From there we took a boat ride that went to the Golden Gate Bridge and around Alcatraz. It was freezing, but definitely worth the adventure!

~ September, 2008 ~

Our next adventure took us to Austin, TX to spend a fun-filled weekend with Sean and Leeza. Mark has always looked forward to his trips with Sean, so I know this one topped his list of vacations for the year! I loved getting to know Leeza better. I loved her from the time I met her over the phone, but just being with her you can't help but be amazed by her, I will forever consider her my sister!
While in Austin we stayed with Sean's good friends, Bill and Chris Wallace, whom we truly came to love. We all had the best time boating on Lake Austin, well maybe all of us - poor Leeza was 8 months pregnant! Whenever Mark was driving we would have to remind him that we didn't want her having a baby on the boat! We also checked out the nightlife of downtown Austin and visited an amazing winery/restaurant which was nestled among beautiful vineyards. I truly fell in love with Austin - it's lush, green, absolutely beautiful and most important - warm!

The best part of this vacation was seeing and feeling the pure joy Mark felt just being with his brother, his hero. After Sean passed away, Leeza told Mark that Sean said our weekend in Austin was one of the best experiences he ever had, we would definitely have to agree and look forward to many more in the eternities! We will forever be grateful to Sean for inviting us to Austin and giving us the precious gift of one last adventure with him during his journey here on earth.

~October, 2008~

Our final vacation for the year was to Las Vegas, NV. We stayed at the Bellagio, which is like being in a royal palace! The room, the service, the pampering...need I say more?

We had a great time hanging out with Tim and Allison. It's so good to have friends who are so fun and who can keep you laughing and enjoying yourself even when you lose your $20 winnings from football betting to playing 21! We also were able to spend time with Danielle, which is always a good time!

~ November, 2008 ~

Yes, we realize that our kids are not in any of these pictures! Honestly, I don't know how this happened! A whole year of vacations and not one of them included our children! How rude! They were, however, well taken care by my wonderful family and our awesome nannies, Katie and Andee. And no, you can't have my nannies info, they're the best and I just don't think I want to share them! J/K, well... maybe not! Anyway, our kids have also realized this extreme unfairness and so all will be made up to them with a trip to Disneyland this spring! I guess as all good things, our time of selfishness must come to an end!