Easter Dresses

WOW! Nana outdid herself this year. She found the boys their little outfits with the orange vests and found a dress that she liked at the store, but the colors were all wrong. She decided to make all of the the Easter Dresses for the girls this year. AMAZING! They were absolutely beautiful! She and Norma (her wonderful friend) spent days on this project. The dresses are perfect for Spring and girls that love to be princesses. The dollar store hats got a 'Nana Makeover' and look like a million bucks! Thank you for doing something so great with your talents!

How I LOVE my Boys! Aren't they so handsome?!?

Jenna and Jadyn looked like they were going to a wedding. These dresses were so beautiful and each one was a custom fit! Here are my adorable girls...

Then we took some photos with the cousins. It was hard to get all of them in one place with smiling faces. This was the best of the series of photos.

Cool socks, Tytan!

Poor Addison was not at all happy about doing photos during her nap time. Sorry, Sweet Girl!

Once the girls grabbed Hyrum's hands he thought that he was playing "Ring Around the Rosie". It was only a few seconds before he was ready for the "all fall down" part.

We tried to take some pictures with the kids on their bellies. Again, Hyrum was not all too fond of just laying on your tummy and looking at Mommy. He opted to crawl to me instead. So much for the perfect sibling photo!

Here is the last of the photos that I am going to post for now. I love the tradition of getting all dressed up on Easter Sunday and taking pictures. It is something that I remember fondly as a child. Nana did such a wonderful job with those dresses that my little family just took my breath away. Perfectly Sweet!

I love my family!

Christmas PJs 2008

Since Christmas Eve was kinda crazy, we put off taking our PJ photos until the following Sunday. Jared was able to be there, but we were still missing BJ. My camera was not doing too well with the low light, but this is what I managed to get. I really loved the PJs this year. The boys all looked so good and Grinchy. The little girls loved being Tinker Bell Fairies. Hyrum and Tytan looked awesome as Little Cars, and all of the Moms looked good in festive jammies. It was great. Thanks, Nana and Papa!

The girls had been playing Leap Frog. It was fun to watch them jump over each other. Once Papa joined in the fun, it was hilarious! Even if they helped, jumped, and pushed, it was still pretty tricky to jump over Papa.

"Cuddly as a cactus" or "Charming as an Eel" don't apply to these Grinchy Guys!

Father and son... how sweet! I am so glad that Hyrum has such a wonderful example as his father.

Big and small...all of the boys in the family (minus BJ who was absent and Elder Chas in Canada). You are so good lookin'!

The Photoshop version of the family photo. Since I was taking the pictures, I had to add myself in after the fact. Don't look too closely. I am getting better at Photoshop, but I have a long way to go.

All of the Grand Kids with Nana and Papa. Aren't they precious? I love the mix of red and green. Adorable!

I know that this is post holiday posting, but I love Christmas. Getting PJs on Christmas Eve is one of my favorite traditions. It sure makes for great photos!

We are the Settlers of Catan

OK, so if you don't know this about us we enjoy good games and love to have game nights with family and friends. Jared especially likes strategy games and Rook is a family favorite that never seems to get old. Several years ago we were introduced to a game called The Settlers of Catan. Wow! We were hooked. For month and months, that was the game of choice.

Chelsea and Chas came over to play with us at least 3 nights a week. The game always changed and the intensity was there every time. After awhile, we moved up a notch to Cities and Knights of Catan. Again, tons of fun and hours and hours of working on winning. We are all competitive by nature, but the McClures take is up a notch. Playing with them gets pretty cut-throat. The games were always interesting and close. Some nights we had dinner before we played. A few evenings, Chelsea and I traded off making cookies and cakes to snack on as we planned our attacks. We seemed to consume a lot of cheep pineapple soda and red vines on all of the other nights. Our lives became busier (again) and Settlers game nights were not as frequent.

Before Chas could leave for Canada, we decided to revisit the game nights of 3 1/2 years ago. Settlers was dusted off, Red Vines and Pineapple Soda were purchased, and we were ready to play. (except we had to wait until almost 10 for Jared to get home from work) Chelsea won the 1st round, Jared the 2nd, and Chas won the final bid for Catan. He left on his mission as the last winner. Not bad.

If you ever need a fun game that changes around every time you play, we highly recommend The Settlers of Catan. But, be warned, it is pretty addictive.

Uncle Elder Chas

Chas (Jared's younger brother) is off to Canada, eh. He was about as prepared as a missionary could be, and we have been so excited for him. When Jadyn said one of her first prayers after he left she called him "Uncle Elder Chas" and I thought it was adorable. We took some photos the night before he left for Utah and the MTC with Mom and Dad. These are some of the favorites! (Yes, he really is as tall as he looks!)

Uncle Chas with all of his nieces and nephew. Boy our family is going to change while he is gone.

The brothers. Funny, funny boys!

Chas with his Sis and Sister-in-laws. Doesn't Chelsea look great for being 8 months pregnant?!?

And (of course) the new Elder with his happy parents.

Good luck, Uncle Elder Chas. We are so proud of you. Our thoughts and prayers will never be far from you over the next few years.