Some Much in Just Two Weeks!!!!

(I came back and wrote this toward the end of my blogging)...hold onto your hats and glasses, your in for a wild ride...this is crazy long.

Well, I guess when it comes to our family you could say Go Big or Go Home! We like to do everything together and not just hanging out, but if one person is gonna have a birthday, we might as well all have a birthday...why not?

It all started on November 22nd as Tim and Tyler turned 31 on the same day! We each celebrated in our own way. Hayley and Tyler went to and art show and dinner. Tim and I went to dinner and the following night went to dinner with his parent. Each low key, but lots of fun. How crazy and fun that the boys can share and celebrate their birthdays together. Happy Birthday boys! We love you. It was also the day that mom was diagnosed 4 years ago. Yeah for another year mom. God has been so good to us in allowing us these years to share together. Praise be to Him!
This day also happened to be the LAST IOWA GAME OF THE YEAR! (unless they go to a bowl game) Can you believe it? So sad. Not to mention the fact that I got the girls Iowa shirts and they came in time only for that game. So as you can see, they are a little big (so they will work for next year too.) Hayley and Tyler were out celebrating the birthday, but we got together with Nana and Papa to watch the Hawks pull off a 55-0 win. Yeah! Here are some pics of that night.

Gracie's New Shirt..just like Auntie Hayley's and Mom's



Reagan's New Shirt



Reagan and Nana Playing



Gracie Entertaining Herself...started like this...



and ended like this!




Overall, a wonderful night! Gotta love a Hawkeye WIN!!!



Up next...



On November 25th, Braden turned..you guessed it 3! It was an exciting and fun filled day. The morning began with Dunkin Donuts! Who wouldn't be excited about that?!?!?! Nana brought every one's favorites, black donuts (chocolate) for Braden and Yale and strawberry frosted for Hayley and me! Hayley got Braden a really fun 3 balloon. It helped in the pictures...not a lot of need for explanation.

Braden's Birthday Breakfast



Yale Enjoying Too!



That evening it was time to party!!! We went back to Braden's house, which was all decorated with baseballs and more baseballs. Hayley did a great job. We had baseball trivia, (Tom thought he won, but Hayley said I did!) pizza, time together, presents, singing and...cake. This amazingly talented girl was found through a friend. Hayley and I have been trying to get her to make some cakes for us for awhile, but schedules never worked. This year, we were both blessed enough to have her make Braden's and Gracie's birthday cakes. These cakes are amazing. Braden's cake was a blue baseball hat with a big red B on it. Thank you Breanna for all your time and hard work. We so appreciate it. Here are some of my favorite pics from Braden's 3rd Birthday. Congratulations Braden on turning 3. Such a BIG boy. We love you!

This is Braden on his 3rd Birthday...so Happy!



Gracie as cute as ever.



Reagan ready to party!



Braden and his super cool cake!



Ready to sing and blow out the candles!



1-2-3!



Uncle Tim and Yale



Yale gets a drum...Thanks Nana and Papa!



So Sweet



Papa, Reagan, and Nana at the party!



November 27th...Happy Thanksgiving! This year we did things a little different. Usually we go to one family's Thanksgiving in the morning and the other in the afternoon. This year, we did everyone in the afternoon! Lots of family and driving in a short amount of time. We stopped by the Newquist Thanksgiving first. We had a great time talking with family and letting Gracie explore the outdoors. We even got to see Aunt Tiffany on ichat. So exciting. Then we ran back home to pop the potatoes in the oven to warm and were off to the Shrader's Thanksgiving. Lots of food, kids, family and fun. We were joined this year by the Simmons Family, Uncle Chuck, and Colleen. Luke Simmons asctually killed the turkey that we ate. (Hayley told Braden that Mr. Simmons met the turkey and invited him to come to our Thanksgiving. He didn't put two and two together...yet.) I was busy trying to help with Thanksgiving this year. Altogether I made, 2 pumpkin rolls (Tom later saw these for sale at Whole Foods for $40 dollars. I will remember that next year!) 2 pies, and peppermint fudge. It was fun to bake and make everything, listening to Christmas music the entire time...I loved it. There weren't too many pictures from Thanksgiving due to the facts that we were on the run between houses and chasing kids, but enjoy a couple.

Pumpkin Pie with Leaf and Acorn Crust



Pumpkin and Pecan Pie



Last year I made a Turkey shirt with Gracie's hand on it. I thought it would be a fun tradition to continue for as long as they will let me. (At dinner we asked Braden what was on Gracie's shirt and he said "...a hand." Precious)



"Gooble 'til you Wooble"



Reagan and Her Thanksgiving Shirt



"I'm Stuffed"



Yale Nicely Pushing Reagan in the Swing



A Thanksgiving Rainbow...Things to be Thankful for then and now!



We were so happy that Shannon, Jeff and Baby Jack were coming home to Arizona for Thanksgiving. We wanted to be sure to get all the kids together. Hayley and I took all the kids over to Shannon's parent house the day before Thanksgiving. It was so nice to catch up with Shannon and see her family. It was just as if we lived across the street again and had stopped by. Mrs. Hall was kind enough to allow us to taste her pumpkin pie. I am not sure I would have done the same. We made plans to attend Afternoon Tea the day after Thanksgiving. It would be our Christmas presents to each other and I think the beginning of a new tradition. It was a wonderful time to see Jeffrey (the Tea Master at the Ritz) talk about mom stuff, and just be together. Thank you Shannon for coming. We love you and miss you so much. Here is tea.

The Hallway at the Ritz. So Beautiful!



Shannon, Hayley and Me...so happy together!



This day was Tom's Birthday. The woman playing the piano is Nicole Pesce. She is amazing. She plays at the Ritz and also at My Florist. Tom loves to hear her play. I emailed her and asked her if I could get one of her CD's for his birthday. She was so kind to give it to me for him. Thanks Nicole!



Yummy Desserts



My tea and Hayley's Shirley Temple (she doesn't like drinking tea, just attending!)



That night, we went to Nana and Papa's house to celebrate Tom's Birthday. It was very low key, but a great chance to sing and eat a cake made by Nana. I left my camera at home. So sad. Happy Birthday Tom! We love you! Congrats on another year!




On December 3rd, Gracie turned...again you guessed it 2! (I saw these shirts on a web site for some ridiculous amount of money, so I decided to make one for myself. I figured it would help in the future when I think..."now how old was she on this birthday?")
It was a wonderful day. We decorated for her party, had lunch with dad and Papa Newk, and partied until the wee hours of the night. I am so thankful to our family and friends for celebrating this special life that God has given us. We ate, had cake, sang, and had a wonderful time. Thank you to everyone for making the night special. Get ready..like Hayley said, "she will only turn 2 once." I don't think we missed any of it! Enjoy!



The Party






The Cake...Amazing!!!









The Guests

Karyn, Ashley, Colleen, Sarah



Sarah, Sarah, Ashley, Karyn, Amy



Canon



Hayley and Yale



Nana and Braden



Reagan



Yale



Braden



Tom/Papa



Gracie and Papa Newk



A Father/Daughter Pic



I found this sign/poster at the Disney Store. It was perfect for taking pictures. We all had a great time.

Braden



Yale



Hayley, Tom, Nana, Me



Hayley, Reagan, Tom, Braden, Nana, Yale, Me, Gracie



Gracie at dinner on her birthday...all smiles!



The Birthday Girl Having Fun!



For her birthday, Tim, Reagan, and I got Gracie these Mickey and Minnie dolls. She loved them. The lady at the store said, "someone likes Mickey." I replied, "You only turn 2 once." It's true. So, not the most practical gift, but lots of fun.



The next morning, I found Gracie laying on Mickey, on the couch, watching Mickey on TV...it can't get any better than this.



Gracie, we love you so much. You have been such a blessing to our family these past two years. We are so excited to continue watching you as you grow into a beautiful girl who loves Jesus. Thank you for loving us. We are very proud of you, our little girl! We love you!

Hopefully you are all still with me! This is why I haven't updated. It has been a crazy two weeks. I hope you enjoyed all our memories of this Birthday and Thanksgiving Season of 2008. Christmas is just around the corner. Hope you all have a wonderful weekend. Much Love from the Newquist Home!