And he's off!

Drew took his first steps last week.  It's only been about a week, and even since this video, taken on Thanksgiving, he has really gotten a lot better and faster.  At 13 1/2 months, he is by far our earliest walker, (which I know isn't really early).  Kyle was almost 15 months, and Emma was 15 1/2, so I wasn't even trying to push him to walk.  One day, he just let go of the walk and took some steps.  Guess he got tired of waiting for me to teach him....

We also had a wonderful Thanksgiving.  We invited my SIL Chelsea and her new husband Taylor over for the big dinner.  We were grateful to have some family with us for the holiday.  We had the traditional spread- turkey, mashed and sweet potatoes, carrots, rolls, cranberry sauce, pumpkin and apple pies, and of course, Earnest punch.

Unfortunately, the only Thanksgiving picture I took was of the pie.  It was delicious!

Here we are earlier in the day, though, cleaning up the yard.

We hope you all had a wonderful Thanksgiving.

Off to the Races!

I don't know how it happened.  Sometime in the past year or so, Marcus became a NASCAR fan.  Now, I myself, don't see much fun in cars driving around an oval 350 times.  I know they're fast and they're loud, and sometimes there are spectacular crashes, but still, the races hold only mild interest for me.

When Marcus' friend got tickets to the Nationwide Series race at Phoenix International Raceway, he jumped at the chance to go.  They left at about 6 am for a race that started at 2:30 pm.  I guess a NASCAR race is about more than just the race- it's the experience.  They got to see some cars "drift",

check out the cars and engines on display, 

This is from the upcoming movie The Green Hornet

shop the vendors,

and of course, eat some tasty tailgating food.

Eventually, the race started.  It was a beautiful day for racing!

  

 Carl Edwards won the race (and would go on to win the Sprint Cup race the next day).  Our kids like to see their favorite drivers on TV, so Marcus brought them home some shirts.  We are fostering a rivalry early.

Phoenix hosts a race twice a year.  I wonder if this means Marcus will want to go to the next one.  NASCAR- who knew?

An Event to Remember

My husband's sister Chelsea got married this weekend.  We had a wonderful time celebrating their wedding. 

The weekend began with a trip to Dave and Buster's in Tempe for a family dinner/party.  Both Taylor, the fiance, and Chelsea have large extended families, so it was the perfect place for all to gather.  We had fajitas and played arcade games until we'd had enough.  A late drive home gave us a few quick hours of rest.

In the morning, we attended the sealing at the Mesa Temple.  It was beautiful and helped me remember the feelings I had almost ten years ago at my own wedding.  I can echo what the sealer told them- ten years from now, they will only love each other more.

Somehow, no one fell in the reflection pool at the temple or destroyed the temple flowers while all the adults were inside.  We went our separate ways for lunch, then hurried to get things ready for the big night.

Chelsea had a vintage carnival theme for her reception, and with the colors of red and aqua blue, everything came together beautifully.  They even had a bounce house to entertain all 40 something kids that were there.  Of course, one cousin did end up at the ER with (I think) a broken arm.  

I have to apologize for our pictures- we didn't get a lot of pictures since one of us was always either holding Drew or keeping the other two out of too much trouble, and the ones we do have aren't great, as we still haven't figured out a great night setting.  If you want to see better pictures of the wedding, click on Annee, Brooke, or Alyssa's blog- they have much better cameras and photo-taking skills.

Here's some pictures of my kids in their cute outfits- thanks to Brooke and whoever else was involved in making the headbands and bowties, and coordinating the outfits.  Kyle was  being a pill, so I don't have any great pictures of all of them.

A beautiful cake, accompanied by both lemon and red velvet cupcakes:

My SIL Brooke made this topper- isn't it adorable?  It's even more amazing because she has RA, like me, and let me tell you- detailed work like this is SO HARD to do when your hands just won't do what you want them to.  Love it!

Self-serve candy- what a cute table!

My handsome husband and my darling Drew:

There was also a hot dog cart, a popcorn cart, a balloon lady, and dancing.  

We sure had a great time, and it was wonderful to see all the family we hardly ever get to see.  We wish you could've stayed longer!  

Congratulations Chelsea and Taylor and hope you're having a great time in Hawaii!