Uncle Jesse got married!!!!!!

We have a new aunt!  Aunt Whitney joined the MacKay family on August 28, 2014.   We are soooo excited and happy for them. Here's some fun picts from their big day. (Of course grandma got all the nieces and nephews matchy outfits so we are super cute!!!!)  

Brookie was so excited about putting on her pretty dress and pretty shoes. We even painted her fingers and toes and did Suzy's little toenails too!  Brooklynn calls these her "fall down shoes" haha!  

Check out this prego trio-- all due in October!  And we just found out that Davis and Becca are expecting too!!!  Seriously, these ladies make third trimester look amazing! 

After a few more pictures and afternoon naps it was reception time!

Nice photo bomb Jacob. 

We love our cousins!

Brookie and Maddie were BFF's at first sight! It was adorable!

Twirling!

Braden is not big on pictures that he is asked to be in. However, he loved spending the entire evening doing this!

We love our Suzy-Q!  I made her little elastic "sandals". She was so good the whole night. 

After cutting the cake and having their first dance, it was time to boogie down!  Brooklynn could not stop the beat!  She buddied-up with one of the bridesmaids, and finally "her boy." She must have danced for over two hours and cried when it was finally time to stop and go home. 

Happy Birthday Carter - 2 Years Old

Carter is 2.  How did this happen?  And he's not a baby anymore - he's a toddler with idea's and opinions... LOTS of opinions!  His birthday was so much fun.  We started early with gifts from mom and dad.  Then later that evening we invited Nana and GG to join us for more presents and cake.  Dad was out of town on a bike trip - he was missed!

Carter figured out the wrapping paper thing very quickly and tore into that stuff like a pro!  He loved all the clothes and super hero stuff from Nana and GG.  This kids loves Batman and Superman!  

Carter is such a loving, energetic, vocal, competitive ... little boy.  He is determined to finish what he starts and desires to excel at every sport he tries.  

(Hmm, I wonder where he gets that athletic/competitive spirit?)  

He loves his brother and sister and tends to be happy 90% of the time.  However, that 10% can be a bit overwhelming when we throws a tantrum.  That kid has a great set of lungs and an iron grip!  

Love you Carter-Man!

First Day of School

Ava - 3rd Grade.  Mrs. Gross

Brycen - Kindergarten.  Mrs. Griffin

Today Ava and Brycen started school again at River Valley Elementary.  For Brycen, this is his first year and he is super excited!  When he put on his new school clothes this morning, he strutted out of his room looking very confident and very grown up.

We started our morning with waffles and scrambled eggs.  Then just before we left, Drew gave Ava and Brycen a father's blessing.  Those are always tender moments for me.  I find myself listening very closely to the words of the prayer to hopefully gain some insight to the challenges and triumphs they each may encounter this year.  

After they had both received their blessings, Carter decided he was up next and climbed into the chair.  What a tender spirit.  Drew gave Carter a blessing too.

Finally we all hopped on our bikes and rode to school.  Brycen was especially excited to ride his new bike.  When we finally made it to the school, Ava and Brycen found their classrooms, their friends and ushered mom out the door feeling confident and ready to get started.  

 I am so proud of my sweet kids.  They are eager to learn and make new friends.  This year is also sweet because I get to spend a few hours everyday with Carter at home while Brycen is at kindergarten.  These few hours are so precious!  

... Looking forward to a great year!

Last days of Summer.... August

For our last book club meeting we read Jacob's favorite, "Fly Guy," and toured Anderson Dairy.  The dairy gave every child a free bookmark and a scoop of ice cream at the end of the tour.  The book club has been really great for Jake especially this summer.  His fluency with reading has really improved.:)

Sassy Brooklynn doing the "blue steel" look with her shades on.  Work it girl!

Tape, your recycling, and a little ingenuity = building robots!

Jason has played this game with every one of our children and every one of them LOVES it!  Best way to stop the baby crying-- toss a ball in the air with Daddy.  It's mesmerizing!

Last park day of the summer at the Paseos Splash park.

Henderson Libraries had some incredible prizes for their reading challenge this summer-- including coupons for free cookies at Great Harvest and tickets to the Shark Reef!  We had some fun picking these up and redeemed the cookies right away!

Feeling Overwhelmed...

Today I received a new calling.  I am now the Ward Music Chair and Choir Director!

After 7 years of immaculate service, my dear friend was released and guess who was called in her place?  ME!  While I do have some background in music (thank goodness) it has been years since I could read the tenor/bass line, I don't play the piano and I am not too sure I can lead a huge group of people in song (if anyone even shows up).  Let's face it, this is a lot different from leading the primary music.  These are adults, who are taking time away from their families on Sunday to come together and sing.  But now when they look up at the front, they'll see me - tiny little me who doesn't feel confident enough to take charge of this big group and lead them, let alone teach them anything.

Ugh...  I have some big shoes to fill here...  Wish me luck people.  I'm gonna need it.

Bray-Bray Talk

Running errands in the car today and I smelt a sudden nasty.  I had just changed the twins before we left so I was kinda of perturbed 

Me: "Ok, who's poopy?"

Ethan: "Not me!"

Brooklynn: "I'm not!"

Me: "Come on you guys, it stinks in here. Who's got a poppy diaper?"

Twins:  "I don't!"

Then from the back of the car Braden says:  "It was me. I let a hot toot!"

I couldn't stop laughing.  Yes friends, we have boys. Roll down the windows!!

Cole Pics over the last 2mo

Adjusting to having 2 kids has taken some time so now I am finally sitting down to post some pictures of Cole taken over the past 2 months.  These are some that Mom took while she stayed and helped.

Look at that hair!  It's what most people comment on and coming in a close second is his chubbiness.

Riley loves being a big sister and asks to hold him all the time.

World class chins.  I spend a lot of time kissing these cheeks.  He's growing so fast and is such a sweet baby!