Wedding Weekend

This past weekend Ryan and I had the opportunity to go to California without our kids for Ryan's brother's wedding. It was held in Laguna Beach and it was a lot of fun. On Friday night Ryan had the wedding rehearsal at the hotel and I just hung out with my sis-in-law Amber drinking virgin strawberry coladas. After the rehearsal was over they had a dinner at a steakhouse nearby. It was held outside and we had a wonderful private area with lots of food and good company. Here I am with my almost sis-in-law (at the time) Erin. She is so much fun to be around and is so nice.
Here are all my Ferrell sister-in-laws (except AnnaMarie) . We had a great time together.

On Saturday we were able to go to breakfast at one of our favorite places in Irvine and then we got to visit some of our favorite people the Byers. It was so much fun to catch up with them. Ryan had to get to the hotel early to take pictures so I just hung out with Amber again. The wedding was on the beach at the beautiful Montage hotel and Ryan and I couldn't resist this photo opportunity.

The reception was absolutely gorgeous. They had an awesome band and a photo booth to take pictures in.

The reception lasted until 12:15 but we only lasted until 10:30. We were so tired. It was fun to have time on our own but we were glad to get back to our girls. Thanks mom, dad, and Christin for taking care of the girls while we were gone.

Congratulations Erin and Scott

Teddy Bear Parade

Last Friday Hailey's school had a teddy bear parade for the kindergarten classes. They each had to decorate something they could push or pull their teddy bear in. Hailey chose to decorate her baby stroller with a bunch of ribbon and then we curled it all. It took a while to do but she loved it. She had a great time and it was fun to watch her walk around the school so proud of her float!

Blessings

I have so many blessings in my life but the 4 most important ones are Ryan and the girls. Our life has had so many ups and downs but I am so grateful that Heavenly Father has given me these 4 people to share it with. They bring so much joy to my life. I love you Ryan, Peyton, Hailey, and Alexis.

Ryan giving the girls a ride around the block on Grandpa Ferrell's new 3 wheeler he had shipped from China. (Don't worry, they always wear a helmet now so it is safe.)
Here are the girls in the matching dresses all the Ferrell granddaughters wore in the family vacation picture.

This one is just to show Peyton and Hailey that Alexis really does look up to them.

Happy Birthday Peyton!

Our little Peyton turned 9 yesterday. I can't believe how old she is getting. It is just not fair that kids have to grow up. She has been such a joy to our family for the past 9 years and we think she is the best. On Saturday she invited two of her friends, Rachel and Jordon, to celebrate with her. Their first stop was Tropical Smoothie Cafe for her favorite smoothie. They loved drinking and being silly together.
Then we headed to the mall to do the Hurricane simulator Peyton loves. I can't imagine why standing in a booth with 90 mph winds would be fun but they liked it.

Then we came back to the house and had pizza and bread sticks. They enjoyed the little break before they went on to their next activity.

Peyton chose ice skating for the next activity. She enjoyed skating with her friends and Ryan had a good time taking Hailey ice skating for the first time. I think he described Hailey's ice skating like "a drunk and blind giraffe". She was that good.

They came back home and played wii and ate brownies. They had such a great time and Peyton said it was one of her favorite birthdays (I think she says that every year!).

Later that night we went to my parent's house to celebrate her birthday and my niece Summer's birthday with my family. We sang to them (here Kate and Hailey are really getting into it) and ate more brownies.

On Sunday morning we got Peyton up and made her some breakfast (it was suppose to be in bed but she wanted to eat upstairs). She couldn't wait to open her gifts so at 8 AM she woke Ryan up and Grandma and Grandpa and she was able to open her gifts. She loved everything she got.

That night we had a family dinner with the Ferrells to celebrate her birthday and my niece Makenna. We had a tasty dinner and delicious cake. Here is Peyton with most of her cousins.

Happy 9th Birthday Peyton! We love you.

Happy Anniversary

12 years ago today on a very HOT day in Arizona I was sealed to my wonderful husband Ryan in the Mesa, Arizona Temple. My Papa Cardon sealed us and it was so wonderful to have someone who was such a huge part of my life growing up performing such an important ordinance for us. We had so many wonderful family members and friends there to celebrate with us. It was definitely one of the best days of my life (despite sweating like crazy). I am so grateful for the patience and love Ryan has shown towards me over the years. I have learned so much from him and I am so blessed to have been given 3 beautiful daughters to help me learn and grow. Happy Anniversary Ryan. I love you.

Day 3

There was no crying today! She was very brave and put her back pack on and gave me a kiss and stood in line. I know she wanted to cry but she didn't. I am hoping this continues and I can go on and continue my quiet days with Alexis.

"I don't want to go!"

Well I had a feeling this would happen. The 2nd day of school has not started off very well at all. Hailey woke up and said her stomach hurt and she didn't want to go to school. I knew she was just nervous and that she really wasn't sick so I just continued our morning as planned. When we got to school Hailey slowly started getting quiet with each step we took toward her line by the playground. She started getting tears in her eyes and I knew what was going to happen next (this is exactly what Peyton did on her second day of kindergarten). When the bell rang to have the kids line up she started balling and said she didn't want to go. I had to get away from the situation so I had Ryan deal with it. She continued to cry hard and a teacher's aide came to help out. I told Ryan we just needed to leave so the aide picked Hailey up (she was screaming at this point) and we left. I hope she calmed down and I really hope she didn't bite or kick any teacher. I haven't received a call from the school yet so I am hoping that is a good sign. I pray that she gets over this and that we will not have to do this every day. I'll keep you all posted.