Goodbye twenties...hello thirties!

Thanks for the tulips Franki--they're my favorite!

So I'm thirty years old today! Last night I was enjoying the last few hours of my twenties, and had a few moments to reflect on the last 10 years of my life. What a decade its been! When I turned 20 I was in Jeruasalem doing a sememster of study abroad and I just thought of everything that's happended since then...here is a list of the "highlights" of my 20's! (Feel free to skip past this if it totally is boring. I'm doing this for my own posterity I suppose!)

• Backpacked through Europe for a month
• Wrote my sweetheart Blaine on his mission, he got home, we had a really special second first kiss the night after he got home which lead to...
• Being engaged and married in the temple to the greatest husband ever (this was HUGE!)
• Receiving my bachelor's degree in Ultrasound (after working 60 hour weeks at the hospital AND being 8 months pregnant!)
• Had a beautiful baby boy--Cameron!
• Worked full time as an ultrasound tech plus being on-call all hours of the night (how did I do that???)
• Moved to Kentucky--started law school life!
• Bought our first house
  
• Had a beautiful baby girl--Kelsey!
• Served in the Young Women, as Relief Society Pres, for almost 3 years, Stake Primary Pres.
• Survived three years of law school--ok Blaine did most of the work but I'd like to think it was a team effort!
  
• Had another beautiful baby girl--Ellie
• Started the real world of jobs, family, loans, bills etc....

I was just overwhelmed with thinking of all that has happened and all I've learned since that 20th birthday. I realize that I could have never have done any of the above without my wonderful husband, parents, and all the dear friends and family we have, and most of all from all the blessings that we have received from our kind an loving Heavenly Father. It's all worked out somehow even when it often seemed like we wouldn't make it. We've been so happy and blessed. Just think of all the great things that are going to happen in my thirties!!

Just one picture....

This is my attempt to get just one cute picture of the kids when they were all playing on and in the car. As you can see--it didn't go to well but some of the pictures are really funny! I gave up a long time ago trying to get all three kids to smile for a picture, but I sometimes still try! Oh well-some of the best pictures are just the funny ones that show how it really is around here--crazy!

Happy Valentine's Day!

Blaine really was nice and gave me flowers everyday the week of Valentine's. The lilies and tulips (my favorite) were beautiful. Kelsey loved posing by the flowers because she was convinced they were for her too. Ellie is our sweet little Valentine--but she does like to tell us "NO!!" a lot lately!
Cam made us an awesome Valentine card at school that said on the inside "I like you Mom and Dad. It's fun to play with you!"

Kelsey off to preschool

I took this picture of Kelsey because I thought she looked especially cute one day before preschool. She really likes preschool--mostly for social reasons. After school one day recently she had two of her best friends, Kiah and Makai over to play. It was one big pink, dress up, Barbie and My little Pony party!

Grandma Packer's Funeral

SO...long time no posts....sorry! Here are some pictures to catch up a bit!
My Grandma Packer passed away in January. She was 95 and lived a wonderful life and had such a happy reunion with my Grandpa who died before I was born (which is nearly 30 years ago--I'll be 29 for 2 more weeks!). I was blessed to be able to go to Utah (with just Ellie) for her funeral and see my family--its been quite awhile since all my siblings were together. Thanks to Blaine for holding down the fort at home while I was gone and to all our great friends who helped with Cam
and Kelsey for a week so I could go to Utah. It was great to see my bestest friend Shelley as well.
We will miss Grandma, but it sure it great to know we'll see her again.

My 4 big sisters (in age...not height for some) and my big brother

The magic of Christmas morning....

We had a wonderful Christmas! It's so fun to see the kids open their presents--especially from Santa!! Here are some pictures of the kids on Christmas Day. Cameron woke us up at 5:45 am telling us that Santa had come and he even ate the cookie we left out for him! Cameron got a snowspeeder from Star Wars, Kelsey a pink horse and Sleeping Beauty to match, and Ellie and new car! Our Christmas celebrating was short this year since we found out 2 weeks before Christmas we were selling our house and so we were packed and moved into a new house 2 days after Christmas and closed on our house on the 28th! Kind of crazy--but it is a blessing to have sold our house so quickly in preparation for our move to D.C. next August. We were sad to leave that great house we've had for 4 years now with so many great memories. We are now in a townhome in Lexington--the kids love the fact that it has an upstairs (something our other house did not have!).

Cameron's "Nightcap"

Cameron has being calling this funny hat his "nightcap" and he's actually worn it to bed a few nights and fallen asleep as the pictures show. We think its pretty funny. We're not sure where he got "nightcap" from--I think its from "The Night Before Christmas" where it says he's in his cap to settle down for a long winters nap.
He's a funny kid!