Is there a Doctor in the house??

Why yes there is......

Alan with his dissertation committee (Bob, Hank, Alan, David, Paul, and Kay)

One more good luck rub!

His surprise when he got home!!

We made him a happy breakfast to show him how excited we were for this HUGE accomplishment!!

We are so proud of you Alan!!! This is big, and took a lot! I'm glad it's over......I'm sure you are too!! Thanks family and friends for all your love and support. We couldn't have done this without you!!

Temple Trip

What a beautiful experience this was, to take our family to a temple open house. We live about 3.5 hours from BC temple and it is a rare occasion to get to tour a temple and we wanted the kids to be able to go inside a temple so we took them out of school and crossed the border and went!
It is a beautiful Temple with so many intricate details. All the decorating and woodwork was done around the Dogwood tree. The Celestral room was breath taking.....we gathered our children around us and told them that we would be together forever and that the feeling they were feeling was the Holy Ghost confirming that this was true. It was an experience of a lifetime!

I think the best part for me was to share it with my kids. I remember as a kid going to the Portland, OR temple open house with my family. I was around Hannah's age.....I will never forget how I felt there and I knew that this is where I wanted to be married. It was an amazing experience. I feel so blessed that we were able to go and share this with our children.

Families are Forever!

What an OLD man...

Alan turned 39 today!! When you have class on your birthday you get to bring a treat. I baked over 100 cookies just for his class. Of course I had to leave some for us!! Joseph, Eden, Miriam and I brought Alan's students cookies in the morning. We even pinned on that fun extra large button, that Joseph had for his birthday, on so everyone would know that it was his birthday!! (I of course forgot the camera!)

Later on that evening we showed up with gifts and pizza to celebrate before his night class. He got a mini fridge for his office and a 12 pack of caffeine free diet Dr. Pepper to fill it up. He also got a University of Washington tee shirt, the Indiana Jones DVD box set, as well as a box set of classic musicals.

Then for his night class the kids and I brought cookies!! (I again forgot the camera, darn!!)

On Sunday following his birthday we had his Birthday cake and Birthday Dinner so I was able to get a couple of shots of the birthday boy!! I tried to take 39 pictures of him.....he was done with me taken pictures as evedence in the last photo, but I was able to get all 39!

I am so happy that you have found a place that you love Alan!! I hope that we have many happy wonderful years here raising our children. We love you!! Happy Birthday!!

Birthday Bash

Happy Birthday ALAN!!

We had a fun day trying to make Alan's birthday special. Of course I forgot my camera!

Alan had to teach, so Miriam, Eden, Joseph and I brought cookies to his 1st class making him wear a very large button that says "It's my birthday!!" We sang and had fun showing off his kids. Once the rest of the kids were done with homework we brought him dinner and opened presents at his office. We got him a mini fridge as well as some caffeine-free Diet Dr. Pepper, some movies and books. The kids were so excited to give it to him. We then brought cookies to his night class!! It was fun to meet his classes. He is an excellent teacher!! We are proud of him!!

We had cake on another day. What an old man you are turning out to be!! So many candles!! I was trying to take as many pictures of him as he is old, but he thought I lost my mind so I stopped just shy of my goal.

Happy Day of spreading LoVE

Happy Valentine's Day!!

Our day started early with Eden waking up at 4:30 a.m. with an asthma attack. While I got stuff ready Alan gave her a breathing treatment. I took her to urgent care and they gave her 3 more breathing treatments within 2 hours to get her stable. Her poor little heart was pounding away. They also took some X-rays and found that she had pneumonia. A little after noon we left and picked up Miriam from church and went home to go to bed, only to have Miriam not want to sleep. I was so tired.

Hannah got this beautiful rose from her activity days teacher.

The kids and I had planned a special dinner of Chicken Cordon Bleu with mashed potatoes, rolls, asparagus, and a salad. All served on fine China!! I was surprised that nothing got burned and it all turned out. I wasn't functioning on all cylinders and just wanted to go crawl into bed.

And for dessert we had parfaits. They had chocolate pudding, crushed Oreo's and cool whip!! They were delicious!! The kids had never had a parfait before, so they were so excited to try one!! Looks delicious, huh?Eden couldn't even wait until she had a spoon!!

Alan, of course (who else would give me flowers), gave me these beautiful tulips with a lovely card.

I love you, my little friends! I love you, Alan!

A SPOOKtacular Halloween!!

The Halloween Season started with the search for the perfect pumpkins!

We had a busy week leading up to Halloween! We had Family Home Evening on Monday, the ward Trunk or Treat on Tue, Eden's Birthday on Wed, Alan's school party on Thur (which he dressed up for!!), class parties for the kids on Friday, and Trick or Treating on Saturday. We carved pumpkins, got costumes ready, baked and did everything else in between!!
The kids had a great Halloween with Hannah as a witch....

Peter as SantaJoseph as a Christmas presentEden as a black kittenMiriam as a cheerleader!!

With the ultimate prize being......CANDY!!

Birthday Date!

I love extended birthdays!!
I got all dolled up and and we went out to eat at the Old Spaghetti Factory. I haven't been there for a long time! It was really yummy food that was filling and the service was fabulous!! Alan got me tickets to see Wicked for my Birthday, so we headed downtown to the Paramount Theater. It is one of those historical theaters. The inside was beautiful! Very intricate carvings on the walls. The cut outs in the ceiling were beautiful! We had fabulous seats!! We were amazed at the talent that people have. The actor, Donna Vivino, who played Elphaba had the most amazing voice!! I could listen to her everyday and never get tired of it!! We really enjoyed this play and the story line! It was worth every penny!