I Can Not Believe My Baby is 10!

Wow, it seems like yesterday that Mitchell and I held our first child. She has been such a joy and we have loved every second of it! She has turned into a beautiful young woman with a great attitude about life. I can not believe that we have a 10 year old!

How many girls can say that their cake was made by their father? Well, Mitchell made her a fabulous cake! I have no idea where he comes up with these things, he amazes me more each day.

Her theme was "Magic" since we hired a Magician to come to our home. The cake is a Magician cake. When Rudy, the Magician, came into our home he said he has gone to a lot of party's and has never seen a better or cuter cake! He was really impressed, as was I. As Lindsay's friends came in she took them directly to the cake, it was really cute. I met Rudy while at "Out of this World Pizza". He walks around doing magic tricks on Friday nights. Hailey really enjoyed him and I knew that Lindsay would have fun if he came to her party. We have already booked him for our Annual Resident Party for National Night Out. It will be so fun!He did not disappoint. He was really funny and the kids had a blast. He did one trick where Ashley gave him a dollar and somehow it ended up inside an orange that Ashley cut open. I have NO idea how he did that. I even have it on video and can not figure it out. You might think that it was a different dollar, but she was holding a piece of it the whole time. I have to figure it out or it will drive me crazy. My favorite part had to be that I did not have to entertain. I was able to sit around and enjoy it like everyone else. That is my kind of party.
Lindsay doing a trick while holding Jade, her cousin. She is already a great multitasker.
Of course Lindsay had to cut the cake head first. Her friend in the picture ate the whole bunny that was made out of fondant. I am thinking that she had to have a stomach ache afterward.

She received so many fun gifts including clothes, webkinz (two of them, she gave me one :) ), quite a few Littlest Pet Shop, fun craft gifts and science project kits. She had 17 kids here including some of her cousins so we had a full house. We had a great time.

Instead of a gift bag we gave out little Magic Kits that we found at Michael's. The kids really enjoyed playing with them.

My Mom wrote a cute post about her here. It is something that she does for every Grandchild and Child. Lindsay could not wait to read her post and look at all of the fun pictures.

We love you Lindsay. You are such a sweet heart. Whenever I ask for help you are always the first one to volunteer. You are an excellent student and your teacher, Mrs. Kinion likes to tell me so. We are so proud of you! We love you soooooooooooooooooooo much!

Can't Contain the Magic

Mitchell took advantage of Lindsay's birthday to make another cake. He has really been using fondant icing to see how creative he can be. The theme of Lindsay's party was "Magic" so Mitchell and I spent five hours baking and forming. We decided to go with a strawberry cake with buttercream frosting. The longest part was getting the fondant made and formed. Below you can see Mitchell putting on the final touches to the bunny.

Below is the final product. It is a magician's hat with a bunny trying to get out of the top.

Below is a video of Lindsay seeing her cake for the first time. We worked on it during the night while she slept. Now Mitchell is even more excited about making cakes and can't wait for the next relative's birthday.

My Day

Yesterday

2:00 pm I got a call from dealership that we bought our car at and they told us about a deal they have going on for second time car buyers.

2:30 pm spoke (or you can say begged) hubby that I needed a bigger car. Three kids in a Hyundai Accent was getting to be a little scrunched!

4:30 pm Hubby called dealer to talk to salesman to see what deals were going on

4:31 pm My heart was beating a billion times a minute thinking there was NO way he would even think about getting a van

4:32 pm I ran into the living room to pull up the website to see the inventory at the dealership and found the car I wanted

4:35 pm Hubby comes out of room and tells me that I have an apt with the dealership but that I was going alone without the kids and without him.

4:36 pm My jaw drops

7:00 pm drive up to dealership

7:02 pm Test Drive a van

7:10 pm Tell him that I want to see if we can get financing

11:00 pm Walk out of dealership

11:01 pm On my way home in my own Kia Sedona!!!!!

11:10 pm Can't believe I just got the deal that I wanted and did not give into what they wanted me to pay!!!! I can be tough when I want.

You could say that it was a very long night!!!

Easter 2009

This Easter we really tried to celebrate the true meaning of it and not focusing as much on Egg Hunts and the Easter Bunny. Last night as I was talking to the girls I reminded them they had to go to bed early so that the Easter Bunny could come. They all forgot that the Easter Bunny was even coming. I was so excited that they were actually thinking of the true meaning of Easter and not about the candy.

Mitchell decided to make an Easter cake. We wanted it to be three tier but decided that would be too high so we made an extra cake out of the last tier and took it to someone in our church. We had a great time working on this together and I am quite impressed with how they turned out. Not bad for our second and third cakes!

We like to call this our Easter Bonnet. We went to Jared and Danielle's house this afternoon for a wonderful Easter dinner and enjoyed eating the cake. It had a strawberry cheesecake filling, so good!

I love how the bow turned out on this cake. We learned so much just in the three that we have made, and keep getting better and better each time. We will soon be taking requests. Ha Ha

I made these cute Peep rice krispie nests with the girls. They were so fun to make and so yummy.

Decorating Easter Eggs is always a must!

I decided a couple of years ago to follow Mitchell's family tradition of waking up Easter Morning to an Easter Basket. They are also surprised with an Easter Dress. Until Lindsay gets older and starts caring, they will have matching Easter dresses. I think it is cuter that way. :)

Lindsay enjoying her Easter Basket.

Ashley holding her new Pretty Princess Webkinz.

Hailey holding her Easter Basket and her huge Chocolate Easter Bunny.

If you know me, you know I will not bypass a good picture. I got the girls all ready for church then rushed them to a gorgeous walk area by our library for pictures.

Hailey, Ashley and Lindsay in their pretty Easter Dresses. The girls loved them and they said they were so comfortable, which is something that I never hear from them since they are constantly telling me things are itchy.

My Pretty Lindsay Princess

I have to say that I love how this picture turned out. They were collecting blossom petals that were on the ground and when they decided to throw them, I decided to take a picture.

At church I gave the Sharing Time Lesson in Primary. I decided to tell the store the Tale of the Three Trees. It is one of my favorite books. I then had some of the teachers and Lindsay and Ashley bear their testimonies about our Savior. I asked other children, but no one would do it. :) The girls did such a great job. I then told everyone how I gained my testimony of the Savior and about the Gospel. I told the story about when I went to Girls Camp and the theme was, "A Grove of Our Own." We were to go find our own grove and sit and study the scriptures and pray to receive our own personal testimony. I felt the spirit so strong when I was in my own grove and realized that the church was so true. I told the children that when I feel the Holy Ghost touch me it feels like I have goosebumps all over my body and I feel really good. After my testimony and after church Lindsay came up to me and told me that she was so glad that I gave my lesson on that because it was the first time that she felt the Holy Ghost. It was very touching. I love working with the Primary children, but especially since I am able to work with my own children.

Couch Family Reunion in Oklahoma

(Warning: Very long winded post, but I wanted to make sure I got all of our trip recorded for the future.)

April 2-6, 2009 had been a very anticipated week for our family. We were able to fly to Oklahoma along with Mitchell's parents and his brother's family so we could visit with his Grandparents and extended family.

DAY 1

We awoke at 3:30 am so that we would make it to our flight that was scheduled for 6:10 am. Hailey was not excited to fly so we bribed her with the choice of any toy and she chose to get the Baby Alive Doll. We told her that she could not play with it until we get on the airplane, hoping that this would help her to get onto the plane. Things went great until the airplane started to go and Hailey tried to jump over me so fast. I asked her where she was going and she replied, "HOME." After talking to her she realized she was not going anywhere and she actually ended up liking the airplane. (Good thing because we had one layover on the way there and two layovers on the way home.)

Lindsay and Ashley took turns sitting by the window. Hailey wanted to sit by the window, but she would look out it, then close it. She did not like to see how high up we were.

Hailey was 3 weeks old when we last saw Grandma and Grandpa Couch. We were so excited to walk into the door to their home. It was so good to just sit down and visit again!


The Southern Accent took some time to get used to. We know Grandma and Grandpas voice, but when we would visit with other family it was hard to understand some of their words. Lindsay came up to me after about an hour of being there and said, "Mom, I don't think that I will have any fun here because I will not have anyone to talk to since I can't understand a word they are saying." It was pretty funny and she ended up trying to talk with a Southern accent so she could fit right in.
DAY 2
Grandma and Grandpa have two four wheelers that Mitchell used to ride when he was a boy when he would spend the summer with them. We were lucky enough to enjoy them also. Lindsay and Ashley learned how to drive them themselves and they were really good.

They could have drove them for HOURS if we let them.

Chance, one of our Great Cousins, lived around the corner and he brought over his golf cart for the younger kids to drive. Hailey had a great time driving around as long as someone else would push the pedal (she had a lead foot and made it go WAY too fast.)

You can not go to Oklahoma and not spend time fishing. Mitchell's Great Aunt and Uncle have a pond behind their home, along with everyone else in town. They are stocked with all kids of fish.

The first day we watched as others fished. It was a beautiful night and it was just fun to sit and relax.

It was 79 degrees which was pretty hot for us so Hailey decided she wanted to run through the sprinklers. She had so much fun. While she was playing in the water, and Lindsay and Ashley were on the 4 wheelers we were able to visit with a lot of family.

Later that night Grandma and Grandpa Couch took us out to a Fish Fry for Grandma Couch's birthday. It was an all you can eat fish buffet. I was so excited to find fried shrimp and cocktail sauce! YUM!

DAY 3

It was such a beautiful day. The weather was absolutely perfect so we took advantage of it by being outside a lot. Grandma and Grandpa have a gazebo that we enjoyed. We saw so many beautiful butterflies, I could have sat there all day. We also took the girls fishing.

Our friend Ray and his kids Garrett and Gracie were also fishing with us and they caught at least 6 fish. It was amazing that they would put the pole in and immediately catch something. We did not get anything, but we still had a great time.

DAY 4
The week we were there was Conference Weekend for our church. This is where our church leaders speak to us via satellite. We noticed that there was no way that we would be able to watch Conference so I decided to take the girls and go to church with their Grandmas.

After church we took family pictures.

Four Generation's

Back: Hershel Lee Couch (Mitchell's Dad), Mitchell Lee Couch

Middle: Betty Joanne Couch (Mitchell's Grandma) Boyce Lee Couch (Mitchell's Grandpa) and Hailey Joanne Couch

Front: Ashley Lyn Couch and Lindsay Ruth Couch

The Boyce Lee Couch Family

Back Row: Janessa (Me), Mitchell, Hershel (Father-in-Law), Jan (Mother-In-Law), Pam (Sister-in-Law), Tanner (nephew, being held by his father) Ryan (Brother-In-Law), Christopher (Nephew)

Front Row: Ashley, Lindsay, Hailey, Grandma Couch and Grandpa Couch

After a day of visiting we went out to the Ranch that Mitchell's Great Grandparents owned. Aunt Carol and Dooley owned some land next to the property and they put in a cute cabin that we enjoyed looking around and the girls enjoyed playing on their tire swing.

Mitchell is standing in front of Great Grandpa Opal and Great Grandma Martha Couch's Home. It brings back a lot of wonderful memories for Mitchell when he goes back to visit. When his Great Grandparents were alive he would spend days on the farm riding 4 wheelers, feeding cows, bailing hay, fishing and swimming.

Hailey enjoyed a ride on the front porch swing that Mitchell used to sit on with his Great Grandparents.

One of the many ponds on the ranch.

Grandpa Couch has a huge piggy bank that he puts all of his change in. The last time we were in Oklahoma which was 6 years ago he took all of his change out and split the money between Lindsay, Ashley and my nephew Chris. While we were back he wanted to make sure that we emptied the bank again for the kids. There are now 5 Great Grand kids so we all had fun sorting it for each of them.

They were rich! When we got home I took my girls money to the bank and they had $67.13 to split between the three girls. Not too bad for change!

When Lindsay was 16 months old I flew with her to OK to visit. While we were there I met Grandpa's "Ugly Doll". I was told that it scares quite a few kids so I was worried that Lindsay would not like it, but she actually loved it and carried it around everywhere.

Grandpa took out the Ugly Doll for my one year old nephew Tanner. He wanted to see how he would react and he did the same thing, he liked to carry it around. Grandpa decided to give it to Tanner. I walked down the hall and Grandpa was combing his hair and he did not know that I took the picture. It was so cute.

As you can see, it is a really ugly doll!

Grandma had her birthday while we were visiting. Mitchell decided to make her a cake with fondant on it. It was really yummy and it looked great. He was not very happy with how it turned out but it was his first and I can't wait to see what he comes up with for Lindsay's birthday party (Lindsay asked him to make her a cake).

SO CUTE! Grandpa told me that their marriage is so successful because they tell each other that they love each other at least five times a day. I though that was so sweet.

Sunday night I was able to go with Mitchell and Grandpa to the nursing home to see Great Grandma Maxey. She is 97 years old and had a stroke about three years ago. They go every day a couple of times a day to feed her. I was truly touched by how gentle and sweet Grandpa was with Great Grandma. His shift is usually from 9:30-12:30 at night, every night. He told me that he has missed 5 times in the past four years because he was sick. Amazing! Grandma's brothers and sisters do not help out so it really leaves everything to our Grandparents. What AMAZING people!

Later that night, after I dropped Mitchell off at the hotel I went back for an hour to sit with Grandpa. It was fun to hear stories about his childhood.

Day 5-Going Home
We were so sad that the day came for us to leave. We had to be on the road at noon to make it to return our rental car so we had a fast morning of visiting and saying our goodbyes.

Lindsay's birthday is in a couple of days so she was able to open her gift from her Great Grandma and Great Grandpa Couch.

Here her Great Grandpa is telling her to spend her money how she wants to and she does not have to listen to us on how to spend it. :)

As we headed to Tulsa I had to snap a picture of the girls. Lindsay told me that she was going to cry because she did not want to leave, I think that we all felt the same way.

We grabbed a bite to eat at TGI Fridays before our plane took off.

Looking out the window to see if we could see our airplane.

Our trip home was an adventure. We did not realize that we would have three layovers but we could not get off the plane so it made it hard to not have food and we could not walk around. We survived though after 7 1/2 hours being cooped up.

This was definitely one of my favorite all time vacations and we can not wait until we can go back!