Happy Birthday Aly!

This beautiful daughter of ours is amazing!  This year I am listing my three favorite things about each member of our family for their birthdays.
1.  One thing about Aly is that her personality is bigger than life.  That hasn't changed since the day she first started to roar!

2.  No matter where Aly is, she has an amazing ability to make others laugh.

3.  We love Aly because she is a great friend and has the kindest heart, always wanting to make others feel better.  We are blessed to have this beautiful young woman in our family!

Happy Birthday Aly!
We LOVE you!!!

Happy Birthday Jade

Our adorable, sweet Jade turned 4!  She is one smart cookie!  I wish I had a book of all the Jade-isms that are sweet, hilarious, and very inquisitive - sometimes all at the same time.  No one can melt a Grammy's heart quite like this beautiful grand-daughter of ours.  I love how she asks so many questions and really tries to understand and remember your explanation.  Did you know that she is memorizing all the Articles of Faith?  At FOUR???  She recites them with her Mom and Dad for "scripture time".  Amazing!

 

We had our first grand-daughter tradition this Christmas Season - a cookie date.  It was one of my happy Christmas memories of 2013.  There are so many happy memories, but this was a great way to start the season.

 

J - Jubilant as she enters the door every single time she comes to visit Grammy and Grandpa.  Hands down the best part of our day!

A - Able to remember everything you say and do.  If you are sick, she remembers.  If you promise her something...she remembers!

D - Delightful as she expresses love to all her family.  There is nothing better than a hello from Jade on the phone and a "Wanna go to lunch?"

E - Energetic.  Loves to play, loves to dance, loves to be active!

How we love Jade!  Happy Birthday!!

Happy Birthday Lilly

Oh, how this one makes us smile!  Just look at that "angelic" face.  She is growing up way to fast and each day brings new joy and laughter.  Lilly loves to run into your arms and throw them around your neck.  Nothing beats that.  She loves to pull out her books and "read" and she is a perfect little mom to her "baby", which always has a binky in her mouth.

L - loves to eat.  We all know this.  But Lilly does it with gusto and so much animation!
I - Independent.  Does NOT want help.  Does not want to eat in the high-chair.  She is a BIG girl!
L - laugh is contagious.  If you hear Lilly's laugh, you laugh with her.  A deep-belly laugh!!
L - likely the best hugger ever. There is something so special about a hug from our Lilly-bug.
Y - You can bribe Lilly with anything edible....except grapes!

Our sweet Lilly is two!  Two fantastic years of love, antics that make everyone laugh, and growth from a baby into the wonderful twos!  Oh...and a spittin' image of her father!  Can't wait to see what Lilly will do next!!

Happy Birthday Lilly!  We LOVE you!!

Happy Birthday Aaron

Happy, Happy Birthday to our oldest!  I know he's not getting any older because I sure am not!!  I was finally able to capture some of Aaron's personality when I went to visit last month.  I don't know of anyone with a bigger heart than Aaron's.  He is always trying to make others happy and finds such a variety of ways to show his love.  He is the best at calling and telling me about the weather, the food, the gourmet meals they eat, and all their memorable adventures in Kansas.  Some things have not changed...nor do I think they will ever change.

Aaron loves Legos.  I brought a whole suitcase full of them with me to Kansas.  It was like watching a little kid opening presents - just an early birthday for him!  Another quality about Aaron is that he loves history and looking for historical markers.  We found quite a few while traveling!

Aaron has always been my taste-tester.  We had quite the sampling of delicious food while in Kansas.  He and Savannah have been to fancy restaurants, diners, and "hole-in-the-walls" looking for the best food.

Aaron has a special gift of making others feel important and loved.  I see that in every aspect of his life.  He adores Savannah, is always serving someone in the ward, entertains all ages of kids, and always shows his love for his family.  I couldn't ask for anything more in a son.

A - Aware of others' needs and always has a special knack of helping others enjoy life.
A - Adorable in the ways he shows his love to Savannah.  They are a wonderful couple making a difference wherever they live.
R - Reliable and full of integrity and honor as he serves with dedication and commitment
0 - Organized, detailed, and determined to fix a problem and get things done.  The best at fixing technological issues!
N - Never forgets to call and check on his parents and grandparents.  We love that!!

Hope you have a fantastic birthday.....considering you are entering the next DECADE!!!
We love you!!

Jade is 3

Our oldest grand-daughter turned the big 3!  Jade is so smart and her attitudes and comments keep us rolling.  3 things I love about this grand-daughter of ours:
1.  Jade loves us unconditionally and thinks that our house is the best place to visit.
2.  She is so smart and remembers everything you tell her you will do or bring or say!
3.  Jade is the best big sister around.  She is quite the helper to her mom and dad.  I love when Jade comes over and wants to "help" make chicken soup (or chicken ramen).  She is getting to be quite the cook!!

For Jade's Birthday Party, Tyler and Jenny had everyone over for a wonderful bbq dinner with all the trimmings. 

 

The big "crowd-pleaser"?? Dora, of course!!

 Jade had so much fun opening presents, making princess hats and cupcakes.  Jenny sure knows how to put on a wonderful birthday party!
We also celebrated over at Grammy and Grampy's home with the traditional dinner and opening of gifts, culminating in the oh-so-favorite pictures!

Happy Birthday to our very favorite 3-yr. old.  You bring us more happiness than we thought possible.  We love you Jade!!

November Birthdays

In our family, November is one busy month for birthdays and celebrations!  At the beginning of November we celebrate a double birthday - Brad and Russ.  These two, like many cousins, have "shared" their birthday celebration forever.  One of the favorite parts is looking at each other's cards that Grammy has so carefully picked and "underlined" for how many "underlines" each got.  It is hilarious!

Then, our family celebrated Brad's birthday with a family dinner with Grammy and Grampy joining us for a wonderful feast.  Brad is happiest when his family is happy and together!

After Thanksgiving, we still continue to celebrate birthdays with Grampy and Jenny.  It's always a fun evening for everyone!

(Well, almost everyone!)

Whenever we have a birthday celebration over at Grammy and Grampy Rogers house, it is a family affair.  Those are some of our favorite memories.  Even as the cousins get older, they still hold to some fun traditions like train back or hair rubs and funny-face pictures!

 

Whatever the celebration, our family loves to be together.  At the Thanksgiving season, our Sunday evenings together remind us of the importance of families and how grateful we are that we are together and feel the blessings of the gospel everyday!