Rock Band at the Egbert's

We had a great time over at our friends house, the Egbert's. Our family, especially the older boys, have been wanting to play Rock Band 2 with the Egbert's for awhile. Tiffany and I decided since they were moving soon that it would be fun to do it for a family night one Monday. We had a BLAST! Tiff and her kids rocked at everything on Rock Band (Jake, Im sure you do too, you were hard at work in CT while we were having fun!) Danny was pretty good at the drums and guitar while Matt and Jake kept improving every song they played. I think Matt liked the guitar the best while our Jake loved singing and playing the drums & I loved playing the drums. As you can see in the pictures, even Abby enjoyed a moment in the spotlight. Aaron, Caleb & Clarissa were too busy playing with Jenna, Brock & Bethany to play with us. We really enjoyed ourselves. Thanks a lot Tiff for letting us come over.

Cub Scout Blue & Gold Banquet

This months Pack Meeting was the Annual Blue & Gold Banquet. Thursday night Jake and Aaron had so much fun decorating their cakes. This years theme was American ABC's, so Jake decided to make his cake look like the state of Michigan and Aaron decided to make the American flag. Before the kids went to school Thursday morning, they mixed up their cake mixes, put them in a pan and started baking them. I had to take them out and flip them out of the pan. When they got home from school and after dinner, I mixed up some frosting for them and then let them have at it. I was amazed how well they did. If I'm not careful I might lose my job as the family birthday cake decorator. =)

Friday was the big event. Matt says it was a huge success. It was hard for me to say since I was in charge or it and felt like I was running around with my head cut off. I guess that is to be expected at this type of Pack Meeting. We had a turkey dinner with all the fixing. I think the cakes that all the boys brought were a huge success. This year we even invited the 11-yr. old scouts back to help serve the food, judge the cakes and award the boys their cake certificates. All I can say now is, I'm glad it's over!

Fablehaven Author Signing

Our family had the opportunity to see one of the kids favorite authors at Barnes and Noble bookstore. Brandon Mull, the author of the Fablehaven series, was there answer questions from the kids and to sign books. The boys were the first in line and asked lots of fun questions. They held a drawing for some free t-shirts. Aaron was the first name to be drawn. He has all the luck! The other boys are hoping he will share the shirt with them. It is really fun to see the boys interested in good books! If your kids are looking for a good read check it out!

Abby's Birthday Bear

For Abby's 2nd Birthday we took her to Build-a-Bear to pick out her very own bear. This is a tradition we started with Caleb for his birthday a few years ago and since then we have taken the kids there for a birthday. I can't believe this completes the birthday bears.

Abby had so much fun decided what bear to get and which outfit to pick out. I think her favorite part was the stuffing machine and the fluffing area. For those of you who have not been to a Build-a-Bear store, you can go in a pick out a unstuffed animal, choose a sound for it (if you want too), and the worker at the store helps to stuff it. When they are finished putting in the stuffing, they have you choose a heart to put into your animal and they also put in the ID tag for it. They then sew it up for you. You then take it to the fluffing area where you can comb the animals hair. Next it is time to pick out an outfit and dress it. Finally it is time to name your animal. This is a really fun activity for the little kids to do, even teh big kids enjoy this!!

Happy 2nd Birthday Abby!!!

I meant to post this yesterday, February 11th, on her actual birthday.

Wow, I can't believe it has been two years since Abby was born. To look back to see where she started from and to see her today is AMAZING!!
Two years ago was a very scary time. Abigail Faith Rogers was born 13 weeks early at 27.1 weeks gestation and only weighed 2 lbs. 11 ounces and was 13 inches long. Little did we know what a roller coaster we would go on for the next 86 days with her living in the NICU.
Today, Abby is a beautiful, active, determined, normal toddler. Looking at her now, one would never suspect she started life different than any other baby.
She now weighs 20 lbs 7 ounces., is 32 inches tall, walks, no runs everywhere and jabbers about everything. She loves to play dress-up with her big sister and snuggle with anything that is soft. She loves to be involved in what her big siblings are doing and her most favorite thing to do is eat.

We find so much entertainment in watching her at any meal time. She has recently learned that she can eat with a spoon and it really is just as fast as both hands! Every meal is an adventure. If not watched carefully, she will paint herself with her food. Here is the most recent picture of her after Daddy gave her a bowl of ice cream last Friday evening. When I walked into the dining room and saw her, my only repsonse was, "Grab the camera." The boys all laughed and Matt said this is not funny and hauled her up to the bathtub to be bathed. I am constantly telling her not to make a mess and so now she repeats, "Abby messy."

Abby truly is a joy to have in our lives. She always has a smile for everyone. She loves to flirt!!! Her big blue eyes are to die for. She is so lovable. Happy Birthday (a day late) Abby, we love you!!

Happy 3rd Birthday Clarissa!!!

We have had a very Princess-filled weekend. On Saturday, Clarissa had a Princess party with a few of her friends. She had so much fun. Her friends came dressed up as a princess, so our guests included Snow White, Cinderella, Belle and Tinkerbell along with our two precious little princesses. After I had invited her friends to the party, I decided that I might as well have a duel party since Abby's birthday is three days later. Abby loved being involved in all the princess activities. She was glowing through the whole party! When the guests arrived, we gave them each a homemade princess hat and wand so they could complete their attire. We played Princess hopscotch, Pin the star on the wand, painted fingernails and some toenails, colored castle frames, opened presents, ate princess snacks and of course the best thing, ate the castle cake and ice cream! The little princesses had so much fun that by the time it was time to go home they wanted to stay longer. Thank you to the friends that came and spoiled out little princess. It was a wonderful party!

Today, we had the girls family party. The boys had a lot of fun shopping for them. I think the girls will be going through some withdrawal after having two days of gifts. =) They were spoiled by clothes from Dad & Mom, Strawberry Shortcake toys, Princess games and puzzles from the boys, more clothes from Grandma and Grandpa Jenson and money from Grandma & Grandpa Rogers, Shel and Tom and their great grandma. Clarissa is so excited about going shopping at Build A Bear and Toys R Us since she got gift certificates from there. We even used the leftover cake to make a parfait cake for them which had a nice refreshing 'healthy' taste to it after all the cake we ate on Saturday. What a fun weekend it has been to celebrate our girl's birthday. We sure do love you, Clarissa and Abby.

Snowtime!!

With winter here to stay, the snow is not getting any better to play in, so we decided to have some family time last Monday in the snow. The girls loved being pulled around the yard and park in the sled. This is Abby's first experience that she could enjoy in the snow. Last year she would have been too small to understand. We planned on making a snowman as a family and it just was not to be. The boys tried and tried, but the snow was not wanting to stick together. With the deep freeze tempuratures that we have been having, the snow has a thick crunchy layer on it so even making snow angels was a little difficult. Oh well, the kids didn't seem to mind and we ended the day with a mug of hot cocoa with candy cane stirring sticks! That is about the only good thing about winter...the hot cocoa to keep you warm. =)