And the big celebration

So the whole reason I stayed for so long, was for Brent! Congrats to my little brother for getting married. Ben flew back in Friday in time for the party to begin. SO here is the whole Skousen fam. after the groom's dinner. We are getting to be a big family, I love it! There is chaos and kids all over the place. Then the boys gathered for one last outing with Brent as a Bachelor, and I hear it was a fun night! They got married early afternoon so it was perfect outside, everyone was well rested. Here'r our fun family!! Then the happy newlyweds. Brent married Lacey Lines- and we are happy to have her in our family. I just wish we were around to see them more and watch the beginning of the marriage. Our Angel Tatum is back and looks like she is sticking around. She has been the happiest, crazy girl. She still screams for no reason, but will just randomly laugh. She thinks she is just so funny! Carter practiced kicking around a soccer ball over the break. And since the kids were outside playing with the Bentley's while we were in the temple- it was supposed to be good entertainment. (Chanda and Kelli- you guys are the BEST!! You made the day go much smoother than I anticipated. ) Then to the reception. It was held at the gorgeous Cardon house.. it looked perfect. It was simple with a relaxing feel. Here's my Dad showing off on of the tables. Brent with a part of his new family. My mom with Tatum. Doesn't she look great! All the kids married and out of the house. The happy couple ready for the night to be done.... And the Luchessi's. They are a blast and so fun to be with! It was so fun to see Austin and take care of him a bit. Hopefully he'll remember me whenever I see him again. He's got to be good friends with my kids one day.. And I think that about covers our excitement for the year. We will miss our AZ friends and family. We hope someone will come visit us in Oklahoma so I don't get lonely. Happy New Year!

NO Ben

Here is the next portion of our trip. I continued to have a good time, but all around- Ben was missed and missed out. He went back to freezing Oklahoma to go back to work, while I had a blast in AZ. Another bonus to not working. I think the kids got bored with me, but luckily there was plenty of others around willing to hold a kid and entertain them to relieve me and them. We swung almost everyday, rode in the wagon, played in the leaves, took a walk to the park one day- the kids LOVED the sand,

(Linc would just wander around, I love it! He enjoys exploring)

.. just kept a fun busy going. Michelle and her kids came for a week so everyday was a cousin party. And I'll remind you- Ben was stuck in the ice and snow all by himself. Who really feels bad?







(Look, I can rock with no hands!)
( Tatum didn't take a nap this day... what a crank, but thankful there was a swing around)

I also got to give Austin his first haircut- if a buzz is even that. Love doing hair! I get to be included in memorable events!
I miss it already just looking at the pictures. It is still too cold in OK to go outside. Blah.

Happy Birthday Babe!

Ben is lucky enough to have his birthday the day after Christmas. I think the only bonus is, since we live away, he still gets Christmas with his family and old friends! We had lunch at Red Robin with both fams, got his free Krispy Kreme's and enjoyed the great AZ weather!For the night the great sis-in-law, Monica, arranged a surprise party for Ben. It was great. Ben didn't have anything planned and didn't really care so it was pretty easy keeping it a secret. We got a game of Dodgeball going- I thought it was a lot of fun. Short lived, but fun to be doing something a little more active (as opposed to eating sweets and just chatting). I just love that Boy Ben and glad I can celebrate his life with him!!

Merry Christmas 2009

We made it to AZ. Had Christmas Eve party with both fams. As I've looked back through pictures, I've realized how lame they get. Still a lot of fun pictures- but my hands aren't free as often with moving kids so don't get much of a variety- just a thought. We had Christmas Breakfast with the Skousens, then back with McDowells, then Skousens- yah know how it gets visiting with both families around. It is a blast to see everyone but gets a little hectic. And once again, the kids make everything a little more complicated! Ended the night at Dan and Kelli's. Ben's brother Matt is on a mission in Peru, so we gathered to talk to him, had another moment to open presents, then put all the kids to bed so we could play some games. We used to do that every Sunday before we moved and before there were this many kids- so it was a lot of fun to get together and do it again!


Here are all the babies- a lot of nakedness going on!

Merry Christmas!

Merry Early Christmas and AZ

We had a fantastic Christmas Break. Reality will soon kick in since we are back at home- but loved being away to AZ for awhile. There was a lot of pictures taken, so we'll have to split this up into a couple segments, so try to keep up. This also means the order will be backwards by post. Oh well..

We had our Christmas in Oklahoma on the 23rd so we wouldn't have to load the car with unnecessary things. The kids had a little moment of heaven, lots of toys to play with and things to rip. They actually didn't care much for the paper, but more for the presents. Really got into playing with the toys and experimenting. It was great to watch.

And enjoying the Christmas lights... the neighbors across the street did an awesome job- Linc did his stretches while enjoying!, and then our little light job.

Then we drove to AZ, what a dread. We stopped in Payson for breakfast and to let the kids release their wiggles. They did great playing and made the car ride much more pleasant.