For my sisters

Sunday night celebration

The final celebration of Marky's birthday weekend was Sunday night. We had supper at Grandma and Poppop Oman's house. Marky had requested to have tacos and brownies to eat - Grandma makes very yummy tacos, and the brownies were even yummier! Both Marky AND Maddie were blessed with gifts Sunday night. They BOTH got new laptop computers!!! OH MY GOODNESS! Marky was surprised, but I think Maddie was even MORE surprised. Maddie was feeling SO rotten, but this gift certainly perked her up. Marky also opened amazing gifts from Aunt Lisa and Aunt Renee on Sunday night - She certainly was showered with love by everyone. The girls have been on their new computers ever since Sunday evening. The really special think is that Maddie has had Meredith sitting right next to her the whole time because Maddie has been home from school for 2 days. Maddie has been really gracious to let Meredith watch her play on her computer and share her new present with her little sister. This night was certainly the icing on the birthday cake!!!

Sharing - Sunday morning

One of the most important things about being part of a big family is sharing what you have with others. Marky and I just couldn't keep our SWEET hotel to ourselves. SOOOOO... we called Daddy and the other kiddos and invited them to join us for breakfast and swimming on Sunday morning. It really was a blast, and Marky and I were both happy to share with the rest of the family. The kids and Daddy had so much fun playing in the water; it was still too cold for me. I'm such a cold-water wuss. Maddie had started getting sick the night before but even she (with the help of Tylenol) was having a great time. Meredith is sort of like her mama and would only sit in the hot tub - no freezing cold water for her either!!

Saturday night

Marky and I (the mama) went and celebrated her birthday mother/daughter style on Saturday afternoon. First, we had pedicures; the sweet girls at the salon painted the prettiest flowers on Marky's toes and fingers. They are beautiful!! (and she didn't charge us!! they were a birthday present!) Next, we checked into our hotel - the Holiday Inn Express at Centerra. It was the coolest hotel with the coolest room. It had a set of bunkbeds in it's own room with it's own TV. Marky thought that was the most awesome thing!!! Then we decided to go to Target - Marky found a couple of "treasures" in the dollar section of Target - always a happy place to shop. Marky chose for us to eat at Chili's. It was quite the yummy meal. Before we went back to the hotel for some "girly time" we went to a store called "Justice". We had fun looking at the FUN accessories and clothes. SO much in one little store. She bought a T-shirt that had a logo about recycling on the front of it. I did some Christmas shopping!!! When we finally got back to the hotel, Marky was ready to swim. The swimming pool had a big water slide in it. She loved sliding and swimming (especially because she was by herself!). The water was SUPER cold - MUCH too cold for a chicken mama like me. BRRRRRR. Once she tired of that we went back to our room for some TV and talking. It was so much fun to be together with my sweet oldest daughter. It's hard for me to believe that she is 10 today. The year that she was born, my sister Renee gave me the Celine Dion Christmas Cd - (have you gotten it out yet this year, Renee???) The music always reminds me of when Marky was born. One of my favorite songs on the CD is "These are the Special Times". In fact, I wrote out the words to that song and put t hem in Marky's baby scrapbook. Well, this weekend was one of those special times. One of many more to come, I am hoping.

Friday evening

Marky and her friends had a very fun evening Friday night. They ate sloppy joes, opened gifts, played with the hamsters, played a new LPS game , dipped their hands in parafin, soaked their feet, got their hair washed and fixed, painted fingernails and toenails, watched the movie "Kit Kitteredge". It was a FULL and GRAND night!!! I was really surprised that they went to sleep so "early" - about 1: 00 am!!! In the morning we had waffles and bacon for breakfast, played more of the LPS game, and then all of the girls' parents came and got them. I think the girls had a really fun time, and Marky felt loved by all of her friends.

Bowling fun!!

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Friday afternoon, I picked Marky and 5 of her friends up from school. Her friend Cassidy (her 6th guest) doesn't go to her school, so her mom dropped her off at our house. Daddy brought Maddie, Meredith, and Michael with him. Our destination was the bowling alley for some birthday bowling!! It was such a blast!!! Marky's friends were so sweet and had so much fun playing and laughing together. Michael developed a FAST crush on Mallory. She loved playing with him too. They had me laughing in the van with their silliness and craziness. I enjoyed them so much.

Michael's rendition...

Any guess what a Pocky Pollet is????

We interrupt this bloggy silence...

...with a NUMBER of pictures and thoughts. We had a busy week, and an even busier weekend!!! Last week, Daddy was gone to Montana, so Mommy didn't have any extra time to sit at the computer. We celebrated Marky's 10th birthday over the weekend, and Maddie got sick over the weekend. Pictures to follow...