Merry Christmas

Well, we hope you all had a fabulous Christmas. Despite all the stress beforehand, the day always seems to come and go, and it always seems to work out perfectly! Hope you all enjoyed the lumps of coal you got from Santa! We know our kids all did!
One of the most fun things this year was that Papa Bruce & Grandma June did the "12 days of Christmas" for us. So we got to open one present every day for 12 days! It was so much fun! We especially enjoyed the gift where we put a piece of straw into baby Jesus' manger when we did service for someone else. What a fun gift! Thanks so much!


We always get Christmas jammies on Christmas Eve! This year they came from Papa Jesse & Granny Crystal. Not so "Chrstmas-e," but we liked them better than the lame-o red & white ones we get every year anyway! We had fun spending Christmas with them and were happy to eat the yummy turkey Granny made (oh, and the pumpkin pies, too)!

The two of us on Christmas day. Thanks for making our Christmas wonderful this year, honey! I love you to the moon & back!

We took some pictures of the kids in an attempt to send out Christmas cards with a cute picture. This was one of them. But then I read something (a blog possibly) that my cousin (Shandy possibly) wrote about hating it when people send out Christmas cards with only pictures of the kids on them. They want to see the parents, too, dang-it! So I got so frustrated & mad that I didn't send out any cards! Ha ha ha! Just kidding, I didn't get that far this year with sending out cards and all. In fact, I barely downloaded the pictures from my camera. I guess people will just have to read my blog instead (yes, both of you).

We Survived!

We officially survived most of December! We somehow made it through finals week, moving (again), the stress of finding new jobs, holiday shopping, and starting over in a new ward! However, we haven't managed to send out any Christmas cards yet, so you will have to forgive us, please. It just isn't gonna happen this year. Sorry to those of you who are anxiously anticipating a fabulous card from us. We did manage to get some cute pictures of the kids, though. They will be posted soon. If you are looking for our new address, send us an email or call and we would be happy to give it to you! Love you all and hope your holiday season is filled with love and joy!

Give Thanks...

Here are a few of the things I am most THANKFUL for:
- A wonderful family (including parents, in-laws, sisters, brothers, nieces, nephews, etc.)
- My loving husband who I love and adore (especially his cute smile)
- My beautiful Taylor who is such a great example to those around her
- My Darling Izaak who is such a big helper
- My adorable Isabelle who brings so much joy to our home
- A warm bed to sleep in
- Plenty of food to eat on Thanksgiving
- Good friends
- A wonderful visiting teacher who continues to call me even though I moved
- And especially Our Savior, Jesus Christ, who lived and died for us, and is the reason for the season we are all beginning to celebrate

I have so much to be Thankful for! I hope everyone else is as blessed as my family is!

Taylor had a Birthday... Shout HOORAY!!!

So our little Taylor turned 8 in August. Can you believe my baby is already this big??? So Daddy decided that she deserved something "very nice" for her birthday, and he found this cute little kitty for her. She absolutely loves this cat and was very attached to her the moment we got her. The morning of her birthday we woke her up and said we had a surprise for her and didn't tell her what. So we drove her to some random house clear over in the next town, and all the while she was wondering what in the heck we were doing! She didn't have any idea until she knocked on the door and saw the lady there with the kitty for her. What a great surprise! She named her "Fluffy" and we all kinda like her.

And who can turn 8 without receiving a little "Scripture Power???!!!" Needless to say, she was thrilled!!!

School is now in session...

So I know that school started waaaay back in August... but I just have to post our 1st day of school pics! They both look so grown up!

Ikes on his 1st day of 1st grade. He was very excited and especially surprised that he got to stay at school for the WHOLE day... AND eat lunch there! YIPPEE!!!

Tay-Tay on her 1st day of 2nd grade. She was like an old pro... all set and ready to go!

We've Moved!

Sorry to all of you faithful blog followers of mine (well, both of you)! Life has been crazy, crazy busy and my blog has been neglected. We have recently made some major life changes and we have moved! To those of you who know us and love us, feel free to email us and we will give you our new contact information. I will have to catch up on the blog another day when my computer is cooperating and letting me download pictures! Still haven't posted 1st day of school pics, and now my kids have had another 1st day in another school! UGHH!!!

"Four" Tag

I was tagged by Amanda Pants. I am suppose to go to my 4th picture file and pick the 4th picture there and post it. Well, that picture has already been posted to my blog, and since I haven't posted anything for like 1/2 a year, you may recognize it from my last post and wonder, "Why in the world would she not post for like 6 months and then all of a sudden post again with the last picture she used??!!" So I'll be honest, I had to cheat a little and choose the 12th picture because 1-11 have all been used in the past (sorry to break the rules, but at least you can divide 12 by 4 evenly, right?)
So this is the picture we sent with last year's Christmas cards. Those of you who are yearly receivers of our lovely Christmas cards may really appreciate seeing this again (or maybe not). It was taken in November of '07 at Hardware Ranch where the elk go as a refuge in the winter (that is, if they live through hunting season). You can see all the elk in the background if you look closely. We usually go up there every year around Christmas time and take a sleigh ride around the elk and then play in the snow and have hot chocolate. The kids love it! Even though it was freezing cold there that day, they were good sports and let me take some pictures! It is amazing how much they have grown in the past year (especially Belle)! Oh how I love these little monkeys!
So now I tag 4 more people: Shandy, Bryner, Vicky, & Lisa. Good luck, suckers!

My Beautiful best friend and wife.

Today is Amber's Birth Day. So as is customary (I think) I will write 29 (because this is how old she says she is) I will write 29 things I love best about her.

1-3.Amber is the love of my life, A blessing sent directly to me from Our Father in Heaven Amber accepts me and all my craziness. She is Perfect and she is MY WIFE (I am so blessed)
4. Amber is my best friend
5. Amber is a great mother
6. Amber is kind to all
7. Amber has a strong testimony of the gospel
8. Amber makes me a better person
9. Amber loves and accepts my crazy family (This means the world to me)
10. Amber loves her children
11. Amber lets me and Bubba go fishing almost every Sat. during the summer
12. Amber took Hunters safety one year just so we could do more things together
13. Amber let me buy my old truck
14.Amber lets me spend money fixing my old truck
15.Amber is nice enough to laugh at my jokes and or at all the cool words I invent
16.Amber is patient with me and my football fanaticism
17.Amber always does her best at anything she does
18.Amber is SO BEAUTIFUL
19.Amber loves to be held
20.Amber loves to be with family
21.Amber lets me take the family to the farmers market pretty much every week even though everything is same every time
22.Amber took time to take care of Gma Kathryn.
23.Amber enjoyed caring for Gma and would sit and have long conversations with her even if Gma could n't respond .
24.Amber lets me buy a bigger TV every few yrs so that I feel like I am at every football game
25.Did I already say that Amber is a little HOTTIE if so it deserves to be said again
26.Amber Bought me A new Benelli Shotgun
27.Amber thinks every song is "our Song"
28.Amber Loves long bubble baths
29.Amber is everything I was Promised in my Pat. Blessing and more.

I Love You Amber !!!!! And I hope you read this.

So many things to post... so little time!

Sorry we have been a little M.I.A. lately, but for some reason this summer has been waaaaay busier than I anticipated! So many things have happened that I don't know where to start! Ikes lost his first tooth, Isabelle is learning to swim, and Taylor is turning "the big 8" this month! My sister was here visiting for most of July, so we have mostly just played and played and played (and in between we had to work a little, too). To top off all of the excitement, my digital camera is out of batteries, so nothing more than words today until I can get some batteries and download all my new pics! Stay tuned for the excitement to come!

Happy Birthday, J.R.!!!

This week J.R. celebrated his 31st birthday! Wow, we almost bought black candles, black balloons, and black streamers, but refrained. Despite the age issue, and the slight hints of a mid-life crisis, we tried to make it a great day for daddy. We all went to see him at lunch and took him his favorite ice cream (D.Q. banana split flavored blizzard), and later we had a fabulous dinner with grandma and grandpa followed by his favorite pineapple upside-down cake. Then he got to open present, after present, after present. Spoiled!!!

Finally, a "smile" while opening presents.

This is his "Do you really have to take a picture of me at 6 a.m. while I am trying to leave for work" look!!! He wasn't impressed when I whipped out the camera in perfect motherly fashion.

And this is his "OK, I will attempt to fake a smile if you will just go inside and take that dumb camera with you and let me leave for work" look.

31 Fabulous Things About our 31-year-old:
1. J.R. has beautiful brown eyes.
2. Our children have inherited his beautiful brown eyes.
3. He has fabulous eye lashes!
4. He has thankfully passed on his fabulous eyelashes to our darling girls.
5. He is freaking hilarious... never a dull moment in our house with him around!
6. He makes cute babies!
7. He's a word mixer-upper genius... he comes up with the craziest things!
8. When he chooses to smile, it is beautiful, and melts my heart every time!
9. I've loved him since I was only 14.
10. He lived across the fence from me when we were young.
11. We used to sneak out and chat across the fence... sometimes even in the rain.
12. He is a die-hard Dallas Cowboys fan!
13. He would marry them (the Cowboys) if I would let him.
14. He is a die-hard football fan... football season rolls around, and I'm history every year.
15. He is also a die-hard Burley Bobcats fan! (Of course... who isn't???)
16. Not a huge basketball fan...
17. ...but will watch it when the Jazz play.
18. He is a wonderful father.
19. The kids like him the best.
20. He hates to swim and never really learned himself...
21. ...but he taught the kids to swim anyway and takes them almost every day.
22. He loves to fish.
23. If he doesn't have to work on a Saturday, you will find him off fishing somewhere at dawn.
24. He still has a passion for detailing cars.
25. He loves to hunt.
26. On a Saturday during hunting season, you will find him off hunting somewhere at dawn.
27. He used to send me a dozen roses every year on my birthday.
28. I think he sent them (the roses) just to give my mother a heart attack!
29. He was raised as an "only" child...
30. ... but he has 1 full sister, 1 half-brother, 2 half-sisters, and 4 step-sisters.
31. I am still head-over-heels in love with this wonderful boy!

Big Blue's Lil' Aggie Football Camp

Last week Izaak participated in Big Blue's Lil Aggie Football Camp (he had only been looking forward to it ALL year long)! He had a blast and learned lots of important football stuff and is looking forward to camp every summer from now on. The camp was for Kindergarten - 8th Graders and they split them into teams based on their age group. He had so much fun! For being such a little guy, he is quite the trooper! Way to go, Bubba!!!

9 Years, and Counting...

Happy Anniversary... I love you!!!
We were married on June 18, 1999, so this week we celebrated our 9th anniversary. We have accomplished many things over the years, and have yet to accomplish many more great and important things. We can't wait to spend more of our lives together.
We celebrated the inexpensive way by staying home and spending some alone time together. Thanks to Papa Bruce and Grandma June for keeping the kids for us for the night. We were able to go out to dinner and enjoy each other's company without any interruptions from little ones. We also enjoyed sleeping in the next morning without someone tugging at our blankets to wake up. But we missed our little monkeys and our home seemed too quiet without them. So we realized how blessed we are to have them around all the time. It made me realize how much I truly love and appreciate my life, my husband, and my children.

Grow old along with me...
The best is yet to be!

Some engagement pics...

One engagement picture...

Another engagement picture...

And another engagement picture...

This is a self-portrait actually taken by J.R. (Notice the happy smile on his face). I'll always remember this day because it was when we shared our "first kiss" after he was home from his mission. This was also the day he told me he wasn't interested in dating anyone else, and we decided we should get married.

This is the day we got engaged just after he gave me the ring. Thank Heavens for Amanda who decided we needed to capture the happy day with a picture! This was some day at the end of January 1999.

Father's Day...

Happy Father's Day to the best Daddy in the World!!!

We sure love our Daddy! And we are glad he is such a hard worker and a fun person to be with! He makes our lives so much more fun and enjoyable and we love him very much! He likes to take us swimming and fishing and kinds of fun stuff! Our lives would be so boring without him. And in these times when a lot of children do not have dads in their homes, we are so lucky that we have such a great one! Love you, baby!
Despite waking up a full hour late, we actually made it through the day and tried to let Daddy know that we love and appreciate him. It wasn't a perfect day, but we filled it with as many hugs and kisses and cards as we could!
We spent Saturday evening with Papa Bruce and Grandma June to celebrate Father's Day. We enjoyed some grilled fillet mignon, corn on the cob, lots of yummy fruits and salads, and of course root beer floats!

Questions of the Day

Question #1: How many times can Amber actually run out of gas within 2 minutes of her house (and a gas station) in a 6 month time frame?
Answer: At least 2, apparently!

Question #2: Do gas stations (Maverik in particular) actually have gas cans on hand for people to borrow when they run out of gas and then walk there?
Answer: Yes, apparently!

Question #3: When you call your husband at work (crying) and tell him you have yet again run out of gas, how does he react?
Answer: Apparently, he starts out by laughing, then gives words of advise on how to help rectify the situation, then follows with comforting words of encouragement about his wife still being a good person (even though she fails to ever put gas in the car when she REALLY needs to)!

Question #4: When you leave 3 kids in the car with a 7-year-old in charge while you run 1/4 of a block to the gas station, do you really expect them to stay in their seats and stay calm???
Answer: Apparently, we as parents "expect" them to stay in their seats and stay calm, but they never do!

Question #5: Even though your children have eaten 3 meals a day for the past 3 months, as well as 1 hour before running out of gas, are they "starving to death" when the car won't move?
Answer: Apparently, yes!

Question #6: Does Heavenly Father really answer little children's prayers when they pray for help to get home safe?
Answer: Apparently he does.

School's Out!!!

School is officially out for the Summer! We are so excited to not have to run and run and run all day long and are looking forward to a nice relaxing Summer. Our plans are to spend a lot of time in the pool, take some trips to Burley, visit with cousins as much as possible, and spend some of our days with Grandma June. We can't wait!

Taylor on her last day of 1st grade. She did so well this year and we are so proud of her. I can't believe we will have a child in 2nd grade next year.

Ikes on his last day of Kindergarten. They had a "Super Kid's Day" on the lawn of the school that included many water activities, face painting (or arm painting), races, and many other fun activities (that must have included gum). He thought it was fabulous!

All the first graders got to take their favorite Teddy Bear to school for the last day. She loves this thing!

Izaak and his best friend, Bryant, showing off their matching green dragon "tattoos." These two met each other on the first day of school and have been practically inseparable ever since!

Benito & Isabel's Wedding

Our little family at the wedding reception.

The lovely Bride & Groom: Bean & Isa.

Bean & Isa's first dance.

J.R. & his siblings. (Front l-r) Crystal, Isabel, Benito, & Angela. (Back l-r) Meny, Leslie, & J.R.

Let's just say I had to "force" him to have a picture with me in the hot sun! Again, couldn't get him to even "fake" a smile.

A couple of weeks ago J.R.'s big brother, Benito, finally married his long-time girlfriend, Isabel. (Our kids have been calling her Tia Isa forever!) We traveled to Boise for the weekend for the wedding and had a fabulous time with all of his family. Though J.R. was raised as an "only child," he has a very large family with very complicated dynamics that would be too hard to explain here. So let's just say we saw everyone, spent as much time as possible with everyone (including both his mom and his dad), and we had a very hard time saying good-bye. We were especially glad our kids got to spend time with ALL their cousins! It's too bad we don't get to see everyone more often, but we made the best of the time we had with them and we hope to see them all again soon!
The wedding was very nice and the reception was a blast. We enjoyed a fun B-B-Q the night before for their rehearsal dinner. And then for their reception and dinner they had yummy Mexican food serenaded by a Mariachi Band! So fun! Our little Isabelle (not to be confused with the bride, Isabel) was VERY impressed! The dinner was followed up with a lot more music and lot more dancing! We partied all night long. Man, those Mexicans sure know how to throw a party! And now I'm realizing why they were all so bored at my wedding reception. Anyways, we had a great time and we are so glad we took a few days off to relax and spend some much-needed time with family.

More Wedding Fun...

Jesse, Angie, & J.R. just before the wedding.

J.R. & his mother walked Bean down the aisle. (They walked too fast for me to get a good picture, so just imagine Linda on the other side. I didn't intentionally cut her out of the picture). I couldn't get either of them to smile at me. Basically because J.R. never smiles in pictures and Bean was too nervous to smile!

Our three little monkeys at the reception. This was after they drank orange punch and had orange mustaches!

The Macias cousins before the wedding on the church steps. Samantha, Logan, Madisyn, Izaak, Isabelle, Taylor, Isaiha, & Yessica.

The Macias cousins at the wedding reception. Madisyn, Logan, Taylor, Yessica, Isaiha holding Brexton, Samantha, Izaak, & Isabelle.

Spring Ballet Recital

Taylor had her Spring Ballet Recital a couple of weeks ago, and is now done with ballet for the summer. She did such a great job and learned so much this year - we are so proud of our little ballerina!
Our darling little ballerina putting on her ballet slipper.
Dancing to "Some Day My Prince Will Come!"
Tay-Tay played the part of a hunter in their production of "Peter and the Wolf." Fun little "camo" costume!
Flowers from her Daddy and brother.
The one thing I always hated about my own ballet performances was how dumb I looked with my hair all slicked back in a miserable bun. So, even though she hates the torture, I always try to give her a prettier look than a normal bun. So here is my "masterpiece." Luv her bunz!

Happy Mother's Day To Me!!!

The greatest Mother's Day gift I have is my three precious children. Though being a mother is a tough job, when they smile and say they love me (despite all my flaws), it makes it all worth it! I just love these three little monkeys!

Isabelle was so proud of her little hair bows today. She kept them in the entire day!







Izaak always looks so handsome when he wears a tie!








And where has my little girl gone? I can't believe Taylor is all grown up!