Go Lakers, Beat the Suns

So this is an interesting series because we live in Phoenix but are Laker fans!! Go Lakers!!! I had to post a few pictures of the kids in their Laker gear. In March Brian, Dave, Austin and Tyler went to a Suns/Lakers game here in Phoenix during the regular season. It was Dave's birthday gift to Austin. They had so much fun!! Austin was in heaven.

Temple Open House

On Saturday we went to the Gila Valley Arizona Temple open house. It is about a 2 1/2 hour drive from Queen Creek. We went together as a family and had a nice time touring the temple. Out of all four kids Macie did the best in the car....go figure!! The temple is beautiful! Can't wait for the Gilbert Temple!

Playing catch up

Life has been super busy with little Macie joining our family. She is such a sweet baby and her siblings ADORE her. Enjoy a few pictures from the past few weeks.

First day of school-August 10, 2009
Austin is in 3rd grade and Tyler in 1st grade.
Kaylee wanted to go to school too. Gotta love her "no pants" look and her backpack (that is almost as big as she is) and her million dollar smile!






















Our handsome boys! They love each other and are so excited to see each other during lunch and recess. Austin told me that whenever he sees Tyler he goes over to him and gives him a big hug! So sweet! I love that they are good friends and that Austin isn't embarrassed to hug his little brother in front of the other kids.

Little Macie snoozing

My parents with Macie Grace.

Macie Grace

Our little girl is here! We are pleased to announce the birth of Macie Grace McNamara. She was born on July 19th at 11:23 p.m. She weighed 7 lbs. 2 oz. and was 20" long. She has lots of dark hair and reminds us of Tyler as a newborn.

Her older brothers and sister can't get enough of her. They are super excited to have a new little baby in the house and are good helpers around the house. I can't believe we have 4 children now! We feel so blessed to have such sweet and precious children in our home.

We have had lots of help during the last week. Brian's mom was here for about 5 days and then my mom is here now helping. We also get Brian's stepmom for about a week too after my mom leaves. We appreciate all the help and support from our families, friends and neighbors. Thanks so much! We will post more pictures soon!

Update on our three (soon to be four)

On March 21, 2009 Austin was baptized! It was such a special day for our family. We had so many of our family come into town for Austin's baptism. We appreciate all that made the trip to help us celebrate this important step in Austin's life. Austin has been preparing for baptism for many months and was really excited when he woke the morning of his baptism. He told me that he was a little nervous, but mostly excited to be baptized by his dad. He is the oldest child AND the oldest grandchild on both sides of the family, so he is a great example to those who are younger than him (as well as those of us who are old too :)). Not only did his grandparents, great-grandparents, aunts and uncles come; but he also had 4 cousins from Las Vegas make the trip. The cousins had so much fun together playing, swimming (the water was still pretty cold), eating and just being together. I love to see my children around their cousins. It's so fun to watch. Ellie and Kaylee were attached at the hip and had fun trying all the hand me down clothes that Ellie brought Kaylee. Wish they lived down the street so we could play everyday! We missed the Florida and Virgina cousins; but we cherish those times when we are all together.



Ryan, Ellie, Austin, Kaylee, Spencer and Luke (trying to escape)

Tyler is M.I.A in this picture

Austin & Brian

Our litte graduate

On Wednesday, May 20th Tyler will graduate from Miss Arnold's kindergarten class. I love this picture of him. Just his smile alone makes me happy! He has LOVED school this year and LOVED Miss Arnold and her aide, Mrs. Adams. Tyler has really matured during the school year. He has soared in handwriting, phonograms and reading. He has made some great friends and memories too. Look for more pictures after graduation actually happens! We love you Tyler James!

What can I say about Kaylee....

well, life is never boring with her around! She is talking up a storm. Loves to copy what everyone else is saying or doing. For example: she now says, "I go potty" but she is a little confused on the proper technique for girls. She likes to stand, not sit. I think she has watched her brothers too much (maybe they need to work on shutting the door :)). She opens the lid, pulls up her shirt, pushes her tummy out and stands there for a couple seconds, then she slams down the lid and says "all done". She is not interested in sitting down at all. I am not even going to attempt potty training until after this new baby comes. For the time being she is content doing it her way!

And she likes to go in the "wa-wa". We went swimming for the first time on Thursday afternoon. She couldn't wait to get her swimsuit on. I told her to pose for a picture and she said "cheese" and then stands still for about 2 seconds and then comes running over to me saying "I see". She wants to see herself in the camera. I was able to get at least one picture without her running towards me. What a cheesy grin! She is such a sweet girl and is always willing to give out hugs and kisses to almost everyone she meets. We love you Kaylee!!

#4 - Baby Girl in uerto

No new pictures of her, but she sure is an active one. She often keeps me awake at night when I am trying to fall asleep with her aerobatics. I am now 29 weeks and feeling more and more uncomfortable, hot and tired. The boys like to feel her kick (especially Austin) and Kaylee likes to kiss my tummy. She even pulls up her shirt and puts her tummy on my tummy. It's pretty funny. Not sure if she thinks she has a baby in her tummy too or what. Of course she has no idea what is coming in the next couple months, but she is in for a surprise! She won't be the baby anymore.

Even though we are utterly exhausted at the end of each day, we feel blessed to have such sweet little children in our home. They constantly amaze us with their unconditional love, boundless energy and desire to learn. Brian and I feel grateful for the memories made and the times when we are all together. It's our own "little piece of heaven".

GO PINK!!!

So a few weeks ago I had my ultrasound and we were told we are having another little girl. We are excited about this new addition to our family! Now if we can just come up with a name that both Brian and I agree on!

Here is a little video of our baby girl!

8 is GREAT!!!

Austin on his blessing day

Today is Austin's 8th birthday. Unfortunately he caught the "stomach flu" bug that Kaylee and I had over the weekend. Who is next? Tyler or Brian? Anyway, I can't believe my firstborn is 8. It wasn't that long ago that he was born. He was such a beautiful baby and has turned into a handsome boy. He is such a big help and a good example to Tyler and Kaylee. He has such a big heart. He is always writing little notes to me. Just yesterday when I was sick on the couch he brought over a note that said, "I hope you feel better. I love you mom." I smiled real BIG when I read it.



He will be baptized next month and is looking forward to this special day. Many family members are planning on making the trip to be with Austin on his baptism day.



This past Saturday we celebrated Austin's birthday a little early. His Grandpa & Grandma McNamara were visiting and he also invited two friends from school to play mini-golf. We headed out around 3:30 to Golfland for a little game of mini-golf. We all had fun playing golf...it was interesting with 4 active boys (Tyler included), but we survived! Afterwards we came home and had pizza and cake. It was a fun day!