A tie dream come true

Josie has been wanting a neck tie for a few months now. Every time Dad dresses up for work or a holiday she says in the sweetest voice, "I just really wish I had a tie". So yesterday we all ventured out to the mall to get Billy some clothes. Josie found all the men's ties and said, "maybe today I'll get my tie!" That's when I figured what the heck, we've got nothing else to do. So while Billy tried on clothes the kids and I went on a quest to find the perfect tie. Just when we were giving up hope, I saw them. They had quite the selection too. Dinosaur ties, red power ties, holiday ties, but when Josie laid her eyes on this blue striped tie it was love at first sight.

Josie walked down to the men's section, with the tie on. She greeted everyone that came within 10 feet of us. "Aloha! Excuse me! Have a great day!" She spoke loud and clear so they all could see the shiny new tie around her neck. As we walked thru the department store and around the mall, I beamed. I was beaming to the point of watery eyes. Josie was so proud of her new tie she wanted to burst. Seeing that on your kid's face is priceless.

Josie at Dillards... TA-DAH! I've got a tie!

This calls for a tie celebration dance.

You say Hawaii, I say Hawadii

We just got back from a week long vacation in Hawaii or as Josie says, Hawadii. While pictures say a 1,000 words, the words out of Josie's mouth crack me up. Here are some of her best quotes on the trip.

• "I figured out why my poops stopped, because there is no snow in Hawadii. Snow makes me poop."
• After day two..."I love it in Hawadii, I'm never going back to Des Moines."
• "Mommy your tummy is so cute. I like it when you keep brothers in your tummy so we can have peanuts."
• Upon hearing a commercial for Cougar Town... "Dad, do you like Cooter Town?!"
• After receiving her ukelele as a souvenir... "My mom and dad love me so much, that's why they bought me a ukelele. Some kid's parents don't love them."
• When she was waiting for Richard to show up to give her a temporary tattoo, "I'm NEVER gonna get a TATTOO!"
• 5 minutes later..."Raise your hand if you have a tattoo!!!!"
• When a bird pooped on Douglas the balloon artist, "I know why that bird pooped on Douglas. Birds think people are toilets."

Here are a few pictures too...just incase Josie didn't do Hawadii justice.

Waikiki Beach
Flying Jos

Sunset on Waikiki Beach

Tis the Season

After you were born Dad and I realized how lucky we were to be your parents. That's the year we created the tradition of adopting a family for Christmas every year. It's been something we've taken care of when you were sleeping or in school, but this year we started talking to you about what we were doing for another family and getting you more involved. You even helped us wrap presents for our adopted kids!

The goal is to teach you and your brothers to care and give to others. This year we added another layer to giving to others. Instead of exchanging gifts with our siblings (your uncles) we decided to donate the money to someone or some place that could use it more than us. It was a wonderful gift of giving and really fun to research. Hopefully this will be a new tradition we continue to do. The point of me sharing all of this with you? I hope that each year you become more involved with the season of giving. But more importantly, I want you to know what a positive impact you've had on us. You will do many things in your life that will impact those around you... this is just the beginning.

From the mouth of babes...

Josie says some pretty funny things. The kid always knows how to make me laugh. Here are a few of her latest quotes:

When she was going potty and her brothers were trying to climb in the shower and get into trouble, she looks at them and sighs. Then Josie said, "Mom just look at them, aren't they adorable?!"

As we were walking around Mall of America we passed the Hooters Restaurant. Josie takes a look at the waitress and says, "Dad they aren't wearing any pants. They can't eat without pants, that's the rule."

Above are a couple of photos from Kendric's new year's eve wedding in Minnesota. Josie was a dancing machine.