Jack's is above his window.
Meredith's is on her wall.
Thank you Liz!! We love them.
They ate lunch on the porch at a little table made out of Doug's skate box.
They donned pirate hats, and built a pirate boat. Jack of course had to change into "pirate clothes"
They used a map and went on an adventure searching for treasure.
They ate birthday cake and birthday cookies.
It was fun to watch them. They had a grand old time! Later that night after Doug got home we had a family party with more presents and more cake. 
He named his new bear Cindy. Thank you aunt Rachel.
Jack says thank you to Grandma and Grandpa Newson, Grandma and Grandpa Markos, and Grandma Bev for all of the wonderful presents.
I had such good intentions and a ton to say this last week, just no time to do it. It was Doug's birthday on Saturday and we were so busy all day that the only shot I got of him was that morning when he was coaching a soccer game. We had soccer games and pictures that day that occupied us most of the day. Doug opened his presents in the few minutes we were home in between games. Screwdrivers from Jack, an ice cream maker from Max, a tie from Mer, a microphone from Luke, and new running shorts from Me. After soccer and a nap for Doug, we were off to Orlando to spend the evening with the Ence's who were still visiting from St. George. They came down again to spend Sunday with us. We had so much fun and Doug even made vanilla Ice cream with his new ice cream maker.
We loved every minute of their company. Thanks Amy and Matt for coming for a visit. What a treat that was for us!!
Yesterday Doug's last birthday present was delivered. A skate ramp to toy around with in the driveway.
He tried out a few runs last night. It was fun to see how excited about it he was. (There's your old house Ronnie!)
Sunday morning I used it to mix up some Nieman Marcus cookies for our great friends Amy and Matt Ence and family who came to visit us from UT. We know them from our BYU days, when Meredith and Caleb played together practically everyday. Caleb is the one that originally nicknamed Meredith, Mer Mer and we've been calling her that ever since. 
They now have 4 kids about the same ages as ours, and the kids have had a great time playing with them over the weekend. Now they're off for the week to Orlando. Have fun Ence family, We'll see you next weekend.
We emptied the car, vacuumed it, and unpacked...and we have not stopped running since. Friend preschool at our house, Swimming lessons for Jack and Luke, and finally an almost finished bathroom. If there is one thing I've learned from our many do-it-yourself adventures, it is that everything takes three times as long to do as you might think it would. So, we have been working on finishing our bathroom for quite a while (I think we started it in June). It took almost all day to put in the faucet and put up the refinished cabinetry. And while the baseboards still need a couple of coats of paint, it is time to show off our almost finished project. Here is a before...
And after...Ta Da!!
I love it, and while those cabinets took a while to do, the finished product is worth every moment of effort that I put in. Good work Doug! Thank you for all your help!! We make a great do-it-yourself team!!
WE SAW (our newest cousin),
WE CONQUERED (3 malls, 2 parks, and a swimming pool)
We are in Georgia for the weekend. We got here Thursday night in 8 hours flat with minimal mischief from the monkeys. Friday we spent the morning at the mall, and spent the evening swimming. It is quite a bit cooler here and we are loving the break from the FL heat, and though swimming was still fun, it was cold! On Saturday we went to a new park in Old Norcross. 
In the evening Mike and Sher came over and we met our newest little cousin Waverly Hall Markos. She is 6 weeks old and absolutely precious! We love her Mike and Sher.
Mer loved holding her of course.
We brought her a little blanket and a sweet pillow that Mer made (thought we had a pic).
The kids played with silly uncle Mike.
We saw them all again on Sunday night. At the end of the evening Mike was a little worn out, being a Dad is hard work.
Today, Mer, Grandma and I spent the morning at the mall checking out the American Girl store where Mer got to do a craft and figure out who her favorite American Girl is. (Josefina)
Here she is posing with her favorite fairy shirt at the Disney store (I love that she still loves the fairies).
All in all it was a great weekend, and we are headed home in the morning. Thank you Grandma and Grandpa for such a fun time.
