The Fab Five

After Megan was born and before my Grandma McKell passed away, we started taking pictures of the four generations of women in our family. Photos include my grandma, my mom, me, my sister, and last but not least, Miss Megan. We tried to capture a photo of the “Fab Five” each time we gathered for family celebrations. These are photos I’m sure we all will treasure as time passes on.

(pictures had to be scanned, so quality isn’t the best)

New Arrival

LEXI RAY STEVENSON

7 lbs 19 inches

July 21, 2009

Congrats, Shiela & Mark, on your new baby girl!

Happy Birthday, Sammy!

Today is my mother-in-law's birthday

HAPPY BIRTHDAY, SAMMY!

Sammy is sweet, nurturing, kind, giving, accepting, strong in her faith, determined, loving to all those around her, willing to help anyone in need, and most of all, SO LOVED by her family and friends. She welcomed me into her family from the very moment I met her. I really couldn't ask for a better mother-in-law! Sammy loves her four children dearly and has made many, many sacrifices for them throughout the years. The goodness and kind heart of my husband comes directly from his mother. She is, without a doubt, the rock that holds their family together.

Wally wrote a letter to his mom for her birthday that he wanted to post on the blog. It is a very sweet tribute from a son to his mother.

Happy Birthday Mom!!

I hope that you have a wonderful time on your birthday. I want to express my sincerest gratitude for everything that you have done for me and for the many sacrifices that you have made for the good of the family. You have overcome many obstacles throughout your life, and I am sure that having us kids at such a young age must have been quite the ordeal at times. I know from my own circumstances about what an ordeal it can be. However, I can honestly say that the example you set for me has made for a very positive influence in my life. You always believed in me and nourished strong self-esteem and confidence in myself. I have never really felt deprived in my life, even through the hard times and poverty. Being the eternal optimist that I am, I perceived the hardships as a lesson of humility and learned to garner more appreciation for all of the blessings that I did have, rather than to dwell on what others may have possessed that I didn't. I can honestly say that I have always felt content with my childhood and the experiences it gave me.

Recently, you mentioned something to me that I found quite odd, and had never thought about in that perspective. You apologized to me about my childhood and how you wished you could have done better. I may not have had the perfect childhood in the eyes of most experts, but I never once thought I was neglected or inferior. Maybe it was because of my obsession of sports. I cannot thank you enough for allowing me, and providing me my never-ending participation in football, baseball and basketball throughout my youth. Through sports, I have learned many useful and great lessons in my life. Sports definitely had a positive influence in my life. Only you and I are probably the only ones that know the true sacrifices you endured to enable my participation. I will never forget all of the little things like making sure my grass stains were cleaned for game day, or making sure that I was even able to sign-up. I know how hard that must have seemed for you now that I am older and have a better understanding.

Mom, you are my HERO!!!! Having me at such a young age must have been rough at times, but you managed to do a terrific job. I loved my father very much, and I learned a lot from him, but I have to give you the most credit for molding me into the person that I am. I can't express how much I truly love and respect you!!! Thanks again for the being the great person that you are, but most importantly, the great mother and matriarch of our family.

Happy Birthday Mom, love your oldest son, Wally

Flashback Fridays - Happy, Smiling Faces

These are a few of my favorite pictures of my sister's boys from years past. Looking at their happy, smiling faces can't help but make me grin from ear to ear! At the ages below, they loved hanging out with Aunt Mel. I wasn't married back then either, so we had a lot of time to spend together. As they grow older and get more involved in their activities & friends, the window of opportunity to hang out seems to be narrowing. Plus, I don't think I'm as cool as I used to be! Amazing what a few years can do. I did buy a Lagoon Season Pass last summer so Jake and I could spend time together riding the roller coasters until we were sick (oh wait, that was only me who got sick!). I'm hoping to do the same this year to squeeze in as much fun time with him as I can. Next, I need to focus on Derek's passion, SPORTS, so I can weasel my way into his summer, too!

I love these boys!!

Derek

Jake

Jake & Derek

Mel's BFF

I knew when Megan was born that we were going to be the best of friends! When she was little, I used to think ahead about all of the fun things "just the girls" would be able to do together. Shopping, dress up, girlie girl sleepovers, mani/pedi's--all things that would be torture for the boys to do with me. Don't get me wrong, I love hanging out with the boys! There is just something special about the bond girls can share. Maybe it's a shoe thing!

One Great GUY!

I was out of town over Father's Day weekend, so I wasn't able to post an official tribute to celebrate my dad on Father's Day. I couldn't pass up the chance to brag a bit about what a great "GUY" he is! Better late than never, right?

My dad is smart, generous, funny, strong, loyal, stubborn, honest, dedicated, hard-working, forgiving, and kind-hearted. He is someone I look to for advice, for support, and the occasional sanity check. He is fun to be around. I love his laugh, hearty and sincere. From a young age, I remember my dad being a teaser. He has a clever wit and sense of humor, often aimed at himself! When I was growing up, my dad worked a lot of long hours which made the time I got to spend with him special. Even after my parents divorced, he made a conscious effort to spend time with his two girls. He made sure we still had that important dress for the school dance. He took us on memorable vacations. He supported me while I attended college and well beyond. He provided comfort when my Grandma Frost (his mother) passed away. He walked me down the aisle at my wedding. He has done so much for me, never asking for anything in return.

Recently, we all were faced with a situation that changed the way I look at my father and the level at which I appreciate having him in my life. I will never forget what was the scariest few days of my life so far. I received the phone call I wasn't at all prepared to accept. My dad was in the emergency room and my sister and I were told to get there right away. It wasn't until we arrived at the hospital that we found out how very sick he really was. Even scarier, they couldn't figure out why he was so sick. For what seemed like an eternity, the doctors worked on him trying to diagnose what was causing these life threatening symptoms. Now, I'm not an overly religious person, but that night at the hospital I prayed, I begged, I flat out pleaded with all my heart for someone, anyone to intervene. I felt desperate. I needed some serious help down here! I was not ready to lose my dad. I couldn't comprehend the thought of not having him around. This was not supposed to be happening. I needed the doctors to use their knowledge and expertise (with a little helping hand from above) to figure this crisis out...and they did. Combined with what was the biggest feeling of relief I have ever experienced, a sense of hope, gratitude and calm came over me when I realized he was going to be OK.

I am forever grateful to those who had a hand in treating and taking such great care of him. I am also so grateful to my dad for hanging on and fighting so hard to stay here with us. He was an amazing patient!

My dad has been there during the good times, the not-so-good times, and the times that fall between. I LOVE MY DAD for the person that he is and for the person he has encouraged me to be.

HAPPY FATHER'S DAY, DAD!!!

Flashback Fridays

So, I had this great idea to blog each Friday with a “Flashback Fridays” post, but here's my confession—the idea is not unique to me and really isn’t my idea at all. I’ve noticed that several bloggers have done this, including my stepdaughter (Hi, Ammie!). Ammie is one of the most creative people I know which leads me to believe that this will be a great addition to my blog. Very much worth the possibility of being labeled a copycat! WARNING! Along with some great memories from days gone by, flashback posts may contain pics from the days of big, permed hair/super high bangs as well as some “I can’t believe I wore that” outfits that may cause you to seriously question my fashion sense or lack there of. Also, Wally’s killer mullet he sported during our dating years will most certainly make an appearance. Consider yourself warned!

I thought I would flashback to when Wally and I were dating. He and I met while working for the same company. We were just friends, buddies, pals before the official dating began. The turning point in our relationship came during a road trip to Arizona. Just a friendly, casual weekend away to visit a mutual friend. It’s a fairly obvious conclusion, but I will state it anyway – driving ten solid hours in a car with someone is usually a ‘make it’ or ‘break it’ scenario. That’s A LOT of time to fill with conversation and such. There are only so many topics people can hash out before eventually reaching the awkward silence phase of the trip. Fortunately, we never reached that point and there begins our story. I guess you could call us a “make it” couple who continues to travel well together. We both are the best version of ourselves while on vacation.

Some how, most of our dates revolved around some type of sports event—what a shocker, right? You can’t say I wasn’t warned from the very beginning! A little over a year after we began dating we were engaged, seven months after that we got married. Five years later, here we are.

Below are some pictures taken during the time which my Grandpa McKell would refer to as our ‘courting years’.

New Years Eve 2002

At my Sister's house (nice mullet, right?)

At my Mom's house

Cousin's Wedding

Magic Mountain Amusement Park

Engagement Party

Company Christmas Party

Redfish Lake

Only when you are dating can you get a guy to wear a fish on his head!

Wally's 42nd Birthday

Notes of Wisdom

It's easy to be hard on yourself when you're measuring your successes against the successes of those around you. My friend at work gave me this cute note cube today. I think it's a much better way of looking at life!

She also gave me this one a few weeks ago, which has been appropriately placed on the front of our fridge at home. Ha ha!

Off to the Races!

To celebrate the Fourth of July, Wally and I went with his two sons to Rocky Mountain Raceway for a mixture of fast cars and fireworks! This wouldn’t have been my first choice of events for the evening, but we ended up having a lot of fun. Wally and his boys especially had a good time. Wally mentioned when we got home that his sides hurt from laughing so hard. Well worth the SIX hours (yes, six hours) we spent at the race track!

Girls! Girls! Girls!

A few weeks ago we had an ALL GIRL (plus Wally) slumber party with my niece, Megan, and our two granddaughters, Sydney & Payten. We started out with a trip to Kangaroo Zoo, a play place with all kinds of blow up slides, ball pits, etc. for the kids to play in and, hopefully, expend A LOT of energy. Next on the agenda...McDonald's, of course! We grabbed some dinner (healthy, right?) and a few Redbox movie rentals, which leads to our final destination--HOME! Popcorn, movies, fingernail/toenail painting, and dancing to the tunes of DJ Daddy-O a.k.a. Grandpa Wally--all must haves on the agenda for a proper slumber party. All of the girls, including one-year old Payten, slept straight through the night without making a single peep. Now, those are my kind of kids! After a big breakfast cooked by Chef Wally (he wore many hats that weekend!) their parents arrived to pick them up just in time for us to take a much needed nap! SO MUCH FUN!!!

WARNING: Major picture overload ahead

Plum tuckered out--so sweet!