Mike's Thir-Tee!

Mike strongly dislikes surprise parties and let everyone know it. Well I chose not to listen and threw him a small surprise party. I didn't want to push my luck so I only invited family. The boys were out golfing at our ward fundraiser so it was the perfect opportunity to get everything ready.

Here's the birthday boy!

 Ok so this party was probably not meant to be because it was sunny and beautiful everyday but the day of the party so we had 20 people stuck in our living room.  I was quite mad because I had all sorts of games planned that got ruined by the rain.

 I'm sitting here laughing at what a lively bunch we all are :)

 For Mike's birthday my mom got him a "redneck putter" and juggling balls.  He was happy about both.

 My sister, Heather, sent Mike an awesome care package full of candy and then some gardening gloves and this hat.  Mike was SO excited!!

 Austin liked the hat too so they traded.

 The rain could not scare away a mean ping pong tournament.

 Thankfully Marcus did not go easy on the birthday boy.

 Brawny may have been locked up but that didn't keep visitors away.

 My attempt at a "cute" cake.

 One of our outdoor activities was a pinata which we rigged to work in the garage.

 The kids were all on board but it was like pulling teeth to get Mike to do it.  Once Mike went all his sisters had to have a chance too. 

 I learned though not to over stuff your pinata because it will not break.  There was smashed candy all over our garage.

 Mike making his birthday wish.

 

 Brawny and his buddy, Scarlett.

March

A couple days after returning from Hawaii Mike and I celebrated our 5th wedding anniversary.

 In five years we've:

- moved 3 times (which means 3 different wards)

- been on vacation to Mesquite, Utah, Mexico, Catalina, the Caribbean, Anaheim and Hawaii

- bought a stick shift car then a year later traded it in for an automatic transmission

- bought a house

- got a dog

- got the Internet and cable tv (which to us was a big accomplishment)

- seen 5 different doctors in hopes to adding a baby to our family

- had lots of different callings

- done lots of home improvements

The past 5 years have been amazing.  We've had our fair share of trials but together it's all been manageable.  My love for Mike grows daily and I look forward to many more years together!

Also in March we:

- played Mini-Golf with Steph

- celebrated Kenley's first birthday

 - went to the Fullerton plant sale with my mom and Steph to get Mike's birthday presents

- threw Mike a surprise party (more on that in it's own post)

- celebrated my Dad's birthday by doing the TMZ tour

Hawaiian Adventure

Mike and I had the opportunity to go on vacation to Kauai with the Davey family to celebrate Grandma Davey's 80th birthday.  We were super excited when we got invited because it was the first trip to Hawaii for the both of us. 

Since it was our first time in Hawaii I thought I'd blog about the some of the other firsts from the trip.

This was our first time riding in a limo.

The beautiful resort we called home for a week.

 Our first Hawaiian leis.

 First time holding a Macaw.  His name was Rico and we were the oldest "kids" in line waiting to hold him.

 This is the restaurant that I tried fish at for the first time.  I had macadamia nut crusted Mahi Mahi.

 This is our first time seeing Grandma's old house in person.

Grandma celebrating her 80th birthday!

 First time on a Hawaiian beach.

 The beach at the resort was called "Shipwreck beach" because of the rocks so we invested in our first pairs of water shoes.

 Mike chasing Kauai's unendangered species, the rooster, for the first time.

 First trip to a blowhole.

 This is the second place I ate fish but the first time I enjoyed it. LOL!  Mike and I had Ono and both loved it but Mike called his "chicken."

 The one souvenir I wanted was a muumuu.  So Stacey became my first muumuu partner in crime!

 These last couple of pictures are of our snorkeling adventure.  It was my first time and I may have had a meltdown trying to get out to the fishes but ended up enjoying it.  The only problem was that Mike and I exited the ocean through the rocks which gave me my first snorkeling war wound in the last picture.

It was a great trip and hopefully not our last!

Praying for a miracle!

Below is a letter we sent out to some of our family and friends that we had email addresses for.  I'm not sure if  anyone outside of those people even reads this blog but in case there are people who still follow blogs and would like to join us here's the information:

24 January 2012

Family and Friends,

We wanted to begin by thanking all of you for your continued prayers on our behalf. Your love and support has helped us through this time.

As most of you know we have faced some difficulties in trying to start our family. The past 5 years have been filled with many different doctors and specialists who’ve ordered lots of tests that all seemed to lead nowhere. This all changed in October when we met with a new OBGYN who looked over our situation and had a positive outlook for our future. She ordered the same tests we’ve done repeatedly to see if anything has changed over the years. We received all the results in November and she was able to give us a definitive answer as to what our problem is. We learned that I do not ovulate EVER. Of all the infertility issues to have this seems to be the easiest to fix. She prescribed me clomid and metformin to aid in ovulation. Today I started taking the metformin and in the next couple of days I will start my first cycle of clomid. This will continue for another two cycles. The next couple of months will be spent praying for a miracle because the next option is a very costly path.

In October we had the opportunity to sit down with our Bishop and talk over our situation with him. We received a lot of great advice and direction on how to better communicate with our Heavenly Father. He told us to open up and let people in on what we are dealing with because there truly is power in numbers. This Sunday, January 29^th, we will be fasting and we invite anyone willing and able to join us.

We have grown closer to our Heavenly Father throughout this process but know that we are at the point where we need the help of family and friends. It is through your faith and prayers that we can make this happen. We appreciate all you do for us.

Love,

Mike and Courtney Davey

Christmas 2011

This year instead of a family photo shoot we just did one of Brawny.  He did awesome and sat still for a whole half hour with the hat staying put the entire time.

 Mike and I on Christmas Eve.

 The only thing I asked for this Christmas was a Kindle Fire.  Mike told me that he had made a list of things he wanted to get me so I wouldn't be getting my Kindle.  I was secretly disappointed but was anxious to see what he had been wanting to get me.  To my surprise I opened up my first present and it was my dream present!

 Really early + Really surprised = Awesome picture (not!)

 Brawny does not get presents but he does have a stocking that was full of meaty treats this year.  He was a happy pup!

 We are taking a trip to Hawaii in a couple months and Mike is really excited to go snorkeling so I bought him his very own snorkel.

 Among other gifts he also got the last Psych DVD needed to complete his set.  Needless to say since Black Friday we have been watching A LOT of Psych!

All in all it was a great Christmas.  We both got everything we could have wanted and enjoyed the time spent together and with our extended families.  We are excited for 2012 and whatever life may bring us and are grateful for the knowledge we gained in 2011.

Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2

I have never been interested in reading or watching any of the Harry Potter series.  I remember being newly married and Mike being consumed by the last Harry Potter book.  I never understood why adults were so into this series until July 15th.  On the drive to and from Mesquite Stacey's kids had the movies playing.  On the drive home I sat in the back and got drawn into the first Harry Potter movie.  I only caught about every other 10 minutes because it would make me car sick but it was enough to get me hooked.  We went that Saturday and bought the box set.  We got home around 2pm and watched 1-3.  We went to bed so late but I was addicted.  The whole next day at church all I could think about was Harry Potter.  Once we got home we watched 4 and 5.  I wanted to wait to watch number 6 until I knew we were going to see the second part.  Well it took over a month but we finally did it!  Sunday we watched number 6 and Labor Day we went on a date to see the finale. 

IT WAS WORTH THE WAIT!! 

We were well equipped with snacks even though it was only 9:30am.

 My handsome date and I.

 When we showed up to the theater there wasn't anyone there to take your ticket.  We thought that was hilarious.  There ended up being about a dozen of us at that showing.

 My self portrait lol!

I can't wait for the dvd to come out so we can watch it again.  Now I am excited to read the books.