First Birthday

Audrey's Birthday was April 30th.  Since we picked the kids up on May 1st, we had a little belated Birthday party a few days after we got home. 

Meet the bakers

Christian, Brok  and Westley

Master Chef Laura is taking the picture

The finished prouct

Her birth mother gave her a party about a week earlier and she came with these figurines.

We thought it fitting to have Jasmine be on top

Princesses everywhere!

The Birthday Princess

Oooo, pretty fire!

This is fun!

O-kay, I'm done now

Things to know about Audrey Jasmine:

  favorite toy - Purple "Bear-Bear" that she received from birth-mothers party

  favorite song-  Boo-boo-boo - I Love You Too from Pete's Dragon

  favorite thing to do- Push buttons (on remotes, phones, controlers,  toys, anything!)

  favorite game- being chased

 

Five Little Pumpkins Sitting on a Gate....

Our little pumpkins dressed up in an array of costumes this year.  I for one love it when Halloween is on Sunday because the school parties are on Friday and the ward parties are on Friday or Saturday, and then there is no pressure to go trick-or-treating.

In all of our married life we have only lived in a place that the kids could trick-or-treat in the neighborhood once- (1987-1992) and even then we went to Disneyland on Halloween a time or two. We just keep finding houses on streets without street lights and are not in subdivisions. When we lived in Indian Springs I would drive the kids to some of our good friends houses and then come home.  When we lived in Henderson, we went to California more often than not for Halloween, and since living in Colorado the ward carnival/trunk or treats have been sufficient. 

Dayle had shaved his head since his store(Safeway) reached their goal for breast cancer research contributions so he went as Charlie Brown and Charnae as Peppermint Patty

Brok went as a geeky track star

Westley as a mummy

Christian as Bumblebee fromTransformers

Harve as a cowboy (with half a mustache)

Audrey as Boo from Monsters Inc.

I won't let the kids wear scary costumes, so Westley didn't know what to be.  We decided a mummy was a good compromise. 

Laura helped Brok put his costume together.

Christian makes an awesome Transformer!

This costume was one of Christian's Birthday presents. 

Masks are not allowed at school or church, so I painted his face and the top of his hair. 

 He still has little flecks of yellow in his hair.  

Harve couldn't decide what he wanted to be for Halloween until someone mentioned to him that Grandpa Gladden wears Wrangler jeans he could be a cowboy too-he loves to wear his cowboy boots. Brok lent him his hat and was set.

He wanted to be like Christian and have his face painted, but wiped half the mustache off before he even left the house.

I found this vest as we unpacked.  Charlie and Curtis used to dress up in it when they were youngsters

Having Audrey be Boo was an easy choice

We've been collecting her costume pieces for months.

She even loves playing peek-a-boo, but has trouble saying

Mike Wazowski

Laura, (not pictured) was a Jabbawockeez - a dance crew

Charnae and Dayle took the kids to the ward carnival/trunk-or-treat so that Charles and I could take Laura to a movie.  Trunk-or-Treats win my vote.  It's the best way to see everyone in their costumes and have fun visiting...oh, and then there's that safety issue resolved.  I love them!

Here Fishy, Fishy, Fishy!

Christian, Harve, and Audrey came and stayed with us during their spring break last March.  While they were here we drove to Durango for one of Laura's track meets.  We stayed at the Holiday Inn and they have an indoor pool.  They had never gone swimming before and it was love at first swim.  Everyone, including Harve, will dunk their heads under too!

Since then they have been swimming in the huge tub in my bathroom,  Aunt Jennifer's house, at the local indoor pool, and a few other hotels.  I see swimming lessons in their future.  My biggest concern?  Keeping them away from the water when we watch Laura swim at her meets (first one this weekend)

Christian can reach - he is delighted!

Brok & Westley playing a game.

Harve was Buzz Lightyear flying in the water

Audrey didn't ever want to get out.

Audrey above  - Christian and Harve below November 29, 2010 in Salt Lake City, UT

Westley

Dad and Audrey

Dayle, Charnae, and Audrey

Laura swimming in background

Westley swam across the pool for the first time!

(well, dog paddled - but still)

Brok is around here somewhere, and Jaala and Harrison came and swam with us too along with Uncle Bryant, Bryce and McCana (probably spelled wrong-sorry)  Grandma and Grandpa and Aunt Jessica came to watch.

10 minutes 'til dinner

The oven timer will ring in about 10 minutes - and the kids are singing their usual pre-dinner chant - so I am going to escape to "the blog".  You may be wondering, as I have, how did Nancy get sucked into the blogging world?  Well, when we met with Christian, Harve, and Audrey's birth-parents we committed to them to make pictures available to them so that they can see what the kids are up to and how they change with time, so we contemplated the best way to accomplish that over many years time.

Jaala and Harrison have a blog and it's fun to check in on them-because face book only has snippits and phone conversations don't include pictures - so we thought blogging about the whole family would  be a way for the birth parents parents to get a well rounded view of their lives and if anyone else wanted to peek in on us they could.

It's kind of a weird feeling, putting ourselves out in the great computer abyss where people can laugh at your typing mistakes, mispellings, and have evidence of your oddities - but the truth is, it's just confirmation of what you've all thought or known all along.

There is a bar on the side that tells me the general where-abouts of who checks in on the blog (mine says Littleton, CO - only a 5 hour drive from here) so, if you check us out maybe leave a little comment saying who you are, or email me, or call me, or whatever so you can laugh with us and not at us! :)

So, it's not that we think we're full of ourselves thinking we're particularly interesting - but fulfilling a commitment and making our lives available to our own family and friends who might want to check in on the circus when they have a bit of time.

The Gladden Gang's Big Move

June 4th we closed on our house.
Charles worked on the sprinkler system for several days before we moved in.  One of the great things about the yard is the pond.  The kids found lots of toads this summer.  Here is a picture of the first one.  Everyone thought it was great - especially when Brok or Westley was the one holding it.  Harve did NOT like them.  It took a lot of coaxing to get him in this picture.  Audrey on the other hand likes all creeping things.

The house has some great wall textures and paints.  The people who built it had one boy and one girl.  The kids rooms paint was not to our liking.  The boys was Dark blue 3/4 of the way up and then white on top. The girls was bright pink on every wall including the walk-in closet...too much for even Charnae. 

My friends Carla and Sheri helped me pick out paint colors - then Carla cut the walls in - I taped the base boards and rolled the boys room and Laura and Brynna rolled the girls walls and Charnae and Dayle painted the closet.  Even the closet sealing was pink - we left it just to remind us why we painted. 

Before and After pictures - now it is a nice elephant gray.  (Laura collects elephants, she approved of the color)
Thanks for your help Brynna!

It took us a while to get completely moved.  Charles took a week off work and we got the houe painted, the sprinklers going, and with Charlie's help we got the inside moved in that week.  Laura was at girls camp when we did the actual moving - so she helped me clean the Broadway house when she returned home.  It took several more days to get the arage and yard moved - but we did it!

I have some really great friends that helped me get the kitchen moved.  Stephanie Fees and her daughter brought us dinner our first night in the new house.  It was a party with a pretty purple tablecloth and fun yellow plates.  They even brought a bucket of fun stuff for the kids like sidewalk chalk, bubbles, a football, and a puzzle.  It was great fun!

Thanks Stephanie and Monique!

Here we are six months later.  The inside is unpacked and much of the garage as well.  My sewing room is half painted and mostly in boxes - but that will improve with time - that's what New Years is all about isn't it? 

 We wake up every day loving  our family and our home.

Birthday Boy

Christian celebrated his 5th Birthday May 20th.  He was the last to celebrate a Birthday in what we call the Broadway House.

He woke up to a bunch of balloons blown up in his room.  Later in the day under Westley's direction 15 of those balloons were made into our family members.

Christian asked for Rice Krispy Treats for his "Birthday Cake"

Among his gifts were a Nerf gun,Transformers-Bunblebee costume, and a gift card which he used to buy a red light saber.

                                 Happy Birthday Christian!



Hail and Farewell

When Charles was in the Air Force they would have a Hail and Farewell dinner each month as personnel were assigned into and out of the base.  May 1, 2010 was a Hail and Farewell for Christian, Harve, and Audrey.

Charles and I left Grand Junciton early Saturday morning and drove to New Mexico arriving late morning.  There the kids were waiting for us.  Harve and Christian had been living at Uncle Vernon and Aunt Rosemile's for about 18 months and Audrey had been dropped off by her foster family who had been caring for her for 9 plus months of her 1 year of life.  Audrey had celebrated her first birthday (April 30th) with her foster family.

We had a joyful hello as we came to bring them home for forever - and a tearful good-bye to Uncle Vernon and Aunt Rosemil who had cared for them so well and to Aimee and Aaron an older sister and brother whom they had clung to all of theier lives. 

After loading the FJ and trailer, we started the journey home.

Then the celebration began in Grand Junction upon our arrival home.
Home at last.

Each night now the kids ask Heavenly Father to care for Aimee,  Aaron, Uncle Vernon and Aunt Rosemil.

Lucky number 7 and Terrific 10

O-kay, so here are those photos I promised:

Come and join us Harrison and Shawna

And now here is our family

Welcome Holly and and welcome back Harrison  -  We miss you Shawna!

So, there you have it - We are the Gladden Gang and we are Gladden to know you!
(Fitting that the pictures were taken at the train depot - our house seems like grand central station.)

What is Your Lucky Number?

On April 30, 2010 there were 9 of us.  7 children (4 boys and 3 girls) and 2 parents well, and one son-in-law and two daughter-in-laws.

Charles and Nancy (the parents)
Jaala Ann 26 who is married to Harrison
Charlie Wynn 25 who is married to Shawna
Curtis Tel 23 who is married to Holly
Charnae Camille 21
Laura Lyn17
Brok Cyler 12
Westley Reace 7

If I could figure it out for sure, I'd insert a picture here....but my blog instructor (Jaala) is busy at her paying job....so when the pictures come up you will see us all in green, brown, and pink.  Aren't we so cute.  This picture was taken the summer of 2008 when Curtis returned from his mission.  The second one has Harrison and Shawna with us.

On May 1, 2010 We grew to 12 in number.  10 children (6 boys, 4 girls) and still two parents. 
We added
Christian Joseph now 5
Harve Lee now 4
Audrey Jasmine 19 months right now

The picture with eathtone clothing includes the 12 of us plus Harrison and Holly (Shawna is out of town)  This picture was taken Memorial Day weekend - so the end of May 2010.  We had a lot of fun down at the station taking pictures. 

Since this picture was taken Charnae accepted a marriage proposal from Dayle Rotherham - their big day will be May 20, 2011 in the Las Vegas Temple. Charlie has joined the Air Force and is at tech school in Texas with a duty assignment to Washington State and Curtis and Holly have had their baby - our favorite Noellee Marie was born September 29th. 

Starting today pictures, notes, and stories about The Gladden Gang will spill out onto the computer screen.  Some will be current and many will be memories of the past near and far.  So hang on and join us for the ride of our lifetime.