Happy 30th Birthday Dave!

We celebrated Dave's 30th at the beginning of the month! I wanted to make sure it was a day that he'd remember, so I called out to some of our family and friends and asked them to send Dave 30 items of one object...and boy did everyone come through! Dave got 30 pencils, pens, pennies, erasers, q-tips (to clean out his ears to hear better), cotton balls (to soften the blow of turning 30), bubble gum, lollipops, hole punches (holy cow, he's 30), post its (to help him remember things), lifesavers (b/c he's a lifesaver to our family), paperclips, giftcards, toiletpaper squares, advil and tylenol (b/c it's gonna hurt), and SO MUCH MORE!!!!! He turned 30 so gracefully and did it with style!

He may be an "old" man now, but he's OUR old man and we LOVE him! We're proud of you Dave. You're the bestest husband and daddy 2 girls could EVER ask for. We are excited to get to celebrate you for the next 30 years and longer!


Older than dirt!!! Happy 30th Dave!


A few friends helped Dave turn 30!

The kids came for the cake and ice cream :o)

'Tis the Season...

Before we went to TN for Thanksgiving, we (meaning I) decided to put up our Christmas decorations before we left so that they would be up and beautiful when we got home! I have been super excited for this year's Christmas with McKenna. We've been reading Baby Jesus stories and have had her "help" do so many Christmasy things. It's been fun to see her face as she says, "WOW!" to all the lights, ornaments, and outside decorations. I'm also super excited for her gifts this year! She'll LOVE ripping them open to see what's inside...and she's going to LOVE what's inside :o) BIG GIRL toys for such a big girl!!!

Dave's parents will be coming in on Dec. 20th, we'll have our family Christmas on Christmas Eve. Then us Burke girls will be flying to OK to be with my family for the rest of the Christmas festivities on Christmas day. Dave will be starting his new job with the JFRD and will have to stay behind this year :o( We are sad with this, but so thankful for the reason he'll be remaining home!

Dave was REALLY excited about putting up our tree!!!! This was McKenna's first year to "help". She only broke 2 ornaments :o)

Our Christmas Elf...

Notice the word "PEACE" above this sweet angel's face :o)

I had a feeling that this year's picture with Santa was going to be rough...I was right! McKenna did NOT want to tell Santa what she wanted for Christmas!

She quickly found her snacks, was strapped in safe and sound, and back to her happy place!

First Hair Cut!

While we were in TN for Thanksgiving, we had McKenna's first hair cut! It had needed to be cut for a long time, but I was just really having a hard time thinking through getting it cut! Finally, some dear friends lovingly told me that my sweet little girl needed a big girl hair cut and I snapped into action!

Dave's high school friend, Tucker, is a hairdresser in Cleveland! So we killed 2 birds with one stone...we got to see Tucker and she did a beautiful job of Miss McK's hair! Tucker has a little girl that is just 2 days apart from McKenna...so I fully trusted her "little girl hair cutting capability" :o)

Dave got the honors of sitting in the chair with McK while I snapped pictures and tried not to cry. We gave McK a lollipop and that did the trick with her sitting still and allowing Tucker to comb and cut her red locks :o) I was so pleased with the end result. We've had so many compliments on her new look!!!

I know this is just the first of MANY trips to the salon with my sweet, big girl!

TN Thankgiving

What a great long weekend we had in TN for Thanksgiving! It started off wonderfully b/c Dave got off work earlier than expected, so we got to get on the road sooner! The trip was a smooth ride, no traffic or slowdowns! Things got bad in Atlanta. Miss McK decided she had had enough of her car seat and pitched a fit! While trying to calm her down, driving through downtown Atlanta, she cried so hard she threw up on herself :o( Our little drama queen! We quickly pulled over, got her out, cleaned everything up and kept her out for a spell. She instantly dried her tears once she was out of that dern seat (sigh - roll of the eyes). We put her back into her seat with high hopes and a little medicine to help her sleep and back on the road we went. Out of the 8 hours spent in the car, our little girl fell asleep 15 miles from Dave's parents' house...oh well!

It was soooooooooo good to be with family! It was awesome to see McKenna play with her cousins. Dave's mom and sisters did a beautiful job with our Thanksgiving meal, and the rest of the weekend was great!


Big girl...bigger chair!

Beautiful weather to be outside and go for walks...

We took family pictures!


Cousin Matilda was such a big help with McKenna.


Target practice..............................."hay"-less rides...................and box races...never a dull moment


Sitting by the fire w/ Papaw....how many marshmellow will fit in my mouth?...play with Eli


Cousin Matilda is the best.......so is Aunt Amy!

Outside fun in TN!

Chocolate!

While some may say diamonds are a girl's best friend...chocolate is definitely a good rival for the spot! Our little girl has discovered the deliciousness of the sweet morsel and loved every minute of it!

I had asked Dave to throw some brownies in the oven for a get-together we were going to and the next thing I knew I was being summoned to the kitchen and to bring the camera...
My little girl was in hog heaven and her Daddy was loving this mischievous time with his girl!


Are you sure I'm allowed?.........WOW this is great!.....I love chocolate!!!!

Daddy's Work

Several weeks ago McKenna and I got to go out to the Jacksonville Fire & Rescue Training Facility to watch Dave's recruit class put out simulated gas fires. We asked our friends Lauren and Ezekiel to go with us. Ezekiel loves fire trucks and I like hanging our with his Mommy so it was a perfect combination!

We spread out a big blanket, brought toys for the kids just in case they got antsy, sat back, and enjoyed the show.



It was a BIG fire.........................get 'em boys.........................Dave is the one facing the camera.


We got to watch 2 burns. In between burns, the group took a break, we got to see Dave, and he put the kids in the fire truck. They were in hog heaven.



Waiting patiently for the fires to begin.

2 Hot ladies.....................The Burke Bunch