Activity Days: Service Scavenger Hunt

I thought we better start doing a few more service activities before summer rush begins and we aren't as focused. We had the girls split up in two teams. It works out better if they are assigned teams so that they each get better aquainted with everyone rather than a little group of friends and others are left out. Each group was given a bucket filled with cleaning supplies and a paper which included the rules: stay together, everyone works, only two jobs per house and be respectful. Next they went and knocked on our neighbors' doors (only people we know to make things safe for everyone) and had a list handy of jobs they would be willing to perform. No job could be done multiple times but there were plenty of options:

• wash windows
• feed a pet
• vacuum a room
• dust
• sweep the floor
• load the dishwasher
• empty the garbage
• pull 15 weeds
• dust blinds
• wip off fridge and stove
• clean microwave
• clean a toilet
• clean a tub/shower
• clean a mirror
• read a story to a child
• pick up yard trash
• water plants
• sweep porch
• wash dishes
• walk the dog
• sing a church song
• wash a car
• vacuum stairs
• mop a floor
• sweep the driveway
• change a lightbulb
• wipe a counter
• clear off the table

We gave the girls only about 45 minutes before heading back to the house. We finished with a sweet treat and reminded the girls that service can be sweet!

Zack's Birthday Bash

We celebrated Zack's 32nd birthday at home with the kids. We started out with our traditional silly string attack followed by presents, cake, ice cream and games. By the time we manage to get to Zack's birthday we're usually pretty worn out on parties but the kids were in charge this time (William was thrilled!) so we still had fun! Zack is a wonderful husband, father and provider. We are so blessed to have him in our lives! Happy Birthday Daddy-riah!

William's 5th Birthday

Our little William has reached the milestone of 5 years old! He is thrilled to be old enough to now start kindergarten and be independent of Mom and the babies aka Matthew and Joshua. He has grown up so much this past year alone. He's no longer one of the little boys. William checked the mailbox everyday leading up to his birthday for cards, which he loves to get, even a couple days after too! We celebrated William by hosting a little party with his preschool friends Thursday followed by a joint birthday party with his uncle TJ and him at my parents house on Saturday afternoon. He loved all the attention and gifts! He was so excited to share his birthday party but wanted to know who was getting the presents and who wasn't. When I told him they would both be getting presents he decided it was the best idea ever! My mom made a birthday cake for TJ and I made dirt cups (chocolate pudding covered with smashed up oreos with little gummy worm on top) for everyone to share. It was a good time for all!


William is such an energetic little guy and loves to play and play hard! He still is in love with all things boy: dinosaurs, race cars, balls, wrestling and anything rough and tough. He is so ready for kindergarten and has kind of given up on preschool, deciding he's too big for such trivial things. He is still very nurturing and loving to his family. He loves having friends to play with and makes sure everyone is included. William is a very determined kid. He has brought a lot of love to our family and teaches us new things everyday! We love our tough guy!

Mother's Day Weekend

We traveled up north for Zack's brother, Charles' graduation this past weekend. Zack, Katelyn and Taylor all got out of school on Friday since the graduation was that evening at the University of Utah. We made our usual stop on the way at the playground in Fillmore as all the kids were fed up with being in the car at that point. After we let everyone stretch their legs and get a little playtime in we got on our way again. The journey is always daunting but we had fun when we finally arrived!


We had a little time to play in Grandma Benson's backyard and visit before enduring the lengthy graduation Friday evening. We are very proud of Charles and all his hard work the past four years. Way to go Charles!
After the graduation was over the rest of the weekend was lots of playing. First we helped Charles and Erica move into their new home in Roy, Utah. It will be an adventure for those two! We ate lunch and played at Chuck E Cheese's shortly after getting them unloaded. The kids loved playing all the games and shared the fun with their Grandpa and Grandma Alvey. We also enjoyed a BBQ and Frisbee golf before heading to bed.

On our way home we took a lot more breaks since everyone was really tired of being in the van. We stopped over in Scipio to take a potty break and noticed a little petting zoo on the side of the gas station for free. We let the kids play with the animals before piling everyone back in the car. Matthew cried for the remainder of the trip!

Activity Days: Mother's Day

Since Activity Days was so close to Mother's Day we made a gift for the mothers. First the girls made Mother's Day cards using colored paper and markers. Some girls were a little more into it than the others. Then we had the girls clean off their strawberries they picked out and dip them into chocolate and drizzle white chocolate over it. Plus they were allowed to eat a few. We also played a human tic-tac-toe game in which the girls answered questions about the gospel of Jesus Christ and his authority here on earth today.

Matthew's first haircut

Maybe he didn't really need a haircut but I couldn't resist trimming it up a little bit!

Taylor's 7th Birthday

I took the little boys over to Taylor's school on Friday afternoon to celebrate his birthday with his classmates. We had donuts and made party hats! The kids loved it! I found the idea on skiptomylou.org His teacher was due to have her baby that day!

Taylor's birthday started out with a soccer game and then straight over to Denny's for breakfast with family. He was thrilled to go out for breakfast where he was showered with gifts and lots of good food. In the afternoon we headed over to the Ironman Race to watch the athletes cross the finish line and play in the water at the main street park. We'll be spending much of the summer playing in those splash pads!

We had his favorite dinner of pepperoni pizza! Taylor requested an ice cream cake so I went with the Oreo & Fudge Ice Cream cake from Kraft Foods. It was delicious and even looks so good! Taylor is just like his Mom, he'd rather skip the cake and go straight for the ice cream! I cannot believe he's already 7! He is such a sweet little man!

Taylor..

• is incredible at taking care of things with little coaxing
• is super responsible and pays attention to detail
• works hard and loves playing
• really friendly and has many good friends
• very good at school: reading, spelling, math, drawing
• enjoys learning new things

We love you buddy! Happy Birthday Taylor!