William's kindergarten program

Our little man is almost done with kindergarten! He performed in a little program with singing and dancing for the families of all the kindergartners. The place was packed with families and some very bubbly kids! William is our ham and loved the attention. He did a fantastic job! He was singing all the songs, got into the dance moves and kept a smile on his face the whole time! They sang about all the different things they had worked on over the year: counting, the alphabet, letter sounds, rhyming, etc. William has had a great year and loved Mrs. Mathews, his teacher. We are so proud of him and all his hard work! He only has a couple more days of school left before he is officially in first grade. Way to go William!

Brooklyn is 7 months old

Baby Brooklyn has grown so much lately! She has her two bottom teeth in, she rolls all over the place, she babbles all the time and she growls! She loves to play with toys, sit up and watch people. Brooklyn is very friendly. Most the ladies in the ward love to just snuggle her on Sundays while Mommy and Daddy are working in the primary. Brooklyn has really enjoyed playing with her brothers and figured out how to growl back at them. They absolutely love her attention and she loves them too! She is getting more clingy to Mommy but still loves the attention of others. Brooklyn has a very fun little personality and it shines through more each day. She loves to eat whatever she sees. She is always putting things in her mouth: toys, food, hair, hands, ladies jewelry, etc. The day her first tooth broke through her gums she started to chew on her thumb but it really hurt so she grabbed Mommy hand and chewed on her thumb! Smart little thing! Brooklyn loves bath time and just coos when she is splashing in the tub. This little girl is such a joy to be with. We sure love having her!

Taylor's 9th Birthday

Our sweet Taylor has grown up way too fast! We celebrated Taylor with lots of birthday hugs, wishes, butterfingers for his classroom and a family party at home. He was so thankful for all the wonderful gifts and wishes on his birthday. He felt really special and wore a huge grin on his face all day long! Taylor is a great brother, he teases Katie without restraint, wrestles his little brothers to his heart's desire and is so gentle with his baby sister. He is a great helper, Mr. Independent, a loving young man and a hard worker. Taylor has been doing awesome in school this year; he tests above grade level in Math, Reading and Social Studies. Taylor has found a real passion for baseball and works really hard at it. Taylor loves adventure books, legos, playing sports, riding bikes, playing with friends, socializing, wrestling and being with his family. He is very loving and makes sure to hug his mom before he goes anywhere. He is so sweet with Brooklyn and loves to get her laughing, which she does pretty regularly for him. Taylor makes friends super easy and is always with a big group of friends. Taylor is a good boy and has really gained a testimony this year. His primary teacher says he is really intune with the spirit and seems to understand the gospel. He has really grown up this past year! We love you, Taylor! Happy Birthday little man!  

Pine Wood Derby 2012

Our pinewood derby was a father and son activity. It was great for Zack and Taylor to work on their cars together and get to race them against each other. Taylor made a lego race car including a driver wearing his racing helmet. Zack made a Kermit the Frog race car. Zack took 2nd place and Taylor took 7th overall. Taylor still ended up with a 3rd place trophy for the cubscouts and Zack got a candy bar as 1st place for the dads. A silly competition but they all had a great time. William, Joshua and Tyler,  their friend got dressed up to be cub scouts when we got home since it looked like so much fun. Loving the cub scouts! Next year William will be joining the cubscouts and he cannot wait!

Katelyn's Birthday Celebration

Our sweet girl just celebrated 11 years! She had a fun birthday with lunch with her aunts, goodies brought to class by her dad, soccer with friends, her favorite dinner and then a birthday party to top it off. She was thoroughly spoiled by everyone and loved every minute of it. Katelyn is growing up so fast! She is over 5 feet tall already. It feels like time has just flown by with her, it sure doesn't seem like 11 years have gone by. She is a huge helper with her little brothers and sister. She is a very smart girl, loves reading, very creative, loves hanging out with her friends and just goofing around. Katelyn has always been willing to help out and loves being in charge. She is starting to help out a little more in the kitchen and seems to enjoy doing lots of projects. Katelyn has always been a huge blessing to her parents and we are so grateful for her. We sure love our little miss Katie!

Mother-daughter Picnic

The 10-11 year olds in activity days put on a mother-daughter picnic at the park! We played games, ate food and visited for a couple hours on Saturday! It was lots of fun for Katelyn and I to get some one-on-one time, even with a crowd of mothers and their girls.

Scouting Expo

We took the kids over to the scouting expo here in town so Taylor could check out all the fun activities to do with scouting. Our troop had a booth that we made neckerchief sliders at. There was lots of games, food, a photo booth, pinewood derby and a rock climbing wall. The kids loved it! Katelyn, Taylor, William, Joshua and Matthew all did the rock climbing wall which was great fun! Next year we will have to set aside a little more time to play and enjoy everything the expo has to offer.

Brooklyn is 6 months old

Our sweet baby girl! She is developing rapidly. She has found her voice and it is not quiet! She loves to squeal. She already says Dada! Brooklyn rolls over, sits up and is learning to enjoy food a little more everyday. Peas and squash are not her favorites. She spits them out and keeps her lips tightly sealed if we try those ones. She likes applesauce, green beans and ice cream. Brooklyn loves to have a schedule and almost demands that we stick to it! She gets fussy only when she is tired or hungry otherwise she is a very happy baby. Brooklyn adores her brothers and sister. She gets very excited when they come into a room that she is in and coos at them. She will cry if they leave her. All the kids love to take care of her and are big helpers. They love to entertain her! She will just laugh and laugh at their little stunts which they love. She is such a blessing in our family! We are so thankful for this sweet spirit in our home.

Playing on Main Street

We were spoiled this year with a four day weekend during the Easter holiday. Monday afternoon we headed over to Main street and played in the water and let the kids ride the carousel. They thought it was great! It brought back lots of memories of growing up riding the carousel when I was young.

Easter Weekend

My whole family came down for the Easter holiday! Brandon and Goldie with their children from Detroit, Michigan plus Brian and Kelsey with their kids from Boise, Idaho. We were able to have lots of get togethers, good food and visiting. We managed to squeeze in a baseball game, easter egg hunts and a large family picture too!
 

The kids were spoiled by the notorious Easter bunny yet again! He left lots of fun treats plus a small present for each good little boy and girl at our house. There were lots of hidden eggs filled with candy for the kids in the backyard!

Grandma made sure to get in on the fun of the hunt with her own Easter egg hunt at her house after family pictures, dinner and visiting. It was wonderful to have everyone together to share in this special holiday of our Savior! I am so thankful for the Resurrection and eternal families.