Sarah's Birthday

Our Sarah turned four years old in April. Happy Birthday, Sarah!



Her doggy backpack, which she first named it Ark and then said its nickname was Danny, like his tag said.



Sarah got her first Polly Pocket!



Talking to Grandma on the phone.



Miriam loved the new doggy backpack, too.



Sarah and her birthday cake.

General Conference Weekend - April 2009

On Saturday afternoon of General Conference weekend (April 4-5), we met at Grandma and Grandpa T's to celebrate April birthdays and Easter. We had a nice dinner and birthday cake and while the men went to the Priesthood Session, Grandma organized an Easter egg hunt for the grandchildren. We also got to meet our new niece/cousin, Holly.Here are some of the highlights.



Happy Birthday Sarah, Neil, Emma, (and Stacey)!



Holly - about two weeks old



Sleep, baby, sleep...actually Lyle wasn't trying to get to close her eyes or use magic on his daughter, it's just how the shot turned out.



Joseph holding Holly



Sarah holding Holly



I'm excited to hold Holly, YES!



Jill, Emma, Holly, and Sarah



Emma and Sarah received musical birthday cards from their cousins. They were a hit.



Sarah preparing to get "bumped on the head" with her birthday gifts from Grandma and Grandpa.



Emma opening her birthday gift.



Sarah and her Easter eggs



Emma



Lexie opening her eggs



Tyler discovering a marshmallow Peep in one of his eggs.



Josh and his Easter eggs

Late February/March 2009

You know how children try to get out of going to bed? Well, this night, Emma decided to make a bed for Miriam in the laundry cart. (No, she didn't sleep here. :) )



Just when we thought spring was coming at the beginning of March, we had a snowstorm. We went out for our family walk and before going inside, Emma said she wanted to learn to make a snowman, so we did. Emma rolled the head by herself and it was pretty heavy. Here's the result.



One of the brands of cheese sticks that we buy was offering a free box of 64 crayons with 3 proofs of purchase and $2 shipping/handling. The children wanted to do it, so we sent it all in last December and they finally came in March. They were very excited. The box even came with a crayon sharpener.

Joseph is also displaying his recent paper cutouts of Mr. L and Brobot L-Type from Super Paper Mario, which he was also very excited about having.



The children thought it would be fun to dress up their dad while he was reading Calvin and Hobbes. This is the result.



We love our dad!

Quick Trip to Washington -- February 2009

My brother-in-law's father passed away in February, so Miriam and I were able to go to the funeral. Although it was a sad time, it was nice to see everyone and I was glad to be able to go. Here are some kid highlights.



Miriam's found someone's Valentine candy.



Cheese? (Madeline and Abby)



Madeline and Gabriela



Eli and Miriam



Gabriela, Abram, and Abby



Cheese! (Tyler)



Miriam, Gabriela, Madeline, and Daniel



One of Miriam's favorite parts of the trip was watching her cousins, Daniel and Everett, play Super Smash Bros. Brawl on the Wii, especially when she got to hold her own controllers.

Pony Express Days - The Other Side

As I understand it, when you perform at community events, you have to be flexible with your schedule. We came to see Neil perform, but standing around watching people you don't know sing on stage isn't very entertaining for kids after a while. Luckily for us, there was a playground nearby which we played on while we waited for Neil's turn to sing.



I thought it would be fun to see if I could get a good group shot on the rock wall. I think this was the best shot.







Look, Mom, we found a dinosaur!



Sarah rolling down the big hill.

Pony Express Days

We interrupt this chronological review of the last few months to jump forward to the month of June, specifically yesterday, June 6. Neil and some friends have decided to sing together as a southern Gospel quartet, Month of Sundays, and yesterday was their debut performance at Pony Express Days in Eagle Mountain, UT. These are the songs they sang.

WARNING: The videos are rather jumpy due to children who don't quite understand that when Mom is holding the camera and recording a video that they shouldn't try to climb all over her lap. :) I recommend just listening. Thank you.



Amazing Grace



The Gospel Train



When I Cross Over Jordan by IIIrd Tyme Out



Eye to Eye by Paul McFate, arranged by Adam Monteith



Roll Back the Stone by Paul McFate, arranged by Adam Monteith