Also Growing Up

Avery is growing up.  She had a birthday last week and turned nine. Nine!  Where did my baby go?  They are all growing up too fast, if you ask me.  For her birthday party this year, Avery requested a Late Night (i.e., a sleepover over without sleeping over).

Dustin hooked up a neighbor's laptop projector and the kids watched a big version of a movie and ate pizza.  Then we had cake and ice cream and she opened presents.  

The next half hour was filled with chants of "hit the dad" (and occasionally "hit the mom") in a huge pillow fight.  I was definitely the winner (in that I didn't get knocked out).  

We did the family birthday part after all the friends went home, so it ended up truly being a "late night."  

But she had fun and hopefully she knows how much we love her!  And that we do.  Avery is a great big sister to her siblings.  She is responsible, helpful, courteous and kind...  Avery loves animals (my poor, dog deprived children).  She rides her bike very well and is a whiz on the monkey bars.  Her favorite color is lime green and her favorite thing to draw is a peace sign (as evidenced by her cake request).  She loves to sing and is constantly singing whatever song happens to be going through her head at that time.  Luckily for us, she has a beautiful voice.  She is very crafty and loves to make new cards, pot holders and many other things.  She is a lot of fun, loves to laugh and we are so glad she is in our family!

Family Reunion Time

Happy Father's Day!

I am blessed with some amazing father's in my life: my own, my father-in-law and my sweet hubby.  I love you all!
For Father's Day Weekend, we went to a family reunion with Dustin's side of the family at Bear Lake.  We had such a great, relaxing weekend!  We hiked, had fun at the beach and played lots of games with everyone.  The food was delicious and the company great.  What a nice weekend!
Having fun with tape on the drive there.

Hiking. Dustin's 94 year old grandpa came along and beat us down the trail.

Lots of cousins to play with.

 The water was cold, but the kids didn't care.

Here the kids are surfing.  At one point, Grant was sitting on the edge of the water with a floaty around his waist and said, "Look, Mom!  I'm surfing!"  Good job, buddy.

You can walk way out in the water.  This picture is Dustin and the kids.

See?

We had a fun weekend!

Growing Up!

Maren had a birthday!  She turned seven last week and requested a carnival party with her friends.  We raced home from a camping trip, just in time to bathe children and welcome guests.  The party was a success-complete with a clown,

a face painter (a neighbor),

a cotton candy machine (thanks to another neighbor's dad),

plenty of carnival games,

prizes (they "bought" their own goody bag items with their tickets they had earned),

and carnival food to eat (thanks to my sisters).

The popcorn is actually cupcakes with marshmallows on top.  Jen helped me decorate them (and cleaned my kitchen, last minute).  Lynnette made the adorable little hot dog cupcakes.  I have the nicest sisters.

Opening presents.

The next day was her actual birthday and a Sunday, and very low key after our exciting afternoon of partying.  She got leftover cupcakes for a cake, put in an M shape.  How creative of me!

We love Maren!  She is a fun part of our family.  She loves (LOVES) animals, particularly dogs.  She is very brave, especially when it comes to wounds, slivers and shots.  She is quick to share her things and include her siblings in her fun.  Maren loves to laugh and have fun.  She is great at riding a bike and swinging across monkey bars and has the blisters on her hands to prove it.  She is turning into a great reader and really enjoyed school last year.  She is very loving and always gives us hugs and kisses.  Happy Birthday, Maren!

Wrapping Up May

Tomorrow is the first official, non-official day of Summer around our house.  Ryan has been asking me every day, for about four months, if it is summer yet.  In our house, the word summer just means no more school.  Yesterday when he woke up and asked me if it was Summer, I was so happy to be able to say YES!  And then his next question was, "Is it my birthday yet?"  Great.  At least we'll only have a month of that question.  We had a fun last week of school.  I helped with the girl's field day on Tuesday.

Crazy Hair on Wednesday

80's Day on Thursday

And then the last day of school on Friday.  Yay for Summer!

Ryan finished up preschool this week, too.  He had a fun Preschool Graduation on Thursday night, complete with a program and a four year old planned dinner: pizza, strawberries, chips, brownies and cookies.  Come to think of it, Dustin would probably pick something similar for his favorite dinner.

 Now, those are some amazing recorder players.  I'm not exactly sure what song they are playing.

Oh, I just love him in his little tucked in, pulled high pants with a shoelace for a belt.  He melts my heart!
We also had the Ward Father/Son's camp out last weekend.  Dustin and the boys had fun.  Anytime a little boy is removing clothing, they must be having a grand time.

And then this weekend was mine and Dustin's 11 year anniversary.  Here is what we gave ourselves:

The 11 year gift is steel.  Perfect!  We had been wanting a fire pit anyway!
Technically our anniversary is in June (June 2nd, in case you are wanting to flag it and send us a gift next year).  Now that it is officially, unofficially Summer, we will begin to relax.  At least for this week.  Then the rest of the summer is going to be crazy.  Wish us luck!