Crazy Hair Day!

Today was Crazy Hair Day at school. My kids love this day. They have been talking about it for days. I have tried to talk them into a few of my ideas, but all they want are Mohawks. So Mohawks it is.

Even with their crazy hair, I think these are two cute little boys.

Happy 6th Birthday Josh

Today is Josh's birthday!

It is hard for me to believe Josh is 6.

When we asked him what he wanted all he said was new DS games.

However Emily had a better suggestion.

For Christmas Joe wanted to be tricky in his wrapping, so he wrapped Josh's gift in an empty Ritz Cracker box. Christmas morning when Josh opened his present, he was so excited when he saw the crackers he started telling us that they were all his. Then he opened the box and pulled out the Angry Birds shirt inside, and was a little disappointed.

Emily thought we should buy him a real box of crackers. So we did,

and he loved them. We did get him a DS game, but I really think that the crackers were his favorite present.

We celebrated josh's birthday at Classic Fun Center.

(Left to right) Sarah, Nate, Camdon, Ryker, Aiden, Joe, Emily, Jackson, Valerie (you cant really see her), Ben, Josh, and Rowan all came to the party.

They had so much fun playing Lazer tag, Bouncing in the bounce houses, Climbing in the jungle gym,

Playing blaster ball, and skating.

Josh even won a few prizes from the birthday wheel and money tube.

It was so fun watching all the kids play. Josh is getting to be such a big kid, and I am so grateful that he is a part of our family. We Love You Josh.

Happy Birthday!

Red Cheetahs - T-Ball

This fall Josh signed up for t-ball. T-ball is one of my favorite little league sports to watch. It is more like having practice instead of an actual game, and the kids all seem to just have fun. They also don't quite understand the rules yet, and occasionally do something entertaining. Like when one of Josh's team mates, after hitting the ball and running to first base, went to the dugout to get a drink from his water bottle, because he was thirsty.

Josh's coach is really great, and tries really hard to encourage the kids, and make sure they are learning. He has them each take turns at the different positions. After every batter they rotate to a base, or to the pitchers mound. That way they all get a chance to get the ball and throw it.

Josh signed up for t-ball mainly because that is what Joe did after soccer, but unlike Joe, Josh likes to have as many people as he can come and watch and cheer for him.

I know he really likes t-ball, because he is always excited to go.

He is doing great at it too.

Kindergarten.......At Last

It's official,

Josh is in Kindergarten.

He was really excited, but also really nervous. When it was time to line up he kept looking back at me to make sure he was doing what he was supposed to.

Josh has been waiting to go to kindergarten since Joe started kindergarten two years ago. He really became anxious after his orientation last spring, so he has been ready to go for a long time. I thought I was ready for him to go too, but when he walked into the classroom I found myself holding back a few tears. I guess it is always hard to let your babies really go on their own.

Josh had a great first day and can't wait to go back everyday like Joe does. I am glad we still have our afternoons together.

Silver Lake

Because Josh does not start Kindergarten for another week, we went to Silver Lake on Tuesday.

My sister-in-law Jenny and I had been trying to get together for a couple of weeks, so she met us there with her kids, Jaxson and Violet, and her brother Clark.

Valerie thought she wanted to be carried around the path, but she really liked the boardwalk, because she thought it was a bridge. She would walk on it and sing "Grumpy Old Troll" to herself.

My friends had warned us about the bugs up there. So Jenny came prepared.

The bugs were not as bad as I thought they would be, but I did wish I could have put a net around me too.

The kids loved the ducks, and the ducks seemed to love the kids. They came swimming over to us looking for treats. We forgot to bring them any.

At the end of our walk we stopped at a picnic table for lunch.

The squirrels thought our lunch looked pretty good, and came to see if they could get a bite.


We tried not to share with them, but we did share our cookies with Violet. This was her very first Oreo Cookie.

I think she liked it.

Thanks for coming with us Jenny and Clark. It was great to visit with you. We don't get together often enough.

First Day Of School

As summer is winding down and school is beginning our house is filled with all kinds of activity. I remember how I felt the few days before school started for me when I was a kid. The nervousness I had for the unknown, but the excitement I felt for the new adventures ahead. I didn't know that as a mother I would have these same feelings when my children started school every year.

This year is a big year for Emily. She is now in 7th grade and going to Middle School. So the unknown factor for us is huge. Needless to say we were both a little anxious.

I am so glad that Emily's middle school administration understands this.

Last Wednesday (before school even started) we had back to school night. After the initial introduction to the school and it's programs and policies, we were sent on a run through of Emily's schedule. We were able to visit each class for 5 minutes in the order she had them on her schedule. So not only did we get to meet the teachers, but she was also able to see most of the other kids that would be in her class.

Then Friday they had 7th Grade orientation. The 7th graders went for half a day and learn the ropes of the school without the 8th and 9th graders there. So Monday they were ready to start. Emily has at least one person she knows in each of her classes. She is also very lucky that her friend Lindsey is in three of them and they have lunch together.

Emily was very disappointed that she does not have any classes with her friend Tiana. In fact they might as well be going to different schools. They have different lunches and their lockers are on opposite ends of the school.

Emily's biggest struggle was getting her locker open, but by the end of orientation day she had it down. At the end of the first day Monday, Emily came out with a smile on her face. I think middle school is going to be okay. Emily seems to love it.

At the end of the year last year We had the chance to submit our first and second choice for teachers we wanted next year. For Emily I never did this and I was always happy with her teachers, but Joe is a different personality and I knew there was a teacher I did not want. As for the other two choices, I think I would have been happy with either one, but after many days of pondering which one to put first, I went ahead and requested the one I thought would push Joe a little more.

Wednesday the class lists were posted, and Joe got the teacher I requested. However, she was not the teacher Joe was hoping for. And to pour salt in his wound most of his friends were in the other two classes.

Having friends and being liked is a big deal for Joe, and to have a class without his friends was heart breaking. There were many tears shed that night.

I still had a few things to buy for school, so Friday I took Joe and Emily shopping to finish up. Joe was only interested in t-shirts with some kind of cool picture on it. We found some really fun ones. One was even a scratch and sniff. It smells like grapes. (I am not sure how long it will last.) That night I asked Joe if he was happy about his new clothes. He said, "Yes. They are very rare." Then a little quieter and to himself he said in an excited voice "popular!"

Monday Morning was the first day of School. Joe was feeling excited about school and told me he was not worried about his teacher. He still wished more of his friends were in his class, but it would be okay.

We walked up to school with his good friend Cooper. Cooper was also sad that they were not in the same class.

After School Joe was very happy with his first day. He realized he would still see his friends, and he likes his new teacher.

Josh is really excited to start school this year, and was very disappointed when he found out he has to wait another week to start Kindergarten.

Now that we have made it through the first day, I can happily say,

I think we are going to have a great year.

Family Fun Day!

We had kind of a rough start to the summer at our house. Just as school was ending the stomach flu began. At the rate that it was going I was not sure if we would recover in time for Family Fun Day, but by Thursday everyone was on the mend.

So after a week of staying inside we were really ready for some outside fun to kick off summer.

Family Fun Day is an event our Stake puts on every June.

There are all kinds of treats to eat.

A rock wall to climb.

A dunk tank....Joe was the only one of my kids brave enough to get in it.

Face Painting.

Building and launching paper rockets.

Bounce houses........This was Valerie's favorite part (along with the treats) She stayed in them for the first hour and a half.

And last but not least

The Water Slides

This is where the boys spent most of their time.

What a great way to kick off the summer!

Under The Sea

Preschool is almost finished, and Josh is so excited for it to end so he can go to kindergarten. He keeps asking me when the last day of Preschool is, and when I answer he says. "And then the next day I start kindergarten?"

However, I am not quite ready to give up my preschooler to elementary school, and am glad I have the entire summer to get use to the idea.

Josh has loved his preschool and is always excited to go. He has made some great friends this year, and has learned a lot.

He has great teachers who really care about him, and are just as excited as I am when Josh achieves his goals. When Josh started bringing home his reading books, His teacher, Mrs. Valerie got to the car first to tell me the exciting news.

Now that school is wrapping up it is time for the programs, and once again Josh's preschool put on a great show.

The theme this year was "Under The Sea." Josh and his speaking buddy started the program as crocodiles

and their speaking parts introduced the song, "Never Smile at a Crocodile."

But the part Josh was the most excited about was his duet in "Puff the Magic Dragon." This is one of Josh's favorite songs at school.

Puff was one of my favorites too.

They ended the program with "Yellow Submarine." I think Josh's second favorite part of the program was getting to play a kazoo in this song. Ryan had told Josh to sing this song really well, because it was originally sung by Grandma's favorite band "The Beatles."

Josh was a little confused by this, so he asked his dad, "Were they black Beatles, or the ones with the white stripes or were they brown?

I love watching Josh perform, because I can tell he loves performing. He sings loud and does all of the actions. It was a great show. I love you Josh.

Easter Morning

Happy Easter

Heros and Hares

Saturday was Grandma's Annual Easter Party. The theme this year was "Hero's and Hares."
Each guest had to come dressed as either a Super Hero or someone they thought of as a Hero.


Uncle Keven came as Smokey.

Valerie came dressed as her brothers. She is always putting on their clothes and following them around.

Grandpa dressed as a member of his favorite baseball team, The Dodgers.

Asher was a Dinosaur.

Grandma came as a Gold Medal Olympian from the 2002 Winter Olympics.

Ryan dressed as Thor Hushovd, one of his favorite cyclists. He also brought his Thor Slurpee cup to represent his two favorite Thor's.

Emily dressed as Black Widow.

Josh came as Bumblebee.

Joe came as GI Joe. (Pun intended)

Alisa came as Elphaba

I followed suit with Ryan and colored my own t-shirt (with the help of Valerie) and came as Super Mom.

Grandma had a few games planned, and we had "Hero Sandwiches" for dinner.

Then it was time for the Easter Egg Hunt.

The eggs were all marked so the kids had to look for the eggs with their names on it.

They had fun running around finding all of their eggs and a few prizes.

After the hunt the kids dug into their Easter treats, And found a treat left by the "Easter Snow Bunny." Who is the Easter Snow Bunny? That is a post for another time ;)

It was a great party.

Thanks for all of the fun Grandma and Grandpa!

Coloring Eggs

Friday night we colored Easter eggs. My kids really get into this so I try to make sure they have enough eggs. This year I boiled 1 dozen for each kid. (4 dozen total.) They had them all colored in less than 30 minutes.

I did help Valerie with one or two of hers. (I like to color eggs too.)

Can you tell which one I did?

The other kids were not too happy and made sure they had BYU ones in their cartons, but for some reason those eggs did not show up as well in the pictures. Josh wouldn't dye any of his eggs anything close to red.

When we finished the kids all wanted to eat an egg. I took an egg over to the sink and started peeling it for Valerie. When I turned back around she had dug into another egg.

She figured out fast that eggs taste a little better peeled. Just now when she saw the picture above she said, "Eww Yuck!" I guess she won't try that again for a while.