Brooklyn's Cheer Performance

I wanted to post this video for those of you who didn't get to come to the performance. :) Brooklyn did so good! :)

An Update?

Ha ha... tricked ya. ;) Ok, ok... I know.... my blog is WAY behind and this isn't really an update... :)

I thought it would be easy to keep this up to date, but it turns out that it's just more work. I've been trying really hard to keep up on my family scrapbook and I've been doing GREAT! ;) But since I have everything in there, I don't really take the time to post things on the blog for everyone else to see. ;)

So, here's the new deal. I may or may not post on my blog, but I will try and keep the Scrapbook link up to date with my layouts from my Everyday Life book. I haven't decided if I should copy/paste the text from the layouts underneath them?? (Not for the daily stuff but for the layouts in between.) Again... more work... :)

I guess what I should ask is: Who still reads my blog and who would like to just look at the pics of what's going on (scrapbook layouts)? Then I'll know what I should do, but for right now, you can check out the link to the right and browse through my layouts from this year so far. ;)

And that's as good as it gets for a while! ;) LOL.

The Blue Angels

We made a last minute decision to go the Thunder over Utah Air Show and we're so glad we did. It was awesome. While we waited for it to start, we let the kids do a jumping activity, which they loved. Kason was brave enough to try and do a backflip! :)
When the airshow started, the Raptor was up first. It was so cool and FAST. Aiden didn't love the noise, but he was ok. :) While the Raptor was up in the air, they had another WW2 fighter plane join it and fly side by side. That was cool to watch.
The Osprey was also a favorite. It's propellers rotated to have it fly like a helicopter or an airplane. It was sweet.
They had a few other events while they waited for the Blue Angels. They had a wing rider, where a girl got out on top of an airplane, there was a WW2 reinactment with tanks and fire throwers and they had a stunt guy who did some amazing tricks in his plane. The very best though, was the Blue Angels.
They did AMAZING tricks and when they flew in front of us, they were only 18" apart. It was sweet. They were awesome. :) Luckily they were able to finish their show before the wind picked up. It started blowing really bad by the time we left. :)

Brooklyn's Baptism

Today was Brooklyn’s baptism day. We had been looking forward to and preparing for this day for the past 8 months. On the day of her baptism, we had to be there at 9:30 to make sure we had enough time to take some pictures and have them get changed. I could tell Brooklyn was nervous but she was putting on a brave face. :) The stake president told us we were going to have a prayer meeting for the parents and kids before the actual meeting so we followed him out to another room. He talked to the kids about the process they were about to do and made sure they had no questions about it. He was really nice and friendly. He even made the kids laugh. At the end of the meeting, he looked right at me and asked if I’d give the prayer. Wow! Talk about being put on the spot. ;) lol. It was good though and I’m glad I got to participate in her day too. :)

The program was good. Brooklyn’s primary president introduced Brooklyn to the congregation. She said she was so proud of Brooklyn for choosing to get baptized and she thought it was pretty cool that Brooklyn put the scripture app on her ipod. :) Brooklyn just stood there and smiled the entire time. :) So cute.

Brooklyn was the second child called into the font room. We had a good crowd for her baptism. Bob did a good job and she only had to be dunked once. ;) I could tell she was nervous but it helped to have Bob there with her. :)  I got her changed and we went to the young women’s room to do her confirmation.

Bob did a really good job with her confirmation too. I could tell that Brooklyn felt the spirit in the room.  I’m so grateful to the men in the circle, for being a part of Brooklyn’s life and participating in this great blessing. Our bishop said a few words about Brooklyn then my dad gave the closing prayer.

We had lunch back at our house for everyone. We ordered Jimmy Johns sandwiches and had salads and treats too. I really enjoyed the company and was grateful to everyone for coming and supporting us. Brooklyn got several gifts from everyone but I think she was most excited about her very own scriptures and scripture bag from her dad and I. :)

It was such an amazing day. We are so proud of Brooklyn. She is such an amazing child and I’m so lucky to have her as my daughter. I love her so much and I can’t wait to see the young women she grows to be. She is giving herself the best start she can by getting baptized and wanting to make good choices. Words can’t describe how proud I am of her.

Aiden's 3rd Birthday

 Today was Aiden’s birthday. He was so excited! I think this is the first year that he really knew it was “his” special day. He kept saying he was the “birfday boy!” It was so cute. :)
I woke up early today to go buy a present for him. I got back just as he was getting out of bed. I had a hard time thinking of a gift for him because he usually just plays with the older 2 kids’ toys. :)
I finally settled on a critter clinic with keys that unlock each door. I figured he’d have fun matching the colors and opening the doors. My mom and Ken got him some new headphones for his ipod. We are constantly telling him to turn his ipod down so now he can just put his headphones on. :)

We started a tradition where the kids get to pick a place to go out and eat on their birthday. :) Aiden picked Cafe Rio but it was packed! We decided to go to Subway instead. :)

For the party, we had all our family come over. We ordered pizza and I made a salad to go along with it. Aiden was so cute with his cake. It’s so fun to see how excited the kids get when their cake is in front of them and we’re all singing to them. :) It’s totally worth all the work we put into these parties. :) Happy Birthday Aiden! I love you! :)

Brooklyn's 8th Birthday

I can't believe my baby girl is already 8 years old! It's amazing how fast time flies. For Brooklyn's birthday party theme this year, we decided to go with Rainbow... in honor of the baptism song about rainbows. :) I really liked the rainbow theme and decided to center everything around it. We didn't necessarily have rainbows everywhere, just bright colors. Since her birthday was also on Superbowl Sunday, we decided to have a combined birthday/superbowl party. That way the guys could still watch the game, and the kids could play some party games.

The first game we played was balloon darts. This by far was my favorite game. Each kid got to pop 2 balloons. Whichever color balloon they popped, they got to go pick out a prize from that color prize bag. I had all the colors of the rainbow in the prize bags and even the treats inside the bag matched that color. :) The purple bag had purple skittles, the blue bag had blue $5 Target giftcards, the green bag and dollar bills, the yellow bag had yellow bubbles, the orange bag had a orange squishy toy, the red bag had red licorice and the pink bag had bubble tape. :) Brooklyn went first and popped a pink balloon... then on her next turn, popped another pink balloon. :) LOL. I think all the kids had fun playing this game.

The next game was a team relay. Each team member had different tasks to complete before coming back to the starting purple balloon and making a human pyramid. :) I had different colored tasks at colored balloons around the yard. :) The purple balloon was the start/end. The red balloon station had a bin of red blocks. You had to build a tower as tall as a yard stick. The green balloon station had a green jar with green M&M's and a green straw. You had to suck each M&M up with the straw and drop it in the jar. The yellow balloon station had an apron. You had to keep the yellow balloon in the air while you put on the apron and tied it. The blue balloon station was for the little kids. They had to hurry and climb up the playhouse and go down the blue slide. :) The pink balloon station had a bubble gum. They had to chew it and blow a bubble. The orange balloon station had an orange. You had to put it in your knees and run to the orange balloon and back without dropping it. :)
I think the funnest part for me was watching the kids build the human pyramids. :) It was so cute to see them pile on each other and giggle. :)

The last game we did was a treasure hunt. I hid the 7 rainbow colored easter eggs in the house and around the yard. At the end of the hunt they found a basket full of treats at the end of a crepe paper rainbow on the side of the house. :) Brooklyn said this game was one of her favorites because she likes to figure out the clues. :)

When all the games were done, we came inside and ate dinner. Then we had cake and ice cream. I had spent all day the day before making Brooklyn's rainbow cake. I made 6 colored layers of sheet cake and put them all together for one big cake. :) It was an all day event. :)
I was really pleased with how it turned out though. :) And it tasted really good too! I don't know if I'll be lining up to make it again because it took so much time, but it was worth it just this one time! :)

After cake and ice cream, we did presents and the usual party stuff. We are so grateful/thankful to our family for all the love and support we get on the kids' birthdays! :)

On the Tuesday after Brooklyn's birthday, she was lucky enough to get a friends party at Antigravity. She had so much fun. I tell you, it was crazy having that many girls in my car at one time. :) LOL.
The party was a hit and everyone had a great time. Thanks to Lainee for sharing the expenses and having Preston's party there with us. :) That was perfect!

Look at this fun group of girls! Brooklyn is so lucky to have so many friends! Thanks to them for coming to her party! :)

Christmas 2011

Christmas this year was amazing! Aiden was the first one up, but instead of going and exploring the presents, he came and got into our bed. :) Kim, Joyce, Garrett and Aubrey came over before the kids woke up. :) Brooklyn had secretly asked Santa for an iPhone 4S. :) She saw Aiden's ipod sitting on the hearth and immediately thought it was her phone. We had to tell her to read the name on the tag. :) Santa was good to the kids this year... bringing them all things they wanted. Aiden got an iPod, Kason got a bow and arrows and Brooklyn got her cash register. Even Bob got a fun gift from me... Jumping Stilts. (Although he opened them early).

Christmas wasn't as hectic this year as previous years have been. We stayed home and let the kids play with their new toys until 1 pm, then headed over to Santa Clara to see my grandma and dad. Next we were off to Joyce's house, then finally back home again around 7. It was such a nice day with friends and family. We are lucky to live so close to everyone. :)

Christmas Eve 2011

I can't believe how far behind I got on my blog! Weird. :) But I'm determined to get caught up today. Here is the first of many posts. :)

Christmas Eve was really nice this year. We made it to the program in Santa Clara early so we had better seats than usual. Kason was a reindeer and sang Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer. :) I cracked up at his flashing red nose. He thought it was great... he kept going around and showing everyone his nose and antlers. :) I love the pic of him showing my dad.... plus you can see Bryce in the background getting a kick out of it too. ;) Brooklyn was a doll and sang Are My Ears on Straight. She did so good too. I could hear her singing from my seat... :) She did amazing.

When it was time for Santa to come, all the kids were excited! Aiden was first up. I thought for sure I'd have another pic of him crying on Santa's lap, but I didn't! He just sat there like, "ummm... not really sure what to do now?" :) It was funny. He didn't really care much about opening the present either. Even after it was open he had more fun playing with the box. He kept karate chopping it. He got a remote control car that he did eventually play with when we got home. :) Kason was next on Santa's lap. He was excited.... excited to sit on Santa's lap and excited for his present. He opened up a remote control helicopter!! He was way excited!  Brooklyn cracked me up. She sat on Santa's lap for like 5 minutes. She was talking and talking! (She was telling Santa how she wanted an iphone 4s... yeah right!) She opened a sewing machine and was pretty excited about that too.

When we got all the presents upwrapped and cleaned up we headed home. I had a ham cooking for after the program. We were starving! It was so nice to come home to a quite house and just play with the kids and their new toys. We put the kids to bed around 10. :)

It was a good Christmas Eve. I really look forward to spending the evening with my husband and kids... and even though the Christmas Eve program seems like a lot, its really nice to have something that makes the evening different from any other night. Plus, the kids get to see Santa right before bed! So fun!

Gingerbread Houses

This has got to be one of my favorite traditions we do at my dad's house. It gives the kids a "safe" way to be creative... plus it involves candy! :) I buy the gingerbread village so each member of our family gets a mini house to decorate. I was really impressed with Brooklyn and Kason this year. They made their own ALL by themselves. Even Aiden put all the candy on his. We just helped him with the frosting. His went like this: one candy on the house... one candy in his mouth.... one candy on the house... :) you get the picture. :)

I'm so thankful my dad keeps these traditions going. It's great to spend time with him and the rest of the family. :)

** p.s. We tell the kids they can only eat certain candy... because we do this every year, I have some candy that is close to 7 years old... like the rock candy for example. ;) So that candy is NO EATING candy. :) LOL. Hey, those rock candies are so cool for gingerbread houses... who eats them anyway right?

Baking Day 2011

I really enjoyed baking day this year. :) I feel like each year I get to bond more with my "sisters." I've never had a sister so I'm so grateful to Lainee and Aubrey for filling-in. :) I'm glad that me and my mom are so close. We are best friends so it's nice to spend the day with her too. We all had such a good time. We can be ourselves, laugh, and enjoy the company. I'd say that this year was one of the best yet. We all made 4 batches of cinnamon rolls (which made about 96 rolls), 7 batches of toffee (including 3 Garrett made when he came around 4), 2 batches of caramel corn (not counting one that I burned and threw out :), a batch of muddy buddies, a batch of caramel, 2 batches of divinity, a batch of mint oreo bites, and a batch of gingerbread cheesecakes. :)

Two highlights of the day were: #1 - we forgot about the dough rising on the counter while we ate lunch and they were all huge!! And #2 - Addie climbed up on the step stool to sneak caramel corn off the counter. ;)

It was a really fun day. I look forward to this every year. I think we should do it mid-year too. :)