Addie's First Day of School

Addie was up first thing this morning with her backpack on saying it was her day to go to school! She knew the drill! She spent some time playing with her little sisters then it was time to get ready. We had to go through EVERY piece of new clothes for her to decide what she wanted to wear! On the way over to the school she started asking if I was sure someone would be there to pick her up after school.

 We held hands until we got in the school then she let go of mine and told me she would be fine. She walked into her classroom and found her cubby.

 She was excited to start building something with some blocks when I saw this...her sign that tears were trying to work their way out of her sweet little eyes. I asked her if she was ok, and she smiled and said yes as the tears started coming down her cheeks. ( I have never had a kid cry on the first day of school!)

 I went over and gave her a hug and asked her if she was ok. She said "yes mom, I'm fine. REALLY!" Then she put on a brave smile and waved me out the door.

Addie Loses a Tooth

Adelle realized that a bunch of her friends were starting to tell her stories about visits from the tooth fairy and she was getting a little concerned that she didn't even have any teeth that would move at all! So she has been pushing and pulling on her teeth and one day let out a little shout of excitement when one actually moved. Since then she has been seen with her finger in her mouth...pushing and pulling on that tooth. The other morning all the kids started yelling and cheering! 

It finally happened! She was abel to get that silly tooth to come out. 

Addie was really excited to get 4 quarters so she could get treats at the candy machine at the gym. (What a great way to spend her money!!) What a beautiful smile, just in time to start school!

Back to School

Gracie is in the 4th grade. How did she grow up so fast? She is excited to be in Mrs. Hansen's class with some of her close friends. I know she will have great year because she is such a positive person! 

 Sander is in 2nd grade. What a stud!! He was so excited to wear his Vans. Okay, I like them and all but I didn't really know what they big deal was, until I saw a couple of his closest friends and guess what they were all wearing? Good thing they were on sale or I never would have bought them for him!

 I love the friendship these two have, when they decide to get along, I know that they will look out for each other.

 Addie is just dying to start school next week. She wore her backpack around all day today! Hannah is just beginning to understand that she is going to be left at home! She wasn't happy about it...

 We have a picture like this for the past three years. I love these boys!!

 Gracie and Emery were so glad to be in the same class, and even more happy when they realized they would be sitting by each other too!

 Our numbers are smaller now that so many of the kids are in Jr High now, but we still put together a pretty good little gang of kids.

 The future... they can't wait for it to be their turn. They are practicing their poses for when they get to go to school too!

4th Of JULY

Evan loves fireworks so we were excited to have some friends and family over to watch a few with us. It reminds me of when I was little and my dad would put on a big show and all our neighbors and cousins would come to our backyard to watch the show. I cried and cried when we stopped doing fireworks. I'm glad my kids are getting a taste of what I got when I was a kid. 

 It was a little too much excitement for Hannah.  But she had a smile on her face anyway!

 Little do these kids know that life is about to get really exciting. Some of the fireworks went off really close to the ground. Two kids ended up with little burns. Oops!! But they all left smiling so I guess it was worth it. The dads said that was the greatest interactive firework show they had ever been too! :)

 I don't know why I don't have pictures of Eric and Janine but they were able to come spend a few days with us! By the look on Sanders face you can tell he was super happy having his cousin here with him. We had fun going on bike rides, playing in the park, watching movies, and staying up late. Of course when Janine is involved you know there is always going to be wonderful food too! She is an amazing cook. We loved having them come and hope we can all get together again soon !!

Birthday Girls

I got a phone call from a sweet lady in our ward who called to see if I would put out the flag on Gracie's Birthday. She said we should put out the flag when we are celebrating something special and she thought Gracie was special enough for a good celebration. Sister Castleberry said that was her family's birthday tradition. I like it!! 

 Gracie with her birthday breakfast and fan club!! Everyone loves a birthday girl.

 Evan made this cake too. Gracie wanted a beach cake. I love how she always surprises me with what she wants. What a beauty

 This is some of the crowd who came for some cupcakes. We love having a reason to have friends come visit.

 Jodi turns 31??? Sheesh.....One of my friends brought this cake over for me. She said that I should get a cake for me too. Thanks Heather! 

 Gracie is 9. It seems like yesterday my mom was bringing a birthday cake into the hospital to celebrate my greatest birthday gift ever. Gracie is such a blessing in my life.

Adelle's Big Day

The moment she has been waiting for finally came. Addie graduated from pre-school. She will now get to go to school with Grace and Sander. She has been counting down the days until this moment.

 Addie has so much spunk in her, but she will also disappear for hours to play her own games. Lately she loves to sit under the desk in the kitchen and color. She is a good little artist.

 She missed her dad at the graduation, but she had a great cheering section from her brother and sisters.

Evan's Birthday

We were excited when Evan came home so we could celebrate his birthday with him! He won't be able to fit his fan club on his lap for much longer!!     

 Mom and Dad were able to come over for cake and ice cream since they were at the MTC getting ready for their sudden mission call. It was a great couple of weeks having them in town!

 Dad could finally hold the grandkids again after his radiation treatments. He is officially cancer free. We hope to have him around for a good long time!!

 Evan always amazes the kids with how fast he can blow out his candles. I wish I had it recorded. We are sure thankful for him and all he does for our family.

Ballet Recital

There is the sweetest lady in town who wanted to give service so she decided to teach dance classes to girls in the community. My girls have loved doing dance. This year they got to do the Wizard of Oz.

 Addie and Livi have loved doing dance together. They want to be just like their big sisters.

 Emery, Gracie and Cambree all the sudden look so grown up to me. They are all wonderful little dancers.

Hannah was excited for this concert to come, because now that it is over she gets to start ballet. She was trying out her own dances during the concert practicing up for when she gets her moment on the stage!

Visits

We love when people come to visit us and where thrilled when my brother and his family decided to go to Goblin Valley and stop to stay with us for a few days! Gracie was in heaven having older cousins to play with. She is always saying she wished she had an older sister, and these girls always pay her so much attention she feels like they are as closes as she can get! She loves it!! 

Poor Amy was probably exhausted from all the late night talks I made her have with me, but she has so much insight that I love to get advice  from her. Shaun was very patient with me making them stay up and visit with me. 

Hannah and Abram were partners in crime, when Hannah wasn't attacking him! I love to see their cute little faces. Abram has the cutest little voice that I just had to smile every time he had something to tell me. 

 Sander wants to be just like Caden when he grows up. Caden was very patient with all the attention he got from Sander. He is a great example to his younger cousins and brothers.

Easter

I was ready to send the kids to bed when Evan realized I hadn't let them paint Easter eggs. Because he is super dad, he got some eggs boiling and told the kids they got to stay up late. They had such a fun time. I think Hannah's eggs all turned out to be black, but the rest of the kids came up with some really great color combos for their eggs. They were excited to share them with the Easter Bunny. They set out a plate for the Easter Bunny and some carrots. They were thrilled to see a little trail of carrot crumbs in the fridge!

This was our first Easter at our house, so the kids all ran into our bedroom to wait the word to find some candy. It was hard for them not to start eating the candy on the way from their rooms to ours.

 Once the hunt was on, it didn't take long for them to all have bowls full of candy and big smiles on their faces!

 Once we got them all ready for church, Evan and I started to get ready for church. I could hear the kids laughing and laughing and then I realized they had found their "after church" easter egg hunt. ( Evan and I couldn't decided which family's tradition we wanted to follow, so we were going to do one way before church and one way after church) We made the kids put all the stuff back that they found and wait until after church.

It was a perfect Sunday and wonderful to hear the kids laughing together and enjoying being with one another.

Sander turns 7

Sander woke up to his favorite cereal...Raisin Bran Crunch and his special "place mat" for breakfast. 

Sander worried he wouldn't see Stratton on their birthday, so he was relieved when Strat had time to come to his cupcake party.  What a couple of cuties! 

Once Evan got home he went straight to work on Sander's Elk birthday cake. I don't know who was more excited about it Evan or Sander. But I have to say, Evan could do a little work on the side with his cake decorating skills. Sander LOVED the cake !!                     

 Pretty good if you ask me. Now they just have about 6 months until hunting season starts!