Last but not Least

I forgot to include these pictures from St. George but I thought they were so cute I better use them. When Elle swims, I like to keep her hair in braids. That way her curls dont' get all out of control and tangled from thrashing about in the pool . I thought this was so cute, just a few wisps coming out so cute and curly.

Then there was her favorite activity while in the condo. Collecting every plastic cup she could get her hands on to execute her plan.

Which was this. Here it is not completely done. I thought it was smart of her to use the partial bend on the wall.

Ta -Da!! it was taller than me! So cute.

Reese also tried very hard when he was rock climbing and it was so sweet the way he looks for his Dad's approval. Such a good kid.

The other kids occupied their time while waiting for their turn trying to get the cars that passed by to honk their horns. They were pretty successful and it kept them busy for hours! It was great! Interestingly, we found that owners of white cars honked the most often. Maybe they're just a cheerful bunch, those white car owners.

Had to put this on the blog. Those goggles are really helping Elle improve her underwater vision! So much that she refused to take them off for the picture! haha, I love kids.

And Last but not least, Reese and his buddy Crew. These boys are definitely two peas in a pod. They are hilarious together ( if not also a little grating on the nerves at times - the ear can only hear so many squeals and screeches of delight in a day ) They have what appears to be somewhat of an obsession with the idea of Hippies and Hobos. That's right, Hippies and Hobos - to which we sometimes have the argument that they can actually be somewhat similar. Anyway, these two boys have come up with a game where all people must choose a side - Hippie or Hobo? Most everyone chooses Hippie, because hey- who wants to be homeless? But Reese and Crew are forever devoted to the Hobo side. They say they're footloose and free plus they have an endless supply of milk and cookies. Where they get this supply, seeing as though they have no shelter or money - is beyond me. But they seem convinced and use the endless supply as a recruiting tool. Silly, silly boys. We love you.



There is Beauty all Around

..... When there's love at home! and also there was definitely beauty in St. George. While there we could be found doing this:

And this... the rock climbing was fabulous and so easy to get to. We really love St. George, it's such a beautiful area. Audrey and Sam both climbed so well that day.

It was so fun to be with our friends the Taylors and all their cute kiddos - in this picture we have (starting from the top ) Audrey, Morgan, Reese, Crew, Elle, Ty, and Jett. They all get along so great and had a blast running through, up, and over all these amazing rocks.

Here's the girls seen below in my two new pair of sunglasses. I let them try them out for a spin, because they looked so cute in them! 

One of the evenings we went to the Red Rock area. I know, isn't it all red rocks down there?... Anyway, we hiked up this stream and found some awesome swimming holes and places to jump off the rocks. I've never until now really been in such a narrow area where the water was deep enough to jump into from way up high. Or if you're Cory, you can do backflips into it. And yes, I look less than glamourous jumping here - there's a reasonk, and it's called self-presesrvation. Everytime I jump from up high, I tend to tuck my legs up (and look horrified..) Sam calls this, my "monkey jump" I know, you're jealous.

The kids were sliding down the rocks like they were water slides! How cool is that?! Pretty cool, I think. They had so much fun and I love seeing them try new things and conquer fears. If any of you are in the St. George area, We HIGHLY recomend this! The hardest part about this whole trip was having  to come home! A few other noteworthy things were the girls running around behind our condo trying to catch the jack-rabbits that lived out in the sage brush. It was pretty cute, they'd put out lettuce and carrots for them every night, hoping to catch one. I guess there's a reason for the saying "fast as a jack-rabbit!" It was a great time though and we were so happy to share it with such great friends!

It's a beautiful world!

ScHooLS OuT FOr SuMmER

Do you ever have pictures ready to go and you want to keep up on your blog but you just don't know if you have the energy or time? Well, that's what happened with these pictures. They're from our recent visit to St. George with some of our good friends. We had a wonderful time and it was a great way to kick off our summer. We also hiked a lot of red-rocks so a post of that will soon follow. Until then here's some pictures of the kids hamming it up. Happy Summer everybody!

Happy Birthday Beautiful

This is more how I'm used to thinking of Audrey - a little giggly girl. She's still giggly only she can wear my shoes and many of my clothes!

 This has been a pretty emotional week for me. First there's been all of her ballet performances in which she danced beautifully and fit in seamlessly with all the 16 year olds. Then there's her Birthday and she's now 12!! She requested an ipod touch..... and so I decided to go the complete oposite direction and surprise her with a bunny. She was really surprised and excited. It's the perfect present for a cute girl with a spring birthday.

Sam unfortunately had to be traveling but her day was a great one. It was only half day at school. A couple of her best friends came home with her and helped her paint her new rabbit hutch. Next she went to get pedicures with a different friend and followed it up with birthday cake with still more friends. It was a fun day, I just can't believe how fast she's growing up!

The emotions continued to run high on Friday for me at her 6th grade graduation. She looked so pretty and grown up and it was so fun to see her in action being friendly and outgoing with everyone she knows. Along with an award for leadership she also recieved the Superintendent's Acedemic award for maintaining straight A's all year long. Great Job Audrey honey! We love you!

Here's a few other events that yes, were also this week. Audrey was cast as Ms. Jewels in a school play called the Wayside school. She was so fun to watch perform. Field day was this week too and I was there all day helping. The week was a jammed packed one, but we love it and are so greatful to have such a daughter to celebrate!~

 

It's great to be a kid

My Brother Mark and his wife Dawn came to UT to run the Ogden Marathon and we were lucky enough to keep all 5 of his kids over the weekend! Here's a little taste of what we did.

These two little cuties are Sydnee and Carly. They love to have their nails done and so we started out Saturday morning with a little Mani/Pedi :)

The mani/pedi's were possible even before Reese's 9 am game thanks to the kids being up and ready to play at 6:30! Got to do something to fill all that time. Then we were off the the soccer fields. All ten of us.

After the game the girls decided to have a water war. It was especially funny to see the two oldest girls and how competitive they were. Audrey and Sadie chased each other around for hours! It was a fun packed two days and we loved having them.

And last but not least, these two are not our cousins, but they sure could be! These are our darling neighbors Reagan and Darby - come over to play doggy/owner. I loved seeing the costumes getting used and Elle has loved having such great playmates just across the street. Thank goodness for wonderful family and friends. We hope you're all enjoying some spring sunshine yourselves!

The Boy

As he's lovingly referred to. He's our boy and the best one for us at that! Reese has been going along the last several weeks the way he does many times- very low maintenance and under the radar. For which I am admittedly sometimes (ok most times ) grateful. So here's some of the things Reese has been up to as of late.

Having a great time with his friends and being a good friend, loving soccer and making it onto next years U10 Competition team, Go Reese!

Being awarded the Superintendent's Academic award and other awards for his grade.

Being an ever supportive brother to his two sisters (even if he has to be reminded why he has to go to all this stuff)  and having a great time going to birthday parties with his buddies.

And being a generally hard working fun loving kid! Aside from trying out for next year's soccer team Reese has also been focused on doing as well as he can in his grade's "mini marathon" For a few weeks before the race he insisted that I let him run around the block or take him to the track to practice running. I ran around the track with him. It was a great experience for me especially! He worked really hard and on race day, he didn't place but I had several parents come up to tell me how impressed they were with how hard Reese pushed himself. I love to hear this kind of comment/compliment. To me it's the best. Good job Reese, we're so proud of you buddy! Keep it up!

Our Other Little Big Girl

Busy as bees! Elle's little preschool class has been on a roll with ( seemingly endless ) field trips and activities! Here's just a few pictures of what our littlest sweetheart's been up to lately. Learning and growing!

These little kiddos put on an adorable program. Elle was especially excited to sing to everyone. She has loved her teacher and her class and she LOves singing!

Just like that, she's of to "big kid school" We love you Elle and are so proud of you!

May = Madness

This month may just be our busiest on record. I know, the mind can only wonder what more we could be doing over here than we usually do.. and here's just a few photos to start off the pictorial representation of our month! Audrey had two performances of the production Cinderella - she played the Spring Fairy and a Ball guest. It was pretty tough to get pictures from the audience but here's a handful that worked.

Our sweetheart is sure growing up! Good thing she remains sweet. We love you Audrey and are so proud of you and all you've accomplished. Amazing. Beautiful. Talented. LOvEd. Those are just some of the things you are.

Last but not least, I love this one, I caught it right as they gasped at seeing Cinderella in her gown for the first time.