Justin's Birthday

For Justin's birthday, he asked to go to Jumping Jacks. We thought it was a place with big trampolines that you could do jumping tricks on while attached to a harness. When we showed up, it was a place full of bouncy houses and those big bouncy slides. I thought it was more geared for younger kids, but that's what he wanted, so at least he was happy. I think they all had fun, but it was a good thing they had some arcade games to fill some of the time. I guess next time we should do our research before choosing a birthday party location. ;)

I didn't even manage to get any decent pictures of the boys doing the slides because I'm too short to see over the edge. Oh well.

Even though only two of his friends could make it, he still had a good time. Happy birthday Justin!!

And He Isn't Even the One Changing the Diapers. . .

We have been having our kids do yard work and chores so they can save put some money in their savings accounts. This morning Justin walked up to me and said, "Mom, I think you should open a bank account for Rachel. And every day that she poops less than three times, you should put in $5."
Where the heck does he come up with these things?

Hope of America

This is my third time going to a Hope of America program, and I still love it. Every year 5th graders from all over the state get together for this awesome patriotic program.

Tyler's class is in yellow shirts up in the top left corner.

 I sure wish I would have remembered to bring my zoom lens so I could have gotten better close-ups. Oh well. It was a fabulous program!

Rachel is One!

I can hardly believe that it has been a whole 12 months since our cute little Rachel was born. She has brought so much joy into our lives and made our home a much happier place. Her smile just lights up a room, and no one can resist her. We are so very grateful to her birth parents for their sacrifice in behalf of our family. She is truly a blessing beyond measure.

Rachel's "Stats"
-She has two teeth, on the bottom.
-She is our most talented climber. I am constantly pulling her off of chairs and tables. Scares the heck out of me.
-She loves music. When she hears it playing, she starts dancing. She crawls into the living room as fast as she can when she hears her brothers practicing the piano. She loves listening to them, but she really loves it when they let her play!
-Her favorite foods are sweet potatoes, apples, crackers, cheerios, and milk. She likes most table food, but has a hard time chewing so a lot of it gets spit back out. Poor toothless girl-just like her brothers.
-She sleeps about 9 hours at night, and has a 2-3 hour nap in the morning.
-She adores her daddy and her brothers. Her favorite part of the day is when they come home.
-She loves talking to her daddy on the phone. She gets so excited when she hears his voice.
-She likes to play peek-a-boo and will put blankets on her head and pull them off.
-She loves books. Just about the only time she will sit still is when I am reading her a story. She likes the ones with animals best.
-Her favorite songs are: "Wheels on the Bus", "Patty Cake", and "Old McDonald"
-"Hi" is the only word she says on a regular basis. She waves and says hi to just about everyone, even strangers at the store. It is adorable! She will even say "hi" when we talk to her on the phone. Cutest thing ever.
-She has toys, but she prefers to unload drawers and cabinets, pull things off of shelves, dig through garbages, empty kleenex boxes, and take off the heat vent covers. Our house is in a constant state of disarray.
-She is fascinated with the washer and dryer.
-She LOVES being outside. If anyone goes outside without her, she will stand at the door banging and yelling till they come get her.
-She is a social butterfly. She loves meeting new people and smiles at everyone.
-Everywhere we go people stop me and tell me what an adorable baby she is. I agree 100%.

Happy birthday sweet girl. We just love you to pieces!!

Spring Break

We spent spring break at East Canyon Resort, up near Park City. The weather was fabulous, so we spent most of our time outside.There was several activities to choose from, but these were our favorites:

Basketball:

 Miniature golf:

Tennis:

 and shuffleboard:

 We had a wonderful time!

Easter Dress

This is one of those dresses that I bought a couple of years ago because I just loved it and it was on clearance. I was thrilled to find that it fit Rachel right around Easter time. Perfect!

She looks so pretty in it, but she does not like the thick type of  headband. As soon as I was done with pictures, she ripped it right off!

Easter

At the request of my boys, we held the annual Easter Egg Hunt at our house this year. Dad, Grandpa, and the Uncles hid the eggs, and boy did they do a great job. We looked for over 20 minutes and still couldn't ind some of them! I didn't get a lot of pictures, because we had just had our lawn aerated and I was trying to keep Rachel from eating the dirt clods.Crazy girl!

After the egg hunt we colored some Easter eggs. Molly has some mad skills; her eggs were beautiful!

Of course the Easter Bunny came for a visit that night and the next morning all the boys had to find their baskets, as well as a bunch of jelly beans hidden around the house.

 

 Rachel found her basket with some help from her brothers and discovered that it was filled with her favorite treat--yogurt drops. She quickly dove right in.

  

 It was a fabulous Easter! Last year we were in California picking up our little princess. My how the time has flown.

I Just Couldn't Help Myself

Rachel looked so stinkin' cute in this little outfit from my sister Heidi that I just had to snap some shots. Man it is fun having a girl!!

Runner in the House

Brandon surprised us a few weeks ago by telling us he was going to join the track team. He's never run before, so we weren't expecting that at all. He will be doing long distance running. He's been going to practice every day and seems to be really enjoying it. He had a bit of trouble with his knee at first, but it's doing fine now.
We bought him some new running shoes, and he had to attach the spikes. Those things are sharp! I'm looking forward to seeing his first track meet.

Easter Cookies

I know you're all going to find this hard to believe, but one of my favorite things about holidays is the food. OK, so it's not that hard to believe. I love making food. And eating it for that matter.
When I can find a project that the boys are actually interested in, it's a double bonus for me. I came up with these macaroon Nutella nests, and they sure were a fun Easter cooking project.

Justin was a great kitchen helper, and he was very proud of his little nests. Love that boy!