Children's parade

Every year in July our city puts on a children's parade. Usually I try to avoid parades since I have attended one too many and tired of them. However, this year I couldn't escape it since Joe and Eli were invited to be on a float and they couldn't wait to participate.

Angelina waiting for the parade to start.

Joe dressed as someone that he wants to be when he grows up. He walked behind the float.

Eli got to ride on the float. The girls were dressed as Cinderella and the boys dressed as the mice.

First Swim Lessons

Eli just turned four and was able to take his first swim lessons. He did so well. He took right to the water and wasn't afraid. I enjoyed the two weeks with just him and I at the pool. It was fun to watch him. On the last day of swim lessons they let the kids take turns going down the water slide and jumping off the diving board.

Waiting at his number for his teacher to arrive.

Eli was so little that the water slide flipped him around and he came out on his back, head first. He thought it was fun!

Jumping off the diving board while his teacher waits below to catch him.

Is it a boy or girl?

Everyone was excited to find out what our new baby would be. No one was more excited than Mom. Eli and Joe really wanted a brother to even out the numbers. Mom didn't really care, but she thought a sister would be nice for Angelina to play with.

Kimball and I went to the Ultrasound by ourselves this time. Mostly because we didn't want any distractions while they checked to make sure everything was Ok with the baby. We told the kids that we would bring home a present that was either for a boy or a girl. When they opened it, they would know if they were getting a brother or a sister. We let Eli open the present to find out.Mom didn't mean to trick anyone, but she wrapped the outfit in blue tissue paper to prolong the surprise. However, as soon as everyone saw the blue tissue paper, they thought it was a boy.

Surprise! It is a girl! The boys are smiling now, but a few minutes after the news sunk in, Eli broke into terrible tears. Thankfully, the tears didn't last too long.

Heather's Art

Heather loves to draw pictures, especially pictures of animals. I have been promising her for a long time that I would post her latest "masterpieces". These were drawn the end of her 9th grade art class. I am glad that she has been patient. It has been a very fun and very busy summer and I am finally finding a few moments to catch up on my blog.

Don't forget to smell the flowers along the way...

We took Angelina to Kiddie Kandids to get some pictures for her 1st birthday. At first I didn't think that our adventure would be very successful. The photographer scared her and all she wanted to do was hold onto Mom and hide her face. Eventually she came around and warmed up to the photographer. I think the pictures turned out wonderfully. The images on my site are a little blurry to protect Kiddie Kandids copyright...but they'll give you an idea of how the real ones turned out. There is one side of her that wasn't captured and I haven't been able to get a picture of that expression yet, but when she is really happy, she smiles with her whole face. Her eyes become really squinty and they look like little upside down smiles. It is the cutest face. Someday I am hoping to capture that face on film.

Memorial Day

For Memorial Day we took a walk to the local cemetary to enjoy the flag display that honored veterans from many wars. While we were there Kimball noticed a flag honoring someone from the Blackhawk war. Although we don't have family buried in this cemetary it was a beautiful sight to see all the flowers and to feel the love that everyone has for those that are buried here.

Summer Challenge

One of the blogs that I enjoy reading is the blog on a little girl named Gracie. It can be found here. I guess that I enjoy reading it because it reminds me to appreciate all the small moments that I have with me children, even when all I am doing is something as mundane as changing a diaper. I have read the entire blog with tears in my eyes from start to finish. In her most recent post she challenged everyone to take more pictures of your children this summer. So, the other night I took a few pictures before we went for an evening walk. I decided that since I will be having babies that are 17 months apart, I needed a double stroller. After a lot of research I found this one. I decided to purchase it now and get some more use out of it. I have enjoyed going on walks with Angelina and Eli in the evening when it is cool.

The Birthday Presents

I can't believe my sweet little angel is One year old. Angelina has been such a joy to have in our home. She has brought a lot of happiness to our ever growing family.

At first Angelina didn't know what to do with her presents. Even though we helped to rip them, she thought they were something to climb on. Then, she was only interested in the pieces of wrapping paper that came loose from the presents. We had to open her presents for her. Since she loves to push chairs and other things all around the house and walk behind them, we decided to buy her a cute pink doll and stroller made just for this purpose.

The Birthday Cupcake

We decided to buy some fun cupcakes to celebrate Angelina's 1st birthday. Everyone picked out their favorite. Sarah chose cookies-n-cream, Heather chose toasted coconut, Joe chose strawberry shortcake (we cheated on his gluten-free diet for this occasion), Eli chose chocolate raspberry because they were out of vanilla, and we chose key lime for Angelina.

Angelina wasn't quite sure what to do at first. The frosting was sticky, but once she tasted it's sweetness, she figured out fast what to do!

Front of the Class

If you missed the chance to see this movie on TV, then you missed out! Hallmark Hall of Fame recently released this movie on DVD and it is now on sale at your local Hallmark store. This is a wonderful story of a young man with Tourette Syndrome who isn't accepted at school until someone has the courage to teach his classmates that he has Tourette Syndrome. After many discouraging attempts he goes on to be an award winning teacher and to become the kind of teacher that he always wanted in school. This is a wonderful movie about learning to accept other's differences and to realize that everyone has something to offer and that many people have their own private challenges that we might not understand.

Prom

Sarah didn't know if she would be going to Prom this year, but on Tuesday night our neighbor asked her to go. I am excited for her to be able to go to Prom. I know she will have a lot of fun. This time she chose a more simple and comfortable dress because the dress that she wore to Preference was tight and hard to move in.

Sarah & her date...and Eli's toes.


Sarah's dress is eggplant purple satin with a sheer black overlay. She actually wanted this dress last time but we chose the longer, fancier dress.

Pinning on the Boutonniere. I should say...trying to pin on the Boutonniere.

This is who really got the job done right! He is a pro because he pinned on many corsages on girlfriends in high school!

Sarah's corsage. The ribbon matches perfectly with her dress. This time, we knew where to buy our flowers. Last time I was disappointed with the boutonniere that we purchased. I happened to see the box where Sarah's Preference date had purchased her beautiful corsage. I went there this time and I was so pleased. Sarah's date went to the same place and asked for matching roses and ribbon. By the time Heather is ready for dances, we will be pros at this.

Spring Break

We decided to spend our Spring Break in Idaho with my family. As we drove away from home, the snow started falling. We drove through snowy conditions until we hit the Idaho border. Luckily, we had some nice weather to enjoy for Spring Break so we packed up the kids and headed to the zoo.

Eli riding in style in his Safari "jeep".

My Mom & Dad with my brother Adam's youngest son Trevin.


Heather with Adam & Brandi's other two boys, Collin & Nolan, enjoying the giraffe enclosure.



Joe, Eli, & Nolan on a jeep expedition.



Sweet Angelina taking a nap while snuggling with her blanket.


You wouldn't know that Sarah was there because she refused to be in any pictures! Eli had fun with his Grandma & Grandpa and all of his cousins. We did learn that he is a "home-body" because he missed the comfort of his bed and everyday he asked when we were going to go home. Angelina did so well. It was a hard time to vacation because I am in the process of weaning her. Doctor's orders now that I am pregnant, I can't nurse her anymore. We have one more feeding to go and then she will be weaned. It has been difficult because I usually like to wean at one year and I had to unexpectedly wean her early.
We are looking forward to our summer RV trip to the Oregon coast!

Eye Spy Quilts

Some time ago a small group of ladies in our ward decided to exchange quilt squares so that we could make an Eye Spy Quilt. Each of us made 20 squares out of the same material. The squares are easy to make. They consist of 2 pieces of material cut into 6 1/2" squares. After they are sewn together, one piece is cut diagonally. We then met and exchanged our squares and each of us had 20 different squares of fun material. When I brought my squares home, each of my children decided that they wanted a quilt of their own. All of a sudden, 20 squares seemed like a small quilt and our quilts turned into 45 squares. Luckily, Sarah & Heather decided to make their own quilts and to pass off a 10 hour Personal Progress goal for completing them.

This is Heather's completed Quilt. Her squares have a lot of pictures of cats because she loves cats.

This is Sarah's completed quilt. Her squares contain a lot of pictures of dogs because that is her favorite animal. We tried to make the quilts reflect their interests and to also use scraps of material that reminded us of past things that we have sewn.

Now, Joe & Eli are begging me to complete their quilts. I am busy cutting squares so that I can finish the remaining three quilts (Angelina's) by winter. Frankly, I am not enjoying the process anymore. Isn't that funny how something that starts out to be a "small" project can turn into something so time consuming & huge. Next time, I think I will pass & just stick to scrapbooking.

Sweet Angelina

This is a recent picture of my sweet Angelina. What a blessing she has been to our family. She is such an easy baby & so full of love to give.

Get going

The other day my sweet three year old approached me with his scrapbook in hand and announced, "You need to get going on this Mom!" Apparently he noticed that he only had a few scant pictures in his scrapbook. Once Upon a time when I had three small children I was all caught up and just waiting for new picture moments to add to my scrapbook. Now, it is quite a different story. I am caught up to the year 2001 and I have a partial year finished of 2005 when Eli was born. He is right, I need to get going on this and that is why I have been blogging less. I have to choose my time carefully because there is so little to go around these days.

Just Three Things Daily

In the January 2009 New Era, an invitation was put out for the Young Women of the church to be an "Example of the believers". They were asked to do three things each day. I have decided that because I am a Mother of Young Women, I need to follow the example of my daughters. These are the three things that they have been asked to do.

First, pray every day.

Second, read the Book of Mormon every day for at least five minutes.

Third, smile every day.