Back to School

Ethan started 2nd grade and Megan started preschool recently. They are both very excited to be in school, meeting new friends and having all kinds of new experiences. I can't believe how fast they are growing up!

Welcome Home Devan

Joel's youngest brother Devan returned home from his mission last month and we were able to get the entire family together for a reunion. It was great! We spent the weekend up at a cabin at Shaver lake. That Sunday we were able to attend church together where Devan gave a wonderful talk... has it really been 2 years! Pictured above is all 10 grandkids at the cabin. Of course this picture will be out of date in a few weeks when Ashley delivers baby #11.

Ethan just thinks the world of Devan. It was a great experience writing and receiving letters from Guatemala for the last couple of years. He is so excited to serve a mission of his own someday. Of course, he still wants to go to Texas like his dad though.

Six Flags

We purchased season tickets to Six Flags this year since it's just an hour away. Because we are there about every other week I have not taken the camera for pictures. I finally decided to snap a few last time we went. I often take the kids myself while Joel is working. We have been so lucky to have such a mild summer this year, it has been really nice to be outside.

During the week the park is not very busy, so we are often the only ones on a ride. Megan decided she wanted to ride in the back by herself. She was Miss. Independent that day!

There are several great shows at the park. We have seen the killer whale show, dolphins, wild animals, elephant, Looney Toons, and pictured above the kids are watching the sea lion show.

At the wild animal show they brought out several of the animals for the kids to pet afterwards. Although Megan did not want to touch any of them, Austin could not get enough of it.

She's 4!

Megan turned four at the beginning of the month. Wow, these kids are good at reminding how fast time flies.

Megan got her friend a princess bath doll for her birthday 2 weeks prior. That's all she could talk about wanting for her birthday since. We got her that and the leotard and ballet slippers she needed to start her ballet class that week. She was one happy girl!

We are not having parties this year, except with the family, so we celebrated by playing at Chuck E. Cheese for the afternoon.

She is still really into princesses this year and wanted a princess cake so here is my attempt to fulfill that wish. It didn't turn out great, but she was happy. Luckily it looks better in the picture than in real life.

Everyone was excited to eat it!

Easter Celebrations

All the pictures we took of the kids in their new Sunday clothes were quite silly, but at least they were happy. This is the best picture I got of the three of them. Perhaps they are so happy because of all the candy they ate before breakfast.

Austin was very excited to dig into his basket!
Megan picked a peep as her first treat.

The kids helped me make a special cake this year.

The day before Easter we enjoyed a beautiful day in the backyard dying eggs.

The Friday before Easter we got together with friends from the neighborhood and ward to have our annual potluck and Easter Egg Hunt.

Austin

The closer Austin gets to his 2nd birthday the more he seems like a little boy and less like an infant. Since we jumped into a bunch of home improvement projects last month he was very eager to help. He got his hands on a paint roller while were were working on our ceiling and painted his pants, shirt and nose. We decided the pack-n-play was a good idea.
So, Austin loves to use the potty. Every time I put him on the toilet he goes. When I ask him if he wants to go, he runs to the bathroom, but he can't tell me when it's time. We tried to officially start potty training today. I bought him big boy underpants and put them on today. I took him potty every 20 minutes and we had a great morning. However, after nap I decided to give him a little more time between bathroom visits and of course he had a little accident. The difference between him and the other kids was that he didn't really care. Megan and Ethan would stop in their tracks and start crying once they realized they wet themselves. Austin just kept on playing. Maybe he is not quite ready yet... guess we'll wait a little longer. But what a big boy for wanting to go... yeah Austin.

Megan

We just got Megan her first 2-wheel bike and she is a natural. We were going to wait and get one for her birthday, but when I was at the DI the other day they had one just her size, pink and purple Barbie for $8. I couldn't resist.

Megan's hair is finally starting to grow into "big girl" hair and less baby hair. Every once in a while the curls turn out really good and I have to take a picture.

Ethan

Ethan has been very busy since turning 7 in March....
He decided he wanted to participate in the school science fair, so he did a project on water. How much water do you use in the shower... and how much water you could save if you took a few less minutes. Okay, it was my idea, but I was hoping it would encourage him to shorten his showers... it's helped a little.

Ethan has been a strong participant in the box tops collection contest. His class is number one in the school collecting over 2000, more than any class has collected in the history of the school, and Ethan has brought the most in his class. The cars here represent each class and although his class looks like they are right along with everyone else, that is because they have lapped the whole school already.

Baseball season is in full swing and he is loving it. He is in the rookies this year which means no tee or coaches pitch, it's all the boys. They are doing great. Pictured here is his team, the Pirates, during the opening day parade.

10 years, a mortgage and a mini van later...

Wow, how lucky are we, 10 years later and still crazy in love. The last 10 years have flown by so quickly, yet I cannot imagine not being married. Here is a quick blast from the past... I didn't realize how young we looked, or maybe I didn't realize how old we look now.

3 Decades Young!

So it finally came, the big 3-0, no matter how hard I tried to stop it, it came. Just kidding, I am very excited to be 30... something about it makes me feel a little more mature. Okay, I know I'm not, but Ethan did ask me when I got up that morning if I felt taller. "No" I replied, "but perhaps a little bigger though." I have to admit, curiosity got the best of me and I did dig into my closet to see if my wedding dress still fits... YES! I can't be doing that bad then.

So I didn't have the greatest week. Don't get me wrong, my parents came into town, which meant I got to have a lot of fun playing with my mom, while the boys worked, but it was a very busy week. And although I purposefully planned nothing for my birthday I spent the day cleaning, doing laundry, dishes and taking Austin to the doctor because after 5 days of crying, it dawned on me he might have an ear infection... yes he did. We picked up some quick take out since all the kids have been sick, we couldn't go out, watched a children's movie and fought the kids all the way to bed.

I have to admit I was a little disappointed, come on, 30 only comes once, I wanted a "me" day. So I took it out on my sweet husband (who did get me a very thoughtful gift) because... well... we got to go to San Francisco for the weekend for his 30th... with no kids.

So Saturday comes, and back to reality life is... cleaning house, running errands and entertaining children. Walmart is, of course, on the list of things to do every Saturday, but what isn't is coming home to my house full of my closest friends, and their families, decorations, food and cake waiting to be celebrated, my 30th birthday.

So thank you to my loving husband, for a sweet surprise and a great birthday. Of course, now that I know he can pull that off, I am going to expect a little more come Mother's Day... hahaha

Everything... and the kitchen sink!

We have slowly been updating our kitchen over the last 2 years. We started with the range, then the dishwasher and microwave. We painted the walls green and got window treatments. Last summer I painted the cupboards and added knobs, and in October we replaced our fridge. Finally, this weekend we replaced the sink and faucet.