New Additions to the Family

We added some new artwork to the house!

We added Tigress about two weeks ago:

And on the same day a couple of weeks ago, we added Oreo!

We also added a few pair of goggles to our house-hold and the kids LOVE them! Will wears his pretty much everywhere!

4th of July and Other Fun Times

So, mid-June Abby was in a play -- Pinocchio-- thru Missoula Childrens Theatre. She was a ballerina toy. She got to sing and do ballet moves on stage with a cast of about 50. She looked so tiny and cute up on that huge stage, dancing around the bad guy. She still sings the songs throughout her day, and the week following the play, she woke up crying. She was sad because she really wanted to go back to play practice. I think it was the best week of her life, and even today she mentioned that she can't wait for the next play in January. Here she is with her hair in a bun... on our way up to the play! I didn't get any pictures of her on stage in her costume because all of the paperwork we got from the theatre said not to bring cameras. So I obeyed. I am dumb sometimes. People were taking pictures left and right... and then cast pictures after. And I missed it ALL!

We have been going to a park at least once per week this summer. Will has discovered the joys of swings, as well as the pain they can cause... when you hang over the swing and let it soothe you nearly to sleep, you can fall onto the ground and scrape the nose...On July 3, we went to a park about 8pm to watch the City of Gendale fireworks show. There weren't to many people there when we first got there, so we got a pretty cool spot. While we waited the kids played in the sand and on slides, etc. As it got dark, we hurried and got seated. In time to realize during the first firework that we were facing southeast and the fireworks were being shot from northwest behind a line of beautiful trees!! Aaah! So we grabbed our chairs and ran across the park to a better spot. We enjoyed an amazing show.

I should insert right here that I am very proud to be a citizen of the United States of America. I am truly grateful for the men and women who have served and are currently serving our country in the military. I know that because of them, I am able to live in a safe country where I can go to any church I choose. My husband can legally own every gun we own. We can all speak our minds, even though the ones who speak the loudest totally do not appreciate that freedom! I am thankful for our Heavenly inspired laws of our land, and pray that we can keep them! In uncertain times, I truly appreciate this day to celebrate our independence... I know that people have lost their lives and give up a big chunk of their life to defend what we have. I AM PROUD TO BE AN AMERICAN!!!!

The kids had an absolute blast pillow fighting while waiting for friends -n- fireworks on the fourth. Will is quite dramatic. Whenever he got near swingin' pillows, he would fall flat on his back and lay there for a few minutes, shouting "whoa! whoa! whoa!" It was hilarious. The girls really had a blast chasing each other around the yard, giggling all the while.We had some very good friends come over for dinner and "fireworks." Robbie bought the little kits that are legal in Colorado. They included some whistling low fireworks, smoke-bombs and sparklers! The kids truly enjoyed the sparklers!

There were upwards of 150 sparklers poked into the ground here the next morning.We brought out blankets and just hung out and snacked, talked, enjoyed the weather. Our neighbors also came over to visit when they heard our fireworks. That was fun! I wanted to get to know them better so it worked out nicely!

It was a loooooong day. As our friends were leaving, I put Will on the couch with a cartoon. I checked on him ten minutes later and this is how I found him. Fun Day!

Happy Birthday Abby!

Abby is six now! It's hard to believe how quickly kids grow! She is a beautiful little girl with a beautiful big soul. She loves playing with her brother and sister. She loves to sing -- in Sacrament Meeting she sits quietly, writing her own music. She loves to dance. And quite recently she has discovered that she loves theatre! Saturday she performed in "Pinocchio" as a toy ballerina. She loved going to practice, she loved performing, and she really enjoyed going out after the show to Applebee's with some of the cast. Abby was starstruck! She was so overjoyed to be eating dinner with the actor who played Pinnochio.

Last Saturday we celebrated her birthday at our new house is Denver :-) I am so thankful for good friends who brought their cute little girls with very little notice! We had a princess party. Abby instructed me that we needed everything pink... streamers, balloons, presents, etc. So... We went nuts with the streamers :-) It was fun!

They got to make their own candy bracelets. They were very careful about the patterns they produced!Will didn't want to wait for cupcakes... so to keep him quiet (I know... bad mom!) I gave him his cupcake early. He liked the frosting!

Makenzie volunteered to be in charge of "pin the tail on the donkey". She is a great helper!

Good sports! We love you Robert!

We did cupcakes so each child could blow out a candle. They were funny. It was breezy and hard to light the candles... so we sang quickly, then they just stood there. Not blowing out candles. I had to tell them to blow them out.

And last, but not least, we got a cute little Tinkerbell pinata. Thank goodness a friend from our new ward hung out while Robbie was hanging it in the tree. We were fully prepared to beat the thing till candy spilled out. Apparently we got the "girly" pinata. You take turn pulling streamers, till someone pulls the magic streamer and it pours out!I LOVE the look on her face as she watched the candy pour out! So much excitement for cheap bubblegum!
Abby was thrilled with all of her gifts, but more thrilled just to play with her friends.

Catching Up!

Well, we have had a very busy last few months! We have spent time in Texas, Wyoming, Arizona, Colorado (and a brief drive through Oklahoma.) We enjoyed an extended vacation visiting Robbie's family in Texas! It was also great to spend time in Wyoming with my family. We spent time driving through Arizona and trying out our RV in various campgrounds. And now, we have been back at home in Colorado for about a month now. Let me just say, it's great to be home! I love our mountains, the climate here, and probably mostly, the familiarity of it all!

Since we got back, Robbie has been staying home with the kids and I went back to work! I have mixed feelings on this... I really miss spending more time with the kiddos. But it's fun to see Robbie learn the joys of being with the kids all day... home-schooling, changing loads (hee hee) of diapers, doing the dishes, etc. He better appreciates what I have done for the last eight years! I really enjoy the work that I do. The hours are picked by me! And oddly, we are much more organized this way... We are better with bedtime, which makes everything else better! So, for the time being, this scenario is working like a charm for our family!

I was also very excited to find a great deal on ebay a few weeks ago! I searched for trampolines in the metro area and found 1 used trampoline with a safety net for $1. Sadly, I missed the auction, so I emailed the guy. He ended up giving it to us for free! We just had to pick it up and break it down. It's in good shape! So now the kids can burn up tons of energy in our ginormous backyard! (We also have a cute little bunny that hangs out in the yard. He's not afraid of the kids, and he nibbles on the grass all day!)

Check out Abby's crazy hair from jumping on the trampoline!

We are also enjoying our new little house in a cute little neighborhood. When I say little... I am NOT kidding! It's 2 bedrooms. 1 bathroom! And they are small rooms! Like... our dresser is in the entry by the front door because it doesn't fit in our room. I'm not complaining though. I actually LOVE it! It's way easier to keep clean! We also have a basement with 2 tiny rooms and 1 even more tiny room. One room is the playroom. The other will be my craft room, and then food storage for the other! The really great thing is that the garage is probably bigger than the house. And the yard... It's big! And well fenced... we still need a gate in one area... but the fence is great!

Oh! Also, Robbie wanted me to add this picture. See all of those items on the floor in front of the kids? Everyone of those things were pulled out of our subwoofer... thank you, Will. We thought it sounded funny whenever there was a loud bass sound. Weird vibration sounds. So Robbie took the back off and discovered why! The front of the speaker has a Will-hand sized circle hole that must have been really fun for him! A wash-cloth? Really?!! Crazy kid!

Oh! And another thing! In our new ward, we had some guys come visit tonight... TO INVITE ROBBIE TO ATTEND HIGH PRIEST GROUP! Am I married to an old man, or what! ;-)

Fun With Uncle Zak!

Will has discovered the thrill of the open road. He loves riding his "motor-cycle" down the driveway as fast as he can. He realized that he actually has control over the direction he can travel, and enjoys going back and forth as he quickly coasts down hill! Imagine the excitement when he realized that the big thing he climbs in Uncle Zak's garage actually moves!Zak gave the kids rides on his four wheeler this afternoon. Will was such a patient little guy. He was so excited to have lots of turns, but he eagerly waited in line for each of his turns.

Makenzie was a bit more cautious than her siblings, she only took two rides and that was enough for her. At one point, Zak let Abby hit the gas, nearly flipping them over (not really, but it sure felt that way at the moment!) At that point, Makenzie said "That's where I would have said, thanks, this is my stop."

Abby had fun riding, and after the little scare, she just let Uncle Zak do the driving!

Willie is 2!

It's hard to believe that just 2 short years ago I was pacing the living room in the middle of the night trying to decide how long to wait before heading to the hospital to have Will! I think I did pretty good since I had him within one hour of arriving at the hospital! And a few months before that, finding out thru ultrasound that we were going to have a boy (and Robbie arguing with the tech saying it wasn't possible!) Boy, has he changed our life! He is independent and brave, busy and sturdy, and gives the best little boy hugs on the planet. I remember thinking that the girls were so fragile at this age. Not so with Will. He likes to wrestle and jump off of high places. He likes to make gun noises, although I have no idea where he has actually heard a gun to know what it does... he loves cars and motorcycles, pretty much anything that requires keys. Along with all of that boy craziness, he has been known to apply blue eyeshadow now and then when he sneaks into the girls makeup and he enjoys a good manicure when I am doing the girls nails... (I really don't like to hear him scream when I say no to the nails... it comes off when he plays in the dirt!)

In honor of the birthday boy, here are some pictures of the fun we had here in Texas with Grandpa Bill, Grandma Lori and Aunt Andi!

Keep your hands on your head! Don't touch anything!Thank you, Gramma and Poppa for the cool trucks, stickers and crayons, and the awesome box! We are shipping it back to you with something different inside!

Me!