Mmm, mmm, good...

Take some of these...

Get a bunch of this...

Then have fun putting them all together!!!

We made caramel apples after FHE last night. We were so lucky to have our cousins over to join us.

Cameron (cousin)

Derek (cousin)

Andrew

Jacob and Emma

Zach

I love that half of the children are wearing BYU shirts! Go Cougars. Are you ready for Fall? We are!

Jacob's Baptism

Jacob turned 8 in September. He was baptized a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints. It was a beautiful day and we are so proud of Jacob for taking this step.

Jacob was baptized by his father, Steve.

Thanks to all of our family and friends that came to support Jacob on this wonderful day!

Here are some thoughts on Jake. Jacob is a bright boy. He always wants to be the best or win at everything he does. He works hard. He is shy and always quietly observing everything that is going on around him. We love Jacob!

Love Letters

So I found this note in Jacob's backpack.

"Dear Andrew,

I am not going to kill you. I'm sorry I tried to kill you.

Your friend,

Jake"

And then there was one...

Well another summer has flown by and school has started. I love the forced routine of school days.

Andrew - 5th grade. Loves video/computer games, reading, legos, music and piano. Is the only one of my children who will eat whatever I make and not complain. Kind to his siblings/teases his siblings relentlessly (depends on his mood).

Jacob - 2nd grade. Loves sports, sports, sports. He'd rather play sports than eat. Skinny and quick. Has only lost a couple of teeth and is very bothered by this fact. Sweet as pie when he isn't being a stinker.

Emma - Kindergarten. What can I say about Emma. Loves her dolls, riding her bike, playing, art projects. Can bring lots of drama to situations. She was such a trooper when we took her to her first day of Kindergarten. No tears or drama. She's our only daughter and she is spoiled.

Zachary - Almost 3. Loves running, jumping, flipping, spinning, riding his bike/scooter, playing with any sort of ball. Working hard on listening. Wants to be just like his brothers and usually follows them everywhere. He's having a hard time with the other kids gone. He asks me every few minutes if Emma and the brothers are coming home yet.

Like I said... then there was one. I'm excited to have some quiet moments with just Zach. I used to look at other women and say "she is at such a good stage in her life", now I feel like that woman. There is a sense of joy in seeing your children grow and learn so many new things. It is so cliche, but time really does fly by. So here's to another school year!

Emma's Photos

Whenever I go to upload my pictures I get tons of surprise shots that Emma has taken. Here are just a few that I thought I'd share. I love to see the world through her eyes and see what she thinks is worth photographing.

California/Disneyland - January 2011

10 plus years ago when we left BYU we moved to Orange County, California. We bought a small (950 sq. ft) house that was only a few miles from the beach. The weather was amazing. There was always something to do. Ahhh...those were good days. Then we had a few kids, moved out of the country, moved back to the US, and have since settled in where we're at. We promised the kids for years that we would take them to California to go to Disneyland. Well we finally did it! We took a week off from school and stayed in a two room suite blocks away from Disneyland. It was so much fun. While we were there I kept thinking..."why did we ever leave this place?" I'll let the pictures speak for themselves.

I can't wait until we can go again!

HaPpY VaLeNtInE's DaY!

We started our day with heart shaped french toast. That was followed by numerous parties at the school. Andrew's class did such a fun thing. Instead of buying/making valentine's they each wrote something nice about every person in the class. Andrew loved sharing with us what his classmates wrote at FHE.

We had heart-shaped meatloaf and pink mashed potatoes for dinner. Then of course cupid came and ding-dong ditch us tons of treats and gifts. The balloons and candy were a treat from mom and dad. I hope everyone had a HAPPY VALENTINE'S DAY!!!

Look what Zach found!

You can't leave anything out with Zach in the house. I'm always going around calling his name only to find him shoving 10 pieces of gum in his mouth, breaking a well designed lego set, or playing the DS that was left on the ground. He knows how to find trouble!

4 going on 14

Emma bought some "real makeup" with some Christmas money she received. She loves to sit in front of the bathroom mirror and put it on. I'm not real girly so I don't give her advice. I just let her go for it and do whatever she wants.

Putting on her lipstick!

Oh I love that eyeshadow.

That blush looks great!

And there you have it. All dressed up and ready to go. She wore that makeup all day long. It didn't come off until bathtime.

Warning...He's 2!!!

Zach is definitely 2! He has these awesome tantrums over nothing. I have no idea what this one was about. All I did was take him out of his bed after his nap.

First he was sad.

Then he was angry.

Leave me alone!!!

I'm going to roll around on the floor and scream!

Okay that's fine. I get it. You're a two-year-old.

This was a fit he threw one morning. I asked him what he wanted for breakfast. He said oatmeal. So I made him oatmeal. He started crying and said he wanted a waffle. I made him a waffle. In the end he didn't want either one. He cried and screamed and tried to throw both the plate and the bowl on the floor.
All I can say is it's a good thing he does this a lot because it makes up for his terrible twos! We love this little guy!