Go Lady Aggies!

We have been promising Kylee all year long that we would take her to see a Utah State Aggie women's basketball game. She chose her game well in advance, knowing that it would be a good one, and yesterday was the BIG day. The girl's games are not very well attended but it was so much fun to watch! They have a great team this year and it is fun to watch Coach Reagan Scott Pebley at work...she is a MVHS alumni after all and her dad was MY coach once upon a time. Thanks to Kylee's attendance at the USU basketball camp last summer, she was able to be a "ball girl" for yesterday's game. She and her cousin Haley were responsible for keeping the players hydrated and providing them with sweat towels. It was exciting for them to be on the floor interacting with the players. I am thinking that next year we will attend more women's games - it was fun!

Jr. Jazz

Oh the much anticipated basketball season has come and gone. Kylee has improved a lot since last year and the games are becoming more and more enjoyable. They are no longer painful to watch! As usual, her daddy was her coach and a good one at that. She loved being able to play with (and against) good friends. Now on to sewing class, gymnastics, and piano!

Creativity at work!

I love when kids play and use their imaginations. Kylee and Krishelle always seem to find a way to keep themselves entertained for hours and it rarely involves anything electronic. This is what 3 hours in Kylee's room with stencils, crayons, pencils, scissors, glue and tape created. I love it! They taped them all to her dresser and are planning a "store" for next week to sell paper dolls and the clothes that go with them. Perfect way to spend a day if you ask me.

8 is Great!

After speaking in Sacrament Meeting and speaking at 8 is GREAT last night, I am hopefully done with public speaking for awhile. In the process of preparing my own two talks I forgot that my Kylee was supposed to give a talk in Primary. I must say that I am grateful for the Friend magazine that I had in my diaper bag...certainly came in handy for my last minute preparation on the Plan of Salvation! Phew!!! I guess we can't always be on top of everything, right? Here is the cute treat I gave to all of the incoming 8 year olds. We talked about the 3 Bears of Baptism and I think it was a hit. I talked about the meaning of the word covenant and then looked up the scriptures and read them while having the kids listen for the word BEAR in these 3 scriptures:

The 3 BEARS of Baptism:

1. BEAR His name - Mosiah 26:18 - We talked about what it means to take upon us the name of Christ and how we act knowing that we are His children. He was the perfect example for us to follow. We talked about keeping commandments.
2. BEAR one another's burdens - Mosiah 18:8 - I had my Nick come up and I put a backpack on him full of water bottles. We talked about burdens and how they can make us feel heavy. We then talked about ways that we can help lift each other. As they gave suggestions I removed water bottles from the backpack. I think they enjoyed it!
3. BEAR testimony - Alma 4:19 - I talked about the importance of bearing our testimonies and shared an experience about bearing my testimony with some non-members.

Hopefully they got it! I love that kids get so excited to be baptized. My cute Kylee took that step last summer and we will do it all over again with Nick this fall. Such a fun time.

Daddy/Daughter Dance!

Kylee and Tyler went to the 50's sock hop at the elementary school this week. Kylee was so excited she could hardly stand it. The highlight was dancing to the final song as the balloons fell from the ceiling. The whole event was so well put together by the PTA and they had over 400 people attend. Amazing! I love that Kylee has the opportunity to make memories like this with her daddy!

1st Haircut

The mullet is gone! Happy Day! I finally decided to take little Ms. Summer in for a haircut. I have been dreading this day for months. This child NEVER sits still so I was anticipating a disaster. Much to my surprise, she was perfect! Thanks to her bottle she sat on my lap and didn't dare move. She has really bad hair...it moves in all of the wrong directions but I think this will at least help give me something to work with. Yeah for haircuts!

Ewwww....

Summer's latest addiction is eating lotion. I put it up on her dresser and she moves a chair to get to it. I put it in the bathroom drawer thinking that it is well hidden and it is like she has a sixth sense that guides her to the stupid bottle of lotion. She seriously eats it...like mouths full! Ewwww...that is all I have to say about that!

Valentines Day

The more children we have the more Valentine's Day becomes a "family" holiday and this year was no exception! After forgetting to write Kylee a "love letter" that her teacher asked parents to send in and forgetting to pick up my kids from school until I got a phone call....I was in desperate need of showing my kids some extra love. We set the table in red and white and had our PINK dinner together. Pink pancakes, orange eggs (oops...yellow eggs + red food coloring = orange), pink lemonade, pink cake and pink milkshakes! I gave them each something special and we headed out the door for a surprise game of bowling. It was a perfect Valentines Day spent with all the people that I love! Ahhhh...and here is my Valentine! I love him more today than ever. He is funny, smart, dedicated, humble, hard working and about as good as a dad as anyone could ask for.
My sweet Kylee is growing up right before my eyes. She is everything a mom could hope for. Having a girl first has been the biggest blessing...she is the best helper! She is such a great student, friend, and sister. I can't imagine life without Miss Kylee Jo by my side!
Nicholas has really started to develop a personality in the last year. He is full of confidence but equally as full of love. He is like by everyone including our family. He is a great little athlete and has a brain full of great sports information if we ever have an questions!
Mr. Austin is my pal. He is hilarious. Austin says the funniest things. He loves to play and keeps Summer and I company while the kids are at school each day. He makes me smile all of the time just being who he is. He LOVES Nick and I love watching my two boys interact.
Summer is a handful but a darn cute one. I have enjoyed her as a baby so much more then a I remember enjoying my other kids. She is into everything but it rarely makes me upset. I think Heavenly Father sent her to me to teach me patience and I have certainly learned to enjoy the journey with this little one.

Hope you all had a great Valentines Day!

Evidence...

Though some of these pictures are blurry, and I could have taken 10 more that look just like them, I wanted to post them as evidence that a toddler lives in our house. Summer is not just ANY toddler. I have had 3 other toddlers in this house and none have been as busy and destructive as she has been. She colors on EVERYTHING and no cupboard, drawer, basket, room or closet has gone untouched by her sweet little destructive hands. Summer really is sweet. She has really bad hair (a total mullet that I can't part with) and a few bad habits (coloring everything and pushing any reachable button) but we LOVE her anyway! I guess I am off to buy a Magic Eraser...wish me luck on this cleaning adventure!

Bieber Fever...

My cute Kylee and handsome Nick were able to hit the new Justin Bieber movie last weekend. To say they were both in heaven is an understatement. The posters are now hung in their rooms and I have caught them both singing the music a number of times this week. Too cute! The "best movie ever" inspired a Valentines box decorated in honor of Bieber...and with that I have now been named the "coolest mom ever". Her smile makes it totally worth it and I have to admit, I might secretly take Kylee and go see the movie. Shhhhhh, don't tell and if I am looking a little under the weather you will know that caught the "Bieber Fever" as well! :)

Happy Birthday to ME!

I am just like my mother in a lot of ways but remembering my camera and taking pictures is something I can never remember to do. Oh well! My Birthday this year was just about as good as they get. Tyler tried extra hard this year and his efforts were appreciated! The day started at 5:00 a.m. when Kylee woke me up in search of scissors and tape. She apparently dreamed a brilliant idea (shown above - Happy Birthday Best Mom Ever) and enlisted the help of her brothers in creating a super cute sign. The house was decorated with streamers (more like ribbon because streamers were hidden) and I was served a fabulous breakfast in bed! The kids were off to school and I headed to Firehouse to get my car cleaned out...they gave me $10 OFF because it was my Birthday...SSSWWWEEETTTT! The kids were brought home and I met up with some of my family for lunch and a bit of shopping. PERFECT! The night was complete with a pre-arranged, yes you read that right, PRE-ARRANGED dinner and bowling with two of our favorite people, the Dowdle's. The kids survived the babysitter and I survived another year. Thanks for all of those who went to extra effort to make me feel special. I feel truly blessed!

Sunny St. George!

We escaped the cold weather and headed South to sunny St. George for the weekend. We invited the Anderson's to come along and the kids had a ball. It was great to wear a light jacket and enjoy the outdoors for a few days. We were welcomed home by SNOW, of course, but loved the warmth for the few days we were there. The boys went golfing, the girls went shopping, we ate LOTS of yummy food and treats, and the kids swam. We rode bikes and scooters, played football on the grass, and took a few walks outside. We spent Sunday attending Church and touring the local Church history sites including the St. George Temple Visitor's Center. It was heaven in January! I took a lot of pictures but for some reason a good majority turned out blurry...sorry mom!