Life has been very busy!!! Part !

I know I can never catch up on every little detail, so here's a quick recap of our summer. It all started when school got out! It was a great year for all the kids. Many thanks to all you wonderful teachers out there, making a difference for our kids!!

Nathan is done with 5th! It was a challenging but great year!

Grant loved his teacher and became quite the math pro!

Kristen loved everything about kindergarten, especially her teacher!

Nathan turned 11 and had a fun swim party with lots of friends. Boy, can those boys eat!!

We had a fun visit with the Hodgkins! We spent some time together playing at Dillon Beach.

I went to Girl's Camp. And I must admit we do some crazy stuff that we would never do otherwise! It was a busy but uplifting week. I got to know other leaders I never had a chance to know before!

All the kids did swim team over the summer, so our days were busy with practices and weekend swim meets. Chris and I loved watching the kids and helping as timers. Nathan did awesome and placed 3rd in the backstroke and 4th in the freestyle finals at champs!!

That's out of like 100 + kids!

Grant also made major improvements! One of his biggest accomplishments was finally diving off the blocks. It can be a little scary on those high starting blocks!

Kristen is my little fish and loved the whole season. It was hard getting her out of the water when her race was done! She also made massive improvements in her times!

Kristen turned 6 and celebrated with friends at Roller King.

Chris and I took the boys and hiked Mt. Tallac. They did awesome and the views were spectacular! They can't wait to do it again.

We took another trip to Dillon Beach with the Clarks and had a fun, relaxing time!

And then, it was back to school. Don't they look sharp for that first day? This is the only year that all three kids go to school and get picked up at the same time. YES, it is HEAVEN and I am enjoying it very much! It was a fast paced, busy summer filled with fun.

5th Grade Living Museum

Every year, the 5th graders put on a living history museum in which they choose a prominent figure that has made contributions to society. After doing some research, Nathan chose to be Jonas Salk, the creater of the polio vaccine. He read a biography about him and did other research. It was very interesting and educational for the whole family. He has several writing assignments that he had to write as if he were Jonas Salk doing the writing. Each student had to design and paint a backdrop for the day of the living museum and also visit different classrooms telling about why they were famous and answer questions the kids had. On the day of the museum, each student came in costume and brought props and then all of the classes, and parents came and asked them questions about their lives. They had to be prepared to answer all kinds of questions about their childhood, family life, what they were famous for, education, death, etc. All of the students did a fantastic job!!

Here's Nathan in costume with his props and backdrop.

He did all of the backdrop himself. It looked great!!

Grant's class got to come for a visit that morning.

It was a great experience for Nathan, but he was relieved to be done. Chris and I were invited to stay and have lunch and relax with Nathan after a hard morning's work.
Great job Nathan!!!

Grant's Baptism

I know this is late, but I have so much catching up to do, that it'll take some time to be current!

Grant was baptised the first weekend in March by Chris. It was a special day for all of us. Chris's parents were able to come into town, and combined with my parents, my siblings and their families, and Julie and her family, we had quite a crowd. Having family attend these important milestones in life make them even more special!

Chris and Grant before he took the dunk!

Afterwards, we invited everyone over for cake and cookies. Grant got his 4th birthday cake that evening!! He also got his first full set of scriptures and a journal. We are very happy with the choice that Grant made to be baptized!!

It's Great to be Eight!!

Grant's official birthday was on Saturday while we were at Disneyland. We drove home on Sunday and as soon as we got home, headed over to Grandma and Grandpa's house for dinner and a birthday party. Grandma had picked up a chocolate oreo cake for Grant since we had been out of town. It was delicious!

Grant got a new bike from Chris and I, and Grandma and Grandpa.

The next day, we had Chris's sister Julie and her family over for a small party for

Grant and Chris.

Then, Grant invited four friends over for pizza and then to Sky High for a fun night of jumping.

Nathan had a blast jumping too.

For his 3rd cake, Grant requested lemon jello cake. Yum!

So, in honor of his 8th birthday...... here's 8 things about Grant you may not know!

• Grant makes friends very easily! At school, he seems to be pretty popular!
• Grant has the greatest, most contagious laugh! Seriously, it is great!
• Grant is very determined when he decides to do something.
• Grant really looks up to his older brother and is a great younger brother.
• Grant loves being outside and as soon as he finishes his homework heads outdoors.
• Grant loves animals!
• Grant is very stubborn! I'm hoping this quality works for his benefit someday.
• Grant makes me smile everyday with his fun personality and can be very sweet.
  Happy 8th Birthday Granty!! We love you!!
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  

Our Three Days of Fun!!

We had 3 amazing days at Disneyland and California Adventure! Our friends, the Mahoneys were there as well, so the kids really had a blast! Here are just a few pictures of the fun!

In line for Pirates of the Caribbean.

Three sweet girls ready for a spin on the Teacups

Grant liked to ride solo on many of the rides

Nathan still liked riding with his mom.

Kristen was all ready to ride the Tower of Terror until they showed the little movie in the lobby. She then declared that she didn't want to anymore. Here she is showing a happy face for the camera, but it took daddy a LOT of convincing for her to stay on. Needless to say, she only rode it once!

Amber and the kids ready to watch "It's Tough to be a Bug!"

All the crazy kids!!

Chris and I had a date night one evening when Ryan and Amber took the kids back to the hotel for us. We had adjoining rooms which was very convenient!

Kristen and I had a nice morning while the boys rode some of the bigger rides. She liked Pinnochio, but wouldn't go near Snow White. She was afraid of the witch.

Another mild ride for Kristen while the boys rode Tower of Terror again. She had the most pictures taken because she was with me most of the time and I had the camera. I really do love my other kids just as much!!!

There's a cute section in CA Adventure with Bugs Life rides. This is probably my favorite in that group of rides!

The Toy Story ride in CA is the coolest ride! Totally worth the long wait in line.

Chris like it too and scored the high score for the entire morning.

While the boys were on CA Screamin', Kristen and I had fun in the Brother Bear obstacle course. She loved the zip line and did it several times!

Waiting for the 3D Muppet show in CA Adventure. All the shows were so much fun!

Kristen took this one of dad.

For once, we wore the kids out instead of them wearing us out!! Grant fell asleep in the middle of Main Street while we waited for the firework show. He slept the entire time!

We had such an awesome time! Disney knows how to make things magical and we can't wait to come back!!

Downtown Disney

After our long trip down to Southern Cali, we spent our first afternoon in the pool and spa at the hotel, went to dinner and then headed to Downtown Disney. They have a lot of fun stores, and as you'll see, the majority of our time was spent at the Lego Store.

They have some cool lego figures and Nathan decided to try and get the best of Darth Vader. Sorry kiddo, he's too tough for you!

They also have a fun play area for younger kids to build their own creations. All I kept thinking was, "Major germ fest here!" and kept sanitizing the kids' hands. People probably thought I was a paranoid nut, maybe I am.

Kristen and Lauryn liked building the best!

Our favorite hero, Indiana Jones, lego style.

It was a fun evening and got us even more excited for the next three days in the park!

Such a Busy Week!

The last week has been jam packed, and full of fun!

We spent three days at Disneyland, celebrated Grant's 8th birthday while there, Kristen lost her 1st top tooth, and today is Chris's 37th birthday! Since it has been nonstop fun, posting on our blog will have to wait until I have a chance to catch my breath. So for now, have a great week!