Suzy's Four Months Old

Believe it or not it's been four months since my angel was born! She's getting so big (but I won't know exactly how much for a couple more weeks when she gets weighed in at her well check up) but I'm guess 12 or 13 lbs now! Doubling her birthweight! She has discovered her voice and loves to "talk". This is adorable all except during church classes ;) She puts everything in her mouth which means as soon as she's mobile the kids will have to keep their toys in their rooms because they have hundreds of little toys now days. She's starting to giggle, but right now it takes a lot of work to get her going, and she mostly only does it for her daddy... he's always been the playmate for each kid! She's a very easy baby... she loves spending time with her Gpa Gary ever night, she loves being talked to (especially by her big sister and brother), she has a huge grin (which I was hoping to capture in the photo but she thought it was too bright, so I was lucky just to get one with her eyes open), and she sleeps through the night which makes for a happy mother!

Wordless Wednesday

Pioneer Day

I'm so proud of my little ones! For Pioneer Day (actually celebrated on Saturday the 23rd in Toquerville) the kids woke up bright and earlier to get dressed in their "pioneer" clothes and made it to the parade line up at 7:30am. Our primary "float" won first place, it was awesome! Then the kids sang pioneer songs at the park program. I had to be at work but I'm grateful that my hubby got them to these events and took pictures for me. I love these type of traditions!

Wordless Wednesday

Liv Turns 7!

I can't believe my little girl is seven, but it is so. I asked her what she wanted for her birthday party theme and she chose her favorite thing to do... Dance! So that's what we did! We had the girls dress up in tutus so they came ready to get their groove on. We played Simon Says while we waited for everyone to arrive. Simon mostly told them to do dance related moves. Then Liv blew out her seven candles and we ate cake & ice cream... sugaring up the kiddos so they'd be ready to burn some energy on the dance floor! Then we danced, played musical, did the hokey pokey, and so on. I loved hearing the girls giggle and getting those shy ones to shake it a little! The girls got to dress like stars and do a photo shoot which I will then send back to them in a thank you card! Last was unwrapping presents. I love when the kids get excited to GIVE the presents, they are so sweet! It was a super awesome party! It especially makes me happy when Liv says, "It was the BEST party EVER!"

Wordless Wednesday

Independence Day

I know, I'm a week behind, but oh well! Here's what we did on independence day...

I'm a mean mom, I haven't taken my kids to see an areal firework show until now. I grew up going to firework shows and they

just got boring. May seem hard to believe but they did. So I didn't have much ambition to want to keep my kids up late and deal with grumpy attitudes the next day for fireworks on independence day or

pioneer day. BUT while we were in Salt Lake last time the West Fest was going on in West Valley. Well, you can see those fireworks from my dad's deck. Since Liv hadn't gone to sleep yet anyways I took her out

back so she could see what was making all the noise. Well, she was in Awe! It was in that moment that I realized that I had been depriving my kiddos of a great tradition. So I was set in taking them to a firework show this year & it was totally worth keeping them up late for! Lying next to Liv and listening to her "oo" and "ah" over all the "sparkles" was priceless! I love experiencing

joy through my kids, and rediscovering the magic in things! Plus, I have found a new challenge... getting a great shot of areal fireworks! I love taking pictures of fireworks but I wasn't very good at taking areal pictures (although the first firework shot I like cause it reminds me of dandelion fluff!) So now I'm challenged and fireworks have lost their boringness!

Wordless Wednesday (a day late)

Sand Hollow Camping

Friday we decided to go camping at Sand Hollow as a last "Hurrah" before Taber and Koda headed to Colorado. I was very anxious about taking Suzy out in such a heat (104 average this weekend) but

it needed to be attempted. It was rough on her, but she held up pretty well. Then slept and slept when we got home. The older kids, Liv, Gary, & their cousin Koda, had a BLAST! The played in the water

nonstop! I helped Liv make a sand castle with much success! The boys enjoyed sword fighting... they'll sword fight with anything! Todd and I had a good time skiing, it's been a year since I've been able to ski

(pregnancy, you know...) and boy could I tell it'd been so long! I was a wuss and ended up sore. So here's to more trips to the lake, asap! Thanks Gary and Karlene for sharing your toys and creating fun

memories with the family!