First Lost Tooth

J lost her first tooth the other day. She was so excited when she figured out that it was loose. We had to wiggle it several times a day to see if it was ready to come out. When it finally was, she didn't even know her dad had pulled it. She had him wiggle it, which he did, and then she said "Ow, stop!" So, he stopped and she put her tongue where she thought her tooth should be and realized that it was gone. She was so excited. We put her tooth in a little baggie so that we wouldn't lose it and so that it would be ready for the tooth fairy. And, I'm proud to say that the tooth fairy actually made it to our house on time this time. It was amazing. Sometimes she is SO busy that she is late. But, not this time!

Now if we can get S to lose a tooth. He hasn't lost any yet, which was okay until his little sister lost one first. He must have some good teeth or something. Maybe the tooth fairy will have to bring him something extra for waiting so long. That is, if she remembers.

Braids

We had our ward campout this weekend. It was tons of fun! In preparation for it, some of my friends got together and we put all of our girls' hair and our hair into braids. We all got together on Thursday and had a little braiding party. It took us about 4 1/2 hours to braid 10 heads. It was so nice on Fri. and Sat. to wake up and not have to worry about doing any hair. We had a fun time!!

Me and my girls!

Happy Belated!

Yesterday was my mother's birthday. We had Andrea & Yoho, Michael & Carly, and Dani over for dinner. It was nice for everyone to get together to celebrate. I feel bad because I didn't get her anything. I'll have to take her out to lunch before she heads out and have that be her gift. It's just kind of hard when: she doesn't have a house, she can't take a lot with her on her mission, and she has most of what she needs. So, maybe a little mother/daughter time would be nice.

I'm very thankful for my mom and the way she raised us. We were brought up in a loving home and were taught the gospel principles to help direct us through our lives. My mom is a very social person and everyone loves having her arouned. Now is she not only my mom but she is also my friend.

Happy Belated Birthday Mom! I love you!!

Wedding Slide Show

Newlyweds

What a good looking couple!! Congrats baby sister!

Two Couples

Hopefully watching this lovely couple spend 43 wonderful years together,

will help this couple who will be married tomorrow!

Sisters!!

I love my sisters!!!! I totally wish we could live next to each other. Yeah for sister time!

The Case of the Stolen Bike

Saturday morning, we discovered that T's bike had been stolen. He was just in tears. He loves riding bikes, and rides his every day. I felt really bad for him. I was a little frustrated because I've been telling the kids over and over to put their things away at night or else things would get stolen. So, part of me thinks it was a good lesson for the kids to learn, but more of me feels bad for him. I guess we'll have to get him a new one.

Happy Father's Day, Papa

I can't remember the last timed I was with my dad on father's day and I am so glad to be able to spend this one with him. I am SO grateful for him and for the great example he is to me. Not only is he my dad but he's become a friend. Thanks dad for all you've taught me, all you've done for me, and for loving me! Thanks for being a wonderful dad to me and papa to my kids. They all love you so much and look up to you more than you'll ever know.

Happy Father's Day!

Belgium, Brussels/Netherlands

It's finally here! Mom and Dad have been here for about 2 weeks and we've been anxiously awaiting for their mission call to come. We've been waiting for the call from MSL to tell us that their call had come. We were so excited to hear where they were going. I think they are both excited and anxious! It will be an amazing experience for them and I am so grateful for the opportunity they have to go on a mission.

CONGRATS MOM AND DAD!!!

Dentist Trip

I don't know why my kids have such horrible teeth. They must get it from their dad ;) We got to make a lovely trip to the dentist this week.



This was the first time J had to have any work done. She did really well until the end. I think by then her poor little mouth was tired of being open. She had to have a pulpotomy and a crown. Poor little J!



T had to have a space maintainer put in on his bottom teeth. When he was younger he had several teeth pulled. He had a spacer put in before, but it fell out and so he had to have a new one so that his teeth won't crowd in together.



Then, there was M. She had to have a ton done. She had two space maintainers put in, one on top and one on the bottom. She had two teeth pulled, one on top and one on the bottom, on opposite sides of the mouth. And, she had to have a filling drilled out and redone. She was a good sport about it, but her mouth is super sore.



We had to give all of them doses of Tylenol when we got home and we had milk shakes for dinner. That was on Tuesday and M is still having a hard time eating. Hopefully we won't have to do this again.

Slip-n-Slide

We are dying for warm weather here. My mom bought the kids a slip 'n slide about a week ago and they have been wanting and wanting to use it. But, the weather has not been cooperating. However the other day we did have about 30 minutes of sunshine where the kids insisted on setting it up and giving it a try. We told them it wasn't really warm outside and the water was cold and they would probably freeze their little buns off, but they didn't care. They loved it! Well, at least the boys did. The girls were surprisingly too cold.

Hopefully it'll warm up and stay and we can put the slip 'n slide to some real use!

Family Fun

Here are some pictures from our family dinner the other night. It was so fun to spend time with family and to strengthen our bonds. We also got the chance to meet Andrea's fiance Yoho. He seems like a very nice guy and I look forward to getting to know him better. He was very nice to everyone and my kids loved him!

Lucky Greg got some special treatment from J. She sat there on his shoulders and did his hair for a while. She combed it and gelled it. He was a good sport about it, and she was thrilled!


J also learned a new trick on her bike. For a long time she was so frustrated that she couldn't ride a bike. DH and I got bikes and wanted to family bike rides. She was mad because she couldn't do it and said that bikes were dumb. But, I found her outside all day trying and trying. Then it clicked. Now she rides everywhere and is learning tricks. She thought it was pretty cool that she could put her feet on the handlebars and still go. I "HAD" to take a picture for her.




Before and after dinner the boys all went outside to play basketball. T loved spending time with his dad and playing outside with the big boys. We had a good night and I look forward to many more.

I Was Washing My Guys!

M came to get me the other day and told me that there was something wrong with the sink in the bathroom. When I went in there and saw the muddy, dirty mess, I knew it had something to do with S. He has been giving his guys baths in the sink lately, so I figured it was something along those lines. When I asked him what it was, he said, "I was washing my guys!" He sure was. There was mud, rocks, and sticks in the sink. I sure hope those guys got nice and clean.

Toe Nails

We had some family over for dinner tonight. While we were waiting Dani, M, J, and I painted our toe nails. Mine were in some dire need of being redone. I did them once and didn't like them, so then I did them again. I painted them, and Dani put the cute flowers on. We had lots of fun!

M's cute little hands and feet!

Dani's nice skinny feet and cute polka dot toe nails!

My fat flintstone feet, but at least my toes have cute flowers on them!

Prints & Frames

I got three of these frames and some prints from Ike@ and then decopauged some scrapbook paper on them. I think they turned out really cute, thanks to my cute friend Saedi, who gave me the idea.

This is my favorite one! I love the paper and the print. I put it in the bathroom.

I really liked how this one turned out. It is in our bedroom. After 10 months of living in our house, I've finally started to decorate my bedroom and this worked perfectly!

This is my least favorite one, but I think it turned out okay. It is also hanging in my bathroom.

Dance Recital

Ever since M got her costumes and has been performing in competitions, J has been dying for her turn. When she finally did get her costume, she wanted to wear it ALL the time. She was so excited!

Their recital was Tuesday night, and it turned out SO cute. M did a great job. J looked very nervous, but was still so cute. I've been very impressed with their studio. They went to a different studio before this one, and I was not that impressed with their dances, teachers, or costumes. This studio was an entire different experience. They were organized, the teachers were wonderful, the dances were cute, they learned and progressed, and the recital was great. Ovedrall it was a wonderful experience! M has found a real love for dancing. She really has gotten better this year and I'm excited to see her continue to excel. J had fun too. I'm not sure she had as much fun as M, but she is still little. I think it'll come with time.

Choices

For one of our FHE's we talked about choice and accountability. We discussed the importance of making good choices, and how every choice has a consequence, whether good or bad. It was kind of a big lesson for the kids, but I think they grasped the idea. Hopefully they've learned something from it.

For dessert we had chocolate fondue, with lots of different "choices" to dip into it. They loved it. I got a fun fondue pot from my SIL for Christmas one year. It's a fun thing to have. We had strawberries, marshmellows, bananas, and angel food cake as our choices. They were yummy! It turned out to be a very fun FHE.

My cute neice Dani and her husband Greg came over. So did our good friends Aaron and Lauren. It's always nice to share a fun evening with family and friends. After the lesson and dessert we put the kids to bed and we stayed up to play "Celestial Companions". We love that game. However, our winning streak was taken away from us by Dani and Greg. We did come in a close second though!!

Toy "Busting"

"Mom, can I bust some of my toys?" That is the question I heard from S the other day. I'm not sure what started it, but he went on a "toy busting" kick. It started with some old cell phones DH brought home from work and went on to unwanted toys. He had a lot of fun "busting" away. What a crazy kid! A once loved Ben 10 guy.

A missing leg.

A happy little boy!

Last Day of School

Last Thursday was our last day of school. For me, it's both a good thing and a bad. I'm SO done with all the homework, trying to get kids to bed on time, fighting them to get ready on time, and all sorts. But, I'm not quite ready to hear "I'm bored" all the time. We'll just have to keep busy. Yeah for another successful school year.