Week in Review . . .

This week has been a busy one. School is almost out, thank goodness! I get annoyed with year-round school this time of the year. They have to have all their year end stuff in by the end of May, so the last few weeks of school, they don't seem to do anything. They have their dance festival and Field day and their Award Day.

Caitlyn got the Gold Star award, which is given for having a high GPA, not just for 6th grade, but for the cumulative GPA of 4th,5th and 6th Grade. What a good girl I have! Hopefully that will continue in Middle School!

Haidyn received the High Flying Hawk Award, most of the work for this has to be done at home. Haidyn is a hard worker (for everyone but me!).

I actually went to Enrichment, only because they were doing CPR training at the Fire Station. I went in hopes of getting some exciting and gory stories. The guys at the station were so very nice! They took a few of us on a quick ride around the block. And I convinced them to take me on a ride-a-long!

Brevin has become my little chicken boy. He is terrified of everything! Currently his biggest fear is dogs. He will hardly go outside because of a couple of neighbor dogs. Well, we were all outside the other night and the neighbors dogs got out, Brevin started freaking out and Tom came to the rescue. Tom gave Brevin a Sharpie to hold. He told him to hold it out and the dogs wouldn't come near him. Worked like a charm!

Then, one day I got home after running a few errands with Caitlyn, only to find Brevin had fallen asleep in the office chair . . .

He does not look very comfortable!

But he sure is cute!

Grammy Skirts

My mom is a wonderful seamstress! She is extremely talented when it comes to sewing, a talent that was NOT passed on to her eldest daughter and I am okay with that. Several times a year my children are the benefactors of that talent. At Christmas they get pajamas, they all have a quilt on their bed made especially for them from their Grammy. We have more pillowcases in our home then probably all the homes on our street combined, because we all have one for each holiday and then just some extras for fun, made of course by Grammy. We recently received a package for Caitlyn's birthday, that contained not only presents for the birthday girl, but also a skirt for all three girls. So Saturday we all set out in the rain in search of shirts to match the new skirts. And luckily, we were successful in finding shirts to match! Check out our finds!

And to not leave my favorite son out of the limelight for a minute . . . isn't he so cute!

He was being some kind of animal that growls and we were having fun scaring each other! He totally cracks me up! So in love with that boy!

Birthday Weekend!

This past weekend was a birthday fest for Caitlyn! We had a lot of fun! And I think Caitlyn had fun too, but she is entering the teenage-dom where emotion is kept hidden. First off, her birthday was Thursday, so I delivered donuts, per her request, to school. Then after school I took her to get her hair cut! Oh wait . . . she requested that she get new clothes to wear on her birthday . . . I gave her 3 outfits in the morning.

This was her new outfit and her new haircut . . . she hasn't stopped touching her hair yet! That night we went to Red Robin for dinner . . .

A proud mom and her 12-year-old! I love this girl!

John, Brevin and Dilyn, enjoying some tastey morsels!

I had to sneak to get a picture of Haidyn . . . if anyone knows Haidyn, she does not like having her picture taken on occasion, it can be a major fight!

Is there something on my face . . .

She wanted a Luau themed birthday and cupcakes . . . thus the lovely creations!

The naughty girls . . . Madison, Winter, and Maddie (you will see why I say they are naughty!).

The not naughty girls . . . Samantha, Kaitlynn, Jaici, and Blakeley.

Do you see why they are naughty? I hid in the office, so they could have their fun and I wouldn't get upset. John took care of it . . . thank goodness!

Naughty girls! I must admit, it was pretty funny!

They all ran home and showered, then came back and cleaned up their mess! We had all these silly girls spend the night. Finally at around 4:30 AM, after having cream and whipping cream spread around, they finally went to sleep! At least, some of them. The funny thing, at least I think it is, Caitlyn got tired around 3 AM and went into her room, crawled into her bed and fell asleep, totally deserting her friends! Although she does insist she asked if any of them wanted to come with her. I thought it was funny!

On Sunday, John's family came over to help us celebrate some more.

The girl had no emotion when she was opening her presents . . . I kept giving her a hard time and asking her if she liked what she was getting.

So then I started getting this kind of a face! Caitlyn was totally spoiled! She got many, many clothes, shoes galore, 3 DS games, and Webkins a plenty!

Happy Birthday Caitlyn!

Happy Birthday Caitlyn!

I can't believe it is here! Caitlyn's twelfth birthday! I have a 12-year-old! It doesn't seem that long ago that we brought her home from the hospital! Caitlyn came into the world, screaming and she hasn't stopped! Caitlyn was born weighing in at a hefty 10 pounds 3 ounces and 21 inches long! You would never know it to look at her now! I tenderly called her my sumo baby. I remember getting ready to leave the hospital thinking, they are just going to let me leave with her? And then, two weeks later thinking, this is the longest babysitting job ever! When are her parents coming home! She wasn't your typical smiley baby, which was sometimes difficult on me, she was a studious baby. She loved to watch people and try to figure them out. We got lots of comments that she didn't like whomever it was we were with, but it wasn't that she didn't like them, she was just trying to figure them out. Caitlyn has always been content, no matter the situation. She has always loved to watch others, but when it is her turn to be on, she loves the spotlight! She has developed quite the sense on humor and has got her mom's quick whit and sarcasm (not sure yet if that is a good thing or not). Caitlyn has become a beautiful dancer, through much work and dedication! We love to watch her perform, it brings tears to my eyes, everytime! While I can't say I have enjoyed every minute of being her mom, I have loved every minute! She is beautiful inside and out! I have loved getting to know here for the last 12 years and look forward to the next 12!

Sumo Baby . . . 10 pounds 3 ounces!

Our first Family photo . . . Caitlyn was one month old.

Is she not the most beautiful baby you have ever seen?

Caitlyn, 3 months old . . . she had all this black curly hair! I loved it!

My absolute favorite picture of Caitlyn! She was nine months old! Beautiful girl and she still is!

One year old! Do you think Brevin looks like her? I do!

Can you say Goofball!

Beautiful Girl!

She is a very attentive big sister! She was thrilled to have a little brother!

Loves Adventure! Never lose that!

Loves her friends and is a wonderful friend to have!

Loves her sisters! (as long as they are not touching her stuff!)

Quite the dancer!

Can't wait for the temper tantrums to be over with! She is not a fan of her chores!

Loves to have fun and make others laugh!

Can you say, I'm in trouble!

She likes me! Maybe . . . Can you feel the love?

Busy Boy

Brevin is our crazy, busy boy. Some days I just don't know what to do with him. He really is a lot of fun, but he is just a different animal from my girls! I am not saying it is a bad thing, just different. He really is a lot of fun and he never seems to have time to stop, not even to eat! He is always making us laugh and he is always laughing!

My big boy, thinking he will take off on a bike any day now!

Over Memorial Day weekend we potty-trained Brevin! I found this Three-Day Method on the internet. After having two out of the three girls being simply awful to potty-train, I was not excited let alone interested. I did have some incentive, because Brevin is starting preschool this Fall and I had to have him diaper free! I can't believe it worked! He did wonderful! By day three, he was done! Today he actually went to the bathroom all by himself without getting me or John to come and help! He has only had 2 accidents since that weekend and one was when he was outside playing. Smart little boy!

Yep, he is eating sugar directly out of the sugar bowl! I blame this on John mainly, because I don't have a sweet tooth. I have teased John for years that he could eat sugar directly and say it wasn't sweet enough.
We love having a little boy in the house, there is definitely never a dull moment! A few weeks ago, on a Sunday, I was at work and John has taken the kids to church. I got a phone call, Brevin has swallowed the little plastic cup the pass the sacrament water in. Needless to say, I wasn't very happy. John called the doctor and they said we needed to take him to Primary Children's Hospital just to be safe. I left work after hearing that. We spent several hours in the Emergency Room. They took a few x-rays, then let him drink a little and then finally had him eat, just to make sure nothing was stuck and he didn't start throwing up. It is always exciting when you can provide the medical personnel with something they have not yet experienced! Luckily everything was fine, and I didn't have to be too mad with John!

Boating!

Have I mentioned what wonderful neighbors we have? Well, we have the best neighbors! Always there when we need help, are great travelling companions. Willing to watch the kids when we have to run one of the up to Primary Children's Hospital (that is another story for another day). Well, last weekend they took John and the kids boating, while I had to work, of course. They had such a fun day! Tiffany and Tom have taken the girls several times, but this time they took all of us, minus me. Thank you Christenson's!

Haidyn and Olivia plus others on the raft . . . I love this picture!

Does Dilyn look like she is having fun? Didn't think so!

Caitlyn, Maddie and Maddie's Friend . . . I have been told that Caitlyn can come any time because she does not get scared being pulled on the raft . . . she loves it! That's my girl!

Dilyn and Brevin . . . I am told Brevin loved it . . . the reason I say that is because he ended up like this . . .

ASLEEP!

Good Night, sweet prince!