Connor's First Baseball game of the season!

Connor started another season of baseball with the Titans. Their first game was yesterday and Connor had a lot of fun but he was pretty nervous. He got one great hit and even stole a few bases. He played in the outfield and 1st base. It is so fun to go and watch him play.

This would be his cheesy smile but I guess that is what I get when I tell him to pose. I do think his green eyes go great with his uniform though.
He is going to steal a base here.

He is wondering why I am taking so many pictures of him.

I think he thought the ball went up in the air when it actually was a strike!

Sean was a little cold and he wasn't sharing the 2 small blankets I had in the car with anyone but himself!

It's not a baseball game if you don't stop for ice cream afterwards and especially when it was 31 cents a scoop. The kids were in ice cream heaven.

Kaylee's Tutor Party and Award night!

Kaylee had her final night of tutoring last night. They had a dinner and dessert and played some games. I was sad to miss the first half(due to my first softball game but we totally rocked and won 8-3) but I made it in time to see her get praised for the excellent job she did. She got the a prize for doing the best in the class and turning in the most reading logs. She is such a rock star! She has worked so hard and it is all thanks to this amazing lady. Maile was her tutor all year and she really helped Kaylee boost her confidence and taught her some awesome things to be able to help her succeed. We love her and are going to miss her a ton. Kaylee is still going to give her updates on how she is doing.

The kids got to throw water balloons at the director of the program at the end. Poor guy, it was cold and rainy and Connor had no mercy on him. He hit him a few times and I think Kaylee got him once also.

Cierra was aiming for his bald head!:)

Here is Kaylee with her new retainers. She is adjusting quite well to them and I am quite surprised I have got no complaints from her. Brooke was jumping on the trampoline yesterday and told Connor she was tired and she needed some strawberries. Connor was so good to come in and wash and cut some up for her and put them in a bowl. He can be nice at times!

Weekend Recap!

It was a busy weekend, as always. I don't think we ever have a weekend(or for that matter, a weekday) that there is nothing going on. It started on Thursday when Cierra had baseball practice and straight from there Kaylee had an orthodontist appointment to get her retainers and then I had to rush home for a Enrichment meeting and Sean went to play racquetball. On Friday after school I took all the kids to the doctors office(I rather have a root canal than do that) but Kaylee has had a a itchy head for about 3 weeks and it wasn't going away so I thought it was time for her to be seen. The doctor reassured me it wasn't lice(which I knew because I looked everyday for the last 3 weeks) but let me know she has a very dry scalp and needs to have some prescription shampoo to take care of the problem. Hopefully that will work. We then came home and Kaylee and Connor went to there dads for the weekend. They always love to go which makes me very happy. It is much easier to send them if they like to go. I then went to Redmond where I played in a basketball tournament. It was a ton of fun and we ended up winning by about 15. I got home late and got up early to play another game in Auburn where we lost by 9. It was disappointing to be out of the tournament but I'm glad I was able to play. Cierra had a birthday party at the skating rink and so after she left, I put Brooke in the jogger stroller and ran to my softball practice which was only 3 miles(round trip) away. It is so great to get back into playing and I can't wait for our first game on Tuesday. After we all got home we went to Red Robin for dinner and then over to the mall where Sean and I bought a few things in preparation for summer.(now all we need is the sun!)
Today Kaylee and Connor returned home from their dads and we all went to church and then we had the missionaries from our ward over for dinner. It was a wonderful experience and we all felt the spirit and were glad to have them in our home. We then had a quiet evening just being at home and preparing for the week ahead when it starts all over again. I love Sundays when I know I have a day to rest and be with my family. I love my life and feel so blessed for everything I have.

This is Brooke after we got back from my softball practice. I must have worn her out!:)
These are the 3 lovely missionaries that are now serving in our ward. The kids loved the fun stories they told us.

The Chewy Party!

Today was Kaylee's chewy party in celebration of getting her braces off. She can't stop smiling!
They had a endless supply of candy and luckily we sent most of it home with Kaylee's friends. We did a bubble blowing contest and a candy eating contest and then played the fun game we played on New Years Eve, where you try to get into a box wrapped up super good while wearing oven mitts and using spatulas. The first person to get the prize won!

(while we like sweets in our house this is a very rare occasion to have this much)
Bubble blowing contest-

Kaylee had too much candy-

Candy eating contest-

During the game you had to wear the hat and apron and oven mitts also until the next person spun a 3, 5 or 8

Ashley was the winner-

Of course they had to jump for a little bit too-

Thanks to Ally, Alyssa, Brittney and Ashley for making the party so fun!:)

scrapbooking fun!

A few weeks ago, I hosted a scrapbook class that my friend, Kristin put on. It was a lot of fun and we made a beautiful page. I decided to do my page about my mom and best friend. The little circle comes out and that is where I wrote all the wonderful things about my mom. I loved the page and it even has some sewing on it. I can thank Tari for helping me do the sewing part.(well, maybe she just did it all but anyways......)
I love my mom! She means the world to me and I am so lucky to have her close by. I talk to her most everyday and I am so grateful for that! I love you mom!

And so it goes...............

You wouldn't think that something like Kaylee getting her braces off would send me into this depressed state that I am in right now. But as I look at her and see how much she has grown in the last couple years, all I can do is cry. It's only going to get worse. All my kids are growing up and before I know it they will be grown up and gone and the house will be eerily quiet. I don't know what quiet is. I don't know what to do if I'm not running to swim lesson, baseball practice, scouts, Activity days, orthodontist appointments, doctors appointments, tutor sessions, ballet, gymnastics, birthday parties, fundraisers for the school, play dates and all that fun stuff. I know I have several years until this happens but I am not sure I am ok with all of this.

Anyways, Kaylee got her braces off today after 16 long months. I was going to have to make her wait another month because of the WASL testing this week but her nice teacher let her make it up this afternoon so she was able to make her appointment this morning. She looks like a totally different person and she can't stop smiling. I remember that feeling 20ish years ago and I loved it! Great Job Kaylee! And as hard as it was, she managed to not get any cavities the whole time she had them on! Way to go Kaylee!

Tomorrow is the "chewy" party where a few of her friends are coming over and they are going to eat a lot of chewy candy! I will post more pictures soon!

Before we spent thousands of dollars:
During:

After:

Firgrove Car Wash

On Saturday we had Kaylee's class fundraiser. I sent out a letter to all the parents in the class so we would have some help and of course it was Sean and I and 4 kids and her teacher. It was ok though. We raised about 250.00 and our goal was 200.00 so we were happy.

Here is my posse! Brooke and Cierra were a great help also. Sean was the slave driver of course!

Sean take a little union break!:)

Most cars were pretty easy to clean and most people were very generous with their donations but we got a truck that came in that was owned by a kid and the truck was huge and filthy. He said he can't take it to the car wash because it is so big so we did the best we good but I almost threw up when I had to try and spray off the dead squirrel.(yes, it was that bad) Of course, he gave us 5 bucks and was on his merry way. We should have left the dead squirrel!!

All in all it was good and it was a good lesson for the kids in working because at times they wanted to quit but cars kept pulling up so we had to keep moving. I was just disappointed more parents don't come out and support their children!

Thanks to Grandma and Grandpa and Auntie for their generous donation! Also to The Downey's for coming and getting their car washed as well!

Sean get's a day off!

Sean took the day off on Friday and went with Josh to Portland for the day. They went golfing and to a Lakers vs. Trailblazers game. He had a great time and I was glad he was able to get away for a day. He worked hard(along with Josh) getting the whole downstairs painted while I was in Utah and he works hard everyday to support our family. I don't know how I got so lucky to have him as my husband. He would give me the world if he could. I am grateful to be his wife.

You can't beat Sun, Golf and Basketball to make Sean happy.

I wonder who took the picture? Probably their girlfriends!-haha
I would say it was a tad muddy on the golf course!

What a stud he is!!!

Today the kids left for school and Brooke thought it would be fun to play with Sadie. She got out her magnet barbies and tried to get him to play but he pretty much laid there. She is so cute.

She went to her 4 year check up yesterday and had to get 4 shots. She was so brave and only let a few tears roll down her cheeks and then she got a sucker and was fine.

Easter Weekend

Easter weekend was filled with fun activities. We started off Saturday by going to the Easter Festivities at the mall. Mindy and the kids and the Carver's were there as well. The kids had fun doing the Easter egg hunts even though the whole town of Puyallup was there. The had a bouncy toy that Connor, Cierra and Brooke liked.(Kaylee pretty much thought the whole thing was boring excpet riding the escalator in Macy's. I guess she is getting too old for this kind of stuff.)

Brooke wouldn't go in without me so I had to help her.

Connor and Cierra are in there somewhere along with everyone else. They got some candy so they were happy.

When we got home we colored eggs. Kaylee enjoyed this activity. After we got the kids settled in with a movie, Sean and I went out to dinner and a movie. We saw 12 Rounds. We both thought it was really good and it was nice to get away for a few hours.

The Easter bunny came sometime in the night and hid a ton of eggs and left Easter baskets.

A summer outfit, flip flops and candy. The Easter bunny always brings the same thing every year.(at least we know what to expect)

How did the Easter bunny know we like the Cowboys?

We went over to my parents for a yummy Turkey dinner and a fun Easter egg hunt for the kids. We hid 89 eggs, and 90 eggs were found. Not sure how that happened but it was fun and all the kids enjoyed it, even the older ones.

Brooke got a 10 second head start!

Proud Cowboy Fans!

It took awhile to get this picture since my mom kept closing her eyes but finally I got one with her eyes opened and don't they look so cute?

grandma and grandpa gave all the kids $10 and candy and they were all smiles, especially Kaylee. Cierra is saving to buy a car. She has 19.85. She is well on her way!