Washington State, Ains's Dance Recital and Coop's Baptism

Leaving on a jet plane for Washington State with a layover in Denver. The kids were great flying out. Everyone was asleep at one point in time. They were so excited to get to their cousins that they didn't mind the time it took. Coming home was a different story. The only person who napped was Swee and that lasted about 20 minutes. They weren't all that excited about leaving everyone even if everyone is heading out here in August for Priss's baptism.

Coop's Baptism

Ains's Dance Recital - We were so excited to hear that her dance recital would be while we were out there. They always went to Priss's when they lived in Indiana. She did a great job and we loved being there.

The Sound

Day 1 - it was beautiful at the Sound. The tide was out allowing the kids to see a lot of cool things like...crabs, sand dollars and shells. They had a blasting playing there I just wish I would have changed them into their swim suits sooner. I ended up with a ton of sandy, wet clothes!

Day 2 - took Jason and Dad out to the Sound so they could see the beauty of the mountains against the water. There was even snow still on the mountain tops. Gorgeous!

An actual rainforest. I hadn't ever been to one before. It was neat to listen to the kids talk about what they were seeing with each other and to know that they were learning something as they were talking with each other.

Ocean Shores - a beach like none other I have ever been to. It reminds me of a Mid-Atlantic beach with all the grass growing up through the sand and it was sooo cold. Loved going there though.

Recital Time

ggpa came to the recital this year....the kids were so excited to have him there!

the opener...rhythm of the night

At the Codfish Ball

being a little embarrassed when he first got on stage...after the music started the "ham" came out

sofie and swee

all ready to take his bow when the dance was over

rockin robin - her competition number

zippidy do dah
her jazz dance

receiving their awards at the end of the recital

priss got an honorable mention for her age group in Little Miss Personality, we were sure swee would get one but he didn't and he was devastated! he said, "I smiled Mommy. why didn't I get an award?"

first in the family

helping Jason mow with his new mower...he conveniently left the other one at the old house

first softball game...batted twice and got singles both times...they use a pitching machine.

first teeball game...i loved this pose...he did well hitting and loved playing pitcher.

I completely my first mini marathon and have to say I am SUPER glad it is over. However, it was a lot more fun that I thought it would be. I made it within 3 minutes of my goal. Not too shabby since I have never ran more than 4 miles continuously!

easter

honey feeling doodle's ear

counting swee's eggs

on the hunt for some eggs

me and the kids

jason and the kids

the kids

swee

doodle

priss

i found my basket first

peter cottontail left me books about baptism

my basket was hidden in the laundry room....crazy bunny

this year peter cottontail hid the easter baskets and left one clue for each person to help them find their baskets. it was a home run! the kids loved getting to search the house for the exact spot that their had been left. priss left a note about what she would like in her basket. swee simply wanted some candy and doodle could have cared less about what was in the eggs. he just cared that he could open them. following church we had easter dinner at my aunt lana's and then came home for a quick clothes change before heading off to honey's for an egg hunt and another dinner. the kids had a great easter and each year I am amazed that they just want to hunt for eggs but don't care what is in them. happy belated easter everyone!

1st place GOLD and 5th OVERALL

in all my years of life..not that very many i'll have you know but enough...i did something for the first time today. i attended priss's very first competition for tap. she was all smiles and nerves as we got ready to leave yesterday afternoon. jason and i had talked that since we had to be there at 7:15 a.m. and it was over an hour away, and she didn't dance until 8:45 a.m. we would just go down the night before so that everyone would get some more sleep. when she and i arrived at the site there were only about 5 cars in the parking lot. we went in and immediately found her instructor and her dance partner. all of us made our way to the dressing area, which was a large gym with tarps all over the floors. we still hadn't done her hair, make-up or painted her fingernails yet so we got down to business. by 10 till 8 her hair, make-up and nails were done, and she had her tights, costume and feather decorated shoes on. she was ready to go but it wasn't time yet. jason, the boys and my mom got there about 15 minutes before she took the stage. she did AMAZING! she smiled, hit her taps and kept her arms straight which was all we really wanted them to focus on. her partner and her were so excited when they finished that they were all smiles. now we just had to wait for the other numbers for finish before the awards were given out. her routine Rockin Robin got a gold first place award and they placed 5th overall. we were so excited! i think a tear or two might have been present when their group was called. at the mornings start she said she wasn't sure if she wanted to do this "competition thing" again but by the time we left i think her mind had changed. we'll just wait and see how she feels after the next competition at the end of this month! but for now she is floating around the house somewhere wearing her gold medal around her neck!

we couldn't video tape so still pics is as good as it gets!

farm days at the fairgrounds

swee's preschool had a field trip to farms days so the babies(twins and little)and i tagged along. he had so much fun getting to see a sheep get sheared, pump water from an old time pump, pet a baby bunny, sit on a big tractor (this was the highlight of his trip) and to milk a cow. it wasn't very crowded. which was wonderful since i was wheeling a double stroller and toting a 25 lb child in the backpack carrier. i was so glad that we went because he had so much fun. he literally seemed to run from one exhibit to another.

where to begin? hmmmm!

let's start with the quick trip to see jason's parents over the end of priss's spring break and the start of jason's. we literally seemed to make a flying trip to the western corner of nc late one friday night to get some furniture they wanted us to have in the new house...bed for priss that had been her great-grandpa don's, her grandpa ed's and her dad's, a new king mattress set for jason and me, a chest freezer since they had three and didn't need one of them, and a few other misc. items. while there we ate at a hole-in-the-wall pizza place that was awesome. and we took a hike through the smokey mountains. the kids were really bummed that the great smokey mountain parkway was closed so we couldn't do the hike that grandpa ed had planned but we did inprovise and find a trail that was just right in terrain for them. we took a lot of pictures and really enjoyed getting to be outside in the gorgeous scenery.

over jason's spring break we...painted the basement tv room, relaid the carpet in the basement from the flood, put up priss's new bed, decorated her walls, put up our new bed, painted swee's room, put up beadboard in his room, painted the living room, removed wallpaper from the living room, and managed to keep track of 5 kids and two mothers. without our mothers' help we couldn't have gotten so much done. oh, we also went to ivanhoes for dinner and dessert one night. it was crazy but the house is looking sooooo good...like it is ours!

we even were able to return to our old ward and attend a baptism of one of priss's good friends. they had been in the same church class since they were 18 months old. it was so great to see her friend making the same choice that she wants to make in a couple of months.

both of the older kids have starting baseball and softball respectively for the first time this spring. they are so excited to get the games played and they feel that practice is pretty neat. swee is working on running the bases in the correct order and priss volunteered to pitch or play second base. at least i convinced her she didn't want to be a catcher! whew!!!

what did you do over your spring break?

updates on us

he and i are now the same age again for the next couple of months.




we are now a family of 7 during the day and a family of 5 through the evening - the family i nannied for for 11 years now have 5 month old twin grandbabies and i take care of them. the kids love having them come each day and are very upset that the mom thinks she should take them home each night.


lil man decided to see what throwing his head into the main spindle on the stairs would feel like...hints the gash in his forehead

He had a birthday

Hard to believe that he had a birthday making him old enough to attend kindergarten in the fall. he had a great party with lots of family here to help us celebrate. the one gift he really wanted was a new Lighning McQueen bike. He got it on his actual birthday but he had to find it. We played hot and cold. He didn't enjoy it very much at first because he got frustrated when it wasn't in the first room he looked it. We resolved the issue and he was off and searching again.

guest post by Priss, herself

The Flood


There's a flood in our basement. Daddy is at work, and we are at home on the 1st and 2nd floors. This is how it stared. one cold dark night. A great storm was at our house. A light flashlight and it rained hard and harder until it flooded our basement. So now we are trying to get the water out. Pray that we get all the water out.
Great news we got all the water out of the basement. We just need to put the carpet back.
Bye.