Say it isn't so!

Even though it has felt like it for a while, today it is official - we have a teenager in the house! Today Megan turned 13 years old. So we thought, what better way to celebrate than to send her to Girls Camp!!

No need to feel sorry for her though, because she managed to squeeze 3 days of birthday celebrations out of us. We started last Thursday, which was the last day of school. I picked her and 2 of her best friends up after school, we headed straight to Sonic for happy hour. Then we went home to go swimming. After swimming we ordered pizza for dinner, tie-dyed t-shirts, did pedicures, went to Krispy Kreme for donuts, watched movies, had a sleep over, had home made cinnamon rolls for breakfast, and then went swimming again!

We had our family celebration for her yesterday. She chose the dinner - Orange Shrimp Pasta. After dinner she opened presents. She got some shoes she has been begging for, a gift card to a favorite store, and tickets to go see Wicked with mom in Tulsa in August (a bonus for me!). The birthday dessert she chose was chocolate pie.

Today she woke up early, and I asked if she wanted to go out to breakfast for her birthday. I'm dreading her answer, thinking she will pick IHOP or something, but instead she wants to go out for bagels! A girl after my own heart!! We had a great time, and Sammy and Noah gave her their presents at the restaurant.

We have had so much fun celebrating her birthday with her. We couldn't be more proud of the beautiful and talented young woman that she has become. We will miss having her around this week.

Happy 13th Birthday Megan - We love you!!

The End of Another School Year

Another school year has come and gone. I can't believe summer is here again. The kids each had a great year. They have all been looking forward to having a break so they can get some down time. I posted a picture of the kids on the first and last day of school. I can't believe how much they've changed this year!

Noah's first day of school

Noah's last day of school

Noah loved his first year in preschool.  Even though he will be 5 in July, we have decided to wait one more year before starting kindergarten.  He is looking forward to returning to preschool for 3 days next year. On the last day of school, the kids all wore tie-dyed t-shirts.

They also got to go outside and have a fun water day!

Sammy's class performed the play "Jack and the Beanstalk" for the parents for their end of the year celebration. Sammy was part of the beanstalk. She had a couple of big speaking parts, which she had memorized. She was very nervous, but did an awesome job!

Sammy loved, loved, loved her teacher, Mrs. Hedstrom. We are wishing she would move on and teach the 2nd grade now! Sammy had such a good year and did so well in all of her subjects. 

Megan has kept us very busy with all of her activities. She made the 8th grade volleyball team, so we will spend most of the summer running her to camps and practices. She also had such a good year in school. She was on the student council, in the women's choir, and managed to finish the school year with all "A's". We are very proud of her!

First day of school

Last day of school  

A Recital and a Party

This past Saturday, Megan and Samantha had their Spring Piano Recital. They both did a great job. I love listening to them both play the piano, and to hear the progress that they are making. 

Later that afternoon we went to a Pioneer themed party that was put on by 4 families in our ward for 3 other families in the ward. It started out as a very mysterious event. We received an invitation in the mail a few weeks ago inviting us to a summer party, but giving very few details. It turns out that it is a tradition for one of the families to do this each year, and to invite a few different families to attend each time. Those families will then help put the party on the next year. It was a lot of fun. So much time and effort was put into the event. We are truly grateful to each of those families for all of their hard work, and for providing us with such a fun afternoon.

When we arrived at the party, we were greeted with a handcart.  We had to load our kids into the handcart, and then pull them down one hill and up another to get to the "Old Wild West"

There was lots of food and drinks.  

We were served goat (not kidding), 

"Mormon" beans, baked potatoes, and corn bread

We played games like the sack race

The 3 legged race

The egg race

The egg throw

Bobbing for donuts

Bobbing for apples

Got it!

And a pie eating contest!

What do you do on a Rainy Memorial Day?

You go bowling!

The Small Things

Sometimes it's the small things in life that bring joy:

The first watermelon of the season

The first swim of the season

The Evolution of Us

Today is our 17th anniversary. Being married that long makes us feel really old. It's amazing how that much time can pass, yet it only seems like a few years. Last Sunday in Young Women the lesson was on Temple Marriage. It was neat for me to be able to reminisce over our dating, wedding, and then years since as I prepared that lesson. I brought a wedding picture to display, and the girls seemed to think it was amusing to see us in our younger days. So I decided that in honor of our anniversary, I would share some pictures that would show an evolution of us.

This is when we had been dating just a couple of weeks.

7 months later - happily married!

1 year after marriage

4 years after marriage - we are a family of 3

10 years after marriage - family of 4

After 12 years - our family is complete!

(I think it's time for a new family picture)

April Highlights

April seemed to be a busy month. Here are some the highlights:

T-ball games started! Noah is on the Giants. So far, he has been loving it. They play a double-header every Saturday, so by the middle of the second game he is ready to be done. I think it is kind of long for 4 & 5 year olds. It's been fun to watch him play.

Megan and I ran in the Race for the Cure. I've never done a 5k before, and I loved it! There was something like 17,000 people in it. It was a great event - so well-organized and set up. It was fun to be able to do it with Megan. She also brought a friend, and I did it with a couple of my friends. I was worried about what kind of shape I was in, but ended up doing much better than I thought I would. I can't wait to do it again next year.

Noah lost his first 2 teeth! I can't believe my baby has already hit this milestone. He's not even 5 yet! Unfortunately, he didn't actually have either tooth to leave for the tooth fairy. We're guessing he must have swallowed them or something. He didn't even know when they were gone, I just noticed it when I was brushing his teeth. He was excited that the tooth fairy still left him with $1 each time. It didn't take him very long to spend it on a Hot Wheels car.

So now we're on to May! Hopefully it will bring more sunshine, and less rain!!