Fun swimming with cousins

This week my sister Danica and her family stayed a couple of days with us. Today, we have Amy's (Mike's sister) kids with us while she is running the Wasatch Back. We all always enjoy family and friends visiting.

Emily, Porter, Tyler, Brittany (It was a little cold and cloudy. we didn't get a picture before the other boys got out. None of the kids lasted in the water very long. We have had such a cold summer. I think they all had fun though.)
Brittany, Emily, Jack, Avery, Sydney, and Lauryn having fun in the pool. It's finally starting to warm up. They played in the pool for hours. This is the first time the kids have gone swimming when it is not cool outside. Today it's 80 degrees. Lately it's been in the mid 60s.

Cast off!

Tyler was so excited to get his cast off today! He was in the cast for 6 weeks and was such a good sport. He never complained and got around really well.

He thought it tickled while she was cutting it off. Tyler was a little disappointed that he was sore and it hurt to bend his knee.
Just to be cautious, the doctor put him in a boot to wear for two weeks. (Since Ashlee needed a boot after her ankle surgery, he asked me if he was going to need a boot when he got his cast off. I told him that he did not and that he would be able to walk with it being just a little sore right after getting the cast off. I had to explain that I was wrong. oops!) He is supposed to walk on his foot without any crutches as soon as he can. He is only putting a little weight on it now. He says it's to sore to walk on, but I'm sure he'll be running around again in no time!

Fun at the cabin with Jones cousins!

This past weekend, Mike went to Camp Helaman with the young men in our stake, Amber went to a retreat with her ward, Ashlee had to work a lot and I took Emily, Brittany, and Tyler to the Jones family cabin. We had so much fun being with extended family.

Hailey, posing in front of the cabin
Emma, Brittany, and Lauryn enjoying hot chocolate on a cool, rainy day
It was a little muddy, but the kids decided to go outside. I went out a few minutes later and had found that Tyler hiked the hill. The hill is much steeper than it looks. I asked him to come down. He insisted on coming down by himself. He wanted to keep up with his cousins and doesn't even let a broken leg and crutches stop him.

Emily and Katie played a little tether ball and discovered it was too muddy to play for too long.

The kids came inside, it was too wet to play outside. Soon after they came in it started raining again and poured for the rest of the day! Abbey had made a treasure hunt all by herself. In this picture she is explaining where to start. It was fun to watch the kids figure out the clues with abbey's cute, almost phonetic spelling. They all got a sucker at the end. (The boy 3rd from the left is Kerstin's, brother's son.)

The kids found a few other activities to enjoy on a rainy day!Tyler and Jack playing Sleeping Queens.

Avery, rock painting

Abbey, Anna, and Hailey rock painting

The pool is almost ready!

We put 3 hoses in so that the pool would fill faster. It's been filling for about 5 hours. It is about 2" from being full. The kids decided to go swimming. They lasted for about 10 minutes and are now in my jetted tub to warm up. It's 68 degrees, very windy, almost 8 o'clock, and the water hasn't had a chance to warm up at all. It's been cloudy all day. It's cold outside even not being in water. They did have fun, but can't wait until we get the solar blanket and can actually heat the pool a little.

A fun pool!

We decided to get a big pool for the summer! It is 15' in diameter and 48" deep. We got a small saltwater cleaning system to keep the pool germ free with out the chlorine that burns the eyes. The kids are all so excited and were a great help in setting it up. We decided for this year at least to keep it on the back deck. The pool is so big that we had to move our grill and table! We are going to keep the ladder in the garage when the pool is not in use to prevent small children from getting in the pool.

We are filling the pool. It's supposed to take 8 - 12 hours!

Jessica's baby shower

My cousin, Jessica Whitesell Bird, just had her first baby. She lives in Springville, but all of her siblings and parents live in South Carolina. Her mom and sisters bought plane tickets to come the night before her due date. I decided to give her a baby shower and planned to do it on her due date so that her mom and sisters could be here for the shower. About 3 hours before the shower I got the call that she was in the hospital. We decided to bring the shower there. We all went to the hospital and visited with cousins, Aunts, Uncles, parents and grandparents. We didn't go visit Jessica as she was in labor, but we still had a good time visiting with relatives that we don't get to see very often.

Amber made this amazing Dr. Seuss cake. She molded the cat in the hat from a homemade fondant. Many still came to my house for dinner before going to the hospital. We had French Dip sandwiches (Who Roast Beast), Lemonade (pink ink drink), baked beans (Who hash), Fruit and fruit dip (Who pudding).

Jessica's last name is Bird. The baby's name had not been decided at the time and that's why the cake says, "Welcome Baby Bird! By Kevin and Jessica." She ended up naming him, Cory Dee Bird.
Heather Whitesell Rogers, Danica Russell Kester, Celesta (Russell) Hilton Rimington, Heather Russell Jones, Aimee Whitesell Childs

Kindergarten Graduation

Tyler had his Kindergarten graduation yesturday. They did a very cute "Little Red Hen" play and then the teacher called there names for their diploma. Tyler is so excited for first grade next year.

Jacob, Tyler

Hiking Battle Creek Falls on Memorial Day

We went hiking with Mike's sister, Amy and her family. We hiked to Battle Creek Falls in American Fork Canyon.

Ashlee, Tyler, Mike, Emily, Brittany, Amy, Sydney, Lauryn, Corey, Jack (Amber, Kimmie, and I went too)

Tyler got a ride the whole way up and Mike got a great workout!! Round trip it was just under 2 miles, but that's a long way to carry a 6 year old.

The kids found a little cave on the way up.

Sydney, Lauryn, Emily, Brittany, Jack

At the bottom of the falls, Emily got wet!

We made it to the top!

Jack, Brittany, Sydney, Emily, and Amy

After the hike we went to a park in Pleasant Grove. Tyler didn't let his crutches and cast slow him down too much! He was all over the playground!

This is a short little video that shows how well Tyler is managing his crutches.

Ashlee's Venturing experiences

Ashlee has had so much fun and many great opportunities with her Venture crew. Last night I went backpacking with them. We hiked up the mountain for about 3 hours and then camped and hiked back down this morning. It was so much fun and so beautiful. The last bit of our hike was on snow! We had planned to camp where there was a lot of snow (not knowing that there was snow on the ridge), but decided to come down the mountain a little to get out of the snow before puting up camp. I'll post a few pictures from that later. Here are a few pictures of some previous activities that they did last summer.

Rock climbing. Ashlee is center, slightly left.
Kayaking, Ashlee is left

Backpacking in American Fork Canyon, Ashlee center

Spelunking (caving). She was a little nervous that she would feel claustrophobic, but she loved it!

Ashlee, center, top row.

Crutches

A neighbor brought Tyler over some crutches to try. He was able to use them right away. I thought it would be harder for him than it was.

Tyler has not complained at all. He has just been sitting on the couch doing puzzles, watching tv, playing games with someone, or reading. Today was the first day he's gotten up. I have been carrying him everywhere, but today he even went into the bathroom by himself.

Another broken bone!

Last night we were visiting at Mike's sisters house and we thought the kids were just out front playing. They were at first, but then they got a scooter and took it across the street and were taking turns going down a hill. When it was Tyler's turn, the scooter got going really fast, swerved and he fell off. We'll have a talk about safety soon. I guess his cousins were using the break, but Tyler just went down full speed with no helmet. I'm just glad it wasn't his head that got injured. We took him in for an X-ray this morning after a restless and painful night and it showed a pretty big brake. It didn't swell and so they casted it today. He couldn't decide between green and blue and so they used both colors.

Brittany stopped by Tyler's class this morning to tell his teacher. She came home with cards from his teacher and all of his class mates.

Prom

Last month when Ashlee got home from a stag, school dance, she found a whole bunch of really large rocks on our front porch. There was a note that said, "Ashlee, you rock! Will you go to prom with me? (Look for my name on the rocks)." It took her a little while to find the name hiding under one of the rocks. It was Evan Braithwaite.

Amber did Ashlee's hair!

Evan and Ashlee ready to head off to the dance!

Our 21st Anniversary

On April 29, 2009, Michael and I celebrated our 21st anniversary. When I woke up the morning of our anniversary, I found a large heart with a nice message on it. All throughout the day I found loving messages on hearts. It was so fun to find the different messages showing love and thanks throughout the day. I actually haven't found them all yet. He told me there were 21. I've found 18 and so the fun continues. That night we went on a picnic and to a play. When we got home the kids had put candles all over our room. They had goblets, grape juice and chocolate dipped strawberries on our dresser. (Mike had arranged for this to be done.) He is so romantic and it was a fun evening. Tyler was still up when we got home. The first thing he said to me was, "Mom, after you and dad see your room, will you come read me some books!"

Tyler lost his first tooth!

Tyler's bottom front teeth have been very loose for a while. He was so excited a couple of days ago when one came out in the morning. He ran and put it under his pillow. After school the other one came out! He was thrilled to put two teeth under his pillow for the tooth fairy. He wrote a note to the tooth fairy asking if he could please keep his teeth.

Soccer and Baseball Season

Brittany and Tyler both play soccer. Mike is Brittany's coach and Tyler's assistant coach. They both love this time with their dad.

Brittany (number 10) scored 2 of the 5 goals that her team scored at last Saturday's game.
Tyler is always ready for the ball. He's on the red team and is the one facing the camera. He plays excellent defence. Green had the ball and he ran in front of them and turned around to kick the ball back his direction. He has scored some and he loves when he does, but his biggest asset to the team is that he stops a lot of their goals. He has kicked many balls out just before the other team is about to score. Someday he'll realize this is just as important as scoring.

Tyler had his first baseball game last night. This is his first season playing and he is having so much fun. He said "I scored two home runs!" Each player got up to bat twice. Tyler hit the ball and made it to first base both times. When he ran in as other players hit he thought it was called a home run.

Keeping up with his sisters

Tyler has had chores like cleaning his room, making his bed, setting the table, unloading the dishwasher, cleaning the door knobs and light switches . . . But a few weeks ago he insisted on doing chores like his sisters do. He has done a great job rotating jobs with them in the kitchen. He has wiped counters, swept and mopped the floors, and done the dishes. Mike and I have helped him some, but he's done a great job and he is so pleased and feels bigger. I have insisted he needs to be older to do the bathroom, but he now has more Saturday jobs too. Today he cleaned the windows dusted. His sisters also like that he is doing more because it gives them a little less to do. All the kids do a great job and are a big help with the jobs they do. Thanks, kids!

A loved and well used blanket

Mike's mom made him this blanket for his 22nd birthday. We have all loved it and used it a lot. About a month ago I said that this blanket was so worn out that it was time to throw it away and my kids begged me not to. It is their favorite blanket, even covered with holes! Tyler fell asleep tonight, covered with the favorite blanket, while watching the Jazz game with his dad.

Easter!

We had fun at the annual Easter egg hunt at Nanny and Papa's house. We missed them being there. They are on a Mission in Boston. Brian and Kerstin are living in there home right now and we decided to still do it there. The kids love it and look forward to it every year!

Jack, Abbey, Jayne

Tyler, Matt, Hailey

Tyler helping Anna find eggs. She had a lot and didn't really need help, but Tyler, knowing she was younger thought she might need a little help!

After the younger kids hunt, the older kids get a turn!

Emily, Lauryn, Sydney, Emma, Melissa, Ashlee, Katie, Brittany

Sunday after church we decorated Easter eggs. All of us love hard boiled eggs and so we always decorate two dozen or so. The kids always eat hard boiled eggs for lunch on Easter.

This year I made dresses for the girls. I hadn't done this for 8 years! I actually enjoyed it until it started getting stressful Saturday night. I didn't finish until two in the morning. I am not a night person! I sew occasionally and don't really enjoy it, but I do it because I love the results.

While I was making the Easter dresses, Tyler asked me what I was going to make for him. I told him that I would get him a new shirt and tie. He does not like to wear ties because he doesn't like the top button buttoned. Sometimes he will clip a tie on at the second button and his sisters tell him it looks funny and so he takes it off. The night before Easter he said, "where's my Easter suit?" I told him he would get to see his new tie and shirt in the morning. He was excited to wear it and clipped the tie on at the second button. When he was told it didn't look good there, he wouldn't wear the tie to church, but we were very excited he wore it for the picture. This is his first time buttoning the top button. Hopefully he'll try it again. He sure looks handsome in a tie!