Aspen Grove

We enjoyed a wonderful trip to Utah and a week at Aspen Grove! Fun times!

James' Bday and Old Friends

Happy 4th Birthday James! This is James with a plate of blueberry pancakes and a candle. We sang "happy birthday" and opened gifts in the morning, because that afternoon we boarded a plane and flew to Utah. James thought it was great to fly on his b-day and it was a great surprise when a flight attendant announced his name over the plane intercom and everyone on board clapped and cheered!


In the tube slide at McDonalds. James and his two best friends Will and Andrew.


James' first official birthday party! We played fun games at home and then headed to McDonalds for lunch and cake. The party was a great success.


Flashback seven years....yes it's been that long since Emi was 2 and her cute little friends Hannah and Kalaya were 3. These three little musketeers were best of friends back in our 'early' days of livivng in CT. The Howards and the Arnes long ago moved away, but we're all still great friends.


Here is Hannah, Emi and Kalaya now! Aren't they all just beautiful? While in Utah, we got together with the Howards and the Arnes. The girls had a great time playing and us Mom's had a wonderful time catching up. We love our dear friends!

Trek and more

Jim and I participated on our stake's youth Trek this past week. We were assistant wagon masters. It was amazing!!! Honestly, I don't think it could have gotten much more authentic. From pushing handcarts for over nine straight hours (through mud and rivers, over trees and rocks) - all the while going without food for 14 hours. To shooting muskets, killing live chickens with an axe and cooking them over a fire, to sleeping on the ground under a handcart! The youth and leaders in our stake are absolutely amazing! It was a privilege to take part in trek.

In other news, Emi got her glasses. She's thrilled and since this pic was taken, she has completely covered her glasses case with stickers. The glasses are shiny purple. She only has to wear them at school for distance, but she loves them!


On Friday night, we went to our town's 4th of July concert and fireworks display. We packed a picnic dinner, played ball, play go fish and enjoyed the beautiful fireworks. What a fun night!


James getting his "summer haircut"

Little Boy Week

I took James to the doctor on Friday because he had a rash on his face....well, the doctor wasn't too concerned about the rash, but WAS pretty concerned about his raspy breathing (aka respiratory infection). So, for the next week James has to take antibiotics and wear this mask/nebulizer three times each day. The girls think it's great fun to 'help' James with his 'breathing' time.


James' last day of preschool was 'Super Hero' day!


One of James' best friends is sadly moving to CA. He lovingly gave this riding dump truck to James! We bought a new battery for it and it's as good as new. The kids like that you can drive in both forward and reverse! James is absolutely thrilled with his new toy and loves cruising around the yard and filling/dumping the truck bed with sticks, rocks etc.

In Rewind

I haven't posted in over a month.....life has been crazy. So in rewind, here's a few things that we did in May.


The kids all made wonderful gifts and cards for Mothers day, and Jim made me my favorite ice cream pie. It was great!




Emi and Clara just finished their year of dance classes with two fantastic dance recitals. Clara did tap and Emi did Jazz and Ballet. They both loved it!





We always love attending our town's annual Memorial Day Parade. It was a beautiful day and we all had a great time!

Spring

Salt Lake Trip

Overlooking the SLC temple at Sunset. Isn't this just a beautiful view!?









This is "Al-gator"....a huge stuffed alligator that a blind woman knitted for my Grandpa. (Yes, he does recieve some pretty interesting gifts). "Al-gator" has been well used and loved over the past 10 years, and so my grandparents recently decided to have him re-stuffed! He's as good as new! :)






James and Uncle Brent in one of their many amazingly cool boy toys. James absolutely adores Tag and Talmage and loves staying with Brent and Ang.





In between conference sessions.
Emi's first time attending General Conference. She came with Jim and I to the Saturday morning session. She did really well and had a great experience!

While in SLC we celebrated my birthday! The kids made this cute display out of pom-poms. Look closely, it says "happy birthday mom".

While in SLC we also celebrated Easter. Here are the kids getting ready for their Easter egg hunt. Between the egg hunt with cousins and three adoring sets of grandparents, we probably brought home about 20 pounds of chocolate!