Well, six months has come & gone! We finished another semester of school, visited family in Utah, and bought a second car; said goodbye to good friends, and hello new friends. Here are some pictures:
An awesome homeschool mom hosted a Valentine Party. Over 70 kids showed up!
Luckily, they were broken up into groups (2 grades per group).
Our favorite park is Finch Arboretum.
This is a European Beech Tree.
Alex will be 10 next week!
Grandma Anderson came to visit in February.
The kids loved having her here.
Jackson was quiet the funny 2 year old.
Next week, he'll be 3!!
Grandma enjoyed him too.
We have been blessed with awesome babysitters.
This one takes the cake! She always brings over an activity for the kids.
This particular week was face painting.
This particular week was face painting.
Rilie is learning how to clean his room.
Jackson enjoys chocolate... a lot...
more than most children.
Alvin's last Blue & Gold cake. Last year, he won Best Cake Overall (it was a pinewood derby car design, yes he did it). This year, he wanted a volcano cake. He didn't win any prizes, but it was by far the most popular. I kept hearing dads saying, I have to get some of the chocolate cherry cake.
These two have blossomed into best buds this year.
Nick's new car!
He appreciates that all his children fit in the trunk, with room to spare.
For my birthday, I got my hair cut, styled, and highlighted.
For my birthday, we also went for a hike at Hog Lake.
And, Nick got me an ice cream cake to welcome me to 32.
Jackson still loves to cook in the kitchen.
Alvin's first selfie.
He doesn't do as many art projects this year,
but he still enjoys them once in awhile.
Rilie loves our tire swing.
For Easter, we thumbed through a craft book.
We settled on making chocolate eggs.
They were delicious.
Dishman-Hills is near us.
The kids love hiking here.
One of Rilie's many faces.
He wasn't mad, he did it on purpose.
This is fun picture.
They love to walk along this dead tree. It's about 40-50 feet long.
Alvin!
Three of my awesome boys.
This was a beautiful blue butterfly Nick wanted to get a picture of.
It was very tricky and this was his best one.
Rilie wanted Alvin to smear mud all over his face.
He didn't like it.
We had a talk with Alvin.
Cousins! We went to Utah for their Spring Break.
Ours is whenever we want it!
Alana is such a fun girl!
They took us to a wonderful aquarium!
Which penguin is as tall as me?
Alvin
Alex
We stopped at Temple Square. Nick hadn't been since he went to the MTC.
He wanted to go with the kids. It was their second time too. They love Temple Square.
This is the view from the Conference Center.
Salt Lake Temple
Tabernacle
These are wonderful booths. They have videos that talk you through basic gospel principles in very digestible explanations. Perfect for kids & those new to the gospel.
The Christus.
Salt Lake Temple
(Lots of wedding pictures happening on the other side)
Nick and his boys.
Alvin
We are still avid scouters. Alex brought this boat home from a Bear's activity.
Raking the yard in the spring.
Rilie is ambidextrous still. His OT has told me to encourage him to be a righty (he does tend to use it slightly more), but I can't bring myself to do it. Occasionally when he draws, he will used both as the same time, to draw different parks intentionally. He isn't scribbling with both of these. He's drawing different sides of the body. We started penmanship this week, and I ask him which hand he wants to use. He choose his left twice and his right twice. Both sides are equal in ability.
This is the year of costumes for Jackson.
This friend had the courage to knock on our door. Apparently, he had been watching my boys off & on for a month. He has sensed move, it was a sad week.
This apple muffins were so incredible, I had to take a picture.
I was trying to copy Sam's banana muffins, were are equally addictive.
Alex caught a fish and cooked it.
A friend of Alvin & Alex's invited them to a fishing derby. They each caught three.
They are five were lake trout, one was a Rainbow trough. The Rainbow was +30 inches, which is huge here.
Rilie wanted another picture of one of his expressions.
Jackson loves to sing. You must sing him "Sing a Song a Sixpence"
nursery song.
Alvin, he and Alex are becoming quite agile.
They can climb up all the way up to the top of a the swings.
Alex
This is about 6 feet off the ground.
They were very proud of themselves.
Rilie
Alvin & Alex
Jackson
Jackson, I love this picture.
My sweet baby isn't a baby anymore.
Alvin & Alex chicken fighting.
Alvin is always a great big brother!
Rilie wanting to climb like his older brothers do.
Rilie & Jackson like to ride double on the tire swing.
These boys are getting so big! I am so proud of them.
Alvin is starting Boy Scouts next week. Alex will be a Webelos.
Nick will be his new Webelos Leader.
Nick & Jackson. We're waiting for Rilie's preschool performance.
Rilie graduated from preschool. This was their singing performance.
Alex sandwich.
This is that European Beech Tree again, in the spring.
This is a close up of Alvin in it.
There is a creek near by.
We were with the LDS homeschoolers there.
We brought four boats for the kids to float down the creek and over the little water fall.
This mom is trying to keep the littles from falling in (it's about 1-2 feet deep on the other side).
She succeeded!
More of the creek.
We've had a great year! I'm learning to slow things down. This summer, we're just focusing on penmanship, reading, and having fun. It's been a great breather for us.
