Dance...Dance...Dance...

Kiki had her dance recital this weekend and did awesome!  She has such a talent for it and loves it.  She had both sets of grandparents and two Aunts there to watch her.  Such support!  We are so blessed to have so many around us that love and support all we do!  She's a lucky girl.  Great job Keeks, you danced your socks off!

Pre-Teen

Well, he's definitely a pre-teen.  He doesn't want to cut his hair, loves playing video games, doesn't want to go anywhere with the family, his friends are cooler than mom and dad and so much more.

This year was a date year for BH.  So we got to have him all to ourselves.  It was so much fun.  We took him to Flemings for dinner (guess who's idea that was?, I'll give you a hint, not mine), took him to get a hair cut, we bribed him with an XBox game and went to get ice cream.

I've always been terrified of the pre-teen/teen years cause that's when you start to have less and less control, they are away from you more and they are learning who they are and how to be more independent.  What I realized on our date with BH is how much fun it's gonna be too.  We laughed, played and had great conversation.  I'm really excited for more of that in the coming years.  Thanks for the great date BH we love you and who you are becoming.

BH at Age 11:

WOW (world of warcraft)

playing XBox

Tackle football

basketball

dressing cool

having cool hair

likes to tease the older two

a loving big brother to the younger two

has a tender heart and genuine concern for others

a great friend

gets great grades

excited/nervous for 6th grade

LOVES summer

Braces

So yesterday we went to the Orthodontist for Keeks normal check up, or so I thought.  We came outta there with braces.  So the gist of it is, besides the fact that she has issues with crowding she also has an under bite.  The Ortho thought it would be a good idea to put her in early braces and head gear to pull out her upper jaw so that she doesn't have issues with it later when it's more difficult to fix.

So the first stage is making room and aligning the top row of teeth so that the head gear can do it's magic.  She'll be in the braces for about a year and then a retainer.  Then when she's older they will determine if she needs a full set of braces.

And if you can't tell from the picture, she is super excited.  What kid is excited about braces?  KiKi, thats who!

Oh and we all know how colorful this little girl can be, so would it surprise you that she has a mouth full of color?  We love you Keeks, you're such a cute brace face!!!

The big number 1

The Little Miss turned one!
At one she:

walks (took her first steps 5.3.10 and was walkin pretty good by her birthday)
says mama, dada, puppy, baba (bottle), baby, braaaa (brock), Niki and Nigh Nigh (Nigh Night)
has 5 teeth
fake laughs
fake cries
throws small fits if you take her away from something or take something away
smiles most of the day
takes two naps
sleeps 12hrs at night
still sucks her thumb on the very rare occation, mostly uses the Na Na
gives hugs
lays her head on my shoulder every night when I sing to her before bed
still in size 4 diapers
wears clothes sized the same as her age (that's a first for us)

We love having such a sweetie in our home, she makes us all laugh and makes life so fun.  Looking forward to year # two with you little Miss H!

Miss H's Party

The little peanut is one.  I can hardly believe that it went by so fast.  She was so cute at her party, she loved all her gifts and loved having so many people over.  We had both sides of the family over for Sunday dinner, cake and homemade ice cream.  There were close to 50 people, kinda crazy.

She had two cakes, one for just her to eat and one for everyone else.  Her Mumo and Aunt Kid made her little personal one and Costco made the big one.  Thanks Mumo and Aunt Kid it was YUMMY!

It sure is tiring being the big O.N.E, she crashed at the end of the night.  We are so grateful to have such a supportive family, we love you all!

My Birthday

So I don't normally post about my Birthday, but this was not just any normal Birthday, so I thought it needed to be recorded.  Plus I love bragging on my kiddos!

So, D had a conference to go to in Ohio three days before my birthday but assured me he would be home the night before just in time for THE DAY.

Birthdays are a big thing in our family, I mean come on, it was the day you were BORN!  The whole reason you are on this earth! 

I like to be spoiled on that day and for it to be all about me.  In all our married years D has totally gone above and beyond spoiling me.  Until the day his plane was delayed and he didn't make it home for my birthday. (tear) (he did send me flowers and chocolate covered strawberries while he was away!  Always thoughtful even miles and miles away)

So even though I like to be spoiled on my day I don't really talk about it, I don't tell people that it's my birthday and if they don't remember o'well.  So I didn't mention it to my kiddos.  BH did say the night before, "man mom, it really stinks that dad's not gonna be home for your birthday."

So I went to bed that night starting to feel a little bit of the flu coming on wondering what tomorrow's gonna bring?

The next morning I was awoken, is that a word?, by the sound of my sweet kids voices singing Happy Birthday with a tray containing our traditional Birthday Breakfast in Bed and homemade birthday cards.  They had come through, what a surprise.  All on their own, they got up early, made my favorite, peanut butter and syrup on toast (weird, I know) and surprised me.  And I LOVED it!

D got home @ about 12 and we went to Kiki and BH's piano recital.  Unfortunately I had the stomach flu the whole day and mostly laid in bed though I did venture out to see a movie that evening.  Hopefully next year I won't be feeling crummy and D will be in town.

Even though it wasn't the birthday I had envisioned in my mind, the fact that my sweet children thought of me with no prompting from anyone made it the best birthday ever!

Arrow of Light

BH got his Arrow of Light along with 10 other boys in his Webelos group.  Their leaders were great!  He is so excited to become a boy scout.  Great job buddy we are pround of you!

Mommy Daughter Date

For Kiki's Activity Days they had a Mommy Daughter Date to learn proper etiquette when dinning.  It was so cute.  They had the cultural hall decorated like an Italian restaurant with Italian music playing and the works!  The girls set our place settings to show what they had learned about setting the table.  They played games to see how many bad manners could be found.  It was a fun activity and I really enjoyed spending one on one time with Keeks!  Thanks for a fun date Kiki Lee!

Kindergarten Program

Mr. BD had his end of the year Kindergarten Program.  They were so cute up there singin' their little hearts out.  Mr. BD has loved this year, especially his teacher Mrs. Rayburn.  He will miss her terribly next year.

Women's Conference

Oh Women's Conference, I LOVE IT!  This year I got to go with my Mom, sister and SIL.  We had so much fun.  On the way up we went through a small blizzard, a huge change from what we are use to.  Mom was driving and really had white knuckles, but we made it safely.  Thanks Mom!

I roomed with Tamra and Mom and LaChae were roomies, we drew straws. 

We ate lots of yummy food, Los Hermanos (where all the servers that meet and get married there get a booth named after them), JDawgs (not my fav), The Sweet Tooth Fairy (my FAV) and Smart Cookie (not the real one, it was closed down, but we got the same kinda cookie at Hogi Yogi.  YUMMY!).

We were enriched by wonderful people.  I learned so much about how to be a better wife and mama.  Thank heavens for paper and pen, I'm sure I'll need to check my notes for a reminder now and then!

We enjoyed the beautiful, yet quite chilly, weather.  We experienced rain, snow, sleet and hail!

We got the opportunity to serve when one of the classes we wanted to go to re-routed us to the layette cutting room.  I couldn't help but think of those sweet babies that would get to wear layettes cut by my hands.  Though it wasn't planned I am soooo grateful for the opportunity to serve.  And I think maybe in a way it was planned, so I could learn a little something about service.

We were able to go to the Salt Lake Temple and do a session, LOVED IT. 

Another Women's Conference come and gone, one I'll never forget.  Hope we can do it again next year girls!