Strawberry Shortcake Dress

When Natali was first born Greg and I moved to Oklahoma for a few years.  We were far from family, but we made wonderful friends.  When we left in 2004 there were some sad goodbyes.  It was especially hard to say goodbye to our neighbors, Mike and Ilene. 

They acted as surrogate grandparents for Natali and Mack.  Often when Greg was out of town I would walk over to their house and enjoy a break.  Mike would whisk Natali off to the kitchen to feed her all sorts of goodies and teach her the art of dunking Oreos.  He would let her experiment with dunking other things as well, like cinnamon bears in water.  She loved Mike.  Ilene would chat with me and help me solve all of my sewing problems.

When the time came for us to leave, Ilene made Natali this pink strawberry shortcake dress.  Natali loved it and it was one of her favorites. It sat it our girl clothes box for a long time before Kate fit into it but it hasn't gone back in the box since.  Kate loved the dress so much the she basically wore it until I convinced her Emily fit in it better.  So many of the clothes I bought for Natali are rather out of date for Kate and Emily, but this strawberry shortcake dress is still a favorite 9 years later. 

I took a picture of Emily wearing this dress the other day and then dug up these old pictures.  So fun to see them all at the same age – how different they look.  When Lily turns 2 I’ll be adding her picture to this history.  They don’t remember Ilene but every time I see that little dress I remember our good times in Oklahoma.

Andrew's Baptism

In June Andrew was baptized.  It was wonderful to watch him make covenants with his Heavenly Father.  He loves to know 'why' and asks far more questions about the world than my other kids.  I have loved watching him ask questions to learn about the gospel. 

We were lucky to have both sets of grandparents in attendance.  I wish I would have found a better place to take pictures though.  

It was a special day.  Love you crazy boy!

Another Boy Trip To Yellowstone

Summer started a little early with a weekend trip to Yellowstone.  Since there were no girls they did multiple hikes and watched a lot of animals.  They saw cute spring babies and cottontail rabbits, but no wolves – Sorry Andrew, maybe next time.

The Jungle Party

The day before Andrew's birthday he had his first friend party.  He invited 4 friends and one cousin and randomly, one of Mack's friends invited himself.  Luckily, I had a little heads up that he might come, but it was still a little funny.  The party was animal themed (shocker).

Andrew doesn't like birthday cake so I made one of his favorites - Christmas Wreaths- in the shape of a gigantic snake.  My  kids thought it was awesome but I think some of the party guests were disappointed not to have cake and ice cream.  We did have an ice cream drink...

I hired a youth from church to bring a few specimen from his vast reptile collection for the boys to learn about.  They got to hold a few of them and learned all sorts of interesting things.  One boy kept muttering, "I'm going to die.  I'm going to die."  Otherwise, everyone loved it.

If you look past Mack you will see some of my decorations.  By my standards I went all out and actually put crepe paper vines and leaves around the house.

We played a few games and opened presents then I let them do what boys do best - wrestle, run, jump, tackle, kick balls, and yell.  I snagged this mellow photo while they were eating their take home "specimen" (goldfish, gummy worms, teddy grahms…).  Andrew loved the party and even though it is overwhelming, it really was kind of fun to plan.

Here is Andrew on his birthday with his stash from the family.

Andrew's curiosity teaches me patience and helps me think about "why?".  His energy keeps me looking for ways to keep him busy.  His passion has taught me way more about animals than I ever thought I'd know.  He challenges me to become the parent he needs.  I love his smile and how he can talk a mile a minute when he is excited.  I love hearing about his day and listening to him try to reason himself out of trouble.  He loves Lily and sincerely wants me to have another baby because he thinks she is so fun and cute.  He is a fabulous big brother and we love him so much!  Happy Birthday!

Spring Soccer

Kate played soccer for the first time this spring.  She surprised us all with her commitment.  Even in severe wind she stayed with her team and ran around on the field when it was her turn.  She had a tendency to avoid the ball but she had fun.  Here she is receiving her medal and playing with her teammate, Alissa, and Emily.  Yes, these are lame pictures, but at least I have some.

 On the other hand, I have no pictures of Mack's team at all.  Greg was his coach so that meant I had a newborn in the terrible wind or scorching heat, or I couldn't even watch his game because we had two other games at the same time.  Mack had fun, as usual, but Greg would rather not coach a team like that again.

Andrew was the newbie on his team.  The rest of the boys had played together for a longtime.  They were really fun to watch and Andrew liked learning to play goalie.

Three games every Saturday was totally wild but I was so glad they all had the chance.  Emily says she wants to play next year...we'll see.

Pine Wood Derby Rides Again

Hastily glued on coins covered  the bottom of Andrew's car, paint jobs were mucked up by something or someone, and Greg and I were thinking how glad we were to only have two boys, but the boys couldn't have been more excited. (Par for the course, my pictures are terrible, but at least we have some- right?)

Andrew's face is covered in graphite.  He might have gotten a bit carried away, but he loved his tiger striped car.

Emmy Girl

Isn't it funny how nicknames randomly become a part of your vocabulary?  Emmy turned to Nemmy (because of a Dr. Doofenshmirtz song). Then Nemmy turned to Nemmers because of Mack.  Suddenly, Emily is called Nem or Nemmers.  Weird, but we love that Nemmers.  

She asked for a pink kitty cake with pink polka dots.  I exceeded my expectations with this one.  Thankfully, she was pleased as well.

Here she is with all her treasure.  Em loved her Ariel doll because, "She has red hair, like me."  Every morning she comes down the stairs with a smile.  She lights up my day and makes everyone so happy.  I am treasuring my days home with her, reading books and playing games.  I love that little sweetheart.