That's Right - He's 12!

Andrew celebrated with his traditional cinnamon roll.  No one ever complains about that (by the of May we are so done with cake)

 If you look past the fake smile and squenty eyes this kid is supper happy to be 12!  He got ordained to the preisthood at our house after the cousin party.  He is so excited to be able to pass the sacrament.  He will do a great job.

 We have a tradition that for your 12th birthday you get to go on a trip, somewhere in the US, with just mom or dad.  Andrew and Greg cooked up a trip to Monterey, California to look for whales.  Their trip didn't happen till June, but as you can tell from the smile on Andrew's face, he had a blast.

 One of the perks- getting to order BBQ Chicken Pizza without anyone complaining or having to share.

They went kayaking one day and out in the whale watching boat the next.

Here is Andrew's report:

We saw seals 2 feet from our kayak. We also saw sea otters just as close. We also saw a purple striped jellyfish and moon jellies.  For dinner we had pizza and I had Hazelnut Ice Cream. The next day we went on the boat. The first whale we saw I spotted and it was a Minke Whale. Then we saw a ton of humpbacks randomly. Towards the end we saw a group of Rissos Dolphins they had a ton of scars from the squid they eat. The next day we went out and found some humpbacks feeding - it was so cool they would come up with their mouths full and stretched out. While they were feeding you could see little fish everywhere.

A Bit of Spring Randomness

 As the snow cleared this spring Andrew discovered a foxes den in an undeveloped part of our neighborhood.  We watched it for weeks but decided the couple had abandoned it.  Then one night Greg and I drove by to see 5 kits playing all around then den.  Andrew and the other kids rode their bikes over and watched the babies play for quite awhile.  After than we drove by as often as possible. So amazing to see right in our neighborhood.

 Just as wild but less cool are the half a dozen snakes Perdita brings in each spring.  As long as the snake is dead or the boys are home to remove it, I don't mind, but when I'm the only one home and it is slithering around my kitchen it makes me cranky.  

After their production of Alice in Wonderland the girls started putting on their own performances here at home.  Here Kate is Alice and Lily is Dinah, the cat.

 Mack's soccer team went to a tournament in Rexburg and won 1st place.  Such a great season.  

Alice in Wonderland

The three youngest girls did ballet this year and they participated in the production of Alice in Wonderland.  They had a blast and I got to help with the costumes - kept us all busy for a few weeks.  

 Lily was a flower; She loved that she was pink and got to wear make-up.

And she got to dance with Kate, who was also a flower.  She was much less excite about the pink and make-up.  Although we did learn that she can put mascara on if she does it - but if anyone else tries - forget it.

 Emily got to dance with the Mad Hatter at the tea party.  She loved her costume and the curls we did in her hair.

Lily was hilarious to watch - bossing others, waving at dad, daydreaming...it was great.  Kate was graceful and beautiful as usual and Emily had a huge smile and knew what she was doing.  I loved watching them.

The Actual Birthday

Em's actual birthday fell on a Sunday which was perfect because it meant all the local cousins could come over and make it a huge party.   

 She wanted a bunny cake - her birthday was weeks after Easter but this cake looks a lot like an Easter Bunny.  She was happy with my handwork so that is good enough for me.

 She got a bunch of stuff for her doll, plus some new clothes and shoes, and of cource, books.

The Big 7 Year Party!

My kids all get one big birthday party.  Each year they have a family party but the friend thing is usually pretty small (or non existent) but for their 7th birthday I let them plan whatever they want.   So Emily turned 7 this year.  She only wanted to invite a few girls because she wanted to be able to play with all of them.  She had a ton of different games picked out and she changed themes several times but in the end we had an animal themed party.

First the girls made their own binoculars. Then they went all over the house on an animal watching tour.  They had a list of animals to find and Mack and I had hid a bunch of Andrew's animal figurines in different areas of the house.  Emily picked out the animals beforehand and divided them into geographical regions.  The tour went to the Ocean, Jungle, Yellowstone, and Africa.  Kate and Emily decorated each of the regions and Kate led them on the tour.

Then they had snacks like goldfish, Teddy grahams, and pretzels with chocolate drizzled on to look like lions (all Emily's idea's)

Next they did animal relay races where they hopped like kangaroos, crawled like crabs, snakes, bears, and other creatures.

 It never ceases to amaze me how much kids like to watch each other open presents.  So fun to see how much they love it.

 The birthday girl chose Oreo Ice Cream Cake and loved it.  We also played other games some of which Emily had created to fit the party theme.  Like "Zoo Basket" a game she made up based on "Fruit Basket".  We had so much fun.  She loved being involved in all the details of the party.  I had  a blast putting it all together with her.  Love this girl!

I Can't Believe She's 15

No great pics but she did enjoy her classic almond poppy seed cake and all her new clothes and books.    She has her permit now - so hard to believe but she is doing awesome.  Honestly, I can't wait till she can drive - it will be so freeing for me to have another driver available.  She is a great girl.  Can't imagine what our home would be like without her.

She's 10!

 I love this face.  She got new clothes and shoes.

She got to pick what ever she wanted for her birthday cake - Cheesecake Factory Chocolate Mousse -smart girl!