Crazy Days!

Every Thursday at preschool during the month of May was a "crazy day." Hyrum loved the idea that he and his class would have silly days. He talked about the approaching days for weeks planning what he wanted for each day.

The first Thursday was pajama day. Hyrum knew without a doubt that he wanted to wear his Papa's shirt and soccer pants for pajama day. He was so excited when he was finally able to show off his awesome shirt. I forgot to get a picture of that day, but you could tell he was so please to show off his beloved papa shirt.

The next Thursday was backwards day. Hyrum thought it was so silly when he wore his clothes backwards. I thought he looked so cute. A silly face picture to go with a silly day.
After backwards day came crazy hair day. Hyrum told me long before the day arrived that he wanted a "Moohawk." He was very specific when I was combing his hair about what pieces of his hair should be up and what ones had to be down.

Maggie, Boo, Delanie, Hyrum, Aleece

The last Thursday was a crazy hat day. We decided to create our own silly hat. Since Aunt Millie came in the night before, she was able to help Hyrum with his hat. Of course, since Ben and Emmy saw Hyrum doing something fun they had to join in on the excitement. The finishing touch on the hat was that it was sprayed with glitter. I think his hat looked fantastic. I think he thought his hat was very awesome. He was very excited to show off his very cool hat to everyone. I think having the silly days was the perfect way to end the year.

Mountaineer 5K

On the 23rd, some ladies from my ward and myself decided to participate in a 5K for stroke victims.

I was so excited to run this race. I have been working so hard in the gym to get my body in shape. I have always wanted to do a 5K and decided that participating in a 5K would be a great goal to work towards.

After finding a few people in my ward who wanted to do a 5K, we decided on the race that supported stroke victims. A mother of one of the ladies who did the 5K with, has suffered a couple of strokes.

Also, after talking to my mom I realized that both of her grandmas passed away due to strokes or complication of strokes. Another relative who suffered a stroke was Brandon's grandpa. He passed away due to complications from a stroke last November. I figured this was a great race for me becuase it supported a cause that had meaning to me.

Myself and the group of ladies I was doing the 5K with, met before the race to get our numbers, goody bags and stretch before the race. Erin, Heidi, Angie, Me, Whitney

Of course we had to get another picture once we got our numbers on.

I loved having the ladies there with me when we started the race. It was a great support group. I think all of us were a little nervous for the race, but everyone did FANTASTIC!

Below is a picture after the race.My goal was to run (slow jog) the whole race and I did. I was so proud of myself. Brandon was able to get some shots of me running the last little bit of the race. He tried to get a close up picture when I was getting close to cross the finish line, but our camera died.

At the end of the race, there was this huge hill. As I slowly made my way up the hill, I noticed my adorable kids and sweet husband cheering me on. Hyrum and Brandon were holding a sign they made that said, "Good Job Mommy! We Love You!" Seeing my sweet family gave me the strength to keep going. I was so tired when I crossed the finish line. Emmy was so upset that I turned and went to the finish line instead of coming to her. When the kids saw me they said, "Go Mommy." For the rest of the day Emmy would say, "Race. Go Mommy!" It was so cute! Hyrum loved cheering on all his little friends mom ("Go Chloe's Mom", "Go Lexi's Mom", etc.)

Waiting for mom to finish the race

While we were waiting for the race to finish, the kids went and played in a jump house that they had for the event. They loved it!

The 5K was such a fun and rewarding experience. I am very much looking forward to doing a couple more 5Ks before the year is out.

Z is for Zoo!

Last week, on Tuesday, the kids and I went to the zoo. Ben and Emmy have been participating in a playschool. It has been great. Each of the mom's rotate who is teaching and what letter. The kids have loved the fact that they get to go to school like Hyrum and daddy.

For the last day of the playschool, and for the letter Z, we went to the zoo. The kids loved going with so many friends. There were 9 kids in the playschool, but only five of the kids were able to go to the zoo. Noah, Olivia, Hyrum, Aleece, Lainey, Emmy, and Ben

Emmy and Noah

Hyrum and Aleece were able to tag along, even though they didn't do the playschool. It was nice having the big kids come, they did a great job helping out with the little ones.

Emmy and Ben had such a fun time walking around with the big kids. The loved being able to look at the animals a little closer. Looking at the Meerkats

In the picture below, the kids are looking at a leopard that is walking really close to the fence. They thought it was fascinating.One of the moms brought yummy zucchini muffins to share; the kids loved them. We brought some animal crackers to share with the group.The kids had such a great time and for the most part pretty good and stayed close to mom. Of course on the way out we had to stop at the cement animals and get a picture taken. Ben is being grumpy because I wouldn't let him walk around on the animal. It is always fun to go to the zoo!

Fathers and Sons

On May 15th and 16th was our ward's Fathers and Sons' Campout. The boys were so excited to go. This was Ben's first year going with Brandon. Ben knew going camping with dad must be something exciting since Hyrum was so excited to go.

A week before the camp out, Brandon and I were talking about the Fathers and Sons' activity. While Brandon and I were talking, Hyrum started mentioning how fun it was to sleep in the van and the yummy "nummies" they cooked around the fire(smores and starbursts). It was so funny to listen to him talk about how much fun he had with Brandon last year.

When Brandon got home from school on the 15th he stared to get everything ready. The longer Brandon took to get everything packed, the more excited the boys got. It was so cute to hear Hyrum talk to Ben about what they were going to do while they were camping and how Emmy couldn't come because she is a girl.The boys were more then ready to hop in the car with dad when it was time to hit the road. From what Brandon tells me they had such a great time and for the most part pretty good. They had a fireside about the Priesthood and Brandon said they were perfect during it. Ben was the youngest camper from the ward there.

While camping, Ben kept trying to jump in the fire, the boys got to play with a whole bunch of boys from the ward, Hyrum and Ben got to sleep in the van, have smores, stay up unti l 11, and have time with dad. I don't think anything could have made them happier.I receieved the picture on my phone below on the night of the 15th. It looks like they were loving life.They ate an early breakfast the next morning in order to be able to make it home in time for Hyrum's soccer game which didn't happen. Oh well, they had a blast and have been pretending to go camping ever since; except now Emmy can come.

I am so grateful that I am married to a man that thinks outings like these are important. Also, that he takes the time to do these things with our kids.

Emmy was feeling sad that she was getting left out of the excitement, but I told her we would have fun too. It was always a tradition growing up that while the boys were gone to Fathers and Sons, the girls in the family would do something fun too. While the boys were gone, Emmy and I went out to eat. We went to Blockbuster and she got to pick a 99 cent movie. We came home, I painted her nails, watched a Barbie movie, had popcorn and treats. She was in heaven! She loves to get her nails painted and holds very still and waits patiently for them to dry. She also loved the Barbie movie! She hasn't really seen girl movies before. After our fun night, she got to sleep in my bed for the night.It was such a great weekend! Everyone had a great time.

Girly Girl

I love the fact that Emmy is a girly girl. The collection of high heels she got for Christmas has been a huge hit. The best ten bucks Santa Claus has ever spent.She is constantly changing her shoes. I think her pink high heels are her favorite. Big surprise from the girl who loves pink. I am constantly hearing her little shoes go clip-clop all throughout the house.

After Emmy gets her hair done in the morning, especially if she got her hair done in my bathroom, she will ask for a touch of lip gloss on her lips. After I have spread a small amount of the pink paint on her lips she will insist that it is my turn to put some on.

Emmy still loves jewelry. She doesn't get into the necklaces as often, but she still likes to have her bracelets on.

Emmy also likes to make sure she has a bow or some kind of "pretty" in her hair each day.

She is only now really exploring purses and the possibilities they provide.

Emmy loves to sing! I love hearing her sweet little voice singing. She loves Wheels on the Bus. That is her song request every night.

Emmy loves her dollies and usually ends up each nap and bedtime with a couple in her bed. She packs those dolls around quite a bit and pushes them in her stroller. She gives hugs and kisses to those dollies and is worried about feeding them a bottle.

The other day I found her stroller looking like this. She has her dolly, the red lunch box toy that she calls her purse and a blanket. She pushed that stroller around with those contents in it for quite awhile.

In the picture below she has her pink high heels, sun glasses, keys, necklace, phone and purse. She was so cute. When I told her I wanted to take her picture she told me to wait until she got her purse up on her shoulder. She made me chuckle. The first picture of me catching her trying to put her purse up on her shoulder.
I love my little diva!

Ben in a Basket

I found Ben sitting in the laundry basket the other day holding his football and just as happy as can be. Ben thought he was so silly. He sat in the basket for a long time. I guess he decided that the basket was a perfect spot for him to sit in that was just his size. Of course when I took his picture, his siblings didn't want to be left out. The kids played so well together that day. As you might notice in the pictures, both of the boys are holding their footballs. One of their favorite thing to do together is play football.