(Extended) Family Time

Monica, James and their family came to visit (Eliza was baptized with Maren, remember?).  Our kids are all the same age (mostly) and we always have such a great time with them.  We laugh, we play, we get robbed. It is awesome!

The kids made an Uncle James Sandwich on the slide.

Monica had her 32nd birthday while she was here.  And we threw her a surprise party.  Her surprise was that most of my siblings got there in time for dinner-even those coming from Seattle!

Almost all of our kids fit on my kitchen bench.  What will happen if either of our kids ever actually grow?!

We took the kids to some pretty gardens on a HOT day.

We made a "bobble-head boss" pinata for my dad's retirement party.

We camped for my family's reunion at my parent's property in Brian Head.  My entire family was in town for the whole week and it was so much fun to be together (the week started out with Maren's baptism).  Here's a summary of the camping trip: the kids got ridiculously dirty, Maren threw up, Dustin could only stay for one day and we really missed him, we did Zumba with my sis-in-law (and brother), we had a surprise semi-retirement party for my dad, complete with the pinata, pin the finger on the hand (he was a shop teacher for a couple of years and more than one finger was lost), and favorite memories of Dad's work life.  We also went on lots of walks, looked at Saturn through Jim's telescope, rode 4-wheeler's, and ate delicious food.  What a great week it was!

While the Noonan's were in town, we also did other fun things, like a tour of the LDS Conference Center, given, coincidentally, by my dad's cousin.  Small world!

 We rode the train into downtown, which was very exciting for the kids.

 

We had sister's nights, spent lots of time together, bought matching clothes and just generally enjoyed each other's company.  It was so lovely.

Minus that time when Monica's van got broken into and lots of valuables were stolen, we had so much fun with all our family! What a great summer we've had!  Please come back, everyone!

Avery's Big Day(s)

This year, Avery's 10th birthday happened to fall on the date of Maren's baptism.  She was a little less than enthusiastic about having to share her "big day".  We smoothed her ruffled feathers by letting her have a friend birthday party this year (I only do them every other year).  She wanted to do a tie-dye theme.  My sister, Monica, was in town with her family, so they were there to be a part of it.
For the week before, we worked hard on a pinata, which lasted through every child's getting a turn to beat it.

The kids played balloon popping games and decorated tie dye cupcakes.

See, I told you Monica was here.

And, of course, we tie-dyed shirts.

Oh, and we dyed flowers.

Somehow I didn't get a single picture of the shirt tie-dying process.  It may have been because I was dealing with 13 children and permanent dye.

The next week was Avery's actual birthday.  In the morning we had Maren and Eliza's baptism, and then after a big lunch at the church, everyone headed back to our house, where we had a bounce house waiting!

I had wondered how to keep 18 + kids entertained for an entire day at my house, and this thing definitely fulfilled its purpose.  The kids (and adults) never tired of it and we had no major injuries.  They played on it almost non-stop until we had to take it down at 9 PM.  We paused the bouncing mayhem long enough to celebrate Avery's birthday with a BBQ and cake.  I think we had close to 50 people that stuck around that day.  We love our amazing family and friends!

She wanted a cake with chocolate frosting (a bag of chocolate chips, to be exact) with gummy bears around the side. My kids were very easy to please this year.

Avery is a great helper in our family.  She loves to organize everything (her day, her piano chart, her headboard, etc.)  She is a very obedient child and always tries to do what we ask her to do.  She recently reached a milestone-she passed the 4 foot mark on our wall! She is a great student-at the top of her class in grades and the bottom of her class in height.  Avery has a great ear for music and although I am teaching her piano right now, she has taught herself to play many more songs, just by listening and knowing what it should sound like.  We just finished swimming lessons and Avery has finally figured it out and can swim around like a little fish.  She loves it!  We are sure thankful for Avery being in our family! We love her!    

Two Big Days For Maren

June has come and gone.  And it was crazy busy.  It went something like this: birthday, birthday, reunion, reunion.  And I will get to all that.  But first, in order to relieve my guilt about having forgotten to put this in my last post (so sorry, third child.  Apparently it is a trend), Ryan graduated from kindergarten!  It was quite the accomplishment. 

OK, now on to the next big event.  Maren turned 8!

She requested a Sugar Rush ice cream cake.  By Sugar Rush, she meant tons of candy on top of the cake.  I attempted to make it in to an actual scene, with a smartie path and sherbet mountains, but in the end, it just looks like candy on top of a cake.  I guess I was successful.  A couple of weeks later (on Avery's birthday, actually) Maren was baptized.  Her cousin, Eliza, came from Illinois to be baptized at the same time, which made it extra special.

Eight years earlier, they were blessed at the same time.

When I look at us back then, I can see why people still think I'm in high school.  Monica and I both look like we are too young to be having children.  I was 26 1/2 and Monica was 24 in that picture, in case you were wondering.  

The baptism went great and it was a wonderful morning. We are so happy that she made this decision.  And so glad the Noonan's came to help make it special.

Maren has so many great qualities.  She is great with little children, has a fun imagination (which helps her be great with little kids) and loves babies.  She'll be a super babysitter soon.  She is a great conversationalist.  I love to hear how her day went because I get a lot of fun details.  She thinks a lot about things and asks some really good questions.  She is fun to be around and a great friend.  She is learning the piano and doing a great job at it.  Her reading abilities really took off last year and now she can zip through a chapter book in a day!  She just lost her second front tooth and now looks like a jack-o-lantern.  She is brave and impetuous, and she helps us have a lot of fun!  We love our Mimi!