Camping

So this year the annual Father/Son camp out turned into a Father/Children camp out and Andrew took both the kids. They had a great time. (Thanks Steph for loaning us the stuff!)

Father's Day

So we took a few pix for Father's Day and we gave a few to Andrew after he enjoyed a nice breakfast in bed. I failed to get pictures of that event, but Andrew's not complaining so I'll just put the pix of the kids up!







A few candids by the kids...

Water, Water Everywhere

So it's been awhile since our last post and this is what we've been up to... SWIM TEAM!
Our first year of swim team has been so fun and very busy. Emily gets to swim and actually compete since she's five. (Four and under just get to mostly practice)

We have several friends we know from church that are on the team and we've been having fun swimming with them every day and also getting to make new friends.

The swim meets are really fun and exciting. Emily cracks me up so much when she's in the middle of swimming in an event. Instead of just concentrating on swimming from one end to the other she makes sure to take time and look around to see who's cheering for her and to get a little wave in to her friends! I hope to actually capture this moment in a picture.

The swim team is so great and they give ribbons to each child for participating no matter what the outcome!

Mother's Day... My Thoughts

Mother's Day always brings up mixed emotions for me because of the death of my own mother just over 5 years ago. Emily was only 5 months old when she died so it's hard to not have her here when there is so much for me to yet experience and so much I want to share with her and partake in her wisdom. She was (and still is) a wonderful woman whom I love and miss very much.

After a wonderful dinner of Lamb Kabobs on the grill, cooked by my fabulous grill-master husband, we honored her by visiting her grave and sharing some quiet moments together as a family. There are not enough words in the English language to express the effect a mother has on her children. I can only hope to be as wonderful and effective for my kids as she was for me. I love you Mom.

Just Hangin' Around

So Emily said she has something to show me so she leads me in to her room and I see this....














His feet are actually touching the floor so he's not in any danger (just for those worry warts out there!) Kinda' funny, eh!

Friends

These are my great friends Shauna and Stephanie! Occasionally the girls in our ward get together for a girl's night. Usually it's over at Shauna's house. This particular night it was just the three of us that showed up so we did a fun thing called the Tim Tam Slam which is a tradition from Australia. I have a video we made of us doing it but for some reason it won't post to Blogger!! If you know how to remedy this situation PLEASE contact me! Anywho, here's a fun link to see how it's done "Down Under." Enjoy!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PJsEMKX3dXI&feature=related

Sleep-gee Guy

That's how Avery used to say "sleepy guy" when he was tired. I thought it was cute so we didn't correct him and just let him figure out how to say it on his own. So in honor of this thought I thought I'd post some pictures of the random places and ways that he's fallen asleep. I wish I could sleep anywhere. I put a little one in there of Emily who fell asleep at the kitchen table not too long after we moved into the house.

Chicken Feet

Avery put on my gardening gloves. I'm so glad he has 10 toes and not this as a replacement. Finding shoes would be a bear.

Camera Update

So... we haven't found the camera but A found one for me to use in the mean-time! Thank you, thank you, thank you!

Where Oh Where Is My Camera?

I felt it was time for a new post but my camera has been misplaced and I'm going through withdrawals! So can everyone say a little prayer for us? I'm sure that it's cold and lonely and crying on it's big "pilla" every night because it's one purpose in life is not being fulfilled! Thanks for reading my plea and I really wasn't kidding about saying a prayer. Talk about stressful! That thing isn't cheap!

Good times & Cake

We hosted an open house for Dad and Lynne. Kami was able to come for it so we enjoyed goofing around with Lonnie too.







After the party we had so much cake left over that we needed to find a new use for it versus eating it all! We call it "Calorie Free Cake."

Some"bunny" loves you

Easter was great this year. For play group that week we had an egg hunt over at my friend Shauna's house. Emily and Avery had a great time with friends.





Emily, Fiona and Avery

On Easter we got together over at Paka and Mimi's house for a family dinner and another egg hunt in the back yard. We made bunny cupcakes for dessert(thank you Betty Crocker!) and had a wonderful time. We especially enjoyed our time with Paka and Mimi since they had come home the previous weekend.



Cousins! Pierce, Avery and Emily







On a more spiritual note... I think next year we might need to do more focusing on the meaning rather than the pomp and circumstance. Isn't that the goal of every day?

"Pine-ing" Away

Living in GA makes it nearly impossible to get away from the fact that pretty much the whole state is inundated with trees-- as was the case with our back yard. We decided that if we ever want to get some grass back there that we better get some of them taken down. A few weeks ago we had 10 trees taken out and thus got rid of all the pines!! Yes!! We still have trees back there but at least they won't drop all the junk that pine trees do.

It was fun watching the crew work. We have a gi-normous mulch pile! And now we will start saving for the next phase of the project. Manure! Gotta get that good fertilizer in there so grass can have a chance of growing.

Enjoy the pix!

From Russia with Love

Paka and Mimi returned from a two year mission in Novosibirsk, Russia on March 20th! Mimi was wearing her mink coat and Paka his heavy coat since it was freezing temperatures when they left! They were so happy to be home and we were so happy to have them home. They were excited to see the new babies that had been born since they left.

It took them 22 hrs of flying time to arrive in the US so they were pretty tired but so excited to see everyone. There were hugs to be had by all!