EFY in Santa Barbara

On June 19 we flew with Little Man to California. It was Little Man's 1st airplane ride and he did great. He slept for 15 minutes and that was it, but the rest of the time he just looked out the window or played. We flew into LAX and then drove up to where Chris served his mission in Simi Valley and visited with his California mom-Kim. We had a great visit and went to church with them the next morning.

Little Man in the hotel while we were getting ready for church. I love that smile!!

These are the amazing counselors that we got to serve with all week. EFY stands for Especially for Youth and is a week long summer camp put on my our church. Chris and I went as the session directors and were able to take Little Man with us. Through out the week Chris will teach a group of about 500 youth 11 times. He is an amazing teacher and loves to up in front a huge crowd. I, on the other hand, get scared to death so he does all of the teaching and I just get to watch and enjoy.

Nap time.

Pizza Night!!!

The incredible BC and coordinators that we absolutely love!!!

Tuesday and Friday night they have a dance. We stayed up top and watch because it was so loud and Little Man doesn't like tons of noise.

UCSB (University of California Santa Barbara) where EFY was held is right on the beach so during one of our breaks we went down and enjoyed the beach. We tried to have Little Man walk in the sand but he wanted nothing to do with it.

Birthday and Baptism

Friday was 2nd Son's 8th Birthday. He was so excited and even woke up at quarter to six. It was also the last day of school so it was a double great day. On our kids birthdays they get to pick what they want for dinner and what kind of cake or dessert they want. 2nd Son picked hamburgers for dinner and brownies for his birthday cake. When he got home from school he complained that he did not feel well and had a headache. As we were getting everything ready for his birthday dinner he fell asleep and did not wake up until about 2am so we had his birthday dinner without him. When he woke up at 2am he wanted a his hamburger. Saturday we had 2nd Son's baptism. He was excited and a little bit nervous. I still can't believe he is 8. Chris is the bishop of our ward so he was able to give 2nd Son his baptismal interview. Chris said that it was a really neat experience and one he will remember his whole life.

The baptism went really well and 1st Son even gave the talk on the Holy Ghost. Thank you for all the family and friends who came and supposed us.

Tonight we had his cake/brownies. I have decided I need to take some cake decorating class or something. I can not write on anything to save my life.

Happy Birthday!! We are so grateful you are in our family and are proud of you for making the choice to be baptized. We love you!!

Memorial Day

For memorial day we celebrated at Chris's parents home with a BBQ. Grandma and Grandpa just bought a new swing set so the kids were so excited and spent most of the night playing on it.

Our new cousin/nephew. What a cutie!!

He is doing angery eyes and trying to show his mad face.

Aunt Julie with Little Man and his cousin.

My in-laws back fence is a park so all the kids went to the park and big boys would kick the balls over for them to chase. It was so much fun and they all slept really well that night.

Haircuts

Saturday after the party Chris was cutting the boy's hair and we decided last minute to cut Little Man's hair also. I was surprised by how different he looked instead of a little baby he turned into a little boy right before my very eyes. It made me want to cry. It was kind of fun to see the different colors of hair all together. 2nd Son was really dark, 1st Son was medium and Little Man was really light.

Happy 4th Birthday Princess

It was Princess's Birthday on Friday and she turned four. She was so excited all week. We had a birthday party on Saturday to celebrate. When she wake up on Saturday she asked if she was still four. I love her!!

Thanks for all the family who came to celebrate with us. Her big present was a princess bike which she was so excited for. You can't have a bike without a helmet so she also got one of those.

Chris could not help but take this picture. It made me laugh so I stuck it in. Someday she will not think this is so funny.

Happy Birthday we are so grateful to have you in our family. We love you!!!

DS Swimming Party

Saturday we went to the DS Swimming Party held at the Bountiful Pool. We had a great time visiting with old friends and making some new one. Chris and I both commented how fun it was to watch the kids play. I think that it is good for me to watch older children with DS to see that the future is not as scary as I sometimes think it will be. I worry so much about what Little Man will be like and if I will be able to handle the challenges that go with each age group but watching the adorable kiddo I did not worry and just had fun. I had another DS mom tell me not to look to far ahead but to enjoy each stage.

This was Little Man first time swimming. At first he was not so sure but once he started to play he loved it. He did not like getting his face wet but he is that way in the tub also. He especially loved when the kids would come up and he could splash them.

2nd Son

1st Son

On an exciting note Chris found out where his new teaching assignment will be for next year. He is leaving Millcreek Jr. High and headed to Woods Cross High School. He is going to miss Jr. High but excited for high school again. He will also be teaching two special needs classes at Woods Cross. He commented on how a year and a half ago this would have scared him to death but because of Little Man he is really excited.

Swimming Lessons

Today was our last day of swimming lessons. It was so fun to see how much progress they have made in last five weeks. Alison was up and down as far as whether she wanted to go swimming or not but the boys loved every minute of it.

They recommended that 1st Son move on to the next level!!Poor 2nd Son was not able to swim because he threw up on Monday and they do not want them in the pool if they have been sick. They recommended that he repeat level 2 again.

Princess's teacher recommended that she move to level 2 which means that she and 2nd Son will be together next year. That should be interesting!! Princess and 2nd Son have a love-hate relationship usually it leans towards the hate side of things.

Overall I was really grateful that we did swimming lessons. It was neat to see their confidence grow each lesson.