2013 Birthdays

Okay, I am just going to throw all the birthdays from last year into one post.  All except my birthday, because my birthday is kind of all by its lonesome.  The kids tend to forget about my birthday, Britton told me she wanted to be a boy so her birthday would come first because the boys' birthdays do come before both the girls' birthdays.  I told her that my birthday technically was first.  She didn't believe me.  Anyway, on to the rest of the birthdays.

First up is Bradley.  On the morning of his birthday he informed me that he is so big because he is three and can talk know.  He is a silly kid, but oh so cute.  He has a great smile, two dimples, and he knows when to use it.  He is starting to open up around people but only people that he has been around a lot.  He gets along with Britton when they play outside but not inside.  He really wants to be big enough to do everything the older kids do.

 For his cake I tried marshmallow fondant for the first time.  Unfortunately it cracked but he was pretty happy with his superman cake.  For breakfast on his birthday he wanted monkey bread.  The best part of his birthday was the fact that we scored a great bunkbed on craigslist and set it up.

So Brandon had a birthday.  I'm sure I made a cake but I have no pictures.  He had to work on his birthday.  The trade off was that he didn't work the day before which just happened to be our 10th anniversary.  He pretended like he had planned that.  He somehow convince Brent and Cami to watch the kids and we spent a night in Denver and went to the temple the next morning.  We actually celebrated his birthday the day after because he was working.

William turned nine this year and we let him have a party.  He absolutely loves to read and one of his goals for the year was to finish the Harry Potter series.  He managed that before school got out for the summer and he loved the books, so we planned a Harry Potter party.

 We found some pop rocks for our "potions" class.  Food coloring on the bottom of the cups, let it dry and then cover with ice.  Add some pop rocks and 7up, instant potion.

 Homemade wands and a sorting hat.

 The golden snitch cake.  The marshmallow fondant worked so much better this time.  William was really excited about how it looked and that makes it a success.

Our little Grant man turned one.  He was so lucky, he got shots on his birthday and Brandon was out of town for work.  So we didn't really celebrate on his birthday.  In fact, he got his cake early.

 Orange Train cake.

 He doesn't really like to get his hands dirty.  Well, he doesn't really like getting his hands dirty with food.  So there wasn't a lot of smashing with the cake. 

 His toy was a hit, with all of the kids.  I guess the problem with being number 5 is that everyone wants to "show" you how to play with your new toy.

 Caitlyn turned seven.  She is loving first grade and is turning into quite the reader.  She has a flair for drama and is currently in love with My Little Pony.  So for her cake she wanted a Rainbow Dash cake.  I didn't want to even attempt  a cake shaped like a pony so I used marshmallow fondant that was the same color as Rainbow Dash and had a rainbow inside.

 Inside the rainbow cake.  Caitlyn also had a small party with some friends.  Cupcake decorating and a pinata, she had a lot of fun.

So rounding out our year is Britton.

 I can't believe that she is five.  She can't wait to go to school.  She has so much energy.  She mastered her bike without training wheels and learned to write her name just so she could get her own library card.

I found a different technique to decorate her cake.  It was the fastest decorating I've ever done.  Just big swirls.  Britton loved the green.

The time has come

I have been going back and forth over keeping this blog public or making it private.  Part of the reason I have debated keeping it public is that I have found friends' and family blogs through other blogs and that wouldn't have happened without the blogs being public.  But looking at the traffic sources and audience lately I think that the time has come to make it private.  So, if you would like to continue reading our blog send me your email.  I will monitor comments so you can leave it in the comments but it won't be published or you can email me directly.

Catch up, maybe

Alright, this is going to be a lot of pictures and possibly some information.  So this is a little of what we have been up to since December, and during December really.

 We cleaned the floor.  Okay we did this more than once, but we took pictures this time.  The kids really like when I scrub the floor with the scrub brush because they put rags on their feet to mop up the dirty water.

 The zoo does a light festival in December, it is a little chilly at night.

 There was barely enough snow to sled around Christmas.

 Grant at the zoo at night, and taking a binky which he no longer does.

 Bradley has some of the best faces.

 Our little thumb sucker.  Grant loves his thumb and his monkey blanket.  And chewing on his monkey blanket.

 Caitlyn lost her first tooth, and a couple of weeks later lost her second tooth.

 Grant practiced sitting up.  He is doing pretty well, until he leans.

 Most of the snow is gone and the children were playing so well in the back yard and this was why.  I think Bradley had a snack.

 Britton didn't eat any but they both were covered with mud.

 We went to an Air Force basketball game with the scouts.

 I had a birthday, made delicious cupcakes, and shared them with friends from the ward and some of Brandon's coworkers.  And that is why I make cupcakes, if I can share them then I don't eat as many.  Brandon told me that I am now old, I guess 30 is old.  He does think it is funny when I point out the gray hairs I can find, but I figure I am lucky that there isn't more.  I don't know about the rest of my family, especially on the Luke side, but I'm feeling lucky that I'm not pretty gray by now.

 We had enough snow to sled in the yard once.

 So cute, even when dribbling spit up like a vampire.

 We had special cupcakes for St. Patrick's day.

 We had some happy times.

 The Easter Bunny came.

 We flew kites.

 The elephants at the zoo got to spend some time outside.

 Silly kids on Easter Sunday.

 New skirts and ties for Easter.  Brandon picked the material for the ties and then I ordered the fabric from Rufflefabric.com.

 Lunch for April Fool's, the kids were excited when I told them they were having cupcakes for lunch.  Until they figured out that the cupcakes were meatloaf with mashed potatoes on top. The cupcakes on the right are real cupcakes. They're supposed to look like spaghetti and meatballs. They're really icing, a Ferrero Rocher chocolate and raspberry jam.

 William had a picture chosen to represent his school in the district art show.

We were pretty excited to see it in the library.

Other things that have happened, Grant has been rolling all over.  He likes to roll to the basket we keep hair brushes in or the lego bucket and empty them.  William and Caitlyn had a two week spring break, two weeks is a lot of time.  We have a couple of nice days, really nice with temps up to the 70s, and then it snows again.  On the nice days we walk to the park, on the cold days Britton and Bradley claim that it is nice enough to go outside.  That was a lot thrown out all at once.  I will honestly try not to do that again.  But I'm not making any promises.

Merry Christmas

At this time of year we start to review the events from the past year and count our blessings.  So here are some highlights from our family.

Brandon survived his first year at his new job.  He has enjoyed the challenges and also the people that he works with.  He made it through a marathon two weeks of twelve hour shifts at work because of a major wildfire.  We counted ourselves very lucky, knowing we weren't in danger, but saddened as we watched footage of houses burning.  He ran a couple of races with coworkers and managed to acclimate to the higher elevation during his daily runs.  Brandon drove with the kids to Las Vegas for his sister's wedding, a very long drive with just one parent.  Brandon spent most of the year serving in the Sunday school at church but was called to lead the music in Primary in September.  He was glad that the previous leader had taught all the songs for the program but he only had five Sundays to learn the music himself.  But he is enjoying working with the kids and our kids like seeing him in Primary.

Marybeth started the year with a couple of callings at church, in the Young Women's and also playing the organ.  The organ calling was a first, there were a lot of phone calls home for advice.  By February she was released from the Young Women's and called to lead the music in Primary.  This was also a new experience but she had a lot of fun teaching songs and trying to come up with ways to make it fun.  The highlight was probably the baking soda and vinegar.  She enjoyed taking the kids to all the nearby parks and made the drive back to Idaho during Spring Break.  Another long drive with just one parent, but Crystal was nice enough to let us break the drive up by stopping at her house.  Because of being pregnant Marybeth was unable to make it to the wedding this summer and she told she would only keep one of her callings at church after having the baby.  So in September she passed the baton for the Primary music to Brandon.  After baby she is just trying to make sure the kids get where they need to be and make sure no major damage is done while she is taking care of someone else.

William didn't mind having a short summer vacation because his birthday was during school, a first for him.  He is in the third grade and is really enjoying school.  He was very excited for his birthday, getting to go scouts and getting baptized.  Both sets of grandparents were able to make it out to share in his experience.  William declared that his favorite author is Rick Riordan and read all of the books in his Kane Chronicles series and the Heroes of Olympus series.  Of course now he has to find something else to read while he waits for the next book.  He loves to read.

Caitlyn was in charge of most of the playing at the beginning of the year and her younger siblings definitely miss her since she has started school.  She did enjoy having William home for the summer, swimming and playing at the spray park, and she filled in a reading chart to earn a prize.  She has since decided she likes to read.  She mastered the bike without training wheels, overcoming her fear of getting hurt since William got hurt learning to ride.  She started kindergarten and she loves it.  She was glad to have the many breaks that they have already had but she is really doing well.  She enjoyed her birthday, the best part might have been the field trip that ended up being on her birthday.

Britton thinks that she should be able to do everything William and Caitlyn do.  She has enjoyed going to Primary, she couldn't wait for that, and has definitely enjoyed having a parent there for most of the year.  She loved the pool this summer and keeps asking if we can go back to the spray park.  She has a great smile and knows exactly when to use it to her advantage.  She is learning how to get along while William and Caitlyn are at school, going to the park helps.  She waited very impatiently for her birthday but was happy it was on a Saturday because she got to eat cake on her birthday.

Bradley got to go to nursery at church the very first Sunday of the year.  It probably would have helped if he would have overlapped Britton a little.  He absolutely hated it for the first six months.  He has since decided that it is okay to go to nursery and actually asks to go.  This is good since the first little while was filled with tears, screaming, and Brandon spending a lot of time in nursery.  Bradley is definitely two and has figured out how to climb up on the counters to get things he wants.  Unfortunately he gets caught because he can't get down by himself.  He also thinks that he can do anything his siblings do and he has given up naps, mostly because he didn't wake up happy from naps and he wouldn't go to bed at night after naps.  He spends a lot of time giving loves to Grant.

Grant arrived right on time, a few days early would have been nice but he wasn't late.  He felt the need to surpass his siblings in weight and did it with style.  He is mostly happy, tolerates all the love for the most part, but really likes to be held.  He has a great smile and will sometimes giggle at the other kids.  He has been a great sleeper at night, a definite plus.

Our family has been very blessed this year.  We have definitely felt the love of our Heavenly Father and our Savior, Jesus Christ.  We are so thankful for this time of year, a time to reflect upon that love.  We hope that you all have a wonderful Christmas season.

Four is Awesome

Britton had a birthday.  She was so excited for her birthday this year, a little sad that she had to wait so long because she is the last birthday in the year.  Of course she is now asking when her next birthday is and asking when she gets to go to school.

 Our sweet Britton, she knows exactly when to turn on the charm and cuteness.

 Her favorite show late is Jake and the Neverland Pirates from Disney.  So she was excited to get her own Jake telescope and headband.

 Blowing out the candles, I was just glad that she didn't burn her hair because she got a little close to the candles before actually getting them out.

 She requested the green b.

 Enjoying cake and ice cream.

 The kids told Grant he couldn't have any cake, but he didn't seem to mind.  Guess he doesn't know what he is missing.

I convinced Britton to let me make her a Rainbow cake.  I followed the tutorial here, I think that she said yes because of the skittles on the top.  After I got it put together she asked me if I could make the rainbow just green, she was okay with all the colors but the green layer was her favorite.

Britton is a sweetheart, most of the time.   She definitely knows how to push her siblings button, especially Bradley's, but she is always ready with a hug and a kiss.  She is 100 percentile for both height and weight and is just a tad bit stubborn, which must come from Brandon's family right?  She is a big helper, the only thing she enjoys about William and Caitlyn being at school is that she gets to be such a big helper.  And she loves giving loves to Grant, which he tolerates.

More Halloween

I know that this is really late but that should be expected by now.  The kids made out like bandits in the candy department this year.  Between Boo at the Zoo, Trunk or Treat, and then our street they had a ton of candy.

Boo at the Zoo was freezing this year.  Last year it was pretty nice, even though it gets dark really early at the zoo cause it is on the side of the mountain.

 Captain America recognized their shirts.  There weren't many people who did.

 So cold the kids wore hats most of the time and their gloves.

 But luckily the hats were monster hats, so they were still in costume.

On Halloween we went to a party at the station and then drove like crazy to make it to the Trunk or Treat.  We barely made it before all the families closed up shop.  In all the craziness I didn't get any pictures of the kids.  I think Brandon took some but I'm not going to go and find them.

This is Grant's Halloween outfit that Brandon picked out a week or so before he was born and he outgrew it by the time Halloween came along.  The sleeves were so short on him.  But since he was mostly snug in the baby wrap no one saw the outfit.

So I made him a hat and he was a baseball.  We did get a few comments about that and it kept his head nice and warm.  I think he was the most comfortable at the zoo because he was so bundled.