What a man

I just have to brag on my sweet husband. Aaron left for Denver two weeks ago and I think some body snatchers got him because he came back even better than before. He has always been a nearly perfect husband, but he has just been awesome...doing laundry, dishes, writing me love notes, text messaging me all the time, and last night he brought home some beautiful Spring flowers for me. I don't know what happened, but I'm not questioning it. How lucky am I??

After dinner, it was so beautiful outside that we decided to go out and watch the kids play. We had to snuggle in a blanket because the air is still chilly, but it was great to be outside again. Aaron found some old fire crackers in our garage from last summer, so he decided to shoot them off for the kids. The kids loved it, Bruno hated it. He got so scared, he jumped up on the porch swing and cuddled with Brady. He was too cute to kick him off, so I just went with it. It's the simple things in life that truly bring the most joy.

Party Time

What a weekend! Despite the newly fallen foot of snow Anchorage got, we took the family up this weekend because Aaron played in a men's league hockey tournament, even though he had a messed up knee from the last tournament. We also planned to celebrate Brady and Jolee's birthdays with the rest of the family. Brady's was first with a big party at the magical world of Chuck E. Cheeses. Even though Brady might be a hair too old for this place now, we all had a great time despite the chaos of a hundred or so sugar-spiked kids running around. Even the grandpas were troopers, helping with baby duty and present hauling.

Brady got some great gifts from our wonderful family and friends. He especially loved all the new cooking supplies he got along with a new pocket knife he can use when we go camping this summer.

Jolee's party was on Saturday at our hotel pool. We ended up having to move the party to the Hawthorne after deciding to leave our first hotel on Friday. This is a story I will have to share another time. Let's just say that I have never seen Aaron lit up as I did on Friday. Anyway, the party was great with all the cousins and friends swimming together (along with about 10 girl scouts that showed up five minutes into the party). After wearing the kids out swimming, we had leftover cake from Brady's party (sorry Jolee, that's what happens when you're the fifth kid) and opened presents in the hotel's dinning area. It was really nice to have a big room all to our own. Jolee was just as I thought she would be with her cake as she didn't really want anything to do with it. We managed to get a little frosting on her lips, but that was about it. Jolee too got lots of great toys and outfits from our awesome family and friends and her first birthday was truly a memorable one.

We wish all of you could have been there to celebrate with us, but you are always with us in our hearts.

Who's the big girl now?

Check out these cheesy grins...




Brady's big 10 hands marking his double digit milestone.

Well, I figured out the photo glitch (see post below), so here are some pics from Jolee's first birthday. How this past year has flown. Our Jolee is truly a blessing to this family. She is our easy-going, oh so mellow, sweet, and happy baby. She isn't much of a mover yet, but she sure likes to talk and make herself heard over the chaos. She loves playing with her siblings and is truly a delight in our lives. I only hope I can say the same thing during her terrible two's, three's, and teenage years. Enjoy the pics from today. Pictures from the upcoming family parties at Chuck E Cheeses and the swimming pool will be posted asap.

Happy, Happy Birthday X 2

It was a big day in our family today. As of 7:35 this morning, Jolee turned one year old, and as of 2:48 this afternoon, we had another kid in the double digits with Brady turning the big 10. Today was mostly focused on Brady because he kind of got jipped in the birthday department last year, except for getting a baby sister for a present. We are planning on having a big family birthday celebration for both kids this weekend. Here are some pics from Brady's big day. We started the day with a huge pancake covered in strawberries, whipped cream, and 10 flaming candles.



Brady then left for school with his homemade strawberry pastries in tow to share with his class. They were a big hit compared to the usual boring cupcakes. After school and Haylee's dentist appointment, we headed home to get ready for Brady's big birthday date with Mom and Dad. The deal was that Brady could choose wherever he wanted to go for dinner, and he could order anything off the menu. We tried to go to the fanciest restaurant in town called "The Crossing", but forgot that they are closed on Mondays. We tried the second fanciest place in town, "Michael's", and they too are closed on Mondays. What a bummer. We ended up at a very nice place called "Frosos" where we knew Brady would be able to order his favorite: ribs. Here are some pics from our fun dinner...Brady couldn't finish his huge plate of ribs.

After our bellies were full, we headed off to Fred Meyer (one of the few places to shop in this small town) for Brady to pick out a birthday present. He ended up choosing a Wii game called "Boogie". It's something like karaoke, but looks like a lot of fun. Our final stop for the night was for Brady's free desert at Cold Stone (fyi, you can get on a birthday list through email and receive free ice cream coupons on your birthday). Brady ordered vanilla with Recees peanut butter cups, whipped cream, and Carmel mixed in. Good thing I am on a diet right now. For some reason, Blogger is not letting me add anymore photos for now, so I guess this is it. We had a great time with our Brady boy and we are so grateful we were blessed with him in our family. He truly is a celestial spirit and I can't wait to see what the next ten years bring for Brady.

What a day

It's around 8:00 am and I would be sleeping, but Chloee got me up to get her some "cereal in a bag". The kids are home because there is no school today, so they will be able to get their chores done and help me recover from the day I had yesterday...let me tell you about it.

I woke up at 6:15 to get Haylee and Brady ready for school; normally Aaron's job, but he is playing in a national men's league hockey tournament until Sunday. Thankfully, my neighbor and friend, Pepper, took them to school for me. Then I had to rush to get my workout in for the day. I have started a new 90 program called P90X, and boy is it tough. After an hour and a half of yoga (something my body is really not used to) I jumped in the shower and got Jaron, Chloee and Jolee ready for our crazy day.

Every year at the kids' school, the fourth grade class puts on a "Business Day" fundraiser for their class field trip to Seward. Well, Brady is a fourth grader this year and we were dealt the cake walk. I have been begging baked goods off of everyone in town for the last week, and thanks to Safeway in Kenai, we had plenty of cakes to use (even if they were three days old). After dropping the first load of cakes off to the school and Jaron to his class, I headed back to Safeway to get the second load of cakes, doughnuts, cookies, and cupcakes.

After three hours of collecting quarters, running the stereo, and drawing numbers, we gave all the cakes away and made a grand total of $186.04 for the class! Brady did a great job running his business and I survived the cake walk. Poor little Jolee just sat on the floor shredding napkins for half the time, but she loved watching all the action and being hauled around by all the kids. Jaron and Chloee had a great time spending their quarters at other booths, especially the Dino Jump.

The rest of the day was just as crazy with scouts, I had to make a bulletin board for Relief Society at the church, and finally getting my sugar-crashed kids to bed, but that's just another day in my life that I wouldn't trade for the world. We are having 2 big birthdays in our family on Monday, so hopefully I will not slack in my posting then. Off to do "Legs, back and Ab Ripper X", sounds scary I know.

Hooray! Hockey season is done!

We finally wrapped up Brady's season last week with his banquet. It was a great banquet, held at a middle school with roller blading, basketball, and rock wall climbing. Brady had a great season, finishing third in the state tournament. He did a great job as one of the goalies and got an MVP puck for his game against Palmer in the tournament. He has already started indoor soccer, but is looking forward to next season.

Of course, Chloee couldn't resist getting in on the picture action.

Here is Coach Aaron showing his skills on the rock wall. The kids were quite impressed. He was the only one of the four coaches who even tried the wall. Yup, he is still a kid and that's the way we like it.

Our JJ

Crazy hair day at school for the boys.

Any of you who have the pleasure of really knowing Jaron, will totally understand this post. I have gotten some great pictures of him recently and I couldn't resist writing about my crazy boy. I was speaking to his kindergarten teacher the other day and she was telling me that they were learning something new in class and when it "clicked" for Jaron, he just yelled out the answer with pure excitement. Normally, most kids would get in trouble, but she knows Jaron's "enthusiasm" for life and the outburst actually made her smile. Jaron's personality runs the gamut, but he is always good for a laugh. His newest phrase when Chloee is singing one of her many songs in her repertoire is "Chloee, you are ignoring me!!" I keep trying to tell Jaron that the word is Annoying, not ignoring.