Vegas peeps

Part 2 of our Vegas Thanksgiving trip...

Playing a "friendly" game of Aggravation with Aunt Saundra and cousin Jill.

Connor and his cousin Jill. They are so much alike, it's a little bit creepy.

Lily and her Uncle Mike. She spent the majority of the week crawling, jumping and sitting all over him. He was a good sport and took the torture like a man.

Lily and her Auntie Etling, whom she absolutely adores! Etling provides for Lily all of the things that I don't---fashion, girly talk and shopping. Wish they lived closer so they could have girl time more often.

Happy snuggle time with Uncle Mike. So cute!

Thanksgiving 2011

Thanksgiving in Las Vegas! What a great time we had seeing all of our family in Vegas. We got to meet brand new Baby Jeter, have Chelsea take some adorable family pics (stay tuned), and spend lots of quality time with Grandma and Grandpa and Uncle Mike and Auntie Etling. We're so blessed to have a family that we truly love and enjoy spending time with. Thanks for the great holiday! Here's some highlights....

Gettin' ready to chow down!

3 handsome guys!

Eatin' pie! Darrin had asked Connor to get him a piece of pie. And Connor, being the hilariously snarky boy that he is, decided to bring him a piece as big as a plate and a huge serving fork to eat it with. Well, we showed him---we ate it all, with the fork!

Lily and her Grandma Ruth. These two played board games all week long, and I don't think Lily ever got sick of it!

Seriously? Are you kidding me? Could they be more darling?

The answer is no.

Halloween 2011

Not a bunch of fanfare this year. Lily decided that Lucy absolutely had to dress up as Super Dog. But because Lucy is a girl, Lily was calling her "Krypta" instead of "Krypto" (funny!). Of course, if Lucy was Super Dog, then Lily had to be Super Girl. And we had to drag Lucy along on all of our Halloween adventures, including the ward Trunk-or-Treat. Basically, the poor dog was just a prop for Lily's costume. But they did look awfully cute.

Connor, in true pre-teen fashion, is over the whole dressing up thing. He's in it 100% for the candy. But I tell him he has to dress up as something if he wants to get candy. So, once again, he opted for baseball player. Easy, cheap and he can get all the candy he wants!! I didn't get many pictures, because my camera was in the process of breaking (but Darrin got me a new one for Christmas, yah!). Here's the few I got:

This one was taken by a guy at the ward Trunk-or-Treat. I had to put it on here because I think it's hilarious that it looks like Lucy is scanning the horizon for disasters to avert! She's such a super dog!!

Pumpkin Patch-October 2011

So the week before Halloween, Lily and I joined Michael, Devyn and the baby girls on a fun trip to Tanaka Farms in Irvine. Tanaka is a big working farm, that creates a pumpkin patch during Halloween. There's a corn maze, tractor rides, petting zoo (which we skipped), veggie picking and, of course, PUMPKINS! Every year Lily is so excited to pick out her very own pumpkin and this year was no exception. I'm so glad she hasn't outgrown her love of things like this (unlike her older brother :( ) . The highlight of the trip was the "pumpkin cannon". It was exactly what it sounds like. A huge cannon that shot pumpkins 100s of feet into the air and about the distance of a football field. So cool! I hope Lily is still game next year! Here's some pics:

The Pumpkin Queen on her Pumpkin Throne

Picking some vegetables (which, incidentally, she won't eat).

Mommy/Auntie with two of her favorite girls on the tractor ride.

The hugest shaved ices EVER!! Truthfully, this is what excited the girls the most....should've saved the admission and just gone out to ice cream :)

Cousin Love....so darling

Cousin Fun!

We went to spend a day with Devyn and the girls and we all went to this fun little waterpark in their neighborhood. The girls had a blast playing with the fountains and running around like crazy people. It was actually hard to get good pictures because they wouldn't stop moving! Can I just say again how grateful I am that we live so close to each other and that we all love each other so much!! Go family!!!

Summertime...

This is pretty much what our banister looks like all summer long...you know you're jealous.

Faith in God!

Connor has managed to make us feel even more proud of him than usual...he does that all the time! Last month, he finished all the requirements to earn his "Faith in God" award at church. This is an award that you start working on at the age of 8. There are 5 different categories and you need to do at least two of the requirements from each category every year. Then when boys turn 11, they do some special requirements having to do with the Priesthood. Our little guy has worked on this diligently since he turned 8 and finished over half a year ahead of schedule! We are constantly amazed at Connor's diligence in any task he puts his mind to. And we're especially proud that he has such a desire to learn and grow spiritually. We love you Connor!

Coolest overnighter ever!!

Lily's Girl Scout troop earned a lot of money selling cookies (thanks to everyone who helped out on this)! With part of their earnings, they got to participate in a Camp SeaWorld overnighter. I was lucky enough to attend as a chaperone. The girls got to go to some really awesome behind the scenes demonstrations and activities. They learned a lot and had fun doing it! Our group got to sleep in the Wild Arctic exhibit with the Beluga Whales. Can I just say--freezing!! But so worth it, because it was one of the most amazing experiences we've had. I'm so glad Lily got to participate, it's something she'll remember forever.

This is where we slept. It was so amazing to wake up to this sight!

Feeding seals!

Participating in an activity that demonstrated the use of "blubber". The girls first put their fingers in a tub if ice water and held them there to see how fast it gets cold with just the fat under their skin protecting it. Then they put these molds around their fingers (I think it was model magic) to act as the blubber and insulate their fingers from the cold. Learning in action baby!

Our troop and our older sister troop. They got to dress up one of the girls as a polar bear, while learning all about them. Super fun and cute too!

Rite of Passage

We're all familiar with the many rites of passages our children go through--first smile, first tooth, first steps....this year, Lily had an important rite of passage for our family--her first Comic-Con!! We all went down this year to preview night, and the kids had so much fun looking around at all the cool stuff. Lily was so excited to be old enough to go with everybody else....she wasn't so excited about how crowded it was. My little junior hoarder loved all the free swag and she spent a lot of time picking out the exactly perfect shirt to purchase--we had to criss cross to 3 different booths (all on opposite ends of the convention hall) to find the exact Justice League shirt in her size, but it was worth it!!

Lily and her "new favorite" superhero. She's outgrown The Flash and has decided that The Bats is her new guy! Mommy couldn't be any prouder.

Her awesome Justice League bag that's as big as her...filled to the brim with swag. She loves "stuff" and pretty much picked up anything that she could, even if she had no idea what it was.

Not the best picture, but...the only one we got. This is us in front of the Tardis. For lame people who don't know, the Tardis is the spaceship that The Doctor flies around in on our family fave show "Dr. Who". My kids were super stoked to see it, but it was so crowded we couldn't get the whole thing in the shot. Upon seeing it, Lily said "Oh my gosh, wouldn't it just be so amazing if David Tennant walked out of there right now?!" David Tennant is our favorite actor to play the Doctor in the show. Yes, we raise nerds.

4th of July-2011

We had such a great Independence Day! We all drove up (or is it down) to Devyn and Michael's house for the day. We went swimming, ate A LOT of food, played games, went to the most darling little street fair, and of course, watched the fireworks. I couldn't think of a better way to celebrate this great country that we are privileged to live in than to spend the day with the people you love. Here's some pics of the adorable kiddos:

Why does Lily always look like she's hatching some sort of plot?

Cutest cousins ever!

I told Connor to pretend that he liked his sister...how did he do?

"FREEDOM!"

5th Grade Graduation!!

Connor is now officially in middle school (sob, sniff, groan...)! On June 7th, he graduated from 5th grade and ended his very distinguished elementary school career. That was the last day Connor and Lily will EVER attend the same school at the same time (so sad for me). They had a cute (but too long) ceremony at the school. Connor earned the highest academic award (The Presidential Gold award) and received his "diploma". It was a very bittersweet day for me, but it couldn't have come any quicker for Connor. He's so excited to be moving on. And, as always, we have the greatest confidence that he will be a smashing success in everything he does!!

Looking handsome as ever with his classmates before the ceremony begins.

Receiving his Gold Academic award from Principal Legg.

Isn't he the picture of enthusiasm?

Proud and happy family!

We love you Connor!!

Random Sharing

My kids are funny and quirky, to the extreme sometimes. I wouldn't have it any other way. Examples:

Connor--
While we were all in the car running errands the other day, Darrin and I were discussing the BBC show "Dr. Who". The kids, having never heard of or watched the show, were asking who Dr. Who was. We briefly explained. Then Connor says in a mock English accent "Ah yes, Dr. Who and his associate Professor Someone. I know them well." So stinking funny and clever. We just laughed and laughed.

Lily--
We all know her quirkiness knows no bounds. Lately she's taken to reading in bed every night before she goes to sleep (I have NO IDEA where she picked up such a notion :-)) That's not the quirky part. Here it is. Her choice of reading material? Of course, "The Boy Scout Handbook". I kid you not. Every night. She loves it. ????

Cutest Birthday Girl Ever

Lily officially turned 7 on April 29th! What a fun birthday she had. Started with a breakfast of bacon (her favorite food on the planet) and pancakes. Daddy and Mommy came into her classroom and brough Pat & Oscar's breadsticks for her class. She had a Girl Scout meeting and got all of her heard-earned cookie rewards. She had a few friends over for cupcakes, movies, games, dancing, pizza, and a sleepover. Then on Sunday, we had a subdued family birthday dinner with Devyn, Michael and the girls. In true Lily fashion, she loved every second of it and was so excited for every gift she got. She's such a darling girl, full of love and compassion and our family would be miserable without her. Happy Birthday Lily-Bug!!

Lily's and her friend at school were "birthday twins". They thought it was the coolest thing!

Lily, Sydney, Kailin and Malia. Having fun and making SO MUCH NOISE!!

Cupcake with purple (her current fave color) icing!

Yay!! New books from Grandma.

My kids just don't like to do traditional birthday cakes. Lily's choice this year was an ice cream pie, with chocolate rice krispie crust. It was delicious!!!

Spring Photo Shoot 2011

Just a preview of some gorgeous pics Vanessa took of the kiddos at Carlsbad Flower fields. Can I just say again that my kids are really really ridiculously good looking.

Spring Break 2011

We had such a great Spring Break this year!! We kicked it off with a bang---Disneyland! And not just an ordinary visit. We were lucky enough to meet Uncle Cory, Aunt Amanda and their brood AND Grandma Lori for a fun-filled day. It was hotter than heck and super crowded (duh...Spring Break, what did we expect?), but we still had such a wonderful time. The kids and I and Devyn and Jane drove down early in the morning so we could meet them right at opening, and we stayed for 14 hours. It is always so so fun to see all the cousins together. I wish we could make this an annual tradition!

Con and Lily then got to have a two-day sleepover at Auntie and Uncle Michael's house. They don't generally do anything crazy or out of the ordinary, but it's still my kids' favorite thing to do. Apparently Auntie and Michael make EVERYTHING fun. And Jane is always in hog heaven to have her peeps around. She would pretty much hold Connor's hand all the time if he was down.

When Andrew and Jen were here, they had some leftover tickets to the San Diego Zoo that they left for us to use. So Devyn and I and the kids spent a fun day at the Zoo. It had been awhile since we'd gone, so it was really fun and there were a couple new habitats that were amazing. Jane was less than impressed (but still such a good girl), but Avery absolutely loved seeing all the animals. It kind of took us off guard. She would point and smile and just stare and stare. It was so darling.

All in all, such a fun Spring Break. Connor was definetely ready to have a break from school, and I was definetely ready to have a break from school schedule. Although I have to say, I am always glad when they go back to school too!! :-)

Connor, Logan and Caden on the Rocket Ships at Disneyland! Caden was the pilot and they spent the entire ride up as high as they could get!

Lily, Jane and Maddi waiting for the Princess Coronation show at Disneyland. They learn to wave and curtsy and dance like princesses. Not that they needed any lessons on being princesses, look how adorable they are!!

At the entrance to the Sun Bear Forrest. Avery's so happy to be there! Notice Jane clinging to Connor's hand...so funny.

On the guided tour bus, waiting to take off. Again, notice Jane attached to Connor like life itself depends upon it. She sure loves her some Con and vice-versa.

Darling kids who I love more than life itself!!