The Big Oh-6

Yes, I realize that this is over a month late...but better late than never, right? On April 29th, our adorable little Lily-Bean turned 6 years old. We just can't even put into words how much we love the Lily, she is the apple of everyone's eye! She's funny and cute and spunky and just about the most tender-hearted little thing you could ever meet. She idolizes her big brother and would do anything for him. She is a Mama's girl, but she definetely loves her some Daddy time as well. She basically just loves being with her family. She's obsessed with dogs. She loves Flash (the superhero from the Justice League). She loves school and all her friends. She is honestly one of the most laid back and pleasant little kids I have ever had the pleasure to meet. And she's all mine! Lily opted for a fun Family Movie night this year-we all had to go see "Furry Vengeance", don't even ask about it, it was so bad I can't even talk about it. But she loved it and I guess that's all that counts. We also had a family birthday dinner with the Manns and the Olsons. They ate pizza and breadsticks and had cake and ice cream, it was just super fun. Lily opened up her presents, her favorite one being Season One of the Justice League (she literally watches at least one episode every day). She got some cool new games and a new dog from her friend Raiden, which is good because she hardly has any dogs and she was getting lonely (that's sarcasm in case you're confused, I think her stuffed dog count is somewhere around 25-30 right now). Any how, here's so pics of the blessed event. Enjoy.

Lily and Sydney getting ready to bust into some cake!

Lily on her actual birthday day. That's her big "6" balloon in the background. I brought that to school along with Pat & Oscar's breadsticks for her class (her choice!). That's her new dog "Golden" that was a gift from her friend Raiden.

Opening up the biggest hit of the night. Lily loves her some Justice League. She's awesome.

And of course, a "Bolt" birthday cake. I didn't have time to make Lily the exact cake she wanted, so I overspent on this little beauty out of guilt. Lily loved it so much, but I don't think she ever actually ate any of it.

So Lily got the video game "Just Dance" from Darrin and I. It's such a fun game that the entire family can play. Here's all the kids, including Jane, dancing their hearts out for the first time. Can you tell that Sydney Olson has this game at home? She looks like she's center stage just belting it out and dancing away! That's why I'm laughing so hard during the video.

The Only Cub I Love!

While my Mom and Dad were here,they were able to see 3 of Connor's baseball games. One of which was, by far, the most exciting game of the season. They were able to see Connor pitch (he was beyond AMAZING), get a couple really nice hits and make some solid plays in the field. As you all know, I pretty much NEVER get tired of watching Connor play baseball. He's progressed so much since last season and loves playing so much. I wish everybody could be here to enjoy it like I do. Here are some pics my parents took while they were here.

Look at that swing!

He is so intense, I love it!

I wish I could go out on the field to record the cute little sound he makes when he releases the ball. It's this awesome grunt, it reminds me of Jake Peavy. It's adorable.

Random Lily and Jane pics....

We had such a fun week last week. Darrin's parents came for 4 days during Spring Break and hung out with us. Then my parents came for a week, and we were able to celebrate my Dad's and Jane's birthday while they were here. Needless to say, we got a lot of pictures, too many to share, but here a few that I particularly enjoyed.

Since my parents weren't going to be here for Lily's birthday, they brought her presents and let her open them early. This is a Dalmation Pillow Pet, something Lily's been salivating over since she first saw the commercial 6 months ago. It was a huge hit and she is sleeping with it almost every night.

Oh man, she couldn't be any cuter. The green with her hair makes her look so Irish. I love it!

Every once a decade, a picture is taken of me (DeEtte) that I don't hate. At Jane's birthday party, she decided that Di-Ti (again, that's me, that's how she pronounces "Auntie") needed to wear Minnie Mouse ears. I readily agreed and sported these bad boys for over an hour to appease my little darling.

So happy with all her peeps and Mickey Mouse ballons...her party was so much fun and I never get tired of watching this little angel!

Pinewood Derby 2010

It's derby time again! Last Wednesday was the Cub Scouts annual pinewood derby. This year, Connor decided he wanted Kevin Levin's awesome green muscle car from the cartoon show Ben 10 (awesome!). Ben 10 is a family favorite, we record every episode and watch them together, so it was really fun to watch the car take shape. Darrin (and Connor) did a great job and the car looked great! We didn't win any prizes (or any races) but Connor was a terrific sport and had fun cheering on his fellow cub scouts. Here's a couple shots of my gorgeous guy and his cool car.

Let's try this again...

Some of you might remember the last time Lily tried soccer. It was a couple years ago and it was a bit of a disaster. She refused to play in the games, and spent the whole time holding her coach's hand and walking up and down the field. But she's been asking to play soccer again, so we thought we'd give it another go. We went with an easy, no competition, program this time around. Figured we'd wait and see if she actually likes it before we shell out the big bucks an a competitive league. Her friend Sydney is doing it with her, and so far, she's having a blast. They have a little mini game, against their own teammates, at the end of each week and that's just about perfect for Lily. She feels like she's really playing, but doesn't have the crazy stress of tons of kids out on the field trying to get the ball. So...maybe she'll be ready for a real league next spring, we'll see. Here's some pics my Dad took of her first practice.

Double Digits Baby!

It's official, Connor has now passed into the land of double digits. I can't believe my little baby is 10 years old! It seems like just yesterday, we were driving home from the hospital (at 25MPH...first kid) with him all bundled up like a peanut in that gigantic carseat. What an adventure it's been so far. And although Connor seems to have hit his teenage rebellion phase a little early and I'd glady throw him off the nearest pier at least twice a day...he is a truly wonderful son and a blessing in our lives. He's smart, funny, talented and most importantly-he wants to please, not only us, but his Heavenly Father as well. That's about all you could ask for in a son! As we watch Connor grow, we are constantly amazed at his capacity for learning and progressing in whatever he strives to do. We have no doubt that Connor will achieve great things in this life and we count ourselves as blessed to be able to be a part of that. Our family wouldn't be the same without him. Happy Birthday Connor! We love you!

FYI: This is almost always how I picture Connor in my head. Look at those baby blues and that beautiful smile!

Last Wednesday was a banner day for Connor. First-he got contacts! He's been patiently waiting for us to decide that he was old enough to handle contacts and he was SO excited. He's already a pro at putting them in and taking them out and he feels like a new man! And truthfully, doesn't he look so much cuter without the glasses? You can actually see his gorgeous eyes!
Second-he earned his Webelos badge (and before he even turned 10)! Connor is very goal-oriented and works hard to achieve any goal he's set. And since his competitive nature is out of control, he usually works as hard as he can to be the first one done with anything he's working on. Now we have an entire year to earn his Arrow of Light before he moves on to Boy Scouts. Way to go Con!

That's right, it's baseball season again! Doesn't he look adorable in his uniform, even if it is a Cubs uniform (ugh!)? Connor's already planning a hat-burning ceremony at the end of this season. And speaking of baseball (games, not uniforms), I wish you all could have been at last night's game. Connor was our starting pitcher. Holy Wow! Three scoreless innings of greatness, that's what it was! The third inning, he struck three in a row out, he only threw 11 pitches. At one point, he threw a change-up that was so gorgeous, people from the other team whistled! It was a glorious thing to behold! The coach pulled him after three innings because his pitch count was still low enough that he could start Saturday's game as well. It was amazing! I went to mutual right after his game and told everyone I knew how totally awesome my son was. Then, for good measure, I began stopping random strangers in the hallway and telling them too. Yeah, that's right, I'm that mom.

Connor says TTFN to Disneyland

As promised, a post of Connor's last trip of the year to our favorite place. We're really gonna miss Disneyland, but they say absence makes the heart grow fonder. We'll definetely be super excited the next time we get passes. Until then...a few of our last moments together.

On the way out of the park for the night. It was raining, you can see the bottom 6 inches of my pants are soaking wet. We still had a blast, look we're even smiling-and this after 12 hours in the park!

Connor in line for Thunder Mtn.-the scary dinosaur fossil. He's so over Thunder Mtn. I mean, he still likes it, but it's just not the same rush as Space Mountain or California Screamin. He's getting too old for my liking. But he is super fun to go to an amusement park with now.

Dad and Connor under the Thunder Mtn. lantern.

Connor convinced Darrin to go on the river rapids ride at CA Adventure even though it was NOT WARM. Connor barely got wet at all, Darrin wasn't so lucky. That's love.

We like this crazy illusion. They taper the street to make it blend in with the picture behind it. It's super cool. This was right after Darrin tricked Connor into going on Hollywood Tower of Terror. Connor was super brave but it would be an understatment to say that he hated that ride. I had to buy him a Churro afterwards to make up for the trauma.