Summer is Coming

 I cannot wait for summer!!  I think I am more excited than the kids are about the idea of school being out and long, lazy, fun days ahead of us.  We started some of our summer adventures this month...fishing and putting up our swimming pool.  Now we look forward to the beach, camping, a vacation to Idaho, Sun River, and so much more!

Erika's Birthday

 Erika requested a beach theme with pineapples for her party this year.  She invited 7 friends to come over after school to hang out, eat dinner, and then head to the pool for some swimming.  After they were done swimming, she had two of those friends back over to our house to spend the night with her.  She had a wonderful birthday!  Her friends are great girls and so silly together...I loved having them over.  And a slumber party is much more relaxed after a few hours of swimming!

Griffey

 One of the most exciting thing that happened this spring was bringing home our new puppy, Griffey!  He is a golden retriever/lab mix and absolutely perfect.  He was very hesitant when we first brought him home, but only took a few days to warm up to us.  Now he's all over the place and loves the kids and the top of the stairs and ice cubes and being outside.  In the five short weeks that we've had him, he has lost most of his fuzzy puppy hair for a sleeker look, lost some of his puppy tummy and is starting to lose his teeth.  He is an excellent napper and sleeper and doesn't have many accidents anymore so to me he is perfect!  We can't wait to take him on our summer adventures this year.

April 1

 Easter and my birthday were on the same day this year so lots of celebrating commenced!  The kids got way too much candy at the church Easter egg hunt like always and then we celebrated at home with a bunny cake and more egg finding.

Catch Up from Spring Break

 Way back in March we had spring break!  We started the week long school break with a St. Patrick's Day party at the kids' school.  The party was hosted by Erika's 5th grade class as a way to raise funds for Outdoor School.  She helped with the refreshment table and declared herself too cool to do any of the Irish dancing.  But Laurel, Levi and I had a great time dancing!

On Monday, the kids had a very special outing with Aunt Sarah.  She took them to Toys R Us, bowling, and to spend the night in a hotel with a pool.  Then, on Thursday, she took them to Wings and Waves water park....all while Matt and I worked.  It's so nice having a teacher in the family!

Happy 11th Birthday!

I can hardly believe our beautiful girl is 11 years old!  Erika is such a blessing to our family.  She is lively and funny and smart and thoughtful and goofy.  She has amazing confidence in herself and her abilities but does not boast on them.  We love watching her grow, although there are some growing pains that she experiences and we experience with her.  Erika is so excited to grow up and have more responsibilities and privileges....a little too fast for what Matt and I are ready for.  She has some pre-teen mood swings already with crying and becoming upset over things that didn't used to bother her.  To her credit, though, she is good about reasoning out her moods and not letting them overtake her usual positive attitude.  Her stubborn side is coming out more and more, but at the end of every day, she still gives us a kiss and tells us she loves us.  I love spending more time with her and enjoy that she always asks to accompany me on trips to the store or other errands.  Our time together in the car seems to be where we do most of our heart to heart talks.  Erika is very inquisitive and wants to be sure she understands everything fully.  She continues to be a jump-in-first-ask-questions-later type of gal.  This spontaneous side of her is fun, but it also gets her in to trouble when we are trying to teach her patience and gratitude and humility.  She loves babies and toddlers and is counting down the days when she can begin babysitting!  The little kids at church love Erika and she really has a good relationship with them.  She doesn't like being second in anything and deems most things her brother and sister do now as "too young".  But she is still caught playing with them most days!  Erika loves crafting, Panda Express, playing with little kids, dessert, and being outside.  She does not like cleaning, scary movies, going to bed before 9:30, or Mexican restaurants.  Erika is a tall and lovely 11 year old who looks more like a 14 year old.  But she still has her childish charm and a warm and loving heart.  Our family is truly blessed by this lovely young woman who is too quickly growing up!  We love you Boo Bear!

1. What is your favorite color?  Blue
3. What is your favorite fruit?  Pineapple
4. What is your favorite movie? The Last Jedi
5. What is your favorite thing to eat for lunch? Grilled cheese sandwich
6. What is your favorite subject in school? Math
7. What is your favorite game? Monopoly
8. What is your favorite snack? Vanilla goldfish crackers
9. What is your favorite animal? Dog
10. What is your favorite song?  A Million Dream
11. What is your favorite book? Bailey’s Story
12. Who is your best friend? Kennedy
13. What is your favorite cereal? Vanilla Life
14. What is your favorite thing to do outside? Climb trees
15. What is your favorite drink? Coconut Ice
16. What is your favorite holiday? Christmas
17. What is your favorite restaurant?  Black Bear Diner
18. What is your favorite thing to eat for breakfast? Pancakes
19. What do you want for dinner on your birthday? Hot dogs
20. What do you want to be when you grow up? Actress or a teacher