Marinne is 12!

This pretty girl turned 12!  How am I old enough to have a child this age?

We had a family party on her birthday.  Ray grilled hamburgers and hot dogs, and Costco made the cake, since I was burned out with the cake making.

 She got her bedroom redone, a ticket to see Wicked, and other cute stuff from family and friends, but I think her favorite gift was being allowed to get a facebook account.

That Friday night, she had a friend party complete with Justin Bieber cupcakes and everything purple.

They made headbands, thanks to Aunt Natalli who provided the materials and made a bunch of flowers for them!

We played a "get to know you" candy game, and Just Dance on the Wii.

Marinne and a candle-lit Justin!

The Young Women came and decorated her room.  I'm excited for her to be in Young Women's!  She already got to do baptisms at the temple and go to girls' camp. 

Wasn't I just doing all of that for the first time? 

Happy Birthday Marinne!

Blake's 10th Birthday

Blake turned 10!  We had a friend party at the rec center.  We played the forehead "guess who I am" game, ate pizza and cake.

Then the kids got to go rock climbing!

It turned out to be a smaller group of kids than we planned, but they got more turns to climb, so it worked out.

The party favor was a nerds rope to go along with the climbing theme.

We also had a family party on his actual birthday. 

opening gifts

strawberry cheesecake

His favorite gift was a snake!  He named him Buster (after Buster Posey).

Girls' Night, Bridal Shower & Mother's Day

Ray took the boys to the fathers and sons campout, so of  course a girls' night was in order! 

 It was fun to have three sisters and my mom join Marinne and I.

 We got pedicures, went out to eat, then came back to my house for a movie and treats.

The next day was Bethany's bridal shower...

 The bride-to-be

 presents

 Aunt Natalli and Brynlee

 Marinne and Grandma

For Mother's Day, Ray made me a delicious breakfast in bed, and gave me these chocolate dipped strawberries!

We had a yummy dinner at mom's to finish off the day.  I am so grateful for her example.  She's the best mom ever!  I'm also blessed to be a mom to great kids!

I recently read Little Women for our book club, and this quote about moms stuck with me:

"You are the sunshine maker of the family."

(Marmee says this to Meg)

I think that's exactly what a mom should be, and it's definitely something I can work on and strive to become.

Happy Easter 2011

 coloring eggs

 Easter Rolls

 We've started making these every Easter morning.  You use thawed Rhodes dough wrapped around a large marshmallow.  You dip them in butter and sugar and cinnamon, put them in the fridge overnight and bake them in the morning at 350 for 15 min.  The marshmallow melts, and the rolls are empty, just like the tomb.  They are so yummy.  I won't say how many I ate.

 Easter Rolls and hard boiled eggs for breakfast

I was in charge of sharing time in primary, so I taught about the ressurection.  The kids were all very reverent, and having to teach was a blessing because I had to really internalize the true meaning of Easter.  I am so grateful for Christ and all He did for us.

Happy Easter!

Honors Orchestra

Marinne auditioned for the district honors orchestra and made it!  The performance was this weekend.  They sounded great, and it was a good experience for her.  I hope she will continue to play, because she is doing really well!

Pinewood Derby

Blake got first place out of 20 cars in the Pinewood Derby!

As you can see, he was pretty excited to be the big winner!

He named the car "Star Scream".  Ray is the Cubmaster, but I promise we won fair and square!

A police officer from our ward even came at the end to issue speeding tickets to the first, second, and third place winners. Nice job, Blake (and Dad and PaPa for helping)!

Spring Break

 We had a fun Spring Break!  Jordan and Karin and kids came from Oregon and stayed with us.  These pictures are from the spring training game.  It was very hot that day, but we still had fun.  Throughout the week, we ate way too much good food, went to a movie, went ice blocking with more friends, went to the science museum, played many games of Catan with Jordan and Karin, and enjoyed not having to be anywhere in particular!

 SISTERS!

 watching the game with Matthew and Isabelle

BROTHERS!