That's a Wrap!

We survived our first year of public school!

I am excited about this summer and having Henry around a little more 

(because let's be honest, he wasn't gone for very long during the day).

Now we can take however long we want with our morning activities--like the park or library--instead of rushing home to get lunch and send Henry off to school.

We ended the school year with some fun activities.

Henry had his first choir performance. 

He liked practicing his dance for us and it was fun to see him enjoy the process of learning to perform.

I think he sang one song out of the eight that his class sang but he was very excited about the whole ordeal and we enjoyed watching him from a distance.

Maggie had her first ballet recital and we loved every minute of the whole recital.

Even Hazel sat through all fifteen performances without a battle.

Maggie's group was the youngest group and they were darling.

Maggie started in one spot in her line and ended the dance in another.

When I asked if she was supposed to change spots she said, "No, but I wanted to be by Jenny."

Four-year-old dancers can pull off things like that without penalty.

Henry played tee ball and I coached.

It was a great experience although I question if Henry would do better with a different teacher.

This was Henry's first experience and he learned a lot and progressed throughout the season, consistently hitting the ball off of a pitch.

Fielding is a different story. I had to tell him to stand up about a half a dozen times each inning.

His favorite part was the treat.

I enjoyed working with the kids and was happy when the season ended.

Henry ended Kindergarten with a test and a lot of positive feedback.

He got 293/296 on his test and buzzed right through it.

Mrs. Reid told me how he remembers a lot of details and how much she enjoyed him in her class.

A mom Henry's classmate who helped with reading said Henry was mature.

It's fun to receive such great feedback.

I feel like this was our first really positive experience with school and I'm grateful for Henry's growth and progress and have enjoyed seeing him be so happy about going to school each day.

Henry got to meet his first grade teacher and see who will be in his class next year.

He keeps asking if he gets to go school and is so excited for first grade!

But for now, we're off for some summer fun!

Visitors

One visitor asked what my favorite thing about living in Hurricane is.

My first response was, "That Brendon is so happy."

But after thinking about it and selfishly looking for my own joy in living here I thought of our visitors. 

We have had so many people come through town to stay with us.

Even if it were simply the number of times we have seen grandparents, that would be enough.

But it doesn't stop there.

We've had siblings, aunts and uncles, and friends come to our home.

And we love every visitor!

Although my home is far from put together, I have enjoyed hosting and being with everyone.

We've gone on hikes, jeep rides, and the theatre, 

We've experienced some not-so-fine Hurricane dining and some fun outdoor adventures.

One of my favorite things is always when the kids are down for the night and the talking and/or game-playing begins.
But equally as fun is seeing the kids have fun with their cousins and friends.

Hazel Bug is Two

Oh man, this girl is FUN!

Happy, playful, funny, spunky, energetic.

We all love her and she loves us all.

(I vaguely recall writing that when she was born.)

Hazel is learning to talk, use the toilet, and is beginning to understand rules.

She is a momma's girl but loves when "dada" comes home and to play with her siblings.

She can be shy at times when she is unfamiliar with people but is the complete opposite at home.

She loves playing with babies, cars, balls, dinosaurs, and books.

When it's time to take a nap, she often wants to "pay" (play).

Whenever she hears a voice of a grandparent, she gets excited.

She is the sweetest thing when it comes to babies.

Whenever she sees a baby, she likes to touch it or give the baby a hug.

Her hugs can be violent at times, but she is quickly learning to be soft.

"Oh, nigh" (nice), she says whenever she offers a hug.

Another love of hers is candy, or should I say, "Can-ee."

She especially loves "Cucker" (suckers).

She will sneak candy when she can and it always makes her happy.

She connects with every one in our family for different reasons.

Mom is her go-to. Her favorite buddy. 

Dad is her playmate when she wants to be tossed or thrown in the air or tickled relentlessly.

Henry is her wrestling and running buddy.

They have similar personalities and are often laughing together.

Maggie is her talking buddy and her favorite word to say. 

We hear, "Maaaggieeeee!" a lot these days.

Overall, she brings us all a lot of laughter.

I love when Hazel thinks she's Mom and says, "Maggie! Two...free...on" (two...three...one)!

Today while she and I were sitting in the bathroom, Henry and Maggie were loudly playing together and Hazel yelled a couple incomprehensible sentences and then said, while pointing her finger, "Nigh" (nice)! 

 I congratulated Brendon and I for keeping Hazel alive until 2-years-old,

then quickly gave angels and God the credit.

She survived a 30-piece-magnet-removing surgery and chipped her two front teeth.

She is busy and brave.

This is typical Hazel. We went on a hike and the older kids decided to play on a tree.

Hazel and I were walking and she sat in the sand and she quickly decided to eat some...

then she figured--why not--let's swim in it...

then thought she'd take the plunge and roll in it.

Oh, crazy Hazey!

I love the dimple on her right cheek, her infectious smile, and her cuddles.

She loves to lay on a shoulder and tuck her arms underneath her belly and often wiggles her bum.

She is a healthy, happy girl and we feel so blessed to have her love and laughter in our home.

Our family is happier with her around. A little crazier, but definitely happier.

Life is moving so quickly.

Christmas was yesterday according to my blog.

Since then, we celebrated Henry's sixth birthday, Easter, 

and Hazel's second birthday.

My heart is full of love and gratitude,

happiness and even joy.

Brendon and I often look at each other and say,

"We are so blessed," or

"Our kids are pretty darn cute," or

"Our life is amazing."

The blessings feel like we don't have room to receive them.

My recent prayers to recognize the Lord's hand is being answered.

I am enjoying this phase of life.

This don't-have-to-get-ready-till-noon phase of life.

We have a lot of lazy mornings these days.

Sometimes we cuddle, other times the kids play while I read in bed, 

and now and then we actually get ready and do whatever we want until noon.

My kids are ridiculously cute together.

I never anticipated them loving each other as much as they do.

Recently Henry had a headache that was really bothering him.

He was lying on the floor moaning, asking me to get Hazel.

I would bring Hazel to Henry and she would lay on him, laughing.

Henry would smile and laugh, too.

Hazel would leave and Henry would go back to his sad, sick state and ask for Hazel.

She would go back to him and hug him, wrestle him, laugh with him

and he would hug her and smile with her.

And then she'd leave again and he would lie on the floor and moan, "Hazel...Hazel, come here."

Hazel has her really cute moments with Maggie, too.

Today they were both sitting on my lap and Hazel was touching Maggie's face 

talking to her and they would both laugh together.

Henry and Maggie are great buds, too.

Henry learned to ride his bike last month so now Maggie has a friend to ride around the loop with.

The two are usually together.

Nothing brings me more joy than seeing my kids interact with so much love towards each other.

They complete each other.

Christmas 2015

What a great Christmas!

It was our first time living close to both families and we made the most of it while still managing to have some of our own family time.

Before Christmas, we wanted to be sure to go to the Pitt Family Christmas Party so we headed down to California. We enjoyed our time with Gramma Sheryl, Aunt Randi, and the Shirley family. The Christmas party was fun. One of Brendon's aunts saw Henry and exclaimed, "Hi Henry!" Henry ran back to me while saying, "Mom, how does she know my name?!?"

We had great food and enjoyed a visit from Santa, which admittedly I wasn't very excited about, but it was a highlight. Henry and Maggie were both excited and loved their gift (TY toys). While Santa was on the stage with the other kids, Hazel kept running up to the stage to see Santa, but when someone lifted her up when it was her turn, she got scared and started running away. I sat on his lap with her and she did fine. She also loved her gift. The adults played a fun Christmas exchange game and everyone had a good laugh.

These are our Santa pictures from the library.

We came home for a few days before Christmas and enjoyed our family time. We had a Christmas Eve feast and drove around to see the lights. Christmas morning was a lot of fun. The kids enjoyed all of their gifts. The weather warmed up enough recently for the kids to enjoy jumping on the new trampoline. 

 

After Christmas we headed up to Orem for a week to enjoy being with my family. While there the adults went to The Roof which is always a treat. We played a lot of Nintendo 64 (Dr. Mario and Pokemon), built a snowman, slept a lot, and the kids watched a lot of movies. Brendon and I got a little date and went shopping together. Our final hoorah was when all of my siblings gathered together to celebrate Christmas, the New Year, and Ella's adoption all in one night. 

We had a great Christmas filled with a lot of family.

Happy Thanksgiving/Birthday!

This year Brendon was on call during Thanksgiving.

So I invited my family to come to our house for a feast.

Before my family came down, Gramma Sheryl stopped by on her way up to Provo.

The kids read books with her and played with her.

Maggie got a birthday gift from her and was content playing Barbies for the next several days.

I especially enjoyed that Gramma was here to play with her.

After the kids went to bed, we had some good talks like we usually do.

After a couple days, Gramma Sheryl was off and preparation for my family began.

My older sister called me that day to tell me she and her family were able to come down last minute 

(thanks to her sweet nurse friends who covered her shifts). 

She surprised my parents and it was a treat for everyone to have them with us.

It was a fun weekend for me:

lots of cooking, family time, and game playing.

All of my favorite things together.

It also happened to be Maggie's birthday on Thanksgiving.

We celebrated her birthday the night before with cake and presents.

She was thrilled with every gift she received,

even and maybe especially the Lucky Charms Grandma Sue wrapped.

We soaked in our family for three short days.

Gramma Sheryl returned to us on her way back home.

And then the holiday was over.

Margaret is now four years old.

I love and appreciate her presence in our home so much.

I'm not just saying that. Nearly every day I feel appreciation for that girl.

She is a peacemaker and has righteous desires.

She hates when I start counting to five because she'll do whatever I ask when I start counting.

She'll let out an irritated sound and follow my command.

Maggie is a friend to Henry and Hazel.

She loves any one-on-one time with Mom or Dad.

She adores her grandparents (and they adore her).

One thing that I adore is when Maggie gets excited about something.

She'll typically ask me something like, "Mom, can we (do something she wants to do) later?"

"Yes," I'll say. She'll let out a high-pitched, soft, "Yay!"

I wish I could get it on camera. She does it often.

Maggie learned to ride a bike without training wheels after we got her a bike for her birthday.

It was a strategic parenting move to motivate Henry to learn to ride his bike.

She loves it and enjoys being outside on any of her riding toys.

After reading about Maggie at age three, she is still the same Maggie with improvements.

There has been progress in the tantrum department. 

We still argue about the clothes she wears, but not as often.

She is still independent which is so helpful
and she is still my sweet girl.

I keep thinking, "I need to write about Maggie at this phase," because I love every ounce of her.

Maybe that's what happens when you get to spend a lot of time with a child.

I am so grateful for her temperament, her kindness, and her obedience.