happy 4th!

We had such an awesome 4th of July!  We actually started a day early by heading to a nearby town for their fireworks show on the 3rd!  It was so much fun!  The 4th of July is my second favorite holiday (after Christmas), and I love making it a big deal.  I take my firework viewing very seriously, and this year, our spot, and the show did not disappoint!  While we were waiting, Krew and I took some pictures while daddy and the twins played ball

On the 4th, we had a bunch of friends over for a BBQ and an epic fireworks show in our driveway.  It was such a hot day that most of our playing and vising was done inside, but it cooled down enough to enjoy the fireworks at dusk.

It was just exactly what I wanted my 4th of July to be like!

my lil' sluggers!

Kade and Ky's T-ball season is officially over. I love being a mom to these little athletes, whether it is T-Ball, or soccer like last year, or swimming lessons.  It is so fun to watch them learn how to move their little bodies to get them to do what they want, to watch them practice something over and over until they get it, to watch them be a little bit competitive, to watch their faces light up when they hit the ball sooo far or run really fast, and being outside to enjoy all of it!  

I can't wait to see what sport they decide to play next year, and every year after!

mickey and the olympics

 I"m a sucker for classic Mickey Mouse.  And I'm a sucker for my baby's smiles.  You may remember this photo shoot I did in Krew's adorable Mickey Mouse onesie that my parents sent him.  Well, the outfit is much to small now, but luckily the hat still fits.  So, impromptu photo shoot it is!

 Oh, and I bet you didn't know that Krew was going out for the Olympics?  Look at that form!

 See how tricky my little guy is? He's got mad skills!

happy 8 months krew!

 My baby is officially growing up too fast!  8 months seems way older than, say 6 months, and so much closer to one year!  I seriously wish time would slow down a little so I can enjoy my baby before he becomes a toddler!

 He is such a happy baby, who loves to eat!  (Can't you tell that by looking at his cheeks, and tummy, and thighs?!)  He crawls (mostly with his belly on the floor, although he can get up on all fours) everywhere, and so fast.  He loves to crawl into the bathroom when his brothers leave the door open (ew!) .  He has learned how to honk everyone's noses, likes to bite his mommy's chin (but not daddy's because it is too scratchy!), and in the past month has really started to laugh.  Before, I always said that he didn't give up his laughs easily, and it was kind of a fun challenge to see if I could find something to make him giggle.  But now he laughs all the time, and it is such a wonderful sound to have in our home.

 He loves to play with his toes, so I could not get a good picture of how his thighs are getting even juicier and more plump!

 He fooled us last week by sleeping through the night 5 nights in a row, which is so not like him. In fact, before that he hadn't slept through the night at all for months.  But the 6th night he was up several times and has settled back into his eating once each night routine, which I am actually fine with (most nights!)

 He got another little haircut this past week, after these pictures were taken, which has helped keep the hair out of his eyes.  But don't worry, he still has those awesome dark tips, and curls around his ears.

 I love this little guy!!

fun runnin'

To continue the tradition of Kade and Ky running in kids' races, last weekend the boys ran another 1/2 mile race put on by our congregation at church.  Their first race was a few weeks after they turned two, then they ran another when they were three, then two last year when they were five, and now this one as six year olds.  This may lead you to believe we do this because we are a running family.  Not so.  Perhaps I "make" my children run races because running has always been something I wish I liked, but truthfully think that running might actually kill me.  (Don't worry, they don't feel like I'm making them run.  They actually really like these little races.)  

On your marks..

Ignore the kid in the front with his number in his face, hee hee.  Instead look how both my boys have their tongues out while they run.  Maybe if I used this technique, I might survive running!

Their victory popsicles!

After the kids' race was over, Bart ran in the 5K!  I was so proud of him, especially since we made a goal together last summer that we would both run it this year, and it became pretty clear a few months ago that it was going to be difficult to find time to train with 3 kids at home.  Either that or my extreme hatred of running beat my desire to want to run, to be in shape, and achieve my goal.  But Bart stayed committed, and even though he only started training a few weeks ago, he was able to run the whole race and finish with a good time.  Way to go Bart!

This year, Ky won 1st place in his age group!  He was so proud of his shiny new medal, and he loved seeing his name on the poster of winners.  Kade came in six seconds behind to get 2nd place.  He didn't handle losing to his brother very well (he is a tad competitive) even though he got 1st place last year.  I told them the only way for them both to win is to run really fast and then hold hands as they cross the finish line together!  I'm sure they will be competing with each other in lots of areas their whole lives!

Way to go Ky and Kade!

stars wars night at the baseball game, a.k.a. a little boys' dream summer evening

A few weeks ago, we went to Star Wars night at a nearby minor league baseball game.  We have always loved going to minor league baseball games, in fact my first date with Bart was to the Provo Angels game! But, add Star Wars characters, Star Wars music, Star Wars sound effects throughout the game, and new light-up light sabers, and it was one of the funnest summer evenings we have had!  

 As soon as we arrived at the ball field, we saw R2-D2 rolling toward us.  We had to stop for a picture.  I think my boys would have been completely happy if that was the only Star Wars thing we saw that whole evening.

 Bart's parents came to the game with us, and Krew was having so much fun playing with grandma!

 We took a break from watching the game to go meet some of the characters and have pictures taken.

Darth Vader was the boys' favorite character.  They were so excited when we spotted him!

My favorite was R2-D2.  He was talking to me while I was posing with him, and I wish I knew what he was trying to say!

I didn't know who these red guys were, but don't worry, Kade and Ky knew!

Our team won! After the game, there were fireworks set to Star Wars music.  The boys were in heaven.  I was a little worried about how Krew would handle the fireworks, but after a few minutes of him acting unsure, he decided he liked them pretty well and watched them with Daddy.  It reminded me of last year when I was pregnant with him and we went to a game and stayed for the fireworks.  With each loud firework, Krew kicked me from inside pretty hard.  It was an awesome experience to be watching fireworks, and bonding with my unborn child.  And this year I got to watch them with my husband and three amazing kids!

my little graduates!

3 weeks ago (man, I'm behind), Kade and Ky graduated from kindergarten!  They had a little graduation ceremony, a slide show with pictures from the year, and a celebration cake.  As I watched my graduates get their certificates of graduation, I could not believe that kindergarten was over.  It seems like only a few weeks ago I was dropping them off for their first day.  They have had a great year, made lots of friends and grew from crying every morning because they did not want to go to school, to loving going to school (most days!)

Kade

Ky

With their awesome teacher, Mrs. Kuester

Krew was there too, and he's super cute, so I had to include a picture of him too!

When we got home from school, we had an official "Welcome to Summer" rip through the streamers moment, followed by going over a 4 page list of all the fun things we want to do during summer break, followed by tears from both boys because they missed their friends already!  But we are having a great summer vacation so far, and are doing lots of fun things together!