Zack is getting old!

Zack celebrated his birthday at school with a huge party, end of the school year party! They had an outdoor volleyball tournament with teachers vs students. The teachers won but everyone got burned. Zack has a racoon look since he was wearing sunglasses but no shoes so his poor feet are burned too. Great look for birthday pictures! He is currently teaching a class at the college in the afternoons for the next five weeks and then runs over to his evening job, since teaching is such a good paying profession. When he finally did arrive home shortly after 8pm we were able to celebrate his birthday together. I made him an apple pie which he loves. Since we are burned out of birthday cake with so many birthdays in a row, I usually try some other type of dessert for his birthday! Don't worry we still included the ice cream, no birthday should be without it. Zack loved all his gifts and spent most of the rest of the night on the wii singing song after song. Man he loves to sing!

Zack is an amazing dad, dedicated husband, extremely faithful and a hard worker. He loves what he does which makes all the extra jobs more bearable. He is a goof ball and very loving man mixed together. Zack has truly been a wonderful man. I am so thankful for him and all he does for our family. We love you!  Happy 34th birthday!

Spending time outdoors

We spent some time Saturday afternoon in the front yard, playing under the shade tree. The kids love to climb and the wonderful shade from our tree makes the weather much more bearable. I am not too into the heat and have enjoyed this tree. It was a huge selling point for me. We have since planted two more of the fruitless mulberries in our backyard! This summer is going to be a hot one! The kids are finishing up school for the summer and we are going to be playing lots. Let's see if I can come up with enough activities to keep all these kiddos busy!

Im just a hunk, a hunk of burning love

Zack performed at the PVHS talent show as Elvis! He prepared/wrote 5 songs about his classroom using the music from different Disney songs. It was quite the sight to be seen. There was lots of music (he convinced the band director to help him out), singing (several of his students joined him on stage) and craziness. Zack is quite the hoot! He loves a big audience! The students loved it and even the principal congratulated him on setting a pretty high standard for these talent shows! I'll post the songs when I can get them. 

William's 7th birthday

We celebrated William's birthday with Uncle TJ so all the family could attend. Both boys were showered with gifts! They both got plenty of cake and ice cream, Grandma bought TJ an over sized cupcake to blow the candles out on. TJ turned 14 years old and William turned 7 years old. William had a blast for his party! He wasn't to thrilled with sharing his birthday with mother's day. We sang Happy Birthday, ate more ice cream and played games late into the night for his birthday. William has really grown up this past year. He loves having a baby sister and cannot give her enough attention. He is doing wonderful in school and loves his teacher. William is very social and always has friends coming over to hang out. William is very active: he does flips on the trampoline, jumps off of everything, wrestles his brothers, and keeps his mom on her toes. He is a good boy and tries to do his best all the time. We sure love William and his vibrant personality!

Fathers and Sons Campout 2012

Zack took the boys to their annual fathers and sons campout with our ward. They all had a blast camping out in nature, hiking, playing in dirt, eating and hanging out with Daddy! The boys loved hiking up in the mountains around their campsite and wore themselves out pretty well by bedtime. There were plenty of boys their ages to play with so they all had a great time playing with their friends too. It was lots of fun and everyone came home full of food and dirty as can be. We are so glad the boys get this time to bond with their dad!

Happy 12th Anniversary

Zack and I just celebrated:

12 years of marriage

11 years of diapers

10 different jobs

9 burnt dinners

8 homes we've shared

7 days a week

6 beautiful babies

5 different goldfish

4 1/2 years of pregnancy

3 college degrees

2 happy people

and

1 great big family

Here is to many more years to come!

William's kindergarten program

Our little man is almost done with kindergarten! He performed in a little program with singing and dancing for the families of all the kindergartners. The place was packed with families and some very bubbly kids! William is our ham and loved the attention. He did a fantastic job! He was singing all the songs, got into the dance moves and kept a smile on his face the whole time! They sang about all the different things they had worked on over the year: counting, the alphabet, letter sounds, rhyming, etc. William has had a great year and loved Mrs. Mathews, his teacher. We are so proud of him and all his hard work! He only has a couple more days of school left before he is officially in first grade. Way to go William!

Brooklyn is 7 months old

Baby Brooklyn has grown so much lately! She has her two bottom teeth in, she rolls all over the place, she babbles all the time and she growls! She loves to play with toys, sit up and watch people. Brooklyn is very friendly. Most the ladies in the ward love to just snuggle her on Sundays while Mommy and Daddy are working in the primary. Brooklyn has really enjoyed playing with her brothers and figured out how to growl back at them. They absolutely love her attention and she loves them too! She is getting more clingy to Mommy but still loves the attention of others. Brooklyn has a very fun little personality and it shines through more each day. She loves to eat whatever she sees. She is always putting things in her mouth: toys, food, hair, hands, ladies jewelry, etc. The day her first tooth broke through her gums she started to chew on her thumb but it really hurt so she grabbed Mommy hand and chewed on her thumb! Smart little thing! Brooklyn loves bath time and just coos when she is splashing in the tub. This little girl is such a joy to be with. We sure love having her!

Taylor's 9th Birthday

Our sweet Taylor has grown up way too fast! We celebrated Taylor with lots of birthday hugs, wishes, butterfingers for his classroom and a family party at home. He was so thankful for all the wonderful gifts and wishes on his birthday. He felt really special and wore a huge grin on his face all day long! Taylor is a great brother, he teases Katie without restraint, wrestles his little brothers to his heart's desire and is so gentle with his baby sister. He is a great helper, Mr. Independent, a loving young man and a hard worker. Taylor has been doing awesome in school this year; he tests above grade level in Math, Reading and Social Studies. Taylor has found a real passion for baseball and works really hard at it. Taylor loves adventure books, legos, playing sports, riding bikes, playing with friends, socializing, wrestling and being with his family. He is very loving and makes sure to hug his mom before he goes anywhere. He is so sweet with Brooklyn and loves to get her laughing, which she does pretty regularly for him. Taylor makes friends super easy and is always with a big group of friends. Taylor is a good boy and has really gained a testimony this year. His primary teacher says he is really intune with the spirit and seems to understand the gospel. He has really grown up this past year! We love you, Taylor! Happy Birthday little man!  

Pine Wood Derby 2012

Our pinewood derby was a father and son activity. It was great for Zack and Taylor to work on their cars together and get to race them against each other. Taylor made a lego race car including a driver wearing his racing helmet. Zack made a Kermit the Frog race car. Zack took 2nd place and Taylor took 7th overall. Taylor still ended up with a 3rd place trophy for the cubscouts and Zack got a candy bar as 1st place for the dads. A silly competition but they all had a great time. William, Joshua and Tyler,  their friend got dressed up to be cub scouts when we got home since it looked like so much fun. Loving the cub scouts! Next year William will be joining the cubscouts and he cannot wait!