Short Utah stop

Planning our summer vacation took hours more time than we had hoped. Finding the right balance between spending enough time with everyone we wanted to visit and having it not cost a fortune, was beyond exhausting. But, we finally found a plan, but this plan only allowed three days in Utah. So, we packed everything we possibly could in those short days. At the top of everyone's list was to visit with our good friends who have since moved from Minnesota. It was so great to be united with them, even just for a few short hours. Jamie was so gracious to host and feed us. We loved seeing their new beautiful home. Between Jamie, Necia and I, we now have 15 kids (in July it was 14 1/2 though)! 

Another favorite tradition is going with the kids' cousins, their Aunt Toni and Grandma to Gardner's Village. We all love window shopping through the cutesy shops. As you can see by their faces, it was a HOT day.

But the most important reason why we squeezed in a three day visit to Utah was to see my 91-year-old grandpa, because we knew his days were limited. We were so grateful we could say goodbye to him one last time.

It's the red, white and blue

Fourth of July is my personal favorite holiday. We continued with our bike/scooter parade tradition. This year the weather was much more cooperative than last year--it was stunning.

Wearing red, white, and blue is a big part of the fun.

Kyler knew they were choosing certain clothes, so somehow that translated to wearing the transformers hat on his head. Hey, at least it was blue!

We enjoyed partying with our dear friends and neighbors. We had a blast! I think the highlight was actually not the bike parade but the family Olympics. We enjoyed the fireworks from our loft window! It was a great day with great memories created!

Super Heroes

Watch out, here come the super heroes! We came ready to save the world at Daddy's corporate themed-picnic.

Ellie won first place for best super-hero outfit!

Kyler arrived as Batman, and of course didn't pass up the pirate face paint! 

Is this the cutest 'Jesse' ever?

And of course, don't forget this Hermoine meets Wonder Woman costume. Even though we were super hot, we had super fun!

Pinkalicious Birthday

Teyah chose to go all pink for her 6th birthday party -- themed after the book 'Pinkalicious.' We kicked off the party with a quick read of one of the books where each time the word pink was read, the girls had to do something silly.

Of course, the day was all about pink: pink cake, pink marshmallows, pink cupcakes...

pink lemonade, pink balloons, pink goodies...

pink, pink, pink!

games that involved pink dresses...

and lots of precious pink memories with girls wearing pink!

Teyah was actually afraid of the candles! I had to convince her the house wasn't going to burn down, put my arm around her, and then she was OK to blow them out! Silly girl!

Some special things about Teyah:
-Teyah is a total sweetheart and just so pure and innocent. She is loving, affectionate and such a little doll.
-She had an awesome kindergarten year! She blew away my expectations. It was so hard to decide if I should send her and to which school, but she adapted remarkably well!
-Teyah is reading!
-She learned how to ride her bike without training wheels as soon as the snow melted. She had been riding a balance bike and it was truly the most amazing thing to transition her to a real bike. It was like there was no learning curve at all!
-Teyah fatigues easily physically, but when she puts her mind to it she works so, so, hard!
-She has many friends and is well-liked by her peers.
-She is the only one of my children whose voice volume is quiet! As a result, I think her voice is not always heard among the cacophony of children in our house! I am always feeling guilty for this.

Dave's Birthday tradition

For the past several years, David has chosen to celebrate his birthday at Benihana -- where we can eat Japanese Tepanyaki.

This year we chose a new Tepanyaki restaurant closer to home. The chef's certainly impressed us with their 'volcano' and other fun tricks.

I could not have come up with a creepier birthday mask if I tried!! What a fun night!

Running in the rain

One day in the spring, I received a note from Teyah's kindergarten teacher telling me that she was very worried that I had lost the 'Run Club' form, and that she really wanted to do the club. Since Teyah doesn't ask for much, I made sure to find the form and allow her to participate. Teyah loved the club and on her own put herself into a difficult running group designed for older kids. We were pleasantly surprised by her passion to push herself as a runner! This girl is determined when she sets her mind to something! 

I asked Aubrie if she would also join the club with her to help keep an eye on her. She delightfully agreed.

The club is designed to prepare the kids for the school's 5K. But much to our dismay, on the day of the big run, it rained buckets! Because of Teyah's sensory struggles, I thought for sure she would back down because being wet and uncomfortable is extra miserable for her (just to put it into perspective, just lightly spraying her hair with a spray bottle to style her hair causes a fit!). But, as difficult as it was for her being wet, she was determined! 

Before the 5K started, the school had a mile fun run for kids who didn't want to do the full 5K. Teyah was adamant that she run that. So, she did -- the whole thing without stopping -- and so did Aubrie. Immediately following, it was lineup time for the 5K and they both wanted to still do it--even after running the mile! So, off we went in the rain. Aubrie ran ahead. I held Teyah's hand the whole way. She wanted to run fast in the beginning, although I tried to teach her about pacing. But halfway through, she ran out of gas. She started to say, "This is 'bowing' (boring) Mommy." She started to lose her determination until one of her friends ran up behind us. This re-energized her, and she started to run again. She pressed on and finished in about 42 minutes! I was amazed at her determination to not quit! Teyah has had some physical struggles over the years with strength, balance, and fatigue and as a result has received Physical and Occupational Therapy. I was astonished that she was the first kindergartner girl across the finish line! It was one of my most proud moments as a mom -- and one I will never forget. As soon as we were done, the wet clothes began to truly aggravate her, and we went home for a warm bath. What Teyah conquered that day was simply inspiring!

Even my clothes were so waterlogged, they were falling off of me because they were so heavy, and every step was a squish in the tennis shoes.

And, if that wasn't enough, when we crossed the finish line, we discovered on the leader board that Aubrie had finished as the fastest girl in her school! Not bad, for just doing it to help keep an eye on her baby sister! I have never been so proud of my kiddos!! Way to go Aubrie!!

The Ballerina

We don't usually have the opportunity to take pictures of our little ballerina Aubrie because cameras are not allowed in her dance performances. But, at the end of the dance year, the Papparazzi is allowed to come to class!

Aubrie just loves ballet. She told me that she loves it because she can do all her favorite things: dance, act, perform and enjoy classical music. The intensity of her ballet class has filtered out many of her friends and her class size is small and down to only the girls who love it. This is a little hard to not have her best buddies in class, but it's also nice because those who stayed are focused and ready to learn.

 Aubrie has had two wonderful teachers the past couple years, but graduated this year to the main studio, which will mean new teachers next year.

Aubrie's teachers say not only does she have natural dance abilities, but that she's also a hard worker. I think this girl has a future!

Teyah's Time in the Spotlight

Sweet Teyah had so much fun in her Kindergarten Spring concert. She continued family tradition of being on the front row, behind the piano (where the shortest kids stand).

 

This is a classic Teyah look. She is just the most pure, innocent little girl. We sure love her! We are so proud of how well she did in Kindergarten.

 

Daddy was able to attend her Fairy Tale Ball. They had so much fun dancing together and enjoying her school's fun activities.

The Never-ending Winter

Last year in March, we were walking around in shorts and basking in 80 degree weather ... this year, we were toying with sub-zero weather.

We had to snap a picture to remember the crazy snowstorm of April 23.

Just when we thought we had broken through to spring for a couple days, we snapped right back into winter again with more snow.

But then to our dismay, we had to capture the crazy snowstorm of May 2 also! We sure got great use of our winter clothes/boots this year!

Everyone kept saying, "I can't believe this crazy, horrible weather." But then, we ended up saying it over and over and over again, for four months! Minnesota truly lived up to its reputation of a horrible winter/spring. In fact, it completely outdid itself! We broke record after record.

Poor Ellie's soccer season got cut extremely short. The snow wouldn't melt, and when it finally did, it was too soggy for the city to open the fields, so many games and practices were cancelled. Mentally it was a tough spring for everyone! But, somehow we survived!

The Sorcerer's Apprentices

Aubrie and Teyah loved performing together in "The Sorcerer's Apprentice" for their Spring Ballet performance. The Spring show is so much fun.

Teyah performed as a creature. We loved the stuffed tummy! So cute!

Aubre danced as 'fire.' She was pretty hot.

 I enjoy helping backstage. It's fun to see the behind-the-scenes action. This is the creatures rehearsing behind the curtain before the show. Performing is definitely the girls' favorite part of ballet!

Our volleyball player



Growing up a volleyball player, I always wanted to be left-handed. I knew it would make me a better setter. So, I tried to switch hand dominance by doing everything with my left hand. I became obsessed with learning about hand dominance. So, when my first-born daughter was born a lefty, I immediately had lofty dreams for her!

We decided to give competitive volleyball a try this winter. Aubrie was a hard worker and improved tremendously. 

Ballet is probably her ultimate passion, but it sure was fun seeing her play my favorite sport and with her left hand!

Barbie Drive-in

 

One of Daddy's pocket projectors + Ken + Barbie + Pink Barbie mobile =

A romantic night at the drive-in for Ken & Barbie!