It's about time

This past week Riley had a school project that required some info about his life and things he has done. I couldn't remember a few things so we headed to our blog. That's when I realized that an update was needed. These are our memories and our family history and I need to keep going. Besides my kiddos love to look through all the old post and I must admit I got sucked into reading a bunch of old post while I was helping Riley.  So here we go -a catch up post. I'm decided to go back to when we moved into the new house and with looking through old photos - I don't want to leave a big gap in our memories.
Summer 2014- We moved into the new house and 10 days later headed off to the Allen reunion in Oregon.  We started off with a trip to Voodoo Donuts in Portland- yum! Who doesn't love Froot Loop donuts?!?!

  

 

We stopped at the forest center and walked through the museum, learned about forest fires, and climbed the tower.

Then we were off to the Tillamook Cheese factory- a must for our family! We love Tillamook Cheese! We met up with Dan and Sara and their girls- Mercer and Maden.

We had to sample a lot of cheese and then Tillamook ice cream of course!

We love Aunt Sara!

After the factory it all went down hill. Lets just say we each took our turn with a violent stomach bug that required a car detailing, a bathroom quarentined for our family, lots of blessings and Ben setting foot on the beach the last day we were there. Just when we thought everyone was well and I  was relieved to be going home the next day with no one sick- Ethan decided to not be left out! Poor thing, he had to ride home while sick! Nothings worse than throwing up in a gas station garbage can- oh wait- all over the steering wheel beats that! It was a rough vacation. But for those who were not sick we do have a few pictures of some fun.

Kite Flying

We were able to go to the tide pools

Cousin time- Gavan as a mermaid- Ahh cute!

We couldn't get home fast enough! Still to this day the kids claim that Oregon makes them sick! Ha Ha!

Our summer was filled with all the normal, parades, slip-n-slides, splash pads, cousins, parties, s'mores, hiking, campouts, swimming and working on the house. 

Candy!

A really nice and REALLY old man offered to take a picture of us all with my phone. I have about 6 of these all without Ethan and Jakes heads! HA! HA!

Fourth of July

 Camping in Heber with the Leatham family was a great memory! We had a ton of fun eating, playing games, hiking, and canoeing or paddle boating. The kids want to go back for sure. We bunked with Laura's family- a blast for sure. 

We got serious about the backyard and removing the waterfall. We do not need a waterfall! It would be beautiful but just not practical for our family of six kiddos. 

Ben could only be serious for so long!

Pioneer Day! We spent it with our friends- the Hills. I don't have much to say about Aaron and Ben's trip to Wyoming earlier in the week, but lets say that it was a very loud and fun night!

We also can't have Pioneer day with out our visit to see and vote on our favorite floats. 

Love Will's look on his face- He loves Jakers!

 Foam Day with Cousins. The kids loved foam day! Helen and her kiddos -Zoe, Sascha, Paolo and 

Cole joined us for the day.

Sascha and Zoe

Cole

Paolo

Owen

Will

 

 

Riley

Jocelyn

Wow! They haven't changed! Ethan and Jake

Watermelon after getting cleaned up

This is pretty much how our summers role- lots of fun. Whew! So much more to get caught up on! Looking back though- we have come a long way on the house and the kiddos have grown so much! Such good memories that overshadow the struggles we have had in the past year. I'm just so grateful for my wonderful kids and husband and also for our extended family and friends that care so much for us and are there when we need them!

Never thought...

     Seriously- never thought this kiddo would make it to be a 5 year old! Love this kiddo but oh how it feels like at least 10 years of excitement with him! His birthday was way back in September and I'm finally feeling like I can catch up on my blogs after school starting and all the holidays. We had a small family celebration for Owen this year (a non-party year for this kiddo) Owen has a personality that seems to draw the most out of me! I love him to death! When he looks in my eyes and has a deep conversation with me - mostly about laser tag, skylanders, and plants vs zombies I just melt and wish he was calm more often:) Today in the car we had a conversation about when I die there will be no more moms or babies!?! and that dad will get married again and he would have another mom. What!?!? So I had to ask him if he would cry when I died. At first he said no but quickly stated that he would cry and whine a lot. Then as we passed the Lehi cemetery, he said I would be in there and come up as a zombie!!! A little nerve racking for me- I channeled the conversation into a lesson about being a forever family and the Resurrection. Thankfully it ended on a spiritual level! Again Love this kid!!!
    At five years he loves anything Skylanders, Plants vs Zombies, and Laser Tag. He has started reading and actually likes it! He still goes to the same preschool with Miss Holly as his teacher but is looking forward to starting Kindergarten- "I'm five now!" He still loves to play Wii with Jake and Riley, loves to be outside- even in freezing temps, and misses the trampoline (so do I!- it had a way of wearing him out just enough to get his crazy levels down :) can't wait for spring to put it back up!) He talks weekly about going to the cabin with his friends (cousins) and is excited for our summer vacation in Oregon this year. He has also decided he wants a new house (usually when he is mad at me)- not sure if he realizes with a new house comes the same old family! I love that he has tried to sleep in his own bed at night with the help of dad and requesting a prayer. It's been a long road but he's starting to sleep better at night. I love that he is relying on the spirit to comfort him also. Church is hard for him "It's boring!" it can be hard for any kiddo, but having ADHD it's really just too slow for his fast moving brain! His new helper is amazing and he really has taken to Sis. Brower. She really is amazing with him and now Ben and I finally can go to class with minimal interruptions. Love that he is growing up!
     Owens requested a Skylander Giants cake- so thats what he got! and the game to go with it. So exciting! He also got some extra skylanders, and from the cousins a tunnel and playdoh- perfect presents for him! He celebrated in both his preschool classes- a pretty sweet deal if you ask me! Pretty sure he had a great day! That cute smile says it all sometimes!