Claire's Baptism

I can't believe Claire is 8 already!  She is growing up so much and I am so proud of her for making the decision to be baptized.  When we were preparing for her baptism we wanted to finish the Book of Mormon and we did it.  We had to do a month of double reading and she never complained (the boys sure did though ... ha ha ).  She loves reading the scriptures and the night we finished she was beaming.  We said a special prayer with her to know that it is true and I couldn't wipe the smile off her face.  The spirit just shines through this sweet girl.  When we went to church for her baptism she was giddy and jumping all over the place with excitement.  I love seeing how happy she is with her choices.  Her confirmation was beautiful and one of the things that really stood out to me was that Todd blessed her to know that the Holy Ghost will always be her best friend.  I hope she always remembers the way she felt when she came out of the water and when she received the Holy Ghost.

Last Day of School

Goodbye school. Hello summer.  We are so ready!

Goodbye Elementary School

How is it possible that Tayson is already out of elementary school?  He has grown up so much.  He turned out to be a good student.  And school and sitting still for long periods of time weren't easy for him when he was little.  He had the same backpack from day 1 in kindergarten until his very last day of 6th grade.  It's getting worn out though so I don't think it will make it to Jr. High.  I sure am proud of you Tays and what a strong young man you are growing up to be.  Keep making great choices and being the fun loving kid you are!!

Last day of Kindergarten

I cannot believe she is done with Kindergarten.  Sophie has grown up so much in the past year and has made friends and is so independent. 

Lost her first 1/2 a tooth....

Tonight in the tub Sophie lost one of her caps.  And no the tooth fairy does NOT visit for caps falling off.  Just what I need right now....oh well.  Luckily the dentist was able to fix it!

Back Issues

The straw that broke the camels back happened yesterday.  For some reason when I workout after teaching spin my back gets jacked.  So last night at crossfit I was feeling great and then one small mistake and I felt my back go completely out.  Bad.  Thank goodness Todd was there with me so he could get me home.  I called my mom and she came over to work on me but I couldn't get out of bed or put pressure on either leg.  This laid me up for 2 straight days and I've had lots of days since when I just couldn't get out of bed.  

I bought a sweet weight belt but wasn't wearing it when I threw out my back

Sweet Tracy brought me a drink and came to chat

 Claire picked me a flower to help me get better

And Trent brought me the ultimate get well soon "bucket" ever!

Pierced Ears

Claire and I were shopping for some cute jewelry to go with her new baptism dress and she found a pair of earrings that she loved.  So she decided she was ready to get her ears pierced.  She picked out emeralds since that's her birthstone.  There was a teenage girl going before her who kept talking about how freaked out she was and almost crying with her two friends.  It was totally annoying to me since I didn't want Claire to freak out.  But she didn't she sat there and didn't make a peep when they pierced her ears.  I asked Sophie if she wanted hers pierced too and she said no. 

Then on a couple of days later Sophie said "mom, I'm ready to be brave like Claire and get my ears pierced".  So we went to the mall and she picked out her earrings.  When she sat in the chair she decided she would wait because she got scared but after a few minutes of talking she decided to be brave again and she got them done.  She was so excited about her cute new pink butterfly earrings. 

Permanent Makeup

I have wanted to do this for years so for Mother's Day I bought myself permanent makeup.  I was at the spa for over 4 hours and it hurt so bad but I love it!  Don't worry I don't look like this when I don't have Vaseline caked on :)

Backyard Cookout

We love spring and summer when we can light a fire and roast some dogs and s'mores. 

O macaco amerelo

I really love the Portuguese Immersion program at our school.  I love seeing Claire speak and sing in Portuguese.  Today they did a play about a monkey who loved bananas...or something like that.  I didn't understand half of what was going on :)

Another Lost Tooth

Claire lost her second tooth today!!

The view from my kitchen window

Dance Concert

Sophie:  Party Rockin'

Claire:  Rock Lobster

The girls did a great job again this year with their dances.  It's not easy to do 5 performances in 2 days but they did an amazing job in every show.  Keep shakin' those booties girls!

Mother's Day

Todd had to fly out to Winnipeg this Mother's Day so I got to spend the day alone with these 4 rugrats.  They were all so cute and I love being their mom.  I know we have our days when it's just too much but being a mom is the greatest thing in the world.  I have a mom who I adore and who has taught me so much about patience, hard work and unconditional love.  I have 4 amazing children who love me so much and who I would do anything for.  We have so much fun together and the older they get the more I love them.  Everyday I love these kids more and more.  I am so blessed to be their mom. 

Another Meet

For Todd's birthday I let him sleep in and I took the boys to their swim meet.  I volunteered to be a timer and spent the morning hanging with the boys and cheering them on.  Makes for a long morning but I love watching them swim.

Slumber Party

Tonight the power went out for several hours so all the kids made beds in my room and we had a big slumber party.  I'm sure if Todd were in town this wouldn't have happened but with just me and kids we decided to party!

Oh Canada!

Tayson chose to do his World Fair report for 6th grade on Canada.  Thanks to Todd's traveling he was able to get lots of fun stuff for his presentation.  He had fun candy and ketchup potato chips and a sweet new t-shirt.

Crossfit Mom's

Guess who came to crossfit with me today?  My mom is the best example of living life to the fullest and being fit. 

Claire's Birthday

Claire's birthday started on the cinco de mayo with our traditional family party.  4 kinds of enchiladas and a pinata of course. 

Her actual birthday started with pancakes and singing

After school we went to get her big present - a new bike.  She is getting so tall and her legs are so long that she left with a bike the same size as Taysons.

Then we went to Barnes and Noble because she wanted to buy some new books 

 

We finished the night off at Mimi's cafe for dinner
(Claire said she chose Mimi's so she could go to B&N)

Happy birthday Claire Bear!  You are such a fun and sweet addition to our family.  Some fun facts about Claire right now:  she loves Monster High and watching Netflix is her favorite way to pass time.  She wants to be a singer when she grows up and knows every lyric to every Frozen song as well as most top 40 songs.  She loves to sing and dance and dress up.   She loves long hair and wearing pink.  I sure do love you Claire!!

I workout

I posted this picture with this caption:

"Throwback to when I could only clean 45 lbs.  Tonight was one of the best nights at Generator Crossfit when I finally got my 95 lb clean!  You can call me beefcake if you want. "

I ran 14 miles down Provo Canyon today and I can't tell you how much I love running in our canyons.  It is so beautiful and it makes me so happy. 

Today after crossfit I got home and Todd said "did you do situps today?"  I answered "yea...why?" and he took this picture for me.  HA HA HA.

Sophie's Spring Scooter Ride

Sophie never ceases to crack me up.  Todd fixed up the kids bikes tonight and all went out for bike rides.  Luke and Claire rode over to grandma and grandpa's house - took a break on the lawn then rode back.  They didn't even go in and say hi.  Silly kids.  Sophie felt left out so I told her I would go with her to grandma's house so she could practice riding her scooter.  She told me she needed to "pack some stuff" before we could go.  I assumed she was just putting a big flower on her head and some lip gloss in her purse.  When we got half way to grandma's house she stopped and said "I need to brush my teeth really fast" and pulled out her toothbrush.  I told her she couldn't brush her teeth on the sidewalk so we kept going.  As soon as we got to grandma's house she said "ok I'm going to have a piece of pie then brush my teeth".  Sadly, there was no pie yet (Sophie gets to go bake pie with my mom today after school) but she did brush her teeth.  My mom and I were cracking up at her.  She even packed floss.  Then when she was done we headed home.  I don't know where she gets her crazy ideas from but I love it. 

 
On the way home she was practicing some new moves too.  She is so much faster and more stable on her scooter now.  She even rode to school today without stopping!