Everything Else from May!

My favorites: When we painted the teepee.  When Camryn made me breakfast in bed.  The final day of carpool with Jarren.  Nic getting a pedicure with me :)

Legacy Dancers

These 3 girls have come a LONG way in 8 months.  They can all do a back walk over and have become much more flexible.  Brooklyn definitely puts the most work into it and she's just about got her back handspring.  These girls enjoy so many things in life and get so excited for all their lessons.  Too bad lessons aren't cheap!!!

Kendyl is a Preschool Graduate

My baby girl is ready for KINDERGARTEN!!!!  Oh man, this makes me sad.  I've always enjoyed my little Kendyl Babe and it's hard to see her grow up.  She is definitely a little cutie and her teacher loved Kendyl so much.  Ms. Trish was a good teacher for Kendyl and graduation was adorable.  They sang songs, recited poems, released balloons into the air and we had a BBQ.  Kendyl is such a loving little girl...despite her inability to listen and obey much of the time.  We love our Kendyl Wendyl and are proud of her hard work and good attitude about school.  She's loved EVERY day of it!

Cinnamon Bears and Dragonflies

These girls improved their game by leaps and bounds this season.  It has been so much fun to watch them play soccer.  They were all on great teams that won most of their games.  They all scored (some more than others) and they all LOVED it!  We can't wait till next season when NIXON gets to join in the fun!!!

5 months- Big Cal

Happiest Baby Ever.  I love him and so does the rest of the family.  I don't know what I did to deserve the kids I got, but I'm pretty happy about my good fortune.

Cam's Recital- Orange Blossom Special

This little girl is A.M.A.Z.I.N.G at the violin.  She has an amazing ear and can play most anything she hears.  It's been so much fun to watch her find her talent during the last year and a  half.  We can't wait to see where she goes with it in the future.  Hopefully she and Brooklyn, the amazingly talented pianist, will get to perform some awesome duets as they grow up.  Since Nic was out of town for the recital, we did a google hangout and he got to watch from California.

Kendyl's Zoo Fieldtrip

Her last fieldtrip as a preschooler :(  These 3 kids (I call them 'the littles') just kill me with their cuteness.  Man I'll be sad when they grow up.

Nixon turns 3!

Nixon....perhaps the cutest little boy on the planet.  I would say it even if I wasn't his mother.  Just to look at him, you melt.  Then once you get to know him, you melt.  This kid is ALL boy and so fun and silly.  He is BEST friends with his dad and still wants to be just like him.  He carries a handful of cars, trains, planes or motorcycles wherever he goes.  He likes to curve his hand and tell us, "do my hair like this".  He has little hand guestures for everything.  He like to pull a turkey from his bellybutton and eat it :)  He never wants to eat anything with nutrients....unless chocolate milk and cereal counts for nutrients.  He falls asleep in the car usually around midday then doesn't go to bed til midnight.  He talks like an adult...clear as can be.  He talks about surfing, golfing and skiing daily, He's been potty trained since last year...but still wears a diaper to bed.  He got a bike for his birthday and rides it so well.  He loves his sisters, who he refers to as "the girls".  He loves "Bay Calbin" and I'm sure they'll be best friends.  He loves reading stories at night and his imagination is huge.  We love this little boy like crazy.  He makes us smile and laugh every day.  He's a good kid and doesn't get in trouble very often. We can't believe 3 years has come and gone this quickly.  If we could freeze him RIGHT NOW, life would be perfect.  He had a birthday party at the park with all his best friends...who are also his cousins :)  He talks about Hudson, Daniel, Elle and Dreya every day and they're all his age.  So awesome.  He was so excited to open his presents and eat cake with the family.  We got corndogs afterwards and ate them on the corndog bus :)  Happy Birthday Nixter, you sure are a special little kid!

Mother's Day

People always want to know, 'how I do it' with 5 kids.  I don't feel like I deserve any special credit.  God sent me fantastic children.  They're not perfect, they make me mad, they make huge messes....but they're good to the core.  They care about me and they care about everyone else.  They don't hurt feelings, they don't complain, they're grateful, they're so nice, and they're talented in every way.  I actually enjoy taking my 5 kids to the grocery store and on errands.  I'm happy around them, and that's pretty awesome.  I had 5 kids, because with each new addition, my hear grew a little bigger and I had one more lovee to melt my heart.  I'm so grateful to be a mother to these babies.  They are pretty incredible and I don't feel like I deserve them.  I just pray that they never realize that I'm not nearly as amazing as they are!  I'll just have to keep on pretending ;)

Nic left town for work training on the morning of Mother's Day, so I got to PROVE myself this year :)  We went to church, then up to Mom's house for dinner.  We missed Nic, but it was a good day.

Jemma Rae

While we were in California, Ashley had her little Baby Jemma Rae!  She is beautiful and looks so much like Hudster.  Her birthday is April 27, 2014 and she is just over 5 lbs.  It is so fun having so many cute little nieces and nephews.  Here's a picture of Cal and Jem :)

Camryn & Brooklyn

These girls are perfect.  Of course, they can get on my nerves.  They are little girls, after all.  But they are mature, kind, thoughtful, smart, obedient and every other wonderful word I might think of.  I don't know how I lucked out.  They help me with anything and everything and never complain.  So glad they are my first born children.  I know we'll be best friends forever....and my other kids too, of course :)

When the twins are away....the little ones play

Calvin at 4 1/2 months

Calvin is big!!  We're so proud :)  When he's not smiling, giggling and sucking on his toes....he's asleep.  His siblings think they're his parents...and sometimes that's kind of nice.  He's a great eater, sleeps through the night, 8pm-8am, LOVES his toys, and always wants to grab my face and eat it :)  Couldn't have asked for a better LAST baby.

California Vacay!

The California/Disney vacation is one of my favorites!  We've been counting down the days for over a year....seriously. The weather was HOT, but we weren't about to complain about that!  We stopped in St. George for the night, then stopped in Vegas on the way so the kids could walk around Caesar's Palace and drive down the amazing Strip.  The car ride actually wasn't too bad.  We found a cool ward to go to on Sunday, then walked around the beautiful San Diego Temple, then went to Old Town San Diego to check out the Mormon Battalion tour.  It was awesome!  So fun for the kids.

We had a relaxing day at the pool and had a birthday party for Dreya the next day.  (Tammy and BRAND NEW baby Decker stayed home).  

The next day was DISNEYLAND!  Some of our favorite rides were closed for refurb :(  Pirates, Small World, Alice in Wonderland, Indiana Jones, Ariel, Nemo and a few more.  We still managed to have a great time!  It was a little tricky with Calvin, but my parents were always willing to sit with him if there was no other option.  Nixon and Daniel rode the Buzz Lightyear ride ALOT (no line, perfect for littles) while we were on Space Mountain, Star tours, etc.  Cam did NOT enjoy Splash Mountain and screamed the whole time (see pic).  We went to California Adventure the next time and enjoyed every moment until we couldn't walk anymore. Kendyl even rode the Tower of Terror...she was probably a bit young :)  Cars Land, and the Radiator Springs Ride, was our ULTIMATE fave!  Especially when we got to race Holly and Clark's car at the end.  Nixon was especially cute when he couldn't stop waving to Minnie Mouse from outside her house, "HI MINNIE!!!!"  over and over.  My heart melted and I was glad she waved back at him.  He did the same thing when he saw Mater in the Pixar parade...couldn't stop waving and helloing :)  I can't wait to go back in a few years when Calvin is bigger!

We had a couple beach days but my favorite was when we drove to La Jolla beach on our last day.  It was perfect weather, perfect beach and we had a blast.  Even stopped at VG's donut shop on the way and had some amazing donuts.  We were also able to leave the kids at World Mark with Mom and Dad while we went to dinner and icecream with Quinton and Tiff.  Wish they lived closer!

It was so awesome to be able to take the kids on an amazing trip and we're so grateful to my parents for making it possible.  We missed Scott's family and Tammy and Decker, but we enjoyed the company that was there.  Who knows how much longer this tradition can continue, but I hope we can keep it going for a long time!

When I had everyone line up for a picture and a wave took them out :)  whoops.