More May - Memorial Day

We love camping!

It seems like at least every other time I post on here, it includes camping pictures. I guess we're just a camping family, and ever since we've had the trailer....I don't mind it a bit!
We love playing with the cousins!

Joslyn loves her Uncle Brent!

We love all the yummy camping food!


We love shooting daddys guns!


We love getting dirty! (mommy loves that there's a shower in the trailer!!)

We love being silly in the trailer, having a reason to wear our warm jammies, and having awesome morning hair!

May

May was a good month!

I really don't know how it's possible that my little boy is old enough to be baptized! I can't believe it but it's true. Tate was baptized and confirmed by his dad on May 14th. It was a happy day. Most of his aunts and uncles, cousins, and grandparents were there. Uncle Jason even flew in all the way from Oregon to be there.

We are so proud of Tate and the good decisions he makes each day. He is such a good boy. He is a great helper around the house, and with his brother and sister. He works hard in school and is very smart. He loves going to primary and always is doing really well with his scripture reading. We are so pleased that he chose to follow Christ's example and be baptized.



Grandma Elaine and Papa Milt got him new scriptures for his baptism, and John and I had a scripture case custom made for him. It is engraved leather with a picture of Christ on one side and King Noah and Abinadi on the other. It is soooo cool.

Jack graduated from his second year of preschool. His teacher said he is a very creative boy. Very smart, and a leader. We hope he continues to be a good boy!

He was happy at the beginning of the graduation.

Then it started to get a bit long for him.
His smile wore off pretty quickly.
Then in true Jack fashion he started acting silly.
He was happy again when it was over!
And was so glad to have his brother and sister there to congratulate him.
But this is what he really came for. It was all worth it for the doughnuts!

Tate loved 2nd grade! He had the best teacher ever! He is really going to miss Mr. MacLay, fortunately he just lives around the corner, so Tate can see him whenever he wants. I got to help with his last day of school party, and the kids had a great time playing games outside and eating pizza at their desks.

Jack and Joslyn both took swimming lessons during April and May. They had a love hate relationship with it. Jack got kicked out of the class for his age group and had to swim with the younger kids cuz he was being a chicken and a big baby. He finally braved up toward the end, and can totally swim by himself, but he prefers not to. He knows floaties are much easier!
Joslyn loved the first day, and hated the rest. She did learn to float on her back, swim to the side, and climb out. Hopefully next year will be much better!

April

Tate the GREAT turned 8!
Some of Tate's favorites at age 8:
color - red, yellow, blue and black
Food - hot pockets
Dessert - vanilla cake
song - You Are My Sunshine
Movie - Star Wars-Attack of the Clones
Things to do - ride bike, watch cartoons, and play legos
Best Friends - Brady & Carson
Tate is such a good boy. He is an awesome big brother. He watches out for his little bro and sis, and is pretty good at playing with them and sharing his things, except for his Legos! Those are so special to him, and he loves creating things. Tate is very tender hearted and shows kindness to everyone. He is an excellent student at school and has a creative mind. He really excels at math and memorization. We are so glad Tate is our sweet boy, and we love him so much.

We celebrated his birthday all weekend starting with a party for his friends on Thursday after school. I told him he could invite whoever he wanted, and he wound up inviting 30 kids! We had about 25 show up. Next year there will definitely be a limited guest list! The kids had a great time playing lego games, building with legos, hitting the pinata, and eating an awesome lego cake that aunt Katie made.




Friday morning Tate got to open his presents, legos (of course!), a lego shirt, and an easy bake oven - he's been wanting one of those for a while now. Maybe he'll be an expert pastry chef like his aunt Katie! He got to go to lunch with his Grammy Elaine - who he shares a birthday with, and then we all went to Red Robin for birthday dinner. What a fun day!



We continued the fun the next morning at the ward Easter egg hunt and breakfast. John made sure Joslyn had all the right strategies for getting the most eggs!

Joslyn and her best buddy Shea.


Sunday was a very nice day. We spent it remembering the wonderful atoning sacrifice of our Savior and being together as a family.
The kids were super excited to see what surprises were in their Easter baskets.


All ready for church.

Smile for grandpa!

Had to finish the day with one more Easter egg hunt at McDowells.



Who said the candy is just for the kids?

March

Tate had track and field day at school, and I got to go and help. His favorite event was the obstacle course, and he liked getting wet in the water relay too.



Jack loves spending time with his daddy!

Tate got to race in the cub scout pine wood derby even though he wasn't officially 8. They needed an extra car to make the numbers even, so Tate quickly borrowed a car and was ready to go. Everyone laughed because his car was pink, but it wound up being the fastest car! He didn't get the 1st place award though because he didn't actually count. Maybe next year when he's official, we'll paint his car pink and hope for the same good luck!

We took the boys to their first drive in movie. We packed a picnic dinner, stopped at the store for a variety of movie candy, and then settled into the back of the truck. We saw "Mars Needs Moms". It was a pretty good movie, but snuggling with the boys while we watched it was the best! We will definitely do it again!

We went to the dunes with friends and family for spring break, and had a wonderful time! Tate is getting really good on his 3-wheeler and rode it from sun up til sun down. We had a nice relaxing time, and came up with some creative time killers too.
Cutest little dune princess.


What do you do when you get bored at the dunes?
Dig a hole.

See who fits in the hole.

Sit in a box, and wait for someone to drag you around.

See who can squeeze between the legs of a table, and realize you're not as small as you thought.