May Flashback

So lets review...I haven't blogged in months. It was one of those things that I just never got around to doing. I decided that I needed to at least hit on the highlights over the past 4 months.

Jadyn's Mother's Day Program

She is a Star! It is so much fun to watch her in front of a crowd. She eats it up. She was absolutely flawless this year in her program and we were very proud - as a mother and both grandmothers!

Jadyn Turns 5 (or 13)....

Our little girl turned 5 - although she acts a LOT older. She had an extraordinary birthday filled with lots of TLC and plenty of gifts to make her little heart sing. In all, I have to say that Chelsea and Randall took the cake... Have you ever seen such a cute Tinkerbell cake?!? It was one of their 1st big ones, now they are pros at this type of cake. I still look at it in amazement. Jadyn about died when she saw it. None of us wanted to cut it up and eat it.

Her very first "Friends" party. All Girls. All Faries. All Tinkerbell. It was so much fun! Nana outdid herself with the paintings. All of the girls were given wings, skirts, fairy shoes, and wands. They looked adorable. We did Fairy Fun activities - like flower creating, wand decorating, water carrying, target practice and dancing. It was "Flitter-riffic"! I could not have done it without help from Nana, Jared and Melanie...especially Melanie when Jared got "lost" looking for pizza for an hour!!! Ahhh, the memories.

One of Jadyn's gifts was the Sleeping Beauty experience. Grandma took her to buy a new dress, new shoes and then they went to the Hale Theatre to see "Sleeping Beauty". Jadyn loved every second of the music and acting. She came home and told me that,

"Someday I will be in plays and I will be the very best one on the stage." That is easy to believe.

Graduation!!!

Preschool graduation is extra fun when you know your child is exceptional... :o) We were so proud of Jadyn this year. Before finishing preschool, she was reading....Really reading. She read 155 books and took home the award for the Top Reader. She finished all of those books before she turned 5. AMAZING GIRL!!! We were so proud of her! She broke the school record for most books ever completed. Now we'll see how long it stands. Jenna is out to beat her sister's record.

Jenna Turns 3!

Jenna had such a nice birthday (compared to last year with the mouth burning and Daddy being gone. She had a perfect birthday and got plenty of Ponies and Baby Doll Accessories. She was so anxious to be 3 that she started telling everyone she was 3 months before her birthday. Yellow is still her very favorite color - if you can't tell from the photos - and life couldn't be better for our little girl!

That about wraps up May. We had a busy month with preschool projects, birthdays, programs and all of the fun we were having! My girls are growing up so fast!

Easter Dresses

WOW! Nana outdid herself this year. She found the boys their little outfits with the orange vests and found a dress that she liked at the store, but the colors were all wrong. She decided to make all of the the Easter Dresses for the girls this year. AMAZING! They were absolutely beautiful! She and Norma (her wonderful friend) spent days on this project. The dresses are perfect for Spring and girls that love to be princesses. The dollar store hats got a 'Nana Makeover' and look like a million bucks! Thank you for doing something so great with your talents!

How I LOVE my Boys! Aren't they so handsome?!?

Jenna and Jadyn looked like they were going to a wedding. These dresses were so beautiful and each one was a custom fit! Here are my adorable girls...

Then we took some photos with the cousins. It was hard to get all of them in one place with smiling faces. This was the best of the series of photos.

Cool socks, Tytan!

Poor Addison was not at all happy about doing photos during her nap time. Sorry, Sweet Girl!

Once the girls grabbed Hyrum's hands he thought that he was playing "Ring Around the Rosie". It was only a few seconds before he was ready for the "all fall down" part.

We tried to take some pictures with the kids on their bellies. Again, Hyrum was not all too fond of just laying on your tummy and looking at Mommy. He opted to crawl to me instead. So much for the perfect sibling photo!

Here is the last of the photos that I am going to post for now. I love the tradition of getting all dressed up on Easter Sunday and taking pictures. It is something that I remember fondly as a child. Nana did such a wonderful job with those dresses that my little family just took my breath away. Perfectly Sweet!

I love my family!

Fun at Lehi Days

Is it already time for Lehi Days again? That must mean I have been blogging for one entire year!!! Lehi Days was one of the first blog entries I did last year. Wow! Where does the time go?

The kids enjoyed the petting zoo with Grandpa. I stayed outside this year. It was really crowded - the most crowded I have ever seen. Of course, Saturday was absolutely beautiful, so I am sure that everyone wanted to be outside. We could not have asked for better weather for the rodeo and BBQ.
Here are the kids holding a little chick.

While we waited for the pony ride, the girls showed their "balance beam" skills.

I had to include this photo because Jenna has a style all her own. She picked out her entire outfit from the shoes to the shades. She is very particular about what she wears. Funny Girl!

Grandma and Uncle Jared - normally he does not wear a cowboy hat, but that is what made it so funny.

Hyrum decided that making a horse sound is cool, but he was not about to ride a real one - even with Grandpa close. Look at those tears! Awww, poor little guy.

Jenna was ready to ride and basically told me that she could ride without any help from me.

"Mom, I know how to ride a horsey. You just hold on and say, 'Giddy-uppy' and he goes so fast. I can ride it by myself - don't hold on to the horsey."

Jadyn had it down as well and Hyrum liked walking next to the horse with Grandpa.

Meeting up with Nana and Papa was fun. Here is Hyrum with both of his grandpa's! I love that we live so close to family.

Hyrum didn't like the way the cotton candy felt, so instead of eating it himself, he kept feeding Grandpa. Thanks for being a good sport, Dad!

Jadyn had no problem polishing off an entire bag all by herself. She loves cotton candy!

I was all about the BBQ! It was so yummy and such a great deal for $6!

Since Lehi Days wasn't far from Daddy's office, he was able to break away and join us for lunch!!! That was so much fun. The kids were all thrilled by that big surprise. Thanks for coming, Sweetie!

As we walked home from the rodeo, the girls picked up rocks along the way. They were all ready to throw rocks and play in the ditch with Grandpa.

Everyone needed a nap after such a fun day in the sun. After the kids were rested, they were ready for more pony rides. Once again, Dad, I owe you one!

We had a great time at the Lehi Days Rodeo and BBQ. The kids look forward to attending every year. It is a great tradition for our family - even though we don't attend for the actual rodeo activities. (Not since Jared put bloomers on a calf a few years back! Ha, ha!)

It was great to see our extended family and friends there in attendance. We love Lehi Days!

VIva Las Vegas!

Our trip to Las Vegas over Valentine's weekend was had a double purpose. I was able to attend my high school reunion and get away with my hubby. It was so much fun.

This is us at the Trevi - an Italian restaurant inside of the mall @ Ceasar's Palace.


Reunited with my best friend, Amy, from Vilseck was an absolute treat. It was so much fun to see her again and after a few minutes, she and Jared were talking like old friends. That was the best part.

Some of the crew after dinner...

Amy and I enjoying a photo op. I have to tell you - it was COLD while we were there. As we walked (and walked and walked and walked...) looking for the Cheesecake Factory, I could feel my toes going numb.

Ahhh... Romance! Just a moment with my Sweetheart!

Seeing The Blue Men Group was one of the big highlights of our trip. The show was completely unexpected, and extremely entertaining from start to finish.

We spent some time rubbing shoulders with famous people at Madam Toussauds.

One of the places that can bring out the child in anyone is FAO Schwarz. Not only is is a great store, but it has all of the things that I used to have in Germany as a kid. Here are a few of the photos we snapped inside, just goofing around.

So, I didn't know that this place existed. It is like taking a 12 hour flight and landing right in Munich, Germany. Welcome to the Hofbrauhaus - a truly Bavarian place to eat and enjoy. We even found some chocolates to bring home to the kids from Germany. Go Milka Bars! Everything about this place was authentic, which made it a fabulous place to have dinner with some of the crew from Vilseck. Welcome to weekends at my high school...

The Um-Pa band (as my brothers always called them) played German and American favorites. The American songs had a German twist and everyone was singing, "Sweet Caroline" , "Right Next Door to Alice" and "Sweet Home Alabama" while swinging beer mugs and dancing on the benches. It was a riot.

Amy teaching Jared some of the cool things that he can now do with his new i-phone.

Don't worry, Amy drank enough for the both of us - and Jared and I kept refilling our Root Beers!

I was so happy to see Amy. It was like it hadn't been a decade since we had seen each other. She was a breath of fresh air in my HS experience since she moved to Vilseck from California. We ran together (cross country), sang together (choir, girls ensemble, musicals), traveled all over the place Romania to Czech to Wurtzburg Prom. She could always make me laugh at myself and stop taking things so seriously. As I watched Amy and Jared interact, I realized that they are A LOT alike. Funny enough. It may be years before we see each other again, but I am sure that the next time we meet up, it will feel like hardly any time has passed. That is the blessing of friendship.

As Jared and I drove away from Vegas, the skies were gray and the weather was dismal. That has happened every time we have driven to Vegas together. We had a wonderful trip, talking and laughing and enjoying every single moment we were able to spend as a couple.

May we have many more fun trips and weekend get-aways in the future! There are a few more shows I want to see in Sin City and I wouldn't mind another trip to Munich - without the long plane ride. I'd love to hit the Hofbrauhaus again.