Grant's family party

Grant's birthday was actually on a friday and his friend party was on Saturday.  So to celebrate his actual birthday we went to his favorite restaurant Red Robin where he got his favorite dish mac and cheese.  He got desert complimentary of Red Robin...however we were fairly disappointed they didn't sing to him.  Then we went home and opened some presents, played with them and watched a movie.

I'd say it was a good day!

A Minecraft birthday

Grant is in love with this video game called Minecraft, so why not have a minecraft party right!? It was a very easy party to put together, the game pretty much does it itself. It was simple but fun! And now I'm exhausted, and ready to relax!

His invitations were just a copy of a creeper that I cut out from google images and pasted on cardstock. Very simple, and cute.

The first thing we had the kids do when they arrived was go down into the basement for a little creeper tag. We found a pdf file on the internet for the Steve face and printed them at Kinkos, and then pasted them on a 11X11X11 box. Turned out super cute. Then we had an extra box that I painted to make a creeper face.  And just for a little background and a safety place to hide from the creeper I made a castle out of boxes that  I painted grey. It was their favorite game.

I then had the kiddos watch some videos about the game so they all knew how the game was played, and just for fun.  I told my boy to only invite boys that knew what the game was.  Turns out...it is a pretty popular game.  Good thing I put a cap of 7 (for the age he is).

We then made some swords crafted from boxes and some duct tape....which I forgot to get a picture of.....
Next we headed back downstairs for a little Creeper slaying AKA smashing the creeper piniata.  It was quit sad all the work I had put into it.  But the boys loved it!!!!

                                                                    My poor Piniata.

We then had Cake and Ice cream and food.  Which I  just made the cake from some circular pans and cut the circles into squares and piled them onto eachother.  I think it turned out pretty cute considering I didn't really want to put that much effort into it (that's horrible I know).

                                                         Opening his presents.

 And then we had a dance party from all the music videos they have on youtube about Minecraft.
Then sent them on their merry way home doped with sugar and hyped up!!!!!  Because I'm that nice!!

Baseball season

I signed Sydney and Grant up for baseball and they had their first games this week.  I can tell it will be a very busy summer.  Grant is a complete natural though.  Hit his first home run, and it was awesome!! Sydney is still warming up to the idea. She did catch the ball a few times, and then stole it from other kids on her team, but hey she knows that she wants the ball...you've got to admire her tenacity!!  We're still trying to figure out if she is a lefty or a righty she alternates all the time.
Here are some adorable pictures that I love!

                                                              Loved this action photo

                           He's got his game face on, and ready to knock that ball out of the park!

                                                                   Grant taking home!

Olivia's 5k

Gonna have to brag for a moment.  Olivia ran a 5k and she rocked it!!  I'm sure she could've gone more! We've got another runner on our hands!!  Way to go Olivia!

My little olympians

The kids had their gymnastics meet in April. It is amazing to see how they have progressed in their skills.  Grant and Olivia both can hang on the rings and basically do a chin up and flip. I was very impressed. And Sydney just has some natural skills.  They all really LOVE doing gymnastics!!

Olivia's Baptism

It's crazy to be old enough to have an 8yr old! I mean it seems just like yesterday I had her. The time flies, and it is all too depressing, realizing just how fast it goes. If only it were possible to bottle them up and keep them fresh forever! Alas it's not possible, I guess I'll have to embrace reality, and enjoy moments like these.  I am so grateful that Olivia chose to be baptized. She was very excited about all of it. And she was definitely ready for this change in her life. It has now been 2 months since and I'll still catch her ready her scriptures more independently. She has grown so much in the past 8 yrs, and that is just the beginning. My sweet baby girl. I love her and the life of the party she is and strives to be (sometimes maybe too much life).

She was able to be baptized with her cousin Serenity, which added to the excitement of it all. They were baptized Saturday April 7th 2012 . When the miss Olivia was baptized her cute little foot popped up, meaning she got to do it again!!!  Lucky!!! All of our family were able to be there, and we are very grateful for all the support from them. I was "blessed" to give a talk at her baptism.  Let's just say I thought the crowd would be much smaller then it was. However I think it went well, and it was nice to add some of my own words and expression of love for her.  What a beautiful day it was!  After the baptisms we had a some cake in the gym, and opened presents, where the girls got to thank their guests for attending....by that I mean run all over the gym and play with cousins!!!!  Ahh to be a kid again!!! So care free!!

Here are some beautiful pictures of a beautiful girl!!!

                                                           Olivia and her cousin Serenity

                                                                      Proud parents!

                                                          I love my family!!!

Too cute to not post

I just wanted to share or remember this adorable moment. I don't think I laughed more in my life. It was a mixture of pride and seeing such an unfamiliar little boy. Grant is such a quiet, and calm boy, so for me, this just shed some light on how adorable he really is. Though most of what I caught that I thought was funny was in video, it is still really fun for me to remember. Hopefully I was able to catch just the right picture of his personality. For his end of the year school performance the whole 1st grade put on a show, and I have to say it was real heart warming. Having kids and being able to go to things like this is so fun. Sometimes you forget just how fun they can be when you are in the mundane of things. Just had to share!!

Gotta love this kid! Good job kiddo! He lost both of his teeth just days before his performance...which I might add totally made this so much more enjoyable!!