JOY

I hate to skip around in my blogging-I want it all to be chronological. Yet, I am so far behind and don't want to forget how I feel. I also think I try not to be cheesy, but well, this post is dripping with cheese, you have been warned.

The title of this post is "JOY" for a reason. Well, several reasons:
1. Joy that my son chose to be baptized.
2. Joy from having family there to share it with me.
3. Joy that it went so smoothly and the tears weren't nearly as bad as anticipated.
4. Joy that my son chose to be baptized when it wasn't easy for him to make that choice and watching him learn how to make hard choices and teaching him how to really pray.
5. Joy that my husband has the priesthood to perform the ordinances of the gospel.
6. Joy that I have the gospel in my life.
7. Joy that through the gospel and the ordinances therein I can have an eternal family.
8. Joy that I know my Savior and that my son does too.
9. Joy that Jacob is my son.
10. Joy in watching my son become closer to being a man.

This day, May 1, 2010 was a day full of JOY. No other word can describe it.

So I'll leave it at that.

Anna turned 5! (awhile ago, oops)

My sweet Anna Kathleen turned 5 (on March 22nd) and we partied like crazy!

Her festivities lasted several days! We started with her party the Saturday before her birthday, moved on to our small family party on Sunday, and then class treats on her actual day. What a special girl to celebrate. She has made us smile since the day she was born.

A few fun facts about this girl.

Her favorites are: song-Big Girls Don't Cry (Kidzbop version), color-blue (formally pink), food-cupcakes, ice-cream-Mint Oreo, shoes-pink plaid tennis shoes from grandpa, activity-color things.

My favorite thing about her is her spunky, loving, hilarious personality. Man, I love this girl. Here are lots of pictures of this big girl!
Awaiting the arrival of her guests

The decorations are up and we are ready to party!

All the kids were so excited.

Thanks Nana for the matching Hello Kitty dresses for the girls.

The craft: make bracelets.
The problem: tying knots on those
The solution: Thanks Bart for always having krazy glue around!
The finished products!

We played some games and then had a treasure hunt.

Here they are with their treasures!

Anna's cake!

This was my most favorite to make for her. I didn't have a pan, just free hand.

It was so fun and I love how it turned out. We thought she needed a smile so we added one!

Getting ready to blow out the candles.

Moving on to our family party on Sunday:

Her gift from Jake and Rach (play doh ice cream shop)

They couldn't even wait to change from church clothes, but they at least look nice for once!

THE BIG SURPRISE:

A NEW BIKE FROM MOM AND DAD!

And lastly, the cupcake for school with pink frosting (it was her favorite color at the time)

Happy Birthday, Anna!

We hope it was a good one!

Rachel turns 2!

HOW on earth did this happen to me?

My baby just turned 2!

I can't believe it. We are so lucky to have Rachel in our family. She definitely is turning out to be a spitfire. She keeps us cracking up all the time. We love her so much. Rachel is currently obssessed with TinkerBell, so below you shall see the cake, wrapping paper, and jammies to make sure she is a happy girl. And on a very proud side note, the night before her birthday she decided she wanted to use the potty! This kid is potty training herself! We pretty much have days down, working on the nights. Way to go, Rachel.

Man, we are so blessed by Rachel!

The Tinker Bell cake (about 2 hrs to frost)

Rachel, Aunt Sissy, and Anna admire her crown

Rachel opening her presents. She REALLY got into this time. She knows what to do now.
Who wants cake?
ME!

Can I eat this now?

Our family

Blowing out the candles

Yes, this is so good! I FINALLY can eat it!

It's a lot of work being this cute, I'm ready for bed and still so stylish!

Thanks everyone for my fun family party!

(okay folks, I updated, so get off my back for a little bit! Hope to be more regular again!)

To my sister, Karin. Also known as "Kiki"

As you are about to witness, I have an incredibly talented sister, Karin. My other sister and brothers also have talents, but today I am showcasing Karin. We affectionately call her "Kiki". One of the older grandkids dubbed her Aunt Kiki and it just kinda stuck. Somehow in the midst of all of her own holiday madness, working, fulfilling church assignments and packing her family up to visit the in-laws in Florida (why can't mine live somewhere warm?), my sweet sister made my kids some gifts. She had drawn Jacob and Anna, but she still found a way to include Rachel. How lucky are we? And to think that she just made up the pattern on her own and added a few things here and there.

Seriously nuts.

First up, she made the hat Rachel is wearing, she then made Anna a freaking cute purse that I may be borrowing, and she sent Jacob his much adored Bakugans. (have you seen them? they freak me out a little). Without further ado, the talents of my amazing sister, who I admire for more than a million little reasons.

We love you, Aunt Kiki.
Thanks for everything! We can't wait to see you next week!

The aforementioned Bakugans (creepy little buggers)

A little closer look at the purse she made Anna. Complete with a $1.00 bill and a hot pink notebook. Can you say heaven?

Rachel's best attempt at "cheese".
The hat matches her winter coat, of course.
Don't you love that big flower?

Again, we haven't mastered cheese with our eyes open quite yet.

A bit closer look before she takes off.

A side view, I am in LOVE with the hat! (and the girl,too)

Merry Christmas, Kiki. We love you!
Love,
Mindy, Bart, Jacob, Anna, and Rachel

Paradise

This backyard has been a long time coming....and so has this post! Bart is such a hard worker and had the genius idea of getting a bunch of rock for free. We talked some people into delivering it for a very small fee and we set to work. I did help, but Bart did most of the work. For weeks and weeks we spent every available minute in the backyard. I mowed down the weeds that were literally as tall as me while Bart moved rock. We had to mine the rock from huge dirt piles (a small price if you get free rock) and it took forever. Once we mined it, then we prepped and moved it into place. This rock is what now makes up the border of our yard. Our landscaper drew us what I call my "30 year plan" for adding trees, shrubs, flowers, a real patio, a basketball area and so forth. For now, we have the bare minimum required, but it sure feels good. Definitely a long way to go. However, we were really lucky to have good friends and ward members who were willing to come REALLY early on a very busy Saturday in October to get the sod down. My Mom was also in town to help out with kids and such. My father-in-law helped by cutting the sod and ensuring we had done it correctly. Having done it now, I realize how funny the delivery guy was. I asked him for any tips and all he said was "Green side up, mam" It was that easy. Without further ado, our new backyard!

Standing on the left side of our house, looking back. Note the ornamental tree (Eastern Red Bud) and then further back is the new pine tree.

Standing on the opposite side of the yard. This has lots of tools in it, but you get a better idea for just how much rock we laid. And you can kinda see the new stairs Bart has so craftily built us.

Also on the right side of my house, this other spruce tree-Bakari Spruce. LOVE it!

After MANY long weeks of looking at our grass, waiting for the snow to melt and the muddy spots to firm up, we FINALLY got to go out and play. This is what we did:
A boy and his football now have a place to roam

We were all excited to try out the new slide and laughed pretty hard.
Note, Anna's eyes are not injuries, just her own eye makeup job.

More sliding

Anna practiced her spinning

Rachel finally ruled her own slide

It was a most FANTASTIC fall day to enjoy our backyard.

Anna's Spooky School Party

Before fall break we were treated to a few songs and some treats at Anna's pre-school. Since it was a costume party, it was only appropriate that Rachel show up in her little outfit too. Rachel was more than excited to get dressed as the cutest little black cat ever. I didn't paint her face until the real Halloween, but you can get the idea. We loved being sung to by Anna's class.

Rachel posing on the stairs before we left

Zack, Anna, and kids lining up to sing

Anna and Claire enjoying cookies after the big performance--it's hard work to be that cute!

Meet Zack. I think he and Anna have a thing for each other. But with his cute little face, how could any woman resist those charms?

Fun Friends: Anna, Claire and Vivian

Anna and her crafty little witch

Anna and her "witchy" teacher, Miss Jen. Actually she is the BEST teacher in the whole world.

I think these are the highlights of being a Mom. When you see your kids growing and learning and singing songs with their friends, you realize how changing all those diapers, outfits, and burpcloths led you here. All my kids have changed my life for the better. I seriously live for these little moments at school. It is fun to see how they actually retain some of what you try and teach them. I love my cuties!

This Fall

We have had a SUPER busy Fall! It has been full of cheering on football games, working on our yard (post to come with FINISHED pictures), playing beauty shop, having Grandma visit, and much, much more. I have loved most of it, although at times the yard brought me to tears, but alas, Phase I and II are done. I have also had the chance to be in Jacob's classroom each week and have loved getting to know the kids and to watch how he interacts at school. It has been a busy time, but I have always loved Autumn and would want to be nowhere else but outside. However, recent snowstorms have reminded me of why I am inside for all of the winter.

Rachel cheering on Jacob at flag football

The Huddle with Coach Williams

Jake wanted to be #7 for John Elway and play QB all season. He got a couple of chances and loved every minute. It is only "QB" at our house, not quarterback.
Mom was a nervous wreck on the sidelines.

A successful snap (harder than it looks, folks)

I believe it was supposed to be a hand off that became a QB sneak.

And then there was Anna. She spent her time perfecting her beauty skills. We had fun playing beauty shop and curling her hair. It took me about 45 minutes to convince her it wouldn't hurt. We have also painted nails in every color and tried a few other styles. She just wants to get in front of the camera. I have more recent ones with friends coming in a post too, I promise. I couldn't resist these photos though. I love that face. I swear, she is a natural.

Ahh, I LOVE Fall!