Levi Turns 6!

This year Levi had a Despicable Me birthday party. He wanted to be Gru and have all his guests be the minions. So we made some shirts for everyone. Here is the whole crew!

And the obligatory silly picture!

 We played Pin the Pocket on the Minion, Steal the Moon, and The Candy Bowl Game (like musical chairs, but you get to pick a piece of candy if you get out). The kids seemed to have a lot of fun with the games.

 I made Levi a minion cake this year. Thank goodness that kids are easy to please and didn't see all the flaws. It was fun to make.

 The kids had a lot of fun acting like minions!

It was a great party! I can't believe that Levi is 6 now. He really is such a joy to our family. A little about Levi:

His favorite color is orange. 

(Still!) Gets comments on his hair everywhere he goes and is super proud of his "orange" hair

He loves anything Star Wars and Superheroes

Loves Legos

Loves costumes and dressing up.

Is the most creative person I know. 

Has a little bit of a temper :)

He's a great artist- and not just drawing. I'm talking sculpting, coloring, cutting, CREATING. He often makes his own toys out of paper and tape or staples. (3-dimensional paper sculptures)

Loves learning. His favorite things to learn about are history and science. He loves learning about America.

He's great at math. 

Is a good boy and wants to do what's right. 

We love you, Levi!

4th of July and the Cabin

This year, we did what I had been wanting to do for years: took our kids to the 4th of July celebration in Logandale, Nevada! I love the small town festivities. It was so much better than being in Mesa and trying to drive around for a good view of some fireworks. The kids had a blast with their cousins and Grandpa and Grandma. 

We started of by barely making it in time for the breakfast. Just like old times! We ate some breakfast and came outside for the candy drop. The kids got plenty of candy and then got to play some games and win little toys and things. They were having a fun time, but it sure was HOT! We were all waiting out there for the firetrucks to show up and spray us all off. Poor kids. 

Then the firetruck finally showed up! Now, that's what I'm talking about!

I didn't end up taking any other pictures, but we watched the watermelon eating contest, came back for a barbecue dinner, and watched the awesome fireworks. They are the best fireworks I've ever seen and they set them off about 50 yards away. Everly didn't like them so well, but she sure was happy before they started!

 The next day, we headed up to Panguitch Lake, to Grandpa Packard's cabin. The kids had so much fun; we definitely need to make it up there more! I had a great time myself, playing games, helping Grandma, and most of all, seeing Lexie! I have really missed not having her close. I cried when I saw her! I had a little epiphany at the cabin and was really glad I went. It really made me think a lot and I realized that family is first. I feel like I need to be closer to my family so my kids can have that bond with their grandparents, great-grandparents, aunts, uncles, and cousins. It just hit me like a ton of bricks. We aren't going to be able to do anything soon, nor do I want to, but I know eventually we'll have to change some things so we won't be so far away from family.

The kids had a blast on the four-wheelers, at the local fire station grand opening, fishing, searching for treasure with Uncle Gale and his metal detector, and just exploring. It rained the perfect amount and it didn't keep us from doing anything we wanted to do. We played tons of Silent Partner (my favorite) and had a really great devotional on one of the evenings. My grandpa, dad, and Uncle Chris each spoke a little and said some amazing things. Again, it just confirmed to me that I need to surround myself with family. I really have missed being around them more.

Overdue Post: Eden's Birthday Party

Eden had a birthday in June and turned 7! How did my kids get so big? Eden had a pajama brunch for her party. One of my favorites! We had fruit, bagels, muffins, juice and milk. The girls got to put cream cheese or frosting on their muffins and bagels if they wanted to. The girls also brought their favorite stuffed animal. Here is  group shot of all the sweet guests!

 We helped the girls make candy leis that they could wear home. Some of the girls ate them right after they made them! It was fun having Tibi and Grandma surprise us!

Eden got lots of nice gifts from her friends. 

A Little About Eden:

She is very sweet and compassionate. She loves helping people.

Is starting to get really good at math!

Loves making friends and finds it easy to do so.

Loves Littlest Pet Shop pets.

Loves her baby sister.

Is a true girly-girl. Loves pink, sparkles, and jewelry.

Loves school and her teachers.

Is a great helper. 

Is one of my favorite people to hang out with. We've had some great moments together!

We love you, Eden!

Old Family Favorites Friday

Found these stored away somewhere. They were from January, 2010! That means that Jonah was 5, Eden was 3, and Levi was 2!

Favorite Food
Connie- Sandwiches
Jonah- Pizza
Eden- Hot Dogs and Pizza
Levi- Pizza

Favorite Movie
Connie- Pride and Prejudice (A&E)
Jonah- Incredible and Wall-E
Eden- Aladdin

Favorite Song
Jonah-Away in a Manger
Eden- Popcorn Popping and I am a Child of God
Levi- I Love to See the Temple

Favorite Toy
Peter- Surfboard
Connie- Ipod
Eden-Pink My Little Pony
Levi-Cars

Favorite Game
Connie- Nerts
Jonah-Red Light, Green Light
Eden-Hide and Seek

Favorite Animal
Jonah-Elephant
Eden-Horse
Levi-Elephant

Favorite Thing To Do
Jonah-Playing trains
Eden-Swimming
Levi-Playing with cars

Biggest Fear
Peter- Serial killers
Connie- Car accidents
Jonah- New shoes (for a few days) or flies
Eden- She is fearless!
Levi- Being left alone for a long time

Least Favorite Food
Peter- Ricotta cheese
Connie- Seafood
Jonah- Green beans
Eden- So many things (but we found our she likes onion rings! Go figure!)
Levi- Green beans

Favorite Color
Jonah-Blue
Eden-Pink
Levi-Blue

Favorite Train-
Connie-Gordon
Jonah-Edward
Eden-Emily
Levi-Percy

Family Favorites Friday

Favorites of the Moment:

MOVIE

Peter- no favorite
Connie- Teen Beach Movie
Jonah- All the Pixar Movies
Eden- Fantasia and Teen Beach Movie
Levi- Star Wars- The Phantom Menace
Everly- Not interested

TV SHOW

Peter- Duck Dynasty
Connie- Project Runway
Jonah- Austin & Ally
Eden- My Little Ponies
Levi- Star Wars
Everly- Not interested

TOY

Peter- fishing pole
Connie- guitar
Jonah- stuffed Grinch
Eden- Littlest Pet Shop Pets
Levi- Darth Maul action figure
Everly- Pink baby ipod that plays music

FOOD

Peter- sushi
Connie- sandwiches
Jonah- pizza with ranch
Eden- pizza with ranch
Levi- apples and bananas
Everly- bananas and Cheerios

GAME

Peter- BMX racing (Ipad)
Connie- Guess Who?
Jonah- Angry Birds
Eden- Palace Pets
Levi- Don't Break the Ice
Everly- Peek-a-Boo

Last Day of School!

I snapped a few pictures of the kids on their last day. They had a great year and learned a lot!

Levi, done with Kindergarten!

Eden, done with 1st grade!

Jonah, done with 2nd grade!

Jonah's teacher, Mrs. Hannam. Loved her!

Eden, with her besties, Jesse and Cadance.

Eden's teacher, Mrs. Davis. She was great!

The kids with Mr. G, the school's Music Accompanist. 

Levi's Kindergarten Graduation

Levi's Kindergarten Graduation was on the last day of Girl's Camp, and I barely made it home in time! It was the first time any of my kids have had a Kinder Grad Ceremony, and it was really cute. Levi was really proud of himself and we were too. 

Here he is with his teacher, Mrs. Cartmell. She was a fabulous teacher!

The big graduate!

Four days in the mountains, sweaty and gross, but oh-so-proud mommy!

Levi, with some friends, Grace and Sophie (twins)

Girls Camp! (Um, 3 Months Overdue...)

Okay, so this post is only... 3 months overdue, but I have posts from a year ago still not done! I'm just going to push everything out as I get it done or I never will. 

Girls Camp was so much fun! It was definitely a different experience this year, being the Stake Camp Director. There was so much work and preparation before camp, and then I got to just watch it unfold and enjoy my hard work! Our theme was Stand Ye In Holy Places... JUST DO IT. We had a sports theme, which was really fun! 

We had about 300 young women, and around 380 people total. It was a huge group. One of my many jobs was trying to figure out how to get us to fit up at camp and assign cabins. The cabins all have different numbers of beds, so it was tricky! We barely fit at Camp Lo Mia this year. I don't know how we'll fit next year! A few of the wards split a month before camp, and that actually allowed us to fit better. It was really a huge relief for me, even though I was in one of the wards that split. We've been in so many ward splits since we moved to this house and they are always bittersweet. 

Everything pretty much went according to plan. The hikes went well. We had lots of great experiences. The Stake YW Presidency did a great job planning some nice talks for the girls. We also had some great teaching moments. We decided that we wanted to have small groups to teach, so we divided the girls into 16 small groups and had most of the Stake leadership teach. 

My assistant and I were in charge of a food- related activity each day in addition to everything else. One day we let the girls make their own snack mixes. We had chocolate chips, craisins, white chips, goldfish, marshmallows, gummie bears, cheerios, pretzels, and peanuts (on a different table). It was a big hit! The girls filled their baggies and mostly ate the snacks right away. The other activity was dipping chocolate pretzels. It was little messy, but really yummy. 

The cooking staff was fabulous this year. They had great attitudes and were a lot of fun to be around! I hope they felt appreciated. They have a hard job!

Me with some of the girls from my ward.

We did a service project to help spread the word about the R-Word campaign.  I think it was a huge success. The girls pledged to stop saying the R-word and signed a big banner to show their commitment.

We had some great Priesthood brethren there. I really think we had too much fun. Here they are with their giant petrified pancake and a plate of "white chocolate fudge." It's really hardened grease from the griddle. Eww!

Here we are, getting everyone on the buses to go home. I would have been lost without Alli! Even though we cheer for rivals, we still manage to be great friends!

Here is a picture I sent to my kids. Levi really wanted to know what my bed looked like! I've got to admit, "camping" at Lo Mia is a breeze! Got to sleep on a bed indoors every night, had access to showers, bathrooms, and had a Stake Staff to cook all of our meals. Totally different from what I experienced as a young woman, but I am just happy to be a part of it! This has been a great calling and I have loved every single minute!