Eat, sleep and play ball...

It's all about....Kyle!

2011-04-14T13:54:00.000-07:00

A couple of weeks ago, Kyle competed in a state geography bee. Rob and I took him to Boise for the competition. It was so much fun to spend time one-on-one with him. We just don't get the opportunity often enough to have that quality time with each of our kids so this was a trip all about Kyle. He finished in the top 30 for the competition. Most of the competitors were middle school aged kids. We are so excited and proud of him! He is such a great kid!!

Kyle got to pick the activities for the trip. Of course, first and foremost, he had to take a walk on the smurf turf. He even caught a pass. This had to have been the highlight of the trip. I am pretty sure that he is going to be convincing Rob that they need to go see a Boise State football game next fall.

Outside of the stadium.

This is the certificate that he was presented with after finishing the geography bee. He was pretty excited about it!

Some of the highlights for the trip include: dinner at Johnny Carino's with turtle cheesecake of course, geography bee, smurf turf, lunch at PF Chang's, 4 new shirts including a BSU (bright orange - what is it with this family and orange), 2 new hats (BSU and Seahawks), Cabela's, and a stop off at the Malad Gorge. We had a great weekend! Kyle is such a good kid! We love you, Kyle! Thanks for the awesome weekend!

If you notice, the sun was shining in all of the pictures. That was the last time we saw the sunshine!

Ahhh sunshine...and softball!

2011-01-25T11:16:00.001-08:00

This past weekend we took a quick trip to Mesquite for a softball tournament. We were fortunate enough to leave two of the kids with Rob's brother in Utah so that we only had two kids traveling with us. (Thanks Brian and Tiff!)

Kali played on the 18U team for the Diamond Queens! She did an amazing job! She threw a perfect game - no hits, no walks, no one even got on base. We were pretty proud of our little Idaho freshman throwing against some of those California and Vegas girls. Her team hasn't even practiced outside yet this year. They took 3rd place in the tournament and had a great time.

The best part about it was that we got to see the sunshine! It was 63 degrees but it felt like summer. This morning we had two hour late start because we got nearly 6 inches of snow! I am wishing that we could go back to the sunshine next weekend.

Kali has two more basketball games left in her season before we get into softball full time! She is counting down the hours of practice time! Crazy kid just can't get enough softball!

Great job Kali!

Where in the world....?

2011-01-23T18:08:00.001-08:00

Are you smarter than a 6th grader?

Do you know what two states border the Wabash River? What country celebrates the holiday called Tet? What is the highest peak in Africa? Because Kyle knows these things and many more crazy facts. That is why he won the school geography bee. He studied really hard by watching the Planet Earth DVDs (thanks to Grandma and Grandpa McMinn) and National Geographic online. We are so proud of him!

When the questions were being read, Rob and I would just look at each other not knowing what the answers were going to be and Kyle would answer with confidence. Taryn was also watching the competition and the smile on her face was priceless as her brother kept answering the questions correctly. She was so proud of him!

Way to go, Kyle! We love you!

Brooke - It's Great to be Eight!

2010-12-20T13:47:00.001-08:00

Brooke had a very special weekend! She turned 8 last month and was baptized last week. We were so blessed to have lots of family share the day with us even though the weather was not very good! We know there were families who wanted to come but could not make it! We appreciate all of your love and support! It is so sad to think that our baby is reaching some key milestones! We are so proud of the choices that she is making!

Brooke is such a sweet girl! She has a heart bigger than anyone I know. If you know Brooke, she is your friend. Her personality is larger than life!

Brooke has been talking about her special day for a long time!

Taryn can't miss an opportunity to get in a picture! She was proud of Brooke too! Taryn played her first violin musical number. She played "I Am a Child of God" and it was beautiful! I think that she has a natural talent!

Brooke loves to sing, dance, play the piano, read, go to school, and play with friends. She is excited to start softball this spring and follow in her big sister's foot steps.

Dancing is one of Brooke's favorite things to do! It drives her brother and sisters crazy but it keeps her busy! We love those happy feet!

We love you, Brooke!

We are so proud of the choices you are making and the beautiful girl that you are becoming!

Merry Christmas to you all!

Pick and Six

2010-09-15T11:49:00.000-07:00

Kyle LOVES football. He is a linebacker. I know he is not the biggest linebacker but he loves to tackle, sack, and intercept. He is the only one in our house that is wishing he could gain some weight. In his first game, he intercepted a pass and ran it back for a touch down. (His sisters were the biggest cheerleaders ever - I have never seen them so excited for him. It was pretty cool!) He was so excited! He is the captain of the defensive team and really knows what he is doing out on the field!

Check him out! (#3)
Trying to block a pass!

Our star football player!

Back to School and Labor Day

2010-09-15T11:29:00.000-07:00

The kids went back to school just before Labor Day. Fortunately, we are still only in two schools but unfortunately, one of those schools is high school. Crazy to think that Kali is old enough to be a freshman this year. (And she loves it!) About a week before school started, I asked her if she was excited to start seminary. She looked at me and said, "Mom, I don't even know what that is. I am only taking it because you signed me up." Oops - I forgot to tell her about great it is! Now it is her favorite class. Kyle is in 6th grade which is still at the grade school. Taryn is in 5th and Brooke is in 2nd. You would think that I would have free time with all of my kids gone but I don't.

We spent Labor Day at the cabin in Island Park. I can't believe that there is already snow on those mountains. It was melted before we left but is got pretty cold while we were there.

Rob's dad and brother let us borrow their four wheeler, so we took the kids on a 2 hour ride up the divide road. It started to get pretty chilly by the time we were done but we had a great time!

It was a quick weekend but it was nice to get away and relax for a few day anyway! Just gotta love this little family of mine!

Summer Fun

2010-09-15T10:16:00.000-07:00

So my pictures got a little out of order and it is taking too long to fix. We had a family reunion for the McMinns. We kind of threw together a crazy weekend to get the family together. We took a 100 foot long slip and slide to a park here in town and the kids loved it! We also had a campfire with s'mores and played mafia, the boys went golfing, had a barbecue and took the kids miniature golfing. We had a great weekend.
A little bit of the action!

Summer came and went way too fast this year! Most of our weekends were spent at the ball field. It is a good thing that Kali loves the sport or I might go crazy. Let's just sum it up with two teams, (Flash and Diamond Queens) twelve tournaments, and only two free weekends between the end of April and August. I worry about burn out but she can't wait until the next practice or game. She has already started fall ball. I wish that I had some stats for her but that is Rob's job. She really is doing a great job!

I don't know how she does it!

Just so you know, the coach only kissed her! :)

Rob loves coaching but it will be nice when she plays high school ball for him to actually just sit down and enjoy the game!

With a face like that, I am sure that she struck the batter out! Now that is determination.

We did have one weekend to sneak a trip to Washington in. The kids had so much fun playing with cousins, swimming, riding grandpa's four wheelers, picking watermelon, and just hanging out with grandpa and grandma.

Kyle went to scout camp and earned 6 merit badges and finished another up when he got home. I am so glad that he has great leaders to help him get the job done. He was pretty excited because Rob got to go with him. He also went on an overnight hike that he said was "really hard!" We are so proud of his hard work and achievements in scouts.

Taryn and Brooke finished up another year of clogging. Still loving every minute of it but Taryn has given up her tap shoes for violin strings this year. She is really excited about this new adventure!

Hair . . . who needs it anyway!?!

2010-05-02T20:14:00.000-07:00

For the last two years, Kali has been growing out her hair so that one day she could donate it to Locks of Love - an organization that makes wigs for little girls who have lost their hair for different reasons. I was so proud of her for making this decision on her own. It took a lot of courage to cut it!

Before:

Look how long it has grown! :)After:
She looks so cute! But it took a lot of convincing and many tears for her to decide that it was worth it! She misses her long hair. It isn't even long enough for a pony tail right now but some little girl will have a big smile when she gets to wear Kali's beautiful hair on her head! I am so proud of Kali's unselfishness. She is such a great daughter and I am honored to be her mom!

Now, Kali, tell us how you really feel about your haircut!!

This picture is more true than anyone knows! :)
It has taken 5 days for her to even wear it down and show how cute it is! I really love this girl!!!

American Heritage - New York

2010-04-05T07:38:00.001-07:00

New York is going to have to be two blogs. There are just too many pictures and too many amazing things to see and do there. I really loved New York. The history was fascinating in Washington DC and Boston but there is something really cool about New York.

This picture is from the top of the Empire state building. It was freezing cold that morning and the wind was blowing like crazy but the view was absolutely amazing. Kali has a fear of heights so she tried to stay as far away from the edge as possible but I think that she really enjoyed the view as well.

This was the view of the New York skyline.
Battery Park is located by Wall Street and is the place that you board the ferry to get to Liberty Island and Ellis Island. The girls just could not pass up a photo with Lady Liberty.

This is Cental Park. I would have loved to have my running clothes to take a jog through the park but instead we settled on a picture on top of the Alice in Wonderland Statue. You can not even tell what the kids are sitting on because they have covered it completely. We found the Central Park Zoo, police mounted on horses, and lots and lots of people roaming through the park. Pretty cool.
My favorite part of New York was definitely the Broadway production of Wicked. I told Rob that we need to schedule or next get away to New York so he could take me to some shows and I would take him to some baseball games. Oh such a sacrifice for me - since I love both!!

American Heritage - Washington DC

2010-03-31T17:10:00.000-07:00

Kali and I spent 9 days back east for an American Heritage tour. Our days were jam packed with museums, tours, broadway productions, and very little sleep. We had a great time and saw more things and experienced more sights than most people do in a lifetime. We feel very fortunate to have had the opportunity to see a part of our country where so much history took place. I will break this blog into parts so that you can see a few things that we experienced.

We woke up bright and early on Friday March 19 to catch the bus at 1:00am here in town. We flew out of out of Salt Lake at 5:00am. It is a good sign that we are still smiling because both of us love our sleep.

We got into Baltimore early enough to catch some sights. The weather was beautiful - mid 70s all 3 days that we were in the DC area. We saw the National Archives where they keep the Declaration of Independence, (Name that movie!) Washington monument, and the Pentagon Memorial all on the first day.

Sporting the new shades purchased from the street vendors for only $5. They made a lot of money on our group.

Day 2 in Washington/Baltimore was spent at Fort McHenry, the White House, the US Capitol, Union Station, and an illumination tour of all of the monuments in and around the area. (Lincoln, Washington, Vietnam War, Korean War, World WarII, Roosevelt, Jefferson, and the White House.) Some pretty amazing sights!!

Lots of protesting in front of the Capitol against the Health Care Reform.

We kind of got side tracked on one of our tours and when we went to cross the street, traffic was blocked and bus loads of police officers were filling the intersection, snipers lined the Capitol roof so we knew something was going on. We were not allowed to cross the street. We were told earlier that President Obama was in the Capitol building with us but we didn't believe it until we saw his motorcade drive right in front of us. He is in one of the 15 black SUVs in the picture. Pretty amazing to see the President of The United States even if you don't support all of his decisions!

Day 3 we went to the Arlington Cemetery (one of my favorite sights) where we watched the changing of the guard, the Smithsonian Air and Space Museum, and Mt. Vernon (George Washington's home).

Day 4 was spent touring the White House, exploring the Smithsonian Museums of American History and Natural History, Ford's Theatre, and ghost stories in Gettysburg.

All I Want for Christmas....

2009-12-06T15:08:00.000-08:00

So, you are going to get just a little preview of our family Christmas cards. They may not be sent out any time soon but they are a work in progress - thanks to my talented sister-in-law, Maja. First, I had to take the kids out to get their pictures taken this week. The temperature was in the mid-twenties, thus the red cheeks and noses. They were good sports and a few of the pictures turned out pretty good.

We took the kids to see Santa Claus yesterday and here is a sneak peak at their lists:

Hey Santa, all I want is unlimited texting and an ipod touch! (Ummm, no and no!)

Do I really have to go talk to Santa?

Since my dad said that I won't get anything unless I talk to you, Santa, I want a remote control Mustang or Camaro! (Okay, maybe that is a little more reasonable anyway!)

Santa, I will be happy with anything that you bring for me but can I have some new rollerblades, I am tired of using Kali's old ones! (Now we're talking!)

Santa, I have been really good this year. I promise. All I want is an ipod shuffle since my mom washed my last one and now it won't even play one song!

Oh, they were so much easier to please when they were littler. Poor Santa isn't going to want to come to our house. It might break the bank. Good thing he makes all of his toys or his Visa would be maxed out!

So here is the latest and greatest picture of our kids! Not so little but still pretty darn cute if you ask me! Happy Holidays!

Seriously Slacking

2009-09-08T12:40:00.000-07:00

Okay, so you know you are in trouble for not posting when your husband who rarely checks the blog (I mean as in monthly :)) says , "You haven't posted anything for quite a while now!" Oops! It is not because there is nothing happening around the McMinn house. In fact, quite the opposite - life never slows down around our house! The kids have been in school for two weeks and I seriously have not had one day that I have stayed home the entire day! Not that I am complaining or making excuses or anything. So hopefully if time permits I will be posting a few times this week to get us caught up to the present.

Let's start back in July....

Kyle needed to earn his Outdoorsman achievement for Webelos which requires some camping. So Rob took him backpacking at the end of July. I don't know who was more excited Kyle because it was his first pack trip or Rob because his son was finally old enough to go play in the woods with him for a few days. They had a great time and Rob was really impressed with how well Kyle did. He carried all of his own stuff in about 5 miles and camped for 3 days and 2 nights. They did some fishing, day hikes, and played around the campfire. They had a great time and are already counting down the days until the next trip.

Our little hiker - doen't he look excited!

This picture almost makes me want to go hiking! Beautiful scenery! Kane Lake, Idaho

Rob seems to think that it would be fun for me to try to hike with them. I think that I am alright with staying home and having a Girls' Night Out. While the boys were away, the girls decided to play. We gave each other pedicures, went to the Hannah Montana movie, Brooke and Taryn got their ears pierced, and we went out for ice cream. After our busy day, Brooke looked at me and said, "This never would have happened if Kyle was here!" She is probably right. He never would have agreed to a day like that. I bet he was glad he went hiking too!

The first week of August, I had a nephew that was getting baptized which gave us a great excuse to go to Washington for a few days to visit family! My sister has a pool so the kids literally lived in the pool from lunchtime to bedtime and that is no exaggeration. They loved it and were asking when we could move closer. We had a great time in Washington. Grandma and Grandpa took us to lunch for our birthday treats - all at once since we live so far away and they can't come for every birthday. They even brought ice cream, balloons and sang for Grandma and Taryn! They were thrilled about that. We did some school shopping since our shopping is so pathetic here. We rode four wheelers, picked watermelon from Grandpa's field, had barbecsues and I got to spend lots of time with my sisters - I love those girls!

Now, I am only a month behind! Stay tuned for more updates!

Taryn Turns 9

2009-07-23T13:51:00.001-07:00

It is hard to believe that Taryn is 9 this year! She likes to tell us all how old she is getting and how tall she is too! There are so many reasons why we love Taryn!

*Her smile is contagious! Taryn wakes up smiling and goes to bed at night smiling! She is always happy and I don't just say that because I am her mom. She truly makes other people happy just by being around her. Her smile is beautiful!

*She is a great helper! She is always asking, "Mom, what do you want me to do now?" She loves to clean the bathrooms especially the toilets. She is a little bit weird that way. I think that is because she knows that I don't like to do it so she wants to make me happy!

*She is her oldest sisters biggest fan! She goes to all of Kali's sporting events and loves to cheer her on!

*She is a great little piano player! She doesn't like to practice but she does a great job learning the music!

*She gives the best hugs and kisses! She is so loving and kind. She has so much love to give and is such a great example to us all! I love you, Taryn!

For her birthday, she decided to take a few friends miniature golfing. It was hot but I think they all had a great time. She even invited her siblings who enjoyed themselves as well.

Taryn's friends

Hiding in the tunnel on the 18th hole! Trying to find some shade and being silly!

Sibling rivalry! :)

Brooke's great golfing form!

Happy Birthday Taryn!! We love you!!

4th of July

2009-07-23T13:28:00.001-07:00

We had a great 4th of July! The sun was shining and it was really hot early on so we decided to take the boat out for our first real skiing trip of the season. We had been out once before just to make sure that everything worked but this was the first time that the kids got in the water to tube, ski, and wakeboard. (I know this is really sad but our summers are crazy busy with softball so we don't have a lot of time for playing on the boat!)

We don't usually cram this many kids on the tube but for picture sake you get to see them all! Kali and Brooke are the die hard tubers of the family. Taryn likes it if we are going at a snail pace for a very short period of time! Oh, Taryn! Kyle doesn't want to waste his time on the tube because he would much rather be on the wakeboard. Hurry up girls, it is Kyle's turn to play!

Rob's favorite thing to do is surf behind the boat. We have to limit his time because he would spend all day back there! The kids love to just jump in the water and swim in the middle of the lake! They think that it is sooo much fun and I love to hear them laughing and squealing as the play with each other!

After a great day at the lake, we came back for a neighborhood barbecue. It started out really great and then the gray clouds rolled in! We thought that the storm might just blow over but 70 people shoved into a neighbor's garage to watch the storm ride it's way out showed us how much we truly love our neighbors. It was pretty comical! It wasn't just a little sprinkle but a monsoon type storm with huge rain drops and hail too!

(This is Kyle's collection of hail stones!)

Oh, the memories! After the rain, we pulled out the sparklers and fireworks. (Notice the water in the streets - it was a BIG storm!)

God bless America, land that we love!!

Chubbuck Fast Pitch Challenge

2009-06-30T13:57:00.000-07:00

I promise this will be my last post today!

We had a home town tournament this last weekend. I almost think that it is easier to go out of town for tournaments than to be at home and get to the games on time. I would throw a load of laundry in between games, then mop the floor during the next break, then try to figure out lunch for the family in the next break. Wow, by the end of the day, I was tired and I wasn't even the one playing softball! Crazy! (My house never really got clean either because it wasn't like I had a lot of time to get things done but I got my laundry done!)

I thought that maybe I should post a few pictures of Kali doing something other than pitching so that you can see that she is an all around player! Head first slide back into third base and calling for time!

Back to the dugout after scoring a run!

Picture perfect bunt!

Way to go Flash! They took 2nd place in this tournament! Their trophies are in the boxes! They were really cool too but you only get to see the box!

Kali threw a perfect game earlier this week! She did not allow any walks, hits, or runs! She had 8 strike outs too! She only pitched three innings but did an amazing job!

It's been how long?

2009-06-30T13:33:00.000-07:00

On the 24th, we celebrated our 15th anniversary! I really cannot believe that it has been that long. I feel very fortunate to have found such a wonderful guy to share my forever with. He is the best dad, husband, friend, and the best part of me! He makes me want to be a better person just by being around him! I love that guy! We promised each other that we wouldn't do anything special for the other person this year but as usual, he made me look bad! (But he did it in a really beautiful way! Notice the flowers!) We spent the evening at the ball park since Kali is in Chubbuck League tournament and Rob is the coach! Her team took first place - way to go Rage! Kali has been at girl's camp all week so we have been shuttling her back and forth twice a day for softball! Oh, the things we do as parents!! Camp is near Bone, Idaho so we are in the car almost 6 hours a day! 3 to pick her and 3 more to take her back! The kids have been able to watch many movies this week!

If you look really closely, you will see Kali's creativity shine through. She told Rob that he needed 15 red roses for the years and 4 white roses for the kids! How cool is that! I tell you what, I have an awesome family!!

These are my two favorite guys in the whole world!!

This week was also Father's Day! Like I mentioned before we have an amazing dad at our house! He is always there for his kids and they love him to pieces! I use to get really jealous of the grand entrance when he would come home from work and all of the little ones would go running and yell, "Daddy, daddy, daddy's home!" I never get that kind of grand entrance when I come home but now more than anything it makes me happy to hear that the kids love their dad so much! He is their biggest fan, their greatest coach, the biggest support system they will ever have and they know it! That is why they love him!

(Kali will be embarrassed by this - but if you look close on this you will also see her creative sense shine through once again or how well the Idaho school system has helped her out! Oops - spelled Father wrong! We still love you, Kali!)

Happy Father's Day to all the Dad's out there! We love you!

More rain and more softball

2009-06-30T13:08:00.000-07:00

Two weeks ago, Kali had a softball tournament in Bear Lake. Friday was beautiful which meant that we wouldn't play very many games that day. (We seem to only play when it is raining!?!That is how our season has been going anyway!) But Saturday the rain poured on us! The girls had fun even in the rain.

Kali pitched a great tournament! One game she was throwing harder than we have ever seen her throw! Absolutely amazing! It is fun to see her love the game so much!

This picture is the most candid picture of Taryn. Everything about her smiles! Look at those beautiful eyes. You just have to love this girl!

Brooke had a great time at Bear Lake. We actually made it to the lake this year. Only for about a half an hour which was not nearly long enough for the kids liking but maybe when we go back in July we will be able to spend a little more time playing in the water!
We took Camry and Emily Erickson to the lake with us! Camry and Kali had a great time digging to center of the earth. If we would have been there just a little longer, I think Camry may have found it! We have such a great time hanging out with the Erickson family! If they can put up with our craziness at the tournaments then we must be doing all right!

A little dirt won't hurt! Until you throw it at your sister! Kyle was in heaven playing in all of the sand! He would much rather play at the beach than sit and watch his sister play ANOTHER softball game. He really is a good sport. He helps Rob in the dugout with whatever needs to be done!

We were really lucky that Grandpa and Grandma Howard made the long journey to watch Kali play in this tournament. Unfortunately, they brought the rain from Logan to Bear Lake and it never let up but we were so glad they could share the afternoon with us. Kali was disappointed that she didn't get to visit with them longer! (Many tears were shed but I promised her a trip later this summer and I think she is going to hold me to it! So see you soon!:) Thanks again for coming to watch her play - it meant the world to her!!

Twin Falls Softball

2009-06-16T14:34:00.000-07:00

Another weekend spent at the ball park! Kali had a tournament in Twin Falls this past weekend. During the day on Friday, the weather cooperated and we actually saw sunshine for most of it. But by Friday night, we were once again playing in the rain. I can't believe this weather but the girls are troopers and play through whatever weather is thrown at them. The girls played well but we were done by noon on Saturday.

Our star pitcher!! Yes we are very proud and very biased but we can be because we are her parents, right!?!

So we took the kids to Shoshone Falls. Kali has a fear of heights but she managed to stand out there long enough for me to snap the picture and run back to the car. We got to the falls in the middle of a serious down pour. It didn't bother the kids at all but I was ready to get into some dry clothes and head home after only a few minutes. (I know, I am a poor sport!)

The Twin Falls Bridge
Shoshone Falls
Our cute, wet kids!
I am starting to wonder if we moved to Seattle with all of this rainfall. I think a little sunshine would be a much needed treat. I don't think that I am asking for much! It is June!!

Temple Trip

2009-06-15T16:15:00.000-07:00

Rob and Kali went to the Idaho Falls Temple last week to do baptisms. Since I am not in Young Women's anymore and I didn't have to go, I decided that I would tag along and take the younger kids to the visitor's center. We hadn't been there before so I thought that this would be a perfect opportunity to show the kids around the temple. Unfortunately, it rained the whole time we were there so they didn't get to walk around but we had a great time in the visitor's center watching a movie, working on the family search web site, watching classic commercials, and the kids personal favorite was finding the temples around the world on the computer. We played with that for at least a half an hour. (I learned a few things too!) We aren't really getting to use to the rain but we made the best of it by staying inside until it stopped for about 5 minutes and we made a mad dash over to see the falls. Even though the skies were gray, it was all still very beautiful!

I love the peace the temple brings!

This is our 5 minutes with no rain! The kids are pretending that they are falling into the water. Silly kids!

Lots and lots of water going over the falls and even more falling because of the gray skies. We had a great night. Next time we will try to go when the sun is shining!

Soccer star!

2009-06-03T12:00:00.000-07:00

Kyle just finished another season of spring soccer. He had a great time. He wasn't on a winning team but he really enjoyed playing defender. He got quite a bit of playing time since everyone else wanted to play forward so that they could score some goals. He is okay with just hanging out in the back field helping out the goalie. He even got his share of time in the goalie box. He really likes to play goalie but I think that he is better as a defender. He is too quick to be stuck in the box!

( I am not the greatest about remembering to bring my camera so you get a backyard shot instead.)

This week he has been practicing his basketball skills at the high school camp. He also has golf lessons staring tomorrow. He took lessons last year and loved it so we thought we would try it again. In fact, he loved it so much that we decided to sign all of the kids up for lessons this year. I think I need a lesson or two but there isn't enough hours in the day for that!

Good job, Kyle!

Brooke's Big Week

2009-06-02T10:20:00.000-07:00

School's out for the summer! The kids are so excited but now it is time to figure out what to do with them!

My baby graduated from kindergarten - what will I do with myself? I guess I will figure that out after I see if we survive the summer.

Brooke's last week of school was filled with lots of adventures. It was like a party everyday and of course I couldn't miss a single one of those moments. My camera only made it to a few but she loved every minute of it.

First she had a Hawaiian luau. This is one party that I wish I had the camera for. They made their own leis, fruit kabobs, grass skirts and hats, and even learned how to dance the hula. It turned out really cute!

Then she had a field trip to the zoo. I don't know if she was more excited about actually getting to ride a REAL school bus or going to the zoo! Either way it was a lot of fun. If you have ever been to the Pocatello Zoo, you should know that the field trip didn't last very long but the kids had a great time because they got to take their own lunches, see lots of animals, and play at the park!

This was the highlight of the zoo, Charlie the Bear.

The kindergartners got to eat lunch in the cafeteria, have a summer celebration, and participate in field day but the best part of the week was Kindergarten graduation! Our baby isn't much of a baby anymore. She is growing up everyday! She loves to dance, read, write, dance, sing, play with friends, play the piano (mostly by ear - any song that someone else is practicing) and did I mention that she loves to dance ALL OF THE TIME! Her feet never stop moving!

Yeah, we made it!! Way to go! We love you, Brooke!!!

This is our life...

2009-05-11T14:59:00.000-07:00

So we are going to try out this blogging thing. I don't know how good it will be but our family has asked for pictures and this is probably the best way to do it! I hope you enjoy our blog!

I can't figure out why we are so busy...

Maybe it is because of this...

Or maybe it is this...

Or this...

Or maybe a little of this!!!

Maybe a little of all of this - but I wouldn't change a thing!!