Spring 2012

We are in the process of packing and moving, but that doesn't mean the rest of life stands still.  Courtney was still scheduled to be in a ballet performance last week.  Her dance was "It's a Small World" and she was representing Canada.  She really has enjoyed being in ballet.  It has given her confidence and she loves getting dressed up for it.  Even getting her hair up in a bun is fun for her.  It's been four years now and I can't believe it.  Still, we are not sure whether we will continue with ballet in the future.  Now that we are moving we may take the opportunity to try something new.

Dylan's first grade class went to the zoo yesterday and I went along as a chaperone.  Dylan was excited to have me come and really had a good time.  Each kid had picked an animal to be looking for specifically.   

Dylan chose the Nile Monitor Lizard.  So we got a picture of Dylan with him.  I'm not sure how well it shows in the picture but it was a lot bigger than I was expecting.  He was telling everyone how it eats crocodile eggs and how it was shedding.

  

 Here is picture of him with some of his friends from school.  For a kid with three sisters it was a rare opportunity to hang out with the guys.

We have really loved our time in Silverton and all the great friends we've met.  We have had great experiences and we will miss it.  I have been looking forward to moving to a house with a little more space, but as I pack the boxes and I see our little house getting a little more bare I'm a little sad to be leaving.  It's like seeing your kids get older.  You know that it is right that it should happen, but its still not always easy.  

Dylan turns 7!

Since we are in the process of selling our house and all the chaos that that can cause, the birthdays this year have been a little less planned than usual. Dylan kept changing his mind about what he wanted for his cake right up until a few days before. In the end, I shouldn't have been surprised that the theme was legos. That has been his obsession for the last year or so. He bounced out of bed at about 6:00am and was smiling from ear to ear. He knew that it was HIS day and couldn't wait for it to start. The house was full of cousins and grandparents and he was so spoiled he couldn't have asked for more. Happy Birthday Dylan!

Courtney Turns 9!

Courtney turned nine this March. She had her cake all planned out weeks ahead of time. She drew me a picture of it and posted it on the fridge where I would be sure to see it when it was time to make her cake. She is getting very specific on things she likes and how she thinks things should be. When I asked her what she wanted to do for her birthday she said she wanted to have a sleepover and nothing else would do. She invited her cousins, Leanne and Chantel and they really had fun! We got Courtney a new game for the Wii that was all about mimicking the dancers on screen. It was fun and they all agreed it was a great workout! Then they all got a chance to paint a painting on some little canvases that we got for the occaision. They were all so unique and fun I had to get a picture.

We also had a rare event the week of her birthday--SNOW! At least in Oregon that was a first. I never remember having snow this late in the year. So the kids got a day off school and had to go out and try to make a snowman. We had to get Phoebe out there too as it was really her first snowfall. She didn't know what to think and just mainly watched the other kids. But next time she'll know what to do.

Happy Birthday Paige!

Paige turns 4 on the 28th, and we had a little party for last night. She was so excited to be turning 4 and having a party. But she is a little confused about the difference between getting presents on her birthday and at Christmas. Every time I asked her about her party she kept asking me if santa was going to come and bring her presents. I tried to explain the difference but I am not sure she was listening. She was excited to have all of her cousins and grandparents come for the party. She loved all her gifts. At one point, she was so excited she couldn't contain it, so she just grabbed grandma Debby and squeezed her tight!

Another time she said "everything is just perfect!" So I guess its safe to say she had a good time and I wonder now how we'll every be able to top it. She kept changing her mind about what she wanted her birthday cake to be like, so we ended up doing this cake with 4 different princesses just to make sure we had all the bases covered. Check out my cake blog for more close-up pictures. Happy Birthday Paige!

Christmas 2011

So this post is way overdue but here are the pictures of our Christmas. Here are the kids in their new Christmas pajamas. Somehow I missed getting pictures of Phoebe. I think that she must have been sleeping everytime I went to get the camera. I just hope she doesn't hold it against me. These are the gingerbread houses we made. I decided to go with smaller houses this year, so they could each have their own. It worked out pretty well. We got together with cousins at grandma Haycock's house and the sheer volume of candy was pretty amazing.

I have also included pictures of Courtney's Nutcracker performance. It was a fun start to the holiday season. I am really coming to look forward to it.