Easter Break

During Easter Break my sister Becky came up with her family, who we haven't seen for at least a year, and we had such a great visit. We really enjoyed our sleeping in (which also means no early morning lunch making for me) and our relaxed schedule. But don't be fooled into thinking we didn't do much. Our 2 weeks flew by and we were busy for most of it. Becky and Michele and I took our families to the Folsom zoo which I had never been to before. Peacocks EVERYWHERE.

I LOVE peacocks. I would consider getting a bunch when we buy property if there was some way to make them quiet. So pretty to look at.

The kids enjoyed all the other animals and especially the train ride afterward.

AJ is Bryson's biggest fan now I think because B takes such great care of his younger cousins. And he also enjoys wrestling with them too which, fortunately AJ can handle. Doc Hudson is also AJ's fave and Huddy just ate. it. up! He loves having a little fan and would get a big ole grin every time AJ would call out "Doc Hudson!".

Hudson thought the deer were sitting close to the fence so that you could touch them so he gave her a little ear massage. Brynn loves to hold hands with all her little friends and cousins everywhere she goes. Jess and Jacqui do a pretty good job of sharing Sketty anytime they're around.

Awww!

The train conductor saw my camera and said he used to be a photographer so he wanted to check my settings. He messed around with it and then took the picture on the right and said "See? Doesn't that look so much better? Don't the colors just look so much richer and warmer?" After uploading the picture I had to go back and change all my settings to my preference. I will not be signing up for private lessons from him.



Saturday morning we went to an Easter egg hunt put on by the local FD. Not many people know about it so the kids made out like bandits. Had eggs falling out of their baskets cuz they were so full. Then went to Mom and Dads and had another egg hunt in the front yard.

Hudson's new favorite person is Aunt Becky. I don't think he really remembers her from last time but he is totally smitten. After the first day they left and he goes "Awww, she's so nice." Then the next day he told her how pretty she looked. When I mentioned we were going to the zoo he said "Wait! Is aunt Becky going?" He asked her a few times if she knew him when he was younger and other things about their relationship in the past;-) He was sad to see her go and wishes they lived closer. He gets confused with who's who in the family so he combined AJ and Isaiah into "IJ". That way they're both covered.

Sketty is showing Grandpa his new chompers.

Daddy didn't get to dye eggs with us earlier in the week so we did another 2 dozen on Saturday night. We will be having "doubled eggs" and egg salad sandwiches for quite some time.

Then Easter morning we went to Grandma Connie's for another easter egg hunt. It started raining so we had to do the hunt inside. That was a grand total of 3 hunts within 24 hours. They got it pretty good this year.





Funny story: While we were dying eggs as a family we had our Easter lesson and talked about the Savior and his sacrifice. We were trying to stress the importance of the Atonement in our lives. Bryson is starting to get it, now that he is baptized. He feels more responsibility for his actions. So after our little chat we watched a movie called To This End Was I Born. It portrays the events leading up to the Savior's crucifixion, including a few scenes where Jesus is being mocked and people are yelling at him.

A few days later we had some cousins over and all the boys were running around the backyard playing "warriors". All of a sudden I hear Hudson yell "Lets kill Jesus!" I called him in and said that he should never ever talk like that. "But Mom! I'm the bad guys!" He was trying to be the Roman soldiers in the movie about the Savior so I suggested he pick different bad guys. "Like who? Bounty Hunters?" Sure. "Okay!" So if anyone ever hears him yell out "Lets kill Jesus!" you'll know why.

Hudson's super cool helmet

I finally learned how to upload home videos onto this blog.

Look out people.

Here's a video of Hudson just after he learned to ride a bike.

Sweet Sketty update

Its been almost a month since I've updated this blog. Obviously we've been busy. In January Tanner was still working from home (self-employed) and none of our kids had anything to do other than school. We both had pretty easy callings too. Then February hit. Tanner went back to work for Fastenal, where he worked the first half of our marriage. Self-employment was great and I will be forever grateful for the year that we got to have him all to ourselves. But. . . you just can't beat a salary, company car, gas card, and HEALTH INSURANCE!!! It has been wonderful.

Along with a full-time job Tanner also got "promoted" to Scout Master, traveled back east every other week from mid-Feb to the end of March, and is now coaching both kids' ball teams.

I am now Den Leader for Bryson's cub scout troop (which I really enjoy actually), have a baby who no longer naps, have a baby who no longer sleeps through the night (thanks to teething), have a husband who is no longer around for anything, (finally) have a million projects I want to start/complete, and kids who have after school activities most nights of the week.

We are busy.

And that's with only 2 kids having activities.

So here's what my angel baby did for month 7.

-He weighed in at 21 lbs even

-29 1/2 in. long

-has 2 bottom teeth and a snaggletooth on top

-can finally sit up

-still can't crawl but will pull himself up onto his knees

-only sleeps when he's being held

Favorite place to get stuck: Under the kitchen chairs

Favorite thing to destroy/mess to make: Paper-i.e. newspaper, magazines, library books, receipts I need for returns, etc.

I love these photos. This is one of the first times he pulled himself up and you can tell how proud he is of himself.

Love this little mug

Don't you wish you got to stare at these Baby Blues all day? When he wears blue his eyes are Gorgeous!
Favorite thing to pick at/play with: Noses (other people's, not his), jewelry, holes in my jeans

I had to put this one in because poor Jojo is not that much bigger than Sketty

Showing off his cheezy smile


Whenever I try to get a picture of him sitting he always races towards me in his "wounded soldier" crawl. The one on the right is him squeezing the life outta that little book. He gets pretty aggressive when he wants something.

All in all, our angel is still an angel. Even though he never sleeps he still manages to always be happy. I love snuggling with him in bed all night, even though it means I don't get much sleep. I'm his favorite still--the stranger danger thing is starting to set in. He loves his siblings to death and they all take great care of him. I thought the infatuation would wear off after a few months but now that he has such a little personality we all love him even more every day. If that's at all possible.

Realization

Now that my Sketty boy is sitting in his high chair I realized something --

My kitchen table is full.

I have no empty chairs.

We bought this table a few years ago, before Hudson was born and we kept it the small square size for quite some time. Fast forward a few years and a few kids and my table is all filled up.

Softball

Brynn started softball this year. At first Tanner was a little worried because she wasn't connecting much with the ball at practices but she has turned out to be quite the little athlete. After a few practices, a few trips to the batting cages, and lots of catch with Dad she's done pretty well. Here are some pics of her first game.

Totally psyched in the dug-out

Hudson was all about team spirit in the dug-out too

Her first 2 at-bats she hit a pitched ball. 3rd time she hit off the T.

She did great at 3rd base. That's her favorite spot she said.

Thank goodness for bear suits cuz it was chilly!

The girls were hilarious running to the bases. It was more like a prance. Too cute.

You can kinda see what I mean. And none of them wanted to get their new cleats dirty.

Yay! I made it Mom!

Go Blue Dolphins!!!

At the beginning of practices we just pulled out Bryson's old black cleats to see if they would work before we bought her any. She totally loved it. Didn't even care that they were her brother's old ones. I did get her new pink laces though and that was way fab for her.

She also got his old bat bag which is boring black but she didn't mind a bit.

The purple glove and bat were Christmas presents from Grandma C. that she has been dying to use.