Abby's Birthday and Baptism

ABBY'S BIRTHDAY

Abby really wanted a Frozen party, but unfortunately I put off my shopping until last minute.  When I did go, all the stores were sold out of Frozen stuff.  When I told her, she was very mature about it and agreed to have a LEGO Friends party instead.  It was a family party, so instead of games, we just had fun building with LEGOs together.

Abby got a new 2-wheeler bike that she is excited to learn how to ride.

 The birthday girl getting ready to make a wish.

ABBY'S BAPTISM PHOTOS

Here's Abby's baptism invitation, but I also wanted to include some of the other photos I took of her, because she's so cute.  

ABBY'S BAPTISM

Abby had a beautiful baptism.  A lot of our friends from both the Badger Mountain and Kennewick Park wards came to support her, as well as our next door neighbors the Mullers.  Her Grandma Donaldson gave a beautiful talk on the baptismal covenant and her Grandma Collett spoke about the Gift of the Holy Ghost.  Her grandpas were witnesses and Jared baptized her and gave her the gift of the Holy Ghost.  There was a beautiful spirit throughout the program.  We are proud of her and her decision to follow Christ in her life.

AFTER THE BAPTISM

We gathered for cookies and juice after the baptism.  Unfortunately some naughty kids that were in the building for a wedding luncheon came in and ate a plate of cookies and drank almost all of the juice.  Luckily their grandma gave us cookies to replace the ones her grandkids ate, and we had enough cookies for everyone.  Here's a picture of Abby with Maddy and their friends June and Logan.

Abby with Grandma Collett

My Dad with the neighbor boys.

Abby with Maddy

Abby wanted me to take a picture of the flowers I got for her baptism because she thought they were really pretty.

Abby opening her presents.

The kids had fun playing with their cousins and Uncle Craig in the backyard.

The rest of us enjoyed visiting in the shade.

Abby was excited to get a Disney LEGO set from her Grandma.

Abby with her Grandma and Grandpa Donaldson.

April 2014 Update

At the end of March we drove down to Boise to attend Kaitlyn's baptism.  It was beautiful, and it was great to spend time with family.

We made a quick trip down to Utah where we were able to visit Thomas' grave.

I was happy that I had time to visit with my Grandpa Donaldson.  He is such a wonderful man.  We also got to visit our new niece Lyla in the NICU at University of Utah hospital.   On our last day we saw Les Miserables at Hale Centre Theatre and went out for Indian food with family.  It was a short trip, but well worth the drive.

We've been enjoying the warmer weather, and the kids were excited that we found the perfect park for riding bikes.

Nathan on his Lightning McQueen bike.

Abby learning how to ride a two wheeler.

The kids dressing up for a homeschool French lesson where we learned the names of different items of clothing.

Driving a "boat" at the Playground of Dreams

On the tire swing

Dying Easter eggs

Opening Easter baskets

Hunting for Easter eggs.  I tried to not give them too much candy, so I filled some of the eggs with little strips of paper with cheesy kid jokes printed on them.  Every since then, Nathan has been into knock-knock jokes that he makes up himself.

The kids in their nice Easter clothes from Grandma.

With their dad.

On my birthday the kids were super whiny and all of them threw tantrums at one point.  I was feeling like a failure mom, almost to the point of tears.  Then Jared came home from work and they all turned into little angels.  They gave me hugs and homemade cards that they had made, which made me feel much better.  The kids gave me a new salad spinner, and Jared gave me a new set of scriptures that I wanted.

Thirty-five!

Nathan went on a fun preschool field trip to Yoke's grocery store.  Here they are watching one of the cake decorators make a flower out of frosting.

This month we were also able to see baby Audrey via ultrasound.  She is due in November, and so far the doctor thinks she looks really healthy.  We are really excited to welcome her into our family!  We cannot agree on a middle name, so send us your suggestions in the comment box.

January-March 2014 Update

I've been lazy about updating the blog this year, so here is a three month catch up.   Luckily I don't have too much to report on since we tend hibernate from January to March every year anyway.

Abby did a wonderful job performing on the piano for Homelink music night.

Maddy is obsessed with Studio C's Lobster Bisque skit, and decided to dress up one day by borrowing Nathan's church vest and making herself a bow tie and glasses out of paper.

Abby had four of the art pieces she created at Homelink put on display at the Public Library.

Maddy insisted we have a Valentine's tea (hot chocolate) party complete with princess and knight costumes.

The kids' prayers were finally answered and we had a day with enough snow to play in.  Here they are all bundled up to go outside.

Building a fort with the neighbor boys.

The girls really wanted to build an "Olaf" snowman like in the movie Frozen.

Maddy wanted a picture with Olaf too.

With Valentine's day coming up, Maddy had romance on her mind.  Here she is going on a "Romantic Dream Boat Date" (from Lobster Bisque) with her brother (someday she'll understand that this won't work).  By the way, she is holding Hi-bisque-cus flowers that she made out of paper.

Here is Nathan dressed up as a Ninja.

Nathan was impressed with his cousin Christian's fort (that he saw over Google Hangout), so he decided he had to build one even bigger.  Here it is.

Maddy and Abby decided they wanted to help defend the fort too.

I signed all the kids up for gymnastics and they absolutely love it.  Maddy really wanted to do dance instead until I told her she could wear a purple leotard.  On the first day of gymnastics she got all dressed and then flipped her pony tail and informed me, "Gymnastics is all about fashion!"

The kids had a fun time running the yearly Leprechaun dash.  Maddy and Abby both ran the whole way.

Nathan was proud of himself finishing the whole mile, although he had to stop and walk a few times, he didn't give up.

The kids all started Spring soccer.   Here's Abby getting ready to kick the ball.

Nathan all ready to play!

Maddy has fun with all the girls her age.

For St. Patrick's we had some friends over for a party with green food.  For FHE we had a chocolate gold coin treasure hunt.

So yummy!

ABBY
Abby has been busy with homeschool, piano, gymnastics, and now soccer.  She has progressed quickly in gymnastics and is now at the Silver level after only a few months (she started out in Bronze).  She loves to read and study history.  Abby is obsessed with the music from Frozen and she is learning to play "Let it Go" on the piano. She loves her classes at Homelink, and is excited to now be taking a class where she learns all about horses.  Abby is looking forward to turning eight soon, and we have been teaching her the discussions for FHE.  She has also started reading the Book of Mormon each day with me as part of her homeschool in preparation for her baptism in May.

MADDY
Maddy is excelling in school.   Her teacher had her tested for Hi-Cap because she is already so advanced in every subject.  Maddy continues to enjoy doing artwork and crafts, and is excited to have a new friend named Kaia who loves art just as much as she does.  She enjoyed making and decorating her leprechaun trap for school.  Maddy is always happy and loves being silly and making us laugh.  She loves dressing up and "being fancy."  She works hard to achieve her goals.  She is doing extra chores at home to earn extra money for the toys she wants.  Maddy has also been working hard trying to read all 28 of the first Magic Tree House books so that we'll take her to a Paint Me Pottery place in the mall that she wants to go to.   Maddy also reads extra books on Reading Eggspress so that she can earn eggs to buy virtual clothes, furniture, and kitty cats.

NATHAN
Nathan loves preschool and enjoys learning and playing with friends.  He is getting to be a good reader.  He enjoys doing Reading Eggs, and he is almost half way through his 100 Easy Lessons book.  He loves to play with boys and do boy things.  He loves knights, Legos, forts, dressing up as a construction worker, and playing with his trains.  Nathan really wants a Nerf gun, so he is working hard to keep his pull up dry at night so he can get one.  He also enjoys driving his plasma car to the park when the weather is good.

MARY
Between homeschooling, cooking, cleaning, and shopping it seems like I don't have time for much else.  Homeschooling is much more fun now that Abby is old enough for me to introduce some of my favorite childhood books to her.  We just read A Little Princess and Ella Enchanted, and we are now reading The Island of the Blue Dolphins together.   I'm also keeping my mind sharp as I drill her on multiplication tables which I have forgotten.   After the kids go to bed Jared and I enjoy working out together at night as we watch shows on Netflix.  When I get the chance I love to read, and I enjoy my monthly book group meetings.  We are now part of a babysitting co-op so Jared and I now get to enjoy a night out a few nights a month without having to pay for a babysitter.  The kids like hanging out with other kids too (they refer to it as "kid night"), so it's a win win for everyone.

JARED
Jared continues to enjoy his work at Kadlec.   He just wishes he could somehow move this perfect job to Boise.  He stays busy at church working with the Teacher's quorum and doing home teaching.  When he's home, he is always fixing things and spending time with the kids.  Abby loves having Jared do math with her because he is very patient and good at explaining things clearly. The girls love having their dad read them Narnia every night and they just finished reading The Last Battle.  He is excited to introduce them to Harry Potter next.   Jared is a wonderful dad and a great husband.