Band and Choir Concert May 2009

I love going to my kid's band and choir concerts. I am always amazed at how much they learn during such a short time. Hayley has now been playing the clarinet since fourth grade. She loves it and she is very talented in anything having to do with music.

This was Seth's first year in band, and look at the determination on his face. He also is very talented musically, and his teacher loves to have him be the example of what she wants the other band students to do.
Hayley loves to sing also, and her musical interests require alot of sacrifice from her. She has to be to school a whole hour early four days a week. She is very determined and loves to be at both band and choir. I love to watch her, and she does not choke in front of an audience. Its amazing to me!

Slide Rock - April 25, 2009

I have many childhood memories of Slide Rock, and my family would go every summer. We decided to take the kids one weekend, and we had a slippin' good time. Part of the hazard of Slide Rock is that is very slippery. Seth unfortunately slid and hit his head pretty hard, and decided because of his headache he was done.
On the other hand, Jared, Hayley, and Emilee loved going down the natural slides. They were a bit unsure at first, but curiosity has a way of overcoming fear in the end. Granted they did walk away with a few battle scars - scraps, bruises etc.
You can't see him, but Tank is sitting as far away as he could from the slides. He would become a little nervous for his brothers and sisters from time to time, but would always remain safely away. By the way he is the speck behind the two boulders. We love our water fearing boy!
I love the red rocks of Sedona. My kids are on the ledge here hiking out of Slide Rock back to our car. Along the way they found a painter painting Slide Rock on a canvas the size of a small car. It was pretty cool to see such talent and appreciate it.

Badger Springs - April 2009

One of our favorite family pastimes is hiking. We all love it. In April, we decided to hike to Badger Springs. What is great about this particular hike is the reward at the end. What is the reward - well it is two things. First, you can see some cool petroglyphs, and second you can wade in the cool spring.
This is a fun, fun, funtastic hike. There is so much to see and explore along the way. Since it ends at a deadend, everyone can go at their own pace, and you don't have to worry about losing anyone. YEAH!
Here is the reward, by the time we hiked back everyone was soaking wet. (Including Mommy). There was another family there, and the Mom did not want her children in the water so she told them there were leaches. Don't worry - there were no leaches!
Sammy loving every minute of it. She is definately my water baby. No Fear - No Worries - Mostly because she knows that she will be saved by the calvary if she does run into trouble.

Happy Easter 2009!

I usually forget to take pictures on Easter after church, but this year I remembered.  The kids were pretty obliging except the sun was constantly in their eyes.  I so remember that as a kid. Not fun - so we tried to take a few as fast as possible.
Hayley made a cute bunny costume for her elephant Elefun.  She made it out of Wipes and staples.  I think it is time to teach her how to sew?  She is already doing it herself, I know once she learned some things she will love it.
We decorated eggs - usually we do it a few days before, but we have been so busy lately.  My kids love to decorate eggs.  We ended up decorating the eggs late Saturday - its a tradition and I could not just forget about it.
Jared listened to his IPod and decorated eggs.  I think his favorite were the ones he added faces to.  I liked this picture of him smiling and his egg smiling.  Loads of fun!

Easter Egg Hunt

We have Easter Egg Hunts like most do.  This tradition came into being after we took our kids to a public Easter Egg Hunt and they ended up with one egg each.  We felt like we could do better. Every year we arrange for the Easter Bunny to drop eggs into our yard.  The Easter Bunny was kind enough to color code the eggs for each child.  For example, Hayley would hunt for just the purple eggs, and the eggs were hidden (difficulty depending on the child).
Here is Emilee showing off the pink egg she just found.  My kids get so excited they will just go in their bare feet.  With church being at 8AM, we had to wait until after church to do the hunt. Luckily I know the Easter Bunny's cell phone number and he texted me when he had left the eggs.

The boys found the jackpot on top of the play fort.  Unfortunately most of the eggs were the little kids.

Samantha found her egg in the tree - notice the one at her feet.  She really got into the Easter Egg Hunt especially after she discovered what laid inside.

Little Funny Man

When Tank was little he was so miserable because his Speech was getting in the way.  Now that he is talking so well, we now see a different boy.  Tank is so funny and loves to make people laugh.  He is so happy.  We often joke that we just have to give Tank a cardboard box for his birthday and he would be happy.

Dr. Tank checking in.....he loves to dress up too.  He is such a happy, sweet, and loveable boy. We really love him and are so glad he is a part of our family.

Girls Just Wanna Have Fun!

My girls every once in awhile surprise me by dressing up.  Now sometimes they dress as princesses, but sometimes they come up with some fun and unique outfits of their own.  This was one of the days.  Emilee has an Axle Rose look going on and watch out for the attitude it is real and it can leave a mark.
Samantha decided to join in the fun.  Her interpretation is a little twist from her sisters.  I loved the red socks she put on her hands to look like gloves.

I love these girls.  Emilee, since she was little, had her own style and fashion sense.  Taking her shopping has always been fun.  She is never afraid of telling me her opinion on the clothes I pick out for her.  She also sometimes will say "that shirt is okay for Hayley but I'm never wearing it."  Samantha loves to be dressed in her sister's creations.  I can't wait to see where this will head in the future.