Mike's niece Bree just moved in last week with us and we are all very excited. She is a welcomed addition to our family. Bree is already quickly becoming very busy. She just started an anatomy class and has already gotten an awesome nanny job. Bree is going to school to become an RN and is excited at all the possibilities her degree will open up for her. The kids are loving Bree and can't get enough of her.
I wanted to do something special for Brooke for her promotion. She has been so awesome! So when ever I have a chance to let one of my kids know how much I love and appreciate them for all of their hard work I try to. They need to be recognized so they know that us as parents do notice everything they do even the small things. That being said I was so excited to find something special for Brooke. One of my best friends Jen has taken up a new hobby of quilting and boy is she good at it. So I bought the fabric that Jen found and then she went to work and created this beautiful quilt for Brookie. 
So now I am asking myself why do kids always have better things then their parents...I'm jealous over this quilt. I love it and so does Brooke and that's what counts! When I gave it to her she was so excited and said it could not have been more perfect. She said it was the perfect colors, patterns, and fabrics.
Brooke was given 2 awards at the promotion. The first award she got was the President's Award. This award is given for academic excellence signed by the President. The other award she was given was the Athlete of the Year Award. Brooke was very excited about this one because sports are one of her favorite things. Most days you will find Brooke at a soccer or basketball practice. She also enjoyed many sports that the school offered and did awesome. She even found out that she loves flag football...who would have thought.
As most of you know Brooke is very shy and doesn't like to be the center of attention. I knew she would run up and down to get her awards without even looking my way. So before the ceremony began I told her if she didn't pause for a second and look my way for a picture that I would be a crazy parent. I told her I would stand on my chair and yell Brookie's the best for all to hear. I know I'm so mean...but I wanted her to slow down and enjoy the moment just a little. So as you can see I got real quick glances my way I guess that was good enough for not embarrassing her.
Brooke's teacher this year was Awesome! He was great in so many ways...he challenged her without my constant requests, he started a lunch time sports program which she loved, he made her think out of the box, and gave her many opportunities to help her classmates as a tutor. Mr. Hodges sent me many emails telling me what a wonderful student she was...what parent doesn't want to hear that. Brooke told me that he was her favorite teacher and is already sad that she is not in his class anymore.
I love this girl more than anything! Thanks Brooke for making my life as a parent so easy. I am so proud of you and I know you will do awesome in Junior High.
Wow...It can't be the end of school already can it? This year flew by for me. It feels like I just finally got settled in with all the kids schedules and teachers and now its OVER so crazy. Tyler had a great year and loved kindergarten. He made lots of new friends and always came home happy and ready for the next day. I asked Tyler what his favorite thing he learned this year and of course he said that he loves to be able to read like Brooke and Spencer.
To celebrate the end of the year Tyler's class had a beach themed party. All of the kids brought beach towels, sand toys, beach balls, and anything else they could think of. One of the kids parents brought in a bubble machine that was a huge hit that all the kids enjoyed. Jake and I were there to help his teacher out with all of the activities and food. Jake loved being part of Tyler's class and did everything they did.
Well Jake's first year of preschool is over and to celebrate of course they had a class party. All the kids made these fun visors and put stickers on them to decorate. This picture cracks me up he is such a funny kid.
I think every kid out there loves to play with the big parachute. Jake's teacher was calling out the kids names one at a time to run under a get an animal. Jake was having a hard time being patient. Every time Jake asked if it was his turn...then finally it was and he was so excited. He grabbed a sting ray. After his turn was over he looked at me and said "Mom did you see that I was SO fast."
After they played some games it was time for the good part. Jake has been telling me for weeks about this ice cream party. In his class there are 4 boys and 4 girls. It was so funny to watch all of them the boys were all finished and on to something else while the girls were still not even half done with their ice cream cones.
Since Jake has a late birthday in December he will be in this same 3 year old class again next year. Which I think will be great. He had a very fun time and loved everything about it. 
Well I know this post is a little late...Mike had his 35th birthday on May 29th. We celebrated about 2 weeks late and he didn't even complain (well not that much :D ). Mike is the best, for his birthday weekend he was totally fine with me leaving and spending time with my Mom and sisters in Santa Barbara. So not only was I gone but he also had the kids by him self for a couple of days. Which I don't think was all bad they spoiled him rotten. All the kids made him birthday cards. Brooke made him some very cute coupons that he can redeem for babysitting, cookies, a nap and a lot of other things. Brooke and the boys made him breakfast in bed and kept the house clean for him all day. They ended the night all watching the Lakers game and eating pizza. Sounds like a great birthday. When I got back from Santa Barbara we planned to go out the following weekend. So our good friends Todd and Jen along with Mike and I went out to dinner at the Cheesecake Factory for dinner and then went to a movie. We had a great time and it was fun to finally celebrate Mike and Todds birthdays.
Spencer loves spending time with Mike and tries to learn everything he can from him. Mike thinks that it is very important to teach the kids not only the gospel but, to be a hard worker, an intellectual thinker, and the persistence to excel at sports among many other things. Mike always takes the time to explain what he is doing and is always trying to find the perfect teaching moments. He also has coached Spencer's baseball team and I know Spencer loves all of the one on one time he gets with his Dad.
Wow what can I say about Jake and his Dad. Talk about one little guy that thinks his Dad walks on water. From the time he could walk he followed Mike around the house either with a toy hammer to help Mike fix or build whatever he was doing at the time or with a hose and shovel because he wanted to garden with him. Jake loves his daddy and wants to be just like him and I love watching the two of them together. Jake is going to be a very good handy man with what he has and is going to learn from Mike.
As you can see Mike is the all around greatest Dad he could be to his kids. They love him so much. I feel truly blessed to have such a great man to be my partner in raising these great kids. My children have such an awesome example to learn from in their Dad. Mike is kind, loving, intelligent, spiritual, hard working, and a wonderful father and husband!
Happy Birthday...We Love You!
Since club soccer never really ends there is never a true end of the season. So we decided to have a fun scrimmage/party for the girls to enjoy before their little summer break. Carrie our awesome team manager set everything up and reserved the indoor field (where Mike and I play) for a couple of hours.
She is so dang cute...I love watching her play you can tell she loves soccer!
After the girls were done scrimmaging they had pizza, soda, and cookies. Brooke had a lot of fun. It's always nice to have a little time to be silly with the team. They work really hard all year so this was a fun day off.
This past weekend all the girls (my Mom, Wendy, Tera, Janna, and Esther) spent a wonderful relaxing weekend in Santa Barbara. This fun weekend was thanks to Scott and Tera. They gave my Mom a weekend away for Mother's Day and of course my Mom would not be completely happy unless she had her girls to share it with...lucky for all of us. We stayed at the Fes Parker Double Tree which was right on the beach. It was beautiful, roomy, and relaxing.
So our weekend in our husbands minds would have been boring, but for us girls it was perfect. We sat up all night talking and laughing just enjoying the break. We played games, watched a movie, did hair and makeup, went shopping, and ate great food.
We were such tourists always whipping our cameras out, but hey you need to savor all of these great memories. Esther had to work so she came up one day late on Friday. Lucky for us she was going to drive through Camarillo. So instantly that gave me the perfect idea. I called Esther sent her on a little detour to the Bread Basket for the most amazing treat.
