18 years

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18 years ago this little guy, not so little anymore, made me a mom! It was one of the best days of my life. When he was young he and I did everything together. He was my little buddy. He loved going on walks everyday with his mom. He loved waking up at 6 am to watch winnie the Pooh and Totoro. He has always been a smart kid. He learned to sing “I am a child of God” in Japanese by the age of 2. He has always been sensitive to others feelings and gets really concerned when someone isn’t feeling well or is sad.

 

 

 

 

Preston is a ham! He loves to make people laugh and have fun with them. He has a witty sense of humor. Preston is a good big brother to his little brother and sister. He is always there to help them out when they need him.

 

 

 

 

When we moved 5 years ago it was tough on Preston. He struggled finding his place. Eventually he fell in love with music and theater. He has been blessed with an amazing tenor voice. He often sits at the piano and plays a song to a broadway musical and sings. I love that!

 

 

Preston loves acting in his high schools plays and musicals. He usually gets the part that is hilarious. We love going and seeing him perform. The past few months have been a bummer like it is for most seniors. He was super bummed when their school musical was cancelled. He was going to play Donkey in Shrek the Musical.

 

 

 

 

Preston’s future is bright. He is planning on going to Idaho State University in the fall. He was able to get a 4 year academic scholarship full tuition. He is planning on being involved in the theater program there. I can’t wait to see him perform there. He is amazing and I hope he has very Happy 18th Birthday!

 

 

 


The Big Number 8

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Birthday Breakfast. Strawberry crepes and bacon.

Birthday Breakfast. Strawberry crepes and bacon.

I can’t believe this little treasure of mine is 8 today. We celebrated with a birthday party on Saturday. She wanted a skating party. While skating rinks are pretty rare now a days there happens to be an active one here in Idaho falls. She and 5 friends had fun rolling around. There were a couple of first timers but they did pretty well considering never skating before. Sophia and I have this special bond that developed as soon as she was born. She is a sweetheart always willing to help me out. She isn’t your typical girly girl, although she loves things that sparkle, you will often find her outside digging up worms to feed to the chickens or climbing around anything she can climb. She has a passion for animals especially wolves. She is often pretending to be one. She loves camping and being out in the wilderness with her family. She is so excited that now she is eight she will have the opportunity to be baptized. Her baptism date is the first Saturday in June and it can’t come fast enough for her. I love this precious little girl that my Heavenly father entrusted to me. She was worth the 8 1/2 months of pregnancy sickness. Corey and I keep joking with her that she needs to stop growing. She always tells us she can’t stop growing and then she giggles at her silly parents. Even though she keeps growing I do and have enjoyed each stage she goes through. She is amazing!

Sophia all ready to skate

Sophia all ready to skate

First timer O. He was a trooper

First timer O. He was a trooper

C. was really good. She is has been practicing.

C. was really good. She is has been practicing.

Another first timer N. did really well. After a couple times around she could do it with out holding onto anything.

Another first timer N. did really well. After a couple times around she could do it with out holding onto anything.

Sophia opening her presents.

Sophia opening her presents.

Sophia opening a card she got from C.

Sophia opening a card she got from C.

The Party!

The Party!


How time flies

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PrestonCan you believe it. This little dude on the left is 14 today! He is such a blessing to have in our lives. This past year has been tough for him with the new move and having to start in a new school and making new friends. He has had some pretty big mile stones this past year too. He got to fly in an airplane for the first time to Denver and then again in November to California. He was able to go to Disneyland for the first time too. The biggest mile stone that I think he is most proud of is he is now taller than his mom. It’s really not that big of an achievement because I’m not very tall. I guess to him though I’ve been taller than him his whole life and to finally get to see the top of my beautiful head is pretty cool. When he was little and before little brother and sister came along Preston was my buddy. We did everything together. Everyday we would go for a walk or to a park. He loved spending time with me. Now that he is older he spends more time in his room, playing video games, or hanging with friends. I guess that is part of growing up. He isn’t too old though to tell me he loves me everyday. I even will get a big hug from him. I guess he does hug me before bed every night too. I’m hoping he won’t ever get to old for those things. I love this little dude, who isn’t so little anymore, and I’m very grateful that he is in our lives. Happy birthday little-big dude!

Preston


Happy Birthday 9 year old

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IMG_20140627_092357447Wow! 9?! I can’t believe it.  Levi is so sweet.  He loves to help me out around the house and be my helper.  If I give him a list of things to do he does them without hesitation.  He is a very active boy.  Has been since he was a baby.  He started walking when he was 9 months old and hasn’t stopped moving since.  He is very sensitive to what is going on around him.  When we watch movies together he will often get really upset at the sad parts and I’ll have to sit and hug him until he calms down.  His little sister looks up to him and most of the time he teaches her some really neat things.  Other times he can be a little mischievous and  get his sister to do things she knows she shouldn’t, like jumping on the furniture. He loves to camp with his dad.  When we go hiking as a family he is always in the front leading the way.  When he gives me a kiss on the cheek he makes sure it’s nice and slobbery. I love this little guy (who isn’t really little anymore). Happy Birthday Levi!

L- Loving

E- Energetic

V- Valiant

I- Imaginative

 


Birthday Girl

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Mommy and little girl.

Mommy and little girl.

Can you believe it?! It was six years ago that I received one of the greatest blessings a mom could ever get.  I was blessed with my little girl.  Where has time gone?  I wish I had the ability to freeze time so she would stop getting older.  Sophia and I have a special bond.  She is always ready for a hug.  I love the kisses she blows as she gets on the bus to go to school.  She was so excited this morning.  She got up and dressed then climbed back into bed.  When I came to wake her she threw the covers off and said “I’m already dressed.”  She is always so happy in the morning.  Ready with a smile and a hug.  She is our little humming bird.  You can hear her humming from a block away.  She hums all day long.
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S- Sweet

O- Obedient

P- Pretty

H- Happy

I- Intelligent

A- Amazing

Happy Birthday to my sweet little girl Sophia.  You are the sunshine in my life.

 


Happy Birthday Preston

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Preston on his 12th birthday

Preston on his 12th birthday

P – Polite

R – Responsible

E – Entertaining

S – Smart

T – Talented

O – Obedient

N – Nice

These words are all great qualities that my now 12 year old has.  I can’t believe he is 12! I love this young man.  He has been such a blessing in our family’s lives.  He’s a huge help around the house and a wonderful older brother.  He has been asking for me to make him a pound of bacon.  So this morning that is what he got.  It might sound a little odd but when I was his age that was exactly what I asked my mom for.  My mom made me a pound of bacon and I tried to eat it all in one sitting.  I didn’t like bacon so much after that. However, Preston is more clever than I.  He ate a few pieces for breakfast, put some on his sandwich for lunch,shared some with his brother, and is saving the others for later.  I know that as he grows he is going to turn into a great man.  I just hope he slows down a little because it’s going a little too fast for me.  Love this guy to death!


End of Birthday Season

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Whew.. it’s been a great birthday season and it’s nice to be done.  All of our birthdays happen between march and June.  Levi’s is the last on our list.   This one was a big one.  He turned 8!!!  He wanted to have a bowling party like his brother did last year.  He invited some friends and they had a great time bowling and hanging out.  The rest of the day he spent it with us and playing with his birthday gifts.  At the end of the day I asked him what his favorite part of the day was and he said “spending time with my friends and family”.  How cute is that?  He is such a sweet boy.  Next week is another big week for him.  He is going to be baptized a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints.  He is really excited and can’t wait to see his grandparents.  Boy we really lucked out having this little guy in our life.  Love him so much.

Levi and his Friends

Levi and his Friends

Watching his ball hit the pins.

Watching his ball hit the pins.

 

 

 

 

 

Opening presents

Opening presents

Goofing off and eating cupcakes and ice cream.

Goofing off and eating cupcakes and ice cream.


Birthday Girl

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Sophia eating her birthday breakfast.

Sophia eating her birthday breakfast.

Five years ago our family welcomed the sweetest little girl into this world.  Sophia has been such a blessing in my life.  She loves to follow her big brothers around especially Levi. Corey and I often fight over who’s little girl she is.  Her response is always “you have to share me” then we both ask why and she says “that’s the rules of me”.  Her favorite color is purple and she loves cats.  This morning I asked what she wanted for breakfast she said crepes. So she got her special breakfast.  She also wanted to get her hair cut.  She has very thin fine hair and so a lot of styles are hard for her.  She actually wanted her hair to look like the boys cuts.  We compromised and cut it just above her shoulders.  Tonight for her birthday dinner she wants to go to Arctic Circle ( I know every mother’s dream, right?).

I can’t believe she is 5!  She will start kindergarten in the fall.  She is the baby and it’s tough as a mom to see that last one start to grow older.  She is the sweetest thing in my life right now and I wouldn’t trade her for all the money in the world.

Corey put up streamers

Corey put up streamers

Streamers for her bedroom door.

Streamers for her bedroom door.

getting haircut.

getting haircut.

 

 

 

New hair cut!

New hair cut!

Birthday dinner at Arctic Circle

Birthday dinner at Arctic Circle

Birthday cake

Birthday cake

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

make a wish

make a wish

Opening presents

Opening presents

Present from Nami and Nampa

Present from Nami and Nampa


Birthday time for P.I.E

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11 years ago I became a mom for the first time.  Such a scary but beautiful time in my life.  I can’t believe that 11 years has past.  I can tell you that I feel very blessed to have Preston in my life.  So funny that when he was younger he hated it when people would call him other names.  For example his grandpa T. would call him George (he does it to all the kids) and Preston would get so upset.  Now he loves it when people call him PIE.  Those happen to be his initials.  Preston has always been so compassionate toward others.  He has a wonderful spirit and I can always count on him to make good decisions.  He is a great helper and always the first to tell me how much he appreciates the things I do.  I love this guy and wouldn’t trade him for anything.  Here is 11 years of photos from ages 0-11.  Now everyone can see how much he has grown.

2002

2002

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2003

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2004

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2005

2006

2006

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2007

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2008

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2009

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2010

2011

2011

2012

2012

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2013


Levi’s 7th Birthday

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Iceberg with penguins cake

A little less than a month ago on June 27th we celebrated Levi’s 7th birthday.  This was a non-party year for him.  My kids only get parties for their birthdays every other year.  We do this for a number of reasons.  It saves us money on having to throw a party each year.  It makes it more special when they do get a party.  This is something my parents did when I was young.  This year I made the mistake of watching “Cake Boss” with the kids about a month before Levi’s birthday.  Levi decided that he wanted an iceberg cake with penguins.  In his mind he was thinking it’s going to be a multi layered cake with intricate details.  In my mind how can I make this look as simple as possible.  So that is what we ended up with.  The star was another requirement Levi wanted.  I think he wanted it to be suspended somehow in the air.  Sorry kid I’m no Buddy (the guy from Cake Boss).  We had a pretty simple birthday celebration with the family.  At lunch we had cake and opened presents and then for dinner we let him pick where he wanted to go.  Surprise, surprise he picked McDonald’s.  Over all I think he enjoyed his birthday and had a good time.

Blowing out the candles

Opening gifts from Nammy and Nampa.