Aunt Kaylie's Dance

On Saturday Kaylie went to a preference dance at one of the local schools. She asked me if I would take pictures of her & her date & friends at a barn. However, Saturday afternoon, the snow came & when I looked outside it looked like it was pouring snow! Kaylie & her friends decided to come to our house and take pictures. Kaylie looked so pretty!!! Morgan & Hallie loved watching the girls, and Jackson loved seeing the guys in nice suits. It was fun seeing Kaylie & her date. They all seemed like they were having a great time. When it was time to leave, Hallie went and gave "Kayla" (Kaylie) a big hug. She then went to the guys & wrapped her arms around their legs for a big hug as well. I am sure they all felt loved. :)

3 Month Old Baby & new Haircut

Here is our handsome, now 3 month old baby! He has started smiling & laughing a ton, and it is so much fun! Landon has such a calm & easy going personality. In the morning when he wakes up he eats & then lays calmly in his bed until I am ready to get him. When I do finally stumble out of bed, he just looks at me and smiles. I love this little guy... if only we could get him to sleep through the night!
Landon does so well when we take him out. We have gone out a couple of times with friends and he has slept the entire time! It is so nice being able to have a calm & nice night out.
All of the kids adore Landon. They love to make him smile or laugh. My favorite way to make him smile/ laugh is kissing his neck or walking my fingers lightly up his back. He starts to laugh & it is the cutest thing ever. What a sweet baby!

My sister-in-law gave me this cute haircut. I didn't want to take a self portrait, so Hallie happily joined me. :) I haven't had my hair cut above my shoulders since I was 7 or 8 and I HATED it! Now I actually really like having short hair. Morgan really liked it too and asked me if Janelle could cut a "piece" of her hair- maybe some other time. :)

Happy Birthday Grandpa Boyd

Today is Boyd's birthday. Tonight he told me that he was 32, but then when I told him that meant he was only 2 when Brian was born, he had to re-think his age. :)
Last night Brian & I took Boyd out to dinner for his birthday. I feel that I am never able to really talk to him because the kids are always around & instead of being quiet like little mice, they sometimes remind me of little monkeys swinging from place to place, so... we decided it would be nice to just go out with Brian & I. We went to Cracker Barrel & had a great time. I told Brian that I bet Boyd would order the "Meatloaf Platter" & sure enough he did, with 2 sides of green beans. When the waiter brought out the platter, it looked as though they had just taken a can of beans, heated it up, and put the ENTIRE can on his plate. It did look appetizing though. :) Tonight Karen was so sweet to make a yummy dinner & we all celebrated with Boyd.
There are many things that I admire about Boyd. Boyd has such a good heart. I know that he tries really hard in life to do the best he can. Boyd & Karen both have been such good examples to me of endurance, and both in individual ways. Boyd has taught me
through his example, that sometimes in life things happen to us that we do not expect, or have planned on. In these unexpected times, the best thing to do, is find beauty and joy, & move forward, even when it may seem difficult. He has taught me that there is beauty and joy to be found in even the simple things of life.
Boyd is one of the hardest workers I have ever met. I know that Brian gets his hard-working skills & professionalism on any job from following after his Dad's example. Boyd has built some AMAZING homes!!!! They are beautiful & it is so neat to drive around different neighborhoods as Brian tells me with pride & respect that "My Dad built this home." I am so grateful that he taught Brian how to work hard with integrity & honor towards those whom you work with & are around.
Boyd is a great Grandpa! The kids love to see him, especially when candy is involved. One of my favorite things that he did was when he came to dinner one night with a package for each of the grandkids. They each opened their package which contained a bag of M&M's with a dollar taped on the back of it. I asked him where my package was, and he said, "Maybe next time." Next time hasn't come yet. Maybe I need to remind him. :)
Boyd loves to fish! It is always fun & a real treat to go to Fish Lake as a family with him & Karen. Brittany & I are always trying to do some sort of prank to Boyd like in the bottom picture. :)
Boyd has a great sense of humor. I like that I can do dumb or silly things that I think are really funny (everyone else probably thinks it's weird) and Boyd just laughs at me & gives me the glory that I am indeed really funny. :) I love to say things to Boyd (while I am trying to be very serious, but really trying to just tease him) that make him think for a minute. He isn't quite sure how to respond, so he pauses for a minute while thinking about what I have just said & finally realizes that I am just teasing him & trying to confuse him. I'm grateful he gets my sense of humor. One of my favorite ways to confuse Boyd is when he asks for something & I do it exactly as he asked. For example, the other night we had icecream. I asked Boyd if he would like any and he said he would like a "little bit" of both Mint Chocolate Chip & Vanilla along with a brownie. Brittany & I always like to team up in these instances and occasionally we can get Brian & Jeff to help out too. So, we all put
1/2 teaspoon of each into a bowl with a big brownie. We topped it off with a very large serving spoon. The look on his face was priceless!
I know that just like me, Boyd is not perfect, however, I am so grateful for him & for the man that he is. I am grateful for what he has taught his children. I am grateful that 8 1/2 years ago he welcomed me into his home without any question & has loved me as a daughter since then. I am grateful for the respect & love he has towards others. I am grateful that he talks so highly of others & judges them for their true character instead of what someone may say about them otherwise. Boyd really is a great man, and I am grateful to have him in my life. Happy Birthday Boyd!

My Boys

Jackson had a friend from Pre School invite him over to play. I was a little nervous because I didn't know the family very well & wasn't quite sure how Jackson would act. However, I knew that the little boy & his Mom seemed really nice & Jackson would be able to play with "Transformers" and "Spiderman" & a boy! We set their little "play date" for today. I followed her to her house & dropped Jackson off with one final reminder to please be nice & say Please & Thank you.
After playing for a couple of hours I went to pick up Jackson. I asked my new friend how he had been. She said, "He was great! He even taught us how to burp!!!!! I was mortified! Yes, Jackson taught his new friend & his Mom how to burp!!! What part of "Polite kid" did he not understand. I told her I didn't even know he knew how to burp. She then explained it was a fake burp... even better! Oh my Gosh!!! And I was worried about sending him to a stranger's home when I should have been more worried about my own kid. She said she told him she thought his burping talent was really cool & that she had never been able to do that... so, he kept doing it. Fabulous! On a positive note, they would love to have Jackson come & play again, the 2 of them played so well together, & I have a new friend who agrees with me- that my little boy is funny. ;)
And this handsome little guy has started laughing! It is so much fun! He laughs the hardest when we kiss his neck & it just makes us smile. Morgan says that he has smiled at her now 25 times. ;)
Landon is SUCH a good baby!! He is so calm & just sits and smiles. I love waking up in the morning and seeing his little face. He just lays in bed perfectly content and smiles. He only cries if he is starving or if Hallie has been trying to find something in his ear or when she tried to give him a drink out of her straw. He is so sweet & brings us so much joy.

Our very own Cinderella

Hallie loves dressing up, so when I saw this swimming suit at Target, I knew it would be the perfect gift for her birthday. Morgan helped her put it on the other day & Hallie immediatly started dancing & twirling around. I think she looks kind of like "Spanky" in "Little Rascals" when he wears the ballerina dress. Ha ha ha Only she is even more adorable. :)
Jackson soon had to put his swimming suit on too & dance with her. I have a feeling we will be seeing this a lot this summer.
Last night all the kids were asleep except for Hallie. I went in her room to tuck her in again and she was sitting in the closet playing with her toys. When I walked in she said, "Play!" I told her it was time to go to bed. I retucked her in & said goodnight. Soon Brian came home & went in to give her a kiss. He left the room, but forgot to lock the door so she couldn't come out. Within 10 minutes, Cinderella came into our room with this beautiful attire, including mismatched heels. We couldn't help but laugh. She gave us a look that said, "It's only 9:30, and I don't need to sleep until the clock strikes 12!"
Here is Hallie dancing with her Prince Charming (aka Daddy). Brian was so cute!!! Hallie was so serious about dancing & it was fun watching them. Prince Charming even dipped Cinderella at the end and then off to bed she went. :)