Birthday Surprise

My sisters Amy and Megan drove 5 hours from Iowa to surprise me a few days before my birthday.  I came home from a Relief Society activity and discovered the door would not open and found out Amy was on the other side pushing just to confuse me.  It worked!  I had a blast with them and couldn't have asked for a better birthday present.

Daniel snapped some photos as I was coming in the door.

The kids soaked up all the attention from their aunties.

Daniel and I had an afternoon out on Saturday and loved the beautiful fall weather.

Some helpers unwrapping presents.

Thanks again for coming Megan and Amy, you are the best!

Fall Catch-Up

Here it is December and I'm finally posting Halloween pictures.  We enjoyed trunk-or-treating at the church parking lot this year and the kids were warm in their cozy costumes.  In case it's hard to tell, Esther is a "T-Rex," as she liked to say, Ammon's a puppy, and Spencer is a monkey (for the 3rd year in a row).

We've enjoyed going to various parks this fall and I brought my camera once to snap a few photos.  

Ammon snoozing in his stroller.

I entertained myself by taking some close-ups while the kids played.  This was my favorite.

The Happy 5 Year Old

Spencer is 5!  He was super excited for his birthday to come and was very excited the whole day long.  We are so happy he is in our family and are amazed at his many skills and talents, as well as his energy level! 

Just a few days before his birthday Spencer changed his mind and requested a train cake, so we watched a tutorial online and tried one out.  He was very happy with it and that made me feel like a good mom even if I'm not an amazing cake-decorator!

I struggled to know what kind of toy to get him this year and came across this "Melissa & Doug" game that has odd shaped blocks with matching cards and an assortments of ways to play with them.  Spencer has always been very interested in putting things in order and has loved these blocks.  He wanted to copy the page that showed all the parts, putting all the blocks and cards in the same order as shown in the instructions, and he did it!

Spencer (and Esther) has also become a fan of the PBS show "Dinosaur Train," and has had fun doing science experiments with his daddy recently, so he was very interested in this egg that hatched with Buddy inside.  If Daniel keeps at it there may be more than one scientist in this family, but Spencer does read a lot of books and loves to tell stories so it appears he is taking after his mom as well.  It's great to watch his personality unfold and we're enjoying this last year with him at home before he starts school next year.  The years are sure to go faster after that!

4th of July, in Michigan

We went to Daniel's uncle's house to celebrate the 4th and everyone had a great time with cousins and second cousins.  To my surprise Esther loved going for a ride in the boat, as did Spencer, and went three times.  She didn't want to take her life jacket off when we finally got out of the water as the sun went down.  She continues to be very shy with new people but not so much so to miss out on the fun.

Tamara, Andy, Oliver and Sam

It's never easy getting all three to look at the camera at the same time.  The bloopers crack me up, though. Ammon's expression and crossed legs in the first.  Esther pointing to her painted toenails in the second.  And yet another cheesy Esther grin in the third, with two of the three looking the right way.  At least we got the photos before Ammon's blowout, which happened about three minutes later.  Thanks Gramma DeVocht for the festive shirts for everyone!

Can I go now?

Michigan Trip

Where has July gone?!  We visited Daniel's parents the first week of the month and had a great time with everyone.  The cousins enjoyed staying cool in the water, in the backyard and at an indoor water park (below).  Spencer went on the purple and orange slides about a hundred times each, as he was just telling me today.  

Esther's First Haircut

Daniel's sister, Tamara, offered to cut Esther's hair while we were visiting in Michigan.  Esther wasn't too sure about it but she made it through and her hair looks MUCH better. She has gotten many compliments and now I don't have to fight her to wear a clip in her hair for it to look decent.  Thank you again Tamara!

I was trying to take a picture of Ammon in his cute onesie from his Aunt Emily and a few others showed up to join in the fun.

I can just imagine Ammon is thinking "Who are YOU?"

I love Esther's cheesy grin!

Ammon, 4 months

This sitting up business is no fun.

I mean, how are you supposed to keep your feet from sliding out from under you?!

Did you say crawling comes next?  And then walking?

Gee, perhaps I can convince Dad to let me borrow the keys after that ...

Check out how Spencer looked at the same age on this post.  He definitely beats Ammon for bulging muscles!

First ER Visit

Spencer had his first visit to the ER last week (while Daniel was out of town).  He bumped his chin on the bathroom counter and cut his lip with his teeth, all the way through to the other side.  He was a real trooper at the hospital and super brave, and his mommy did a pretty good job too!

Not to leave Esther out, she seems to have Daniel's allergies and has had a runny nose nearly all spring.  She is pro at using this nasal spray and surprisingly doesn't mind a bit.

My sister's wedding

My sister Jenny got married in the Nauvoo temple to Brian McDonald on June 5.  I didn't get a good picture of them all dressed up afterwards but here's one of them on the way to the temple for their sealing.  We are so happy for both of them!!!

The sisters from both sides.  The parasols were a fun prop :)

All the kids were darling.  Of course I only snapped a photo of my own, and not even Ammon at that.  Sometimes it's hard to be in the moment and capture it at the same time!  

I always love going to live sealings, and a family member especially is a real treat.  We are so glad we could be at this one and wish Jenny and Brian the very best!!