June

Meet Milo.  He is our new cat.  I am NOT a cat person (sorry to all the cat lovers out there)...but I'm REALLY not a mouse or gopher person either.  So, Milo gets to stay outside...and hopefully catch the little beasts that have been reeking havoc on our lawn.

The girls are in HEAVEN!!

They love the new kitty.

Wade left us for a week and took his scouts down the Green River.  He had a great time.  We all missed him, and were happy to have him home safe and sound.

More rock climbing. This time with Wade's family.

 This little girl is too mobile these days.  We had to bring the pack and play up the canyon.

 My mountain man.

Janie's getting really good at climbing.

We start em young.

Our adorable cousins1

Happy Birthday Addi Girl!

Wow.  Can't believe you are 6! You are so fun and have the. best. laugh.  We LOVE you to pieces!

Birthday cake request:  La La Loopsies (at least it was yummy!)

Grandma and Grandpa home from the MTC just in time.

It was a great day!

Our annual trip up the mountain.  Thanks Uncle Mark for letting us use your trailer.

Grandma and Grandpa met us at Emerald Lake for lunch.

Grandpa tried to teach the girls how to skip rocks.

We couldn't keep Kate out of the water.  She was a freezing, wet, muddy mess by the time we left!

Saying goodbye.  They left Monday.  We know they are gonna be great!

 Miss you guys already!

April and May Catch Up!!

Due to my lack of journaling...I figured I should at least blog so we have some sort of record of our lives.  So, here's to you mom and dad (the only ones who care if we update our blog)

Our big girl Kate...sitting up and getting enough hair to pull back! Almost 8 months in this picture and still being loved almost TO DEATH by your sisters, but who can deny that cute smile and sweet dimple?

Family bike-ride.  Hooray for warm weather!
  

The youngest work really hard in the trailer! 

EASTERS

We were so happy that Shane and Marsh and their family joined us this year.  Here we are at the City Easter egg hunt.  It was freezing (as usual).

 Here's an incentive for the rest of you...if you come visit we will take you rock climbing in Maple Canyon.  Who said small towns have nothing to offer?  :)

Time to lower the crib...this little one is already pulling herself up and standing on her own!

Weekend sleepovers.  I love these little girls...and this picture makes it look like they love each other.  Don't be deceived.

Ellia helping her mom make yummy strawberry freezer jam!!

Wade's Dad's last Hurrah!  

Wade's dad and mom will be leaving us for 3 years to serve as mission president (and wife) in Rapid City, South Dakota.  He and his sons gathered their oldest children and went backpacking in Coyote Gulch.  We will miss them terribly, but we are excited for them.  AND now we have another place to visit!

The only thing worse than being a soccer mom is being a soccer coach!  But somehow I got conned into it.  I had to dig WAY back to my soccer playing years.  It paid off though.  This was my little team.  I actually had a great time.  Janie is getting quite good if I do say so myself.

We let the girls skip the last week of school and took them to Arizona.  While Wade slaved away all day at medical meetings, the girls and I slaved away at the pool.  It was rough.  Some highlights of the trip were:

Visiting with the youngest looking most wonderful Grandma (great grandma) ever!

Camping with my brothers that weekend and sharing my birthday celebrations with my niece (who also happens to share my same name)!  Love you little Jenni.

And it wouldn't be spring without yard work.  Who knew taking care of a yard would be such a big blasted job?  I both love and despise it. The boys got some rocks from the hills for our flower bed. Here's yet another reason we will be missing Curtis.  Thanks for all the manual labor...not to mention planting half of our garden while we were gone.

Coming Soon:  June!

Dream Man

My husband Wade is pretty excellent - (if I do say so myself).

The fact that he likes to play with the girls just makes him that much better. Last weekend he planned a little overnight backpack trip not too far from home. Originally it was just he, Janie, and Addi...but after a little (okay a lot) of coercing, he agreed to take Ellia (who by the way is suffering from the "terrible threes"). Our neighbor and a couple of his kids decided to go as well. Here are the little hikers.

The brave dads with the little hikers

Setting up camp

Dinner

Good Morning

By the way, Ellia is now nicknamed "the mule" or "Grandpa Hardy reincarnate" because she did awesome. She carried her little pack the whole way without complaining! The girls loved it and can't wait to go again!

And what did I do? Cleaned house and read a book (Friends and Foes by Sara Eden in case you're wondering). My idea of a good time . . . the reading anyway.

Wade, you make me want to be a better mom. I hope you know how much all the girls in your life adore you...because we do.

3 bobs.

Remember this long hair?

It no longer exists...

(and the curls are gone too...boohoo!)

And if you cut one girl's hair -

You end up cutting the rest of the girls' hair as well!

HAPPY SPRING! :)

These Boots Were Made For Walkin!

THIS little girl loves dressing up...and her black boots!

Here are a few of the pictures we have taken of her sportin' her black boots over the last few months.

:) smile.

Such a funny little girl (and adorable if I do say so myself!)

We love her!!

Ellia's 3!

I can't believe our little Bubbs is three! Such a fun little girl! Janie and Addi really wanted to see Ellia open her gifts in the morning before they went to school - so we woke her up. She loved her Stawberry Shortcake balloons almost as much as her gifts!

lounging on her new couch/bed.

Her cake didn't quite end up how I envisioned it, but she loved it nonetheless. She wanted a Stawberry Shortcake cake. I decided to make a fruit pizza to go with all her Stawberry Shortcake dolls, but I wanted it to look like a cake. So beneath both cookie layers there were Rice Krispie treats. It was yummy!!

Birthday dinner request: McDonalds

She had a great day!!

My sweet little Ellia. You are such a funny little girl. Here are a few fun facts about you:

* You love pink, dresses, and all things girlie.

* You love TV and would watch it all day if I let you. Program of choice: Caillou and then Max and Ruby.

*You LOVE reading books and you love sitting on mom's yap (lap).

* You have the cutest speech impediments around. Your "k"s sound like "t", "l" sound like "y", "v" like "b"...to name a few. Good thing mom's a pretty good translator!

*You love your sisters and your cousins.

*You love cereal, chocolate milk, and junk food - but you also like fruits and veggies (with the exception of green beans)

*You are a song bird (just like your sisters). Seems you are always humming or singing something.

*When I asked you what makes you sad you said, "When my mom yells at me." (Yah...that one made me feel like a winner!)

*potty training is a dang roller-coaster. I'm about to lose my mind...(sometimes I even yell) :(

*You have a wonderful imagination. Lately you like to play unicorns. So long as I pretend to be the "mommy unicorn" and you pretend to be the "baby unicorn" you are a lot more cooperative. "Baby unicorn, come and eat your lunch" "Okay, mommy unicorn"...you get the idea.

*Sometimes you call mom and dad by our first names. The other day Dad got mad at you for wearing your skates in the house. You walked into your bedroom, turned to Addi and said, "I hate Wade."

Thanks for being so fun and full of life. You challenge and test us, but keep us laughing. It is very hard to get mad at you because you are just so darn cute and sweet!

We love you so, so much!

Getting Big!

My Little Biggie Girl!

Whatever happened to the 3 month post? Yes. It's true. Seems there's little time for blogging these days. And this little one is almost 6 months...though these pictures are almost a month old (I had intended to do this post a month ago!) Not that YOU are being neglected Kate - on the contrary beloved child. Someone is always holding (or begging to hold) you.

You are the sweetest baby around! Even Dad, whose not terribly excited about the "baby stage", is completely nuts about you. Your ready smiles brighten up our days. Here are a few little things about you:

• You are a great sleeper...pretty much from the day you were born (and I deserve it after Ellia - if I do say so myself!).
• You rarely fuss or cry - but lately you have been doing a high pitched little monkey sounding scream. It makes us all laugh.
• You are a great nurser and you already watch us eat and grab at food. I am interested to see how you will do with solids.
• You are constantly being mauled by your sisters...and for the most part you are pretty patient with them. You love them!
• You just started rolling a couple of weeks ago. Around 5 months Dad wondered why you hadn't started rolling. I told him it was because you were always being held.
• You love your binki! Hooray. Finally - I got a binki baby. I didn't realize how much I was missing out on. You women who have binki babies: consider yourself blessed.
• Not gonna lie...some days you are the only one of my children who helps me stay sane. If I'm having a rough day, just talking to you and having you smile at me and cuddle into my chest and neck makes my day better, and motherhood heavenly. Thank heaven for you little one. I love you so, so much!