Happy Birthday 2010

Zane....my little man.

boys at Grandmas in Laguna Beach..nice chocolate face.

A shot Natalie took..so cute.

Taking Claire for a ride.

Tuesday will be April 6. A special day for me as I will be 40 and an even more special day for Zane. He will be 5. I think about when he was born 5 years ago and how amazing of a gift he was. I was so glad for Trenton to have a little brother and for our family to have a new baby to love. He is no longer a baby but he is my youngest son so he is still my baby boy. He is a great big brother to Claire and a good friend to me at home all day. He idolizes his big brother and follows his every move. We have had some great talks together and time when Claire is asleep just for the two of us to be together. He loves to play on the computer and video games...even though he can't read he knows how to get on to the places he wants to. He is a little bit emotional and can turn on tears in an instant. This can sometimes be frustrating but I am hoping it will fade as soon as kindergarten starts. We are having his party at the Flagstaff Aquaplex and he is beyond excitement. Happy Birthday my little man. I hope you enjoy your day...Now me, turning 40..that's a whole other post!

Spring Break 2010

I just had to get a picture of this...how cute..nothing like a brother.

Zane wouldn't pet the huge lizard thing but he wasn't afraid of the tortoise.

This was so cool..they gave you carrots to feed the giraffes.

Can't get any closer to a zebra..we learned they are very mean.

This was CRAZY..but a great show. So glad no one got eaten while we were there!

This guy almost had his foot taken off!

I think Lions can jump higher than these fences..the boys enjoyed walking around.

Here's "Boom Boom" he's 38 yrs old and stayed in this spot all day.

Swimming on Wednesday.

Zane saying "look mom, no hands!"

Claire loved it and had no fear..scary!

LOVE this picture. After this she spilled the drink in the pool..aggh!
Trenton got to go on this jump thing at Desert Ridge. He loved it.
Claire got into Natalie's markers, and all her headbands around her neck.

This years Spring Break wasn't as spectacular as years past but we still managed to get in a couple fun things during the week we had no school. I decided I would take the boys to Out of Africa in Camp Verde. We have wanted to go there for awhile now but always thought of something else to do, I mean have you been to Camp Verde? There isn't a whole lot..but after going to this place I have to say I was impressed. It was pretty good. I enjoyed the safari ride on this big open bus and the boys enjoyed seeing many exotic animals, especially "Boom Boom" the Rhino. I guess he was saved by Marc Echo of Echo clothing as he was sold for a "canned" hunt and he paid double to free him and now he lives in Camp Verde! The Tiger splash show was awesome and I am shocked at how these people interact with these wild animals..can anyone say Siegfried and Roy?

Then we were going to go to Vegas for a night but changed our mind at the last second and decided to go to Gilbert to swim at my parents clubhouse that they have in their neighborhood in Val Vista Lakes. It was great and the kids had a good time. My Dad is gone to Italy to guide Melissa and Natalie's Dad from Japan and his girlfriend Yuko around. So, I think my mom enjoyed the company. We had to come back Thursday night so Melissa could leave at 4 a.m. for her speech and debate tournament down in Phoenix. She is still there and will be home tonight, hope she did well. The snow is melting fast and the weather is so nice..hallelujah! Finally, SPRING is here!

Happy Anniversary

March 15, 2001 San Diego Temple

The girls were so little then.

At our reception luncheon in La Jolla, California

Today is my 9th wedding anniversary. Nothing really big but I wanted to post a little something. We take turns planning our anniversaries and valentines days. This year is his and the big 10 next year will be mine. I kinda like that so then it's not always one persons responsibility. I am hoping to do something big next year like a cruise or trip somewhere..hopefully our financial status will be better. I am so blessed to have found someone as wonderful as my husband Brian, (thanks Audra!) He is truly an amazing father to all of our children. He is a good provider and is trying hard to build his business. He is a lot of fun and loves to wrestle and play with the kids. He enjoys taking them fun places and recently took them all to Peter Piper Pizza while Melissa and I had a day together. He is caring and has a sweet spirit. He never says a bad thing about anyone...and I mean ANYONE! He always takes the high road. He has a strong testimony of the Gospel and had been doing so much better with reading the scriptures and having family prayer. I am soooo truly blessed to have him as the leader of our family and to know that we will be eternally together. I love you Brian, Happy Anniversary!! ( oh, and you better have planned something fun or romantic!) ha ha..

State Cheer Competition 2010 & Feelin' Crafty

Melissa (the flyer) in her "all girls stunt"

Group huddle before going out..she is the little one.

She is the flyer in the middle with no guy back spotting. (Nice Crotch shot..sorry!)
Melissa 2nd from right. (another great shot!)
Her stunt group..aren't they cute?

Visiting the "Lundell's" (Brian's sister's family) G-pa Ron is in background..still recovering.

Cousin's playing non-stop. The weather was sooo nice..no snow! Yeah!

The girls stunting Zane..he'd make a great flyer, he's so small.

FHS Varsity Cheer..Melissa front row with knees wrong way.

Some of my recent banners.

I think we are gonna do one like this for Craft Night.

Last weekend we took a trip down to phoenix to watch Melissa compete with her Flagstaff High Varsity cheer team. They decided this year to compete in the smaller varsity group so they wouldn't have to go against "Cactus Shadows"(they win every year..seriously amazing team) anyways, they competed and came in second place and got another trophy for best sportsmanship. They got that last year too. She also competed with her little stunt group in "all girls" and they came in 10th outta 19th... you can view her videos on my Facebook page. I am so impressed with their team and how well they did. Melissa has put in many, many hours of work and dedication to her cheer team for the past 3 years. I am so proud of her accomplishments and hope that she will cherish these times throughout her life. Go EAGLES!

On another note, I have been feeling crafty lately and have been practicing these banners for our next "craft night". I got a Cricut machine from my sweet husband a couple years ago and lately I have been obsessed, ignoring my other duties like feeding children lunch and doing laundry etc..All I wanna do is CREATE! I better put my priorities in check! P.S. Brian, you don't need to get me a birthday present cuz' I kinda went shopping for Cricut cartridges on Ebay!

uh-oh...

Pinewood Derby

Trenton and Natalie showing off his car.

Racing his BFF Garrett.

The girls were there to support.

My friends son's car that featured Steve Nash from the Phoenix Suns.

Trenton and Brian before the race.

Trenton's 1st Pinewood Derby was last Thursday night. He was so excited and worked on his car with Brian for a week or more. They actually got online and printed stuff out on tricks to make your car faster. They got help from a neighbor with the graphite and weighing it, which most likely helped him do so well in the race. He came in 4th but if you ask him, he says I shoulda been 3rd! He has really enjoyed being in boy scouts and I think he is learning a lot. I hope he continues to do well in it and someday will get his Eagle Scout.