Ice Blocking

I love this one...shows how much fun they were having.

She made it from the top to the bottom, staying on the ice!

Taking a break!

Courtney, Kim and kids came into town this past week. We went ice-blocking with them while they were here. So much fun. The kids had a blast going down the hill. It took a little bit to get the hang of it, but once they did, they were going from the top all the way to the bottom of the hill.

Braxton

Just some pictures of Braxton hanging out on a pillow at Grandma Boyack's house!

Happy Birthday Makena!!!!

June 10th...Happy Birthday, Makena!!!!

We started the celebration the day before (her birthday was on a Sunday this year) with dinner to Cafe Rio. She loves the cake with strawberries on it. So after her meal, we got her some of that cake. Both sets up Grandparents were able to come and help celebrate. I guess I should say, her celebration started on Wednesday with a shopping trip with Grandma Hathaway. They went and got their nails and toenails painted, went shopping for a dress and she also got a doll carrier for her "American Doll." She had so much fun. 

On Sunday morning, she woke up to the house decorated and our birthday breakfast donuts. She picked out glazed donuts. Jarel had meetings for church all morning, so Makena had to wait until he got home to open up her presents. She loved everything she got!! All she told me that she wanted was Fruity Pebbles and some earrings. She got that plus lots more. 

We then had church and she liked that the primary got to sing to her on her birthday.

After church we went to my parents house for a Twinkie birthday cake...per Makena's request! And she opened up a few more presents from Grandpa and Grandma Boyack, Grandpa and Grandma Kofoed and from Aunts and cousins. She also got a 2 dollar bill from Great Uncle Bill (every month the kids get a gold dollar, but when it is their birthday month they get a 2 dollar bill).

We played outside and just had a good day.

Monday, her class at school celebrated her birthday. So for 3 days, she was in birthday heaven.

Makena's favorite color is pink. She loves Fruity Pebbles and french toast for breakfast. Loves hotdogs for lunch or dinner. Is a great student at school, Makena's makes friends easily and has a place in her heart for classmates that don't have as many friends. Always tries to include all the kids. She is a great reader and her reading has improved so much this year. She loves playing on the i-pad (favorite games are temple run and Smurfs), loves playing outside with friends on the swings or trampoline. Is a great tree climber and gets pretty high in our tree. She is a big helper at home and a great big sister to her siblings.

Makena...you brighten my day and I'm so honored to have you as a daughter and friend. I hope I can be a better Mom to you! You make my laugh and smile all the time. I'm truly blessed!

Herriman Parade

June 9th, we went to the Herriman Parade. While up at 5:00 in the morning with Braxton (and him deciding not to go back to sleep), I was on the internet and came across the Herriman parade. I had forgotten about it, but was glad to get a little reminder from the internet. It was a lot of fun. The kids had a great time getting all kinds of treats and prizes. Tyler and Kali would run out into the road to get a treat or popsicle from a lady. It was quite the parade starting with a kids parade and then the town parade. It lasted about 2 hours. We found a great shady spot and just had a fun Saturday morning.

Fast Sunday

I had to write this down before I forgot...I will update my blog soon, I have lots of pictures to put on. 

On Sunday, after church, we all got in the van and Makena asks:

"Mom, is it fast Sunday today?"

I said, "No."

Makena: "Really?"

Me: "Yep"

Makena: "It sure went fast today!"

Got to love kids. It made me laugh. No wonder when she asks if it is fast Sunday and it actually is fast Sunday, she gets so excited. I didn't know why before...but now I do.

I guess it is time to have another discussion about what fast Sunday really is about!!! 

Love this little lady!

New Job

I got a new job!!!

I'm really excited about this job. 

When I was at the hospital having Braxton, the day after, my friend who is a lactation nurse came into my room, doing her rounds. I asked how she was and if she was just doing that job or another. She said that she was a insulin nurse at a local elementary school. I was curious and asked about it...and it got me thinking, this could be a great job for me. I got right on it and called the head nurse and she told me to call another lady and get things set up. It is through Jordan School District. Within 2 weeks of having Braxton...I had the job. I told the head nurse I wanted a couple more weeks off before starting and she said that was fine. This job entails going to an elementary school and helping a diabetic child take blood sugars and give insulin to them. I can bring my kids with me and the hours are during the day, around lunch time, and it doesn't take long at all. And when school is out, I don't have to work!! So no weekends or holidays!! My friend that does it says she has 4 kids and she is at the school for about 1 hour. Right now I am on a sub list, in hopes of getting a more permanent position come August when school starts again. But I was able to go sub today (I only had 1 diabetic kid) and so me and the kids were there for about 20 minutes and then went home. It was awesome. I told Jarel I could get used to this job. I really am done with my hospital job. I'm sick of working weekends and holidays and nights when Jarel is at home. And work is just throwing all this crap at me of stuff I need to turn in, get done, and changes within the company.  I'm ready to quit, but I need to stay on until I get a more stable position with this new job, just so I know I have income coming in. So all in all...this job is wonderful and I hope come August, my hospital job will be out the door!!!

Good-Bye Friend

Last Saturday, we took Buzz to the Humane Society to give him a chance for a better home. Jarel and I have talked about this for quite sometime as to weather we should take him in or keep him. I felt so bad for him. He lived outside or in our garage, the kids really didn't play with him (unless you count Tyler kicking him or throwing stuff at him, playing!) He would play attack the kids when they were outside and they didn't like going outside if Buzz was out. So when the kids went outside, we had to find Buzz and put him in the garage. He would get Hailey all the time, and she didn't like that at all. She was afraid of Buzz. And Buzz was so matted, but he would not let us brush him or cut his hair at all. We would try, but he would bite and always get away from us. So I felt it would be best to give him away. I tried putting him on KSL in hopes someone might want him, but no such luck. I even thought about the animal shelter, but I knew he would be put down in a couple of days of dropping him off...so I felt good about giving him to the Humane Society for a small fee. We then talked about this as a family, the kids were sad but I asked the kids if they would like spending their life in a garage and not being played with. They all said "No." We agreed we needed to take him. So Saturday came, we packed Buzz up and off we went. When he got to his "new home" and Jarel took him in, Makena got really emotional and was sad to see him leave. Then Kali started crying because Makena was. It was heartbreaking as a mom, but I really didn't know what else to do. I really felt bad for Buzz. I guess we are just not pet people over here. Maybe when the kids are older?!?! 

Anyway, Buzz is gone and off to a better family for him. It was a fun year having him around...and I have to admit the days after whenever I opened the garage door, I was expecting Buzz to come out and you kind of missed seeing him...but all is right here!

Pet Show

Kali had a pet show today at preschool. She called up Grandma Boyack a couple of days ago to see if the could bring Mady to the pet show. Grandma, of course, said yes and Kali was so very excited. We dropped of Kali at preschool and then me and the kids went to my mom's to get Mady. When Kali saw us, she ran over to get Mady. When it was Kali's turn she got up and told her class that "Mady is my Grandma's dog. She can do tricks. She likes to eat carrots. She is brown and white." She showed some of Mady's tricks like sit and shake hands. It was so very fun to watch her.

Helping Dad

Tyler loves it when Dad mows the lawn. He gets so excited and has to run and get his "running shoes" on so he can help push the lawn mower!

Ears Pierced

So, I took Hailey in yesterday to have her ears pierced. I don't know if I'm a terrible mom or not for doing this, but she sure looks cute in them. Hailey did so good. She cried just for about 2 seconds after they poked her ears. The ladies told me "Wow, she was by far the best 1 year old we have ever pierced!" Hailey got 2 suckers from the ladies and she was in heaven. The only part she hates is getting her ears cleaned. We only have 6 weeks of doing it 3 times a day...we will survive and get through it!!