4th of July

First off, I am so thankful for my wonderful parents. My mom, who gets the summers off and is willing to take our children so we parents can get a break- and for my dad, who has so much energy that he wears our kids out to be manageable for my sweet mother! They are both incredible people, I tell you.  Right now, they have had my sister's kids for a couple weeks as she prepares for the arrival of baby number FIVE!!!

Mom and Dad decided they would make a quick trip up for the 4th of July so the cousins could hang out...

Hanging out on the front steps with our glow sticks late on the 3rd of July.

Our little fireworks (sidenote, I have never taken pictures of fireworks before- USE YOUR TRIPOD! You have no idea how hard it was to get a picture this clear because I was too lazy to grab my tripod out)

All the cute cousins/ Orrell grandkids (except sweet Brooklyn from the previous post)

The only 2 boys!

Happy 4th from our family!



Meeting Baby Brooklyn

My sister-in-law and brother had their baby 10 weeks early, so we made a last minute trip to Reno so I could meet the little sweetheart.  Brooklyn Olina was born 3 lbs, 2oz on June 22- which just happens to be my brother's birthday.  We keep saying she was that determined to steal his thunder, so she came early just to take his birthday!  She is doing well and is so beautiful and strong.  When I saw Brooklyn for the first time, it made me feel so sad that she was so helpless.  But you can feel her strong spirit radiate throughout her little corner of the NICU.  She is a strong little girl and a fighter for sure! What a blessing she will be to all of us, especially her mommy and daddy.  Heidi and Brian, congratulations on your little addition, I love her so much already!

Happy family!

She spends most of her time under lights to improve her bilirubin levels, so she has little eyegear on to protect her peepers!

I'm told that she's a kicker and her little feetsies are up in the air all the time!

Baby Orrell!

Dan said these eye protectors make him think of Willy Wonka. :)

Feeding time!

Heidi's hand looks so big on Brooklyn's tiny head!

We love you so much, baby Brooklyn! Come home soon!

Joy School BBQ

This last year, we were able to do Joyschool with some of our friends.  It's kind of a co-op preschool, where the moms take turns teaching. We had a little BBQ/graduation to celebrate the end of the year.  A few pictures for your viewing pleasure...

Jenna recieving her "diploma"

Mother's and Father's Day cuteness

We sent our parents some cute little pictures for Mother's and Father's Day.  The first one we sent to our mothers.  Can you read the kids' message to their grandmas?

And this was the picture we sent to our dads.  I'm pretty sure you can read this message...

We do love our parents/grandparents very much.  We are so grateful to have been raised in such wonderful families, by such wonderful parents.  They have set a great foundation for us as we raise our own family. Choices they made with their families now influence us as we make our own decisions.  We love you moms and dads!

All about Jason

Except for this picture of Lucy. But it's to show you how she likes to wear Jason's pants. As capris. All. The. Time. I'm pretty sure she likes to pick out Jason's pants to wear more than her own!

Well, Jason's 1st birthday was 2 months ago.  We didn't do anything too big, just kept it to a little family thing. Plus, Dan and I had run our half marathon the day before. Needless to say, we were not really up for entertaining! Anyways, here are some pictures for your enjoyment!

Opening his first present, a huge bear from Grandma and Grandpa Smith!

 Bigger than he is!

We kept presents to a minimum- we go him a bouncy bull. He loves it and loves to bounce up and down on it all by himself!

 

We celebrated with some cake. He wasn't too sure about it at first.

So Jenna helped him get into the swing of things.

He took to it rather well- it was afterall...

...finger...

...licking...

...good!

Jason also got his second haircut that week.

AAAHHH!!! What are you doing to my beautiful hair?!!

 Who is that handsome fellow?

We love having Jason in our family. He brings such a special spirit to our home.  Jason is so much fun to be with and loves to snuggle.  He loves to clap his hands and give high-fives.  He says "Mama", "hi", "yay", "uh-oh" and "woah".  We love our little boy!

Half Marathon

So. We ran the Salt Lake Half Marathon. No big deal.  Actually, it was a huge deal for me and we worked hard.  Yet, at the same time, I loved it. Truly.  I don't think I'll turn into one of those crazy marathoners, but I think I may do a marathon. Just once. For bragging rights.

We had to get up SOOO early!

What Dan looks like when he's running...

...what I look like when I'm running.  I think he looks like he's enjoying it a little bit more. :)

At the end.  I think we actually look better at the end than we did in the beginning... the run must have woken us up or something. :)

Conference Trip

At the very beginning of April, we went to see my sister's family in California.  We love these people! The kids have so much fun together, I'm so gald they are our family.  We all went to a park together.  I love getting to watch the kids play with each other and just be in their element.

Mikayla is so good with baby Jason!

He loves her!

Lu swinging with Grandma.

Kaitlyn had her tongue out like this the entire time she was swinging!

My brother in law is a great dad.  He and Tyler played ball together.

 They even let some friends join in too!

Go Tyler, go!

 Hit that ball!

 Surprise picture!

 Audrey is a little monkey and is SO strong.  I watched her swing on the monkey bars again and again.  I don't think I can even do it once!

Family photo- I sure wish Dan could have come too!

 They set out a table for the kids to watch conference at and do some conference activities.

 We even had time for an early Easter egg hunt!

Coloring Easter eggs.

We had a blast visiting in California, and then we stayed for a little while in Reno too.

 Nerdy Lucy

I was trying to get a happy picture of them... better luck next time.

LOVE that sister bond!