10 years old!

Rachel and Lydia recently turned 10!  Holy cow!  It's crazy to think that we have been parents for a decade......what?  The girls had a great birthday!  It ended up being a three day event between a friends party, cake with extended family, and their actual birthday.  Here are some pictures to highlight their fun!

 Lydia and Rachel wanted a cake decorating party.  It was a ton of
work but a ton of fun.  We had the kids start by decorating aprons.

I taught them some cake decorating techniques, and then

we let them go for it on their own 6-inch cakes.  I was 

seriously so impressed at how well everyone at the 

party did on their cakes!  The only downside was that

we had SO MUCH leftover frosting.  I had read that you

should make more frosting than seems humanly possible

for a group to consume, and then make more.  I did just

that, and we still have TONS of leftover frosting in the freezer.

Rachel with her cake

Hyrum's cake

Lydia

Charity

We ended up with five 6-inch cakes that our own family

members had decorated so we ate a couple of them with

some extended family.  Here's Rachel blowing out the candles.

Lydia doing the same

 The biggest surprise on their birthday?  Finding out

that they could get their ears pierced!

Their faces say it all!

We're really glad the girls had a fun birthday.  Time just keeps rolling on.  It's so crazy to think that they are more than halfway to adulthood.  They just keep growing!  We sure love these girls!

A new addition to the family

As always, I am way behind on blogging.  I wanted to post a couple pictures of our new little dog, Teddy.  He's a toy poodle, and he's so sweet.  He's the perfect blend of being mellow, yet playful.  Kenny and the kids have been wanting a dog for a long time.  I finally gave in, and I am in love!

Here he is when we first got him...just 2.5 lbs!

Here he is now....about 7 lbs.  We sure love him!

Halloween Fun

Enjoying the local Pumpkin Walk

 Lydia the Ladybug

 Rachel the Clown

 Hyrum the Dinosaur

 Charity- Little Red Riding Hood

Trick or Treat!

Back to School!

The summer flew right by!  The kids are loving school (as they always do)!  Here are some pics of their first day back.

 Lydia- 4th grade

Rachel- 4th grade

 Charity- 2nd grade

Hyrum- Last year of preschool

Summer Recap

Obviously I struggle to keep our blog updated!  We had a really great summer and enjoyed doing lots of fun things!  Here are a few pictures that highlight our summer.

Kenny and I went on an incredible trip to Alaska

Alaska

Hiking as a family in the mountains above our home

Hill Air Force Base Air Show

Fourth of July fun with cousins

Gardening

We ran in a race as a family-  Our kids did great!

The kiddos had fun riding in a parade for Pioneer Day

Ogden Temple Open House-  Before temples for our Church

are dedicated, they are open to the public to walk through, see,

and ask questions.  Our kids loved seeing the inside of a temple.

We really did have a fantastic summer....this only scrapes the surface.  Hopefully I can be better about updating the blog more often!

Happy birthday Charity!

Charity just turned seven years old!  I am always amazed at how quickly kids grow up.  Charity had a fun birthday.....here are some pictures to highlight it!

 Her favorite gift- an American Girl Doll!  We've always said
that she couldn't get one until she turned 8.....

that made her surprise all the sweeter!

 She really wanted Isabelle- the American Girl Doll of

the Year.  She's a ballerina just like Charity.

 I had to smile when I saw the ballet class in session

with Charity, Rachel, and Lydia's dolls.

 Charity really wanted me to make a layer cake for her

with a "7" on it.  She wanted the bottom layer to be

lemon cake, the top layer to be chocolate cake, and

the whole thing covered in lemon frosting.  She decorated

the cake with candies that she had picked out.

I always love to post a baby pic because it

reminds me just how much they've grown!

We love our sweet Charity!

Hyrum turns 4!

I seriously have a hard time believing that my youngest is now 4 years old!  Hyrum had a great birthday!  It was his first year to have a party with friends.  He loves monkeys so we had a monkey-themed party and it was a hit! 

He was such a handsome baby...

 Now he's such a handsome boy!  

He wanted me to make him a clown cake.

He wanted to try out all of his new presents-

here he is trying out the new scooter 

 

 And roller skates

 

Hyrum's friends playing "Jungle Parade"

at his monkey party 

 Cupcakes I made to stick with the monkey theme

Hyrum whacking the monkey pinata

We love Hyrum so much and we couldn't
 imagine our family without him!