Jace is THREE!!!

 

This handsome little boy turned 3 at the end of March! He wanted a blue birthday, which turned into wanting a cookie monster cake. When you asked him what he wanted for his birthday he would respond, birthday cake. Then after his birthday anytime someone asked him what he got he would reply, cookie monster birthday cake! Obviously, cake is the most important part of the birthday!

Jace is one fun little boy! He makes us laugh each day. He does have an intense personality and when he wants something you know!  Jace loves  playing with trains, trucks, cars, etc.  His favorite show is Dragon Tales. He even went through a stage of calling us all Dragon Tale character names. He asks to watch it every morning. He also asks many times a day to ride bikes. You will see his new bike below which replaced his princess bike he had from his sisters. Our neighbors were starting to ask if we wanted them to spray paint over the princesses, but Jace could have cared less. It was his princess “motorcycle,” but  he is happy to have his big boy bike now!  Jace  pretty much potty trained himself around 2 1/2!  We love our Jace!

New Big Boy Bike!

And like I said, his bday was all about the cake! I am proud of this little cake!

 

This is how I made Jace eat his cake with everyone there. He did not want me to cut it up and serve everyone.

He wanted to do this! So after family left, he got to have some like he wanted!

Lincoln thought it was fun too!

  

Happy Birthday to Jace!

 

And I just needed to throw in a picture of Lincoln eating a tomato like and apple. Yum!

Who needs a trampoline when you have….DIRT!

 

When we returned from Sedona, we had this dirt pile in our backyard. We are having our trampoline put in the ground. The kids came home and played for hours out on the hill. First they slid down it themselves, then a few days later they pulled out sleds, toy cars, and anything else that would slide down.  My kids were sad when the dirt had to go. I guess we should have saved our selves some money and just put dirt piles all over the backyard. It’s like when they play with the box more than the toy.

The hill was the hit for Jace’s Bday. Him and his cousins spent most of the time playing in the dirt!

Lesson for the day: If you don’t care what your backyard looks like, put dirt hills and boxes out there and your kids will be in heaven!

Running

My sister and I did a few 5k runs in the last few months. One happened to be on St. Patrick’s Day and the kids had been wanting to come, so we made it a family morning! Since we had extra hands- we actually have pictures:)

An actual picture of all of us! It doesn’t happen often!

The cousins stretching out for their kid dash. They didn’t realize they would be waiting awhile before it was there turn…

Me and my sister Farrah

Ready, Set, Go!

The kids waiting and cheering us on!

My handsome blondie!

Finishing together!

Kids Dash time

Lola, Tristin, Hayley, Riley, Kiki, Jace, and Lincoln

Spring Break

March was a busy month! I will start with spring break.  We were able to stay here for a few nights with the kids……

SEDONA!

Sedona is so beautiful! Jeff and I visited Sedona often when we were in college and we also spent our honeymoon weekend here.  During this family trip we played in Sedona, went to Out of Africa Wild Animal Park, visited Flagstaff Aquatic Center and other sites around Flagstaff. Jeff and I had to take the kids around NAU campus to show them were we lived and went to school.  The kids loved swimming as much as we would let them in the heated pool where we stayed. We met a family that had 4 kids too, which was great- instant friends! While the trip had some rough moments of kids fighting, whining, and not feeling great (seems to be a trend on trips) we had some great times!

We found a fun park to play at in Sedona. It was one of the coolest parks we have visited! All sorts of fun for everyone.

  

Checking out Lake Mary in Flagstaff!

 

Next, some pictures of our adventure to Out of Africa. It was a fun experience. The kids loved it! First you get to ride a bus up close to many animals. Then walk around another part and see lions, tigers, and bears, oh my! If you are looking for a trip for your kids, I would say it is worth it! 

Jace feeding a giraffe. It just sticks his head right in the bus. Pretty cool!

Hello zebra!

This was Lincoln the whole bus ride. He loved seeing all the animals.

 

My mom and little sis  drove up to visit the park with us.  

One night, we drove up to the sunset point and enjoyed the beautiful view, with a 100 other people, but it was still enjoyable!

February

 

In February, Hayley’s school had a Father Daughter Dance. She was so excited to go with her dad! I couldn’t get a picture of just them due to 2 brothers wanting their daddy too,  so this was the best we could do. They had a fun night!

We also took our first trip to Rawhide. We met up with Jeff’s brother and his family. The kids had a great time riding burros, petting animals, going on the train over and over (mainly Jace), panning for gold, and riding a stagecoach. My kids were a little scared of the pretend shootouts in the street, so we had to skip the gun show. Next time maybe we get crazy and ride the mechanical bull!

Elyse, Kiki, Ben, and Hayley

Real or fake, if there is a horse Kyrsten will be there! 

Our niece Elyse, she is so cute!

Jace hiding in the stroller during the street shootout.

Hayley, such a cute silly cowgirl! She takes after her dad in the funny department…

Now for a showcase of Lincoln. He loves animals, especially being up close. He cracks me up with his faces.

Hayley, Elyse, and Kiki

Jace was not tall enough to ride the burros so he made up for it with lots of train rides, right up front every time!

Till next time partner!