It's been a while.

It has been over 2 years since we have written on our blog. The main reason for me to start up again is I feel we need to keep a better family History of what our family has been up to. I"m terrible at scrap booking and recently discovered I rarely take photos of my kids. They are growing up so fast and when it comes down to it this is the easiest way to keep track of what they are doing. I'm just going to go right down the line and recap a little on each one.
Mia, is 14 and almost 5"8. She is a Freshman at Liberty High and doing fantastic. She played tennis for there JV team and was the number 3 seat on the team. Her season was great and she won all her league games and came in 5 in the county at the end of the season.
Grace is 12 and in the 7th grade at Rosedale middle school. She plays the trumpet and is on the Student counsel. She is an amazing little baker and also is playing the piano. For Halloween she was Katniss from the Hunger games and we bought a bow. She loves playing with it in the back yard and has gotten pretty good at it too.
Samantha is 11 and is in the 6th grade. She is very social and is playing the trombone and the piano. She loves to come home finish her homework and then listen to music. She always has her ear buds in :). She loves doing what is right and is a big help and peacemaker around our home.
Drew is now 7 and is 100% BOY!!! He loves to do anything that involves sports or playing outside. He is in the 2nd grade and is a good student. He is in the highest group in his class. He is very social and has been warned a few times to please be quiet during class.
Jill is busy being a mom, working, and serving a 2nd counselor in Young Womens. She loves her calling and serving the girls. Work is also great and she loves to be able to see her dad everyday and help him out. She wishes she had more time to cook and do things around the house but knows that time will come soon. She also just completed a Ragnar Race with friends from church and had a great time. It was in Las Vegas and is now trying to run farther and faster in preparation for her next Ragnar that she will do with Nathan.
Nathan is still teaching at ROC and last year was honored by receiving the Jim Burk teacher of the Year Award. It is a big deal to receive this award in Kern County and we were all so proud of him. He is serving on the Stake High Council and is over the Wasco Ward. He has grown to love the members of this ward and is grateful to serve them. He also loves meeting with the other High Counsel members and the Stake presidency and has developed many friendships through this great calling.

How's everyone doing?

We are great, enjoying the summer, enjoying no school, and enjoying life. We have had 2 birthdays Mia turned 12 and Sam turned 9. Many recitals and end of the year programs, a trip to the beach for spring break, we bought a boat, and many more fun adventures the past few months that I promise to share over the next few weeks. One thing that we have decided to do is go private. I know it sounds crazy since I haven't written on our blog for the past 4 months but I feel this needs to happen. Please leave your email or you can e-mail me at [email protected] and we will add you to our list. Thanks for your patience and We'll Blog ya later!

Happy Birthday Gracie!

Grace turns 10 today and in honor of her first ten years here are 10 things we love about Grace...

1. Her honesty

2. Her pretty blue eyes

3. How is worries about little things

4. When she speaks her mind (although this one can be a little embarrassing)

5. How she is an excellent speller

6. When she make cupcakes for us

7. Her love of Ketchup

8. Her love for others

9. When she has really exciting news and we have a hard time trying to figure out what she is trying to say because she is talking too fast.

10. When she smiles

WE love you Grace and here's to another wonderful 10 years!

XOXOXO
DAD, MOM, MIA, SAM, AND DREW

Camp Keep

Mia just returned from a week at Camp Keep. She was able to visit tide pools, go on lots of hikes, and learn more about nature. She took her camera and got lots of fun pics. Her favorite part was one day while at the tide pools they found a sunflower starfish, with 21 legs and one of the legs fell off. She also has learned some new fun camp songs and we are looking forward to singing them this Spring Break when we go camping. We missed her so much but knew she was in good hands and was having a blast.

Face painting with rocks.

Tide Pools

Rocks that stick to your tongue.

When Mia returned I was not able to pick her up because, my Grandparents were celebrating their 60th wedding anniversary and I needed to help with the party. Nathan had a meeting for School, but said he could make it but, it would be tight. When he pulled into the parking lot she had already taken her stuff home and came back to be with her friends and meet Nathan.