May 2016

May always brings the excitement of wrapping up the school year and anticipation of the summer.  Here are some of our highlights.

May 1st - Making lemonade

May 8th - Mother's day
The kids were so sweet to get up early and make me breakfast in bed.

Along with breakfast in bed I got these sweet gifts.

Saturday, May 14th was Christian's first dance recital.  The theme was "I Want Candy".  He was cotton candy for his dance number and Skittles for his gymnastics number.  Although he was starting to tire of rehearsing the dances each week and would act silly during practice, he loved being on stage!  He performed all the steps with his best effort.  Occasionally he would forget to follow his teacher who helped on the side as he smiled at the audience (performing the step he was on repeatedly).
He was the only little boy in his show, and the only one with a costume change.
Here he is at the studio.

Here are some pictures from the show.

We loved this little show.  It was short (1 hr), sweet, and so much fun!

Eve had her spring band concert.  It was really neat to hear some of the numbers they were able to play.  They played selections such as "Happy", "Star Wars", "March of the Cyclops", and a few others.  They had combined numbers with the 7th graders as well as a Dublin city ensemble group.  It is great to see her talent on the flute develop and grow.

And Sterling finished up his Soccer season.  He loved playing each week and loved to challenge himself by setting specific goals.  I love to see him work hard!

A few other fun things about May include . . .

Sterling helping out at the grill with Matt,

Christian playing in a box,

More flowers in bloom and planting the rest of our garden,

Going to a Clippers game with Matt's employees and their families,

Finding an abandoned egg on a hike and bringing it home (Sterling), then incubating it to humor the kids.  A week later . . . Surprise!  I cared for it for about a day and realized I was in way over my head.  We took him to a nature preserve rescue.

Attending the kids' school carnival,

Having lunch at school with the kids,

Watching Christian lead the 4th graders in duck, duck, goose and tag,

Sheri's Girl Scout Luau,

Sterling earned his Bear award in Cub Scouts,

Ice cream and family time on Sundays,

Christian finishing up his preschool dance movement class,

and most notably, Sheri's 8th birthday!

We celebrated Sheri's birthday this year with a "friend" party.  She chose the theme of animals and nature.  She enjoyed sharing her pets with her friends, and we also had games, food, a craft, and a movie (Rio 2).

We all had a great time!  For her birthday we gave Sheri some play makeup and a case for it, an art set, and a stepping stone kit.  She also enjoyed gifts from her grandparents!  We plan to have her baptism in June when we go out to Colorado.

Sheri is a sweet and kind hearted girl!  She is a great friend to her siblings and thoughtful of others.  She will often offer to help me when she sees I need a hand.  She loves to spend meaningful time with me and loves to snuggle or sit on my lap.  Sheri is happy and loves life.  She works hard and tries to do what is right.  She brightens life for those around her and we love her so much!

Each month we realize that we are abundantly blessed to have each other and the gospel of Jesus Christ to draw us closer.  We are grateful for our covenants that will keep us together in the eternities for eternal joy!

April 2016

Our first notable event in April was General Conference.  We were happy to have the Owens come for a visit.  It was the perfect blend of relaxation and fun when they came.  We were also happy to have new couches and a new TV for our downstairs family room!  It made watching General Conference so comfortable!

We also enjoyed playing cards, sampling root beer, having a traditional Easter dinner, and dart gun wars.  Interestingly, it was snowing while it was sunny one day.

We loved having the Owens come and can't wait to see them again this summer!

The following week was Eve's birthday.  On her special day we had waffles for breakfast and cupcakes in the evening.  We celebrated her birthday with a friend party later in the month, but I will include pictures here.

We had games, pizza, cake, presents, and watched Peter Pan from 2003.  It was a lot of fun!

This has been a landmark year for Eve since she moves into Young Women's.  All the weekday activities and church friends she has made have really made life fun.  She has also been uplifted by the lessons and good friends around her.  It has been fun to she her mature into a young woman.  She definitely doesn't seem like a little girl anymore!  She seems to be gaining a greater understanding of the world around her and is developing poise and confidence.  What a fun transition to watch.


The first weekend in April we went with the Fackrells to Great Wolf Lodge in Cincinnati.  It was a lot of fun!

Isn't their new baby adorable?

We also enjoyed games, going to dinner, shopping at Jungle Jims and IKEA, and visiting Loveland Castle (Chateau Laroche).

This is a short description of the castle:  "Harry Andrews' labor of love, Chateau Laroche is a medieval castle replica found along the bank of the Little Miami River. Built of bricks, cement blocks made from milk carton molds and a lot of stone from the river, it took over 50 years to complete. It took 2,600 sacks of cement, 32,000 quart milk cartons for concrete bricks and 56,000 pail-fulls of stone. 'Chateau Laroche was built as an expression and reminder of the simple strength and rugged grandeur of the mighty men who lived when Knighthood was in flower. It was their knightly zeal for honor, valor and manly purity that lifted mankind out of the moral midnight of the dark ages, and started it towards a gray dawn of human hope.' "

By the end of the weekend the kids were pretty tired out!

The following weekend I went to Colorado to spend a weekend with my sisters and other family members.  It is always hard to leave my family, especially when they are so sweet!  This is Christian one morning who snuggled in the bed next to my treadmill while I exercised.

I wanted them to feel cared for while I was gone, so I copied an idea that my mom had when I was young.  I made little bags for each person to open each day I was gone.

I flew out Friday, April 15th.  Jen picked me up and we met Annie, Mom, Hannah, and Emma for breakfast in Castle Rock.  Talking and catching up is the BEST!  Then we went to a cute shop that had tons of crafted items.  Here are a few examples.

Having time to browse and relax was a treat!  We also went to the shopping outlets and found some cute purses.  Then we went to get pedicures/manicures (wish I had gotten a pic).  It was all very pampering!  In the evening we went to the Melting Pot, a fondue restaurant that I've always wanted to try.  It was a fun dining experience!

That day baby Eleanor wasn't feeling well because she had a stomach flu.  That night Hannah got it!

The next morning we enjoyed a makeup class with a friend.  It was a lot of interesting and helpful tips.  Then everyone joined us at Jen's house and we had a  delicious breakfast and each got to share about a book that we had read recently.  I found this an insightful experience!

That evening we went to dinner at a Mexican restaurant and then Emma, Cat, Aaron and I went makeup shopping.  I never get to focus on this kind of stuff, so it was a lot of fun for me.  That evening Joseph and Jen got the stomach bug.  The next morning I was feeling unsettled as well from the stomach bug and just decided to rest and not eat anything.  It was a perfect Sunday for resting because we were able to listen to Stake Conference at Jen's house in our PJs.  In the evening I went to my parents' house so that I could visit with my dad and be ready for the airport in the morning.  Cat and Aaron came by and we had fun talking.    I also enjoyed reading.  My dad was able to take me to the airport the next morning and I was feeling 90% better.  After I left, my mom and Aaron also got the stomach bug. What a contagious virus, especially with all our efforts to sanitize and wash hands!

All in all, it was a great trip for me.  I loved being with my family and getting some time for perspective.

Back at home I enjoyed my sweet/crazy kids, planting my garden, more spring flowers, and being with Matthew again!  Home is SWEET!

The rest of April included the regular dance lessons, soccer, school, piano, and scouts. Eve and I enjoyed hearing the Boston Brass at a school concert!  What a month full of fun!