Backyard Progress!

We expanded our garden area, and I've really enjoyed watching all sorts of veggies growing. The kids have recently been picking peas and they love to eat them fresh, even Joshua. Emma is so cute about asking if she can help water the garden. We also cut down two old fruit trees, and planted two new ones. So now there are two peach, one pear, and two apple trees growing. A couple weeks ago, we planted a bunch of strawberry plants right behind the house, and are hoping to plant some raspberry starts this weekend.

It is so nice that the soil in this yard is pretty decent, which would translate to "incredibly amazing" if compared with our "clay-embedded-with-river-rocks-soil" in Spanish Fork. To give you an idea, when Brent was digging holes for the new trees, he could sink his shovel into the soil without too much exertion (without needing a pickaxe, digging bar, lots of time and sweat, or creating sparks from hitting rocks!) It's going to make it so much easier and more motivating to work in the yard!

Brent put up this shed on the side of the house, freeing up some space in our cramped garage. Uncluttered garage= happy homeowners (especially me!)

We also had some concrete poured: a pad for the shed; the area above, which is for our trash cans and a future "bike port" to store all the kids' bikes and such; and a larger back patio.

The expanded back patio. You can see the original patio in the middle.

We brought this playset from our house in Spanish Fork almost two years ago, so the kids were very anxious to get it up again! Daddy was a big hero this summer, putting the playset up in only about 3 days!

We are planning to make it a little more level, then fill the area with play chips.

We are finally making some progress on yard projects. When we bought this house, it had been a rental for about 9 years, so the yard was not in great shape. But we have big plans to improve it, a little at a time. We are so excited about the progress that we've made so far. It makes the yard a lot more enjoyable and usable!

Guess who's joined the club...

The glasses club, that is! Joshua got glasses about a week and a half ago. He's already been to three appointments with the eye specialist that my other kids go to, Dr. Larson. We found out that he is farsighted and has an astigmatism, and knew that he would need glasses eventually. But at his checkup a couple of months ago, the doctor discovered that his eyes are now crossing, as well. He said that we'd be putting him in danger if we didn't get him in glasses now. Danger, in this case, means that if we don't get the eye crossing corrected with glasses, he could need surgery like Matthew had. It took a while for the glasses to come in since they were on back order, but here they are. Now that he has them, he looks so much like Matthew at that age!

I remember so vividly how hard it was having Rachel and Matthew in glasses as babies (at 13 and 10 months of age). So I was a little nervous this time, but knew that it was inevitable. Somehow every one of my kids has inherited poor vision, and four of them have cross eye! (My vision is perfect. Hmm...) Luckily, Joshua took to the glasses very well. He had earned an A+ from his mother by the end of the first day because he did so well with them! Although he often tries to look over the top of them, he does keep them on for the most part. This is a big relief for me.

Another milestone Joshua just hit was starting nursery a couple of weeks ago, since he is 18 months old. This has been another huge relief for both Brent and I, because we both serve in Primary callings. I am the primary pianist, so Brent had been taking Joshua with him to teach the 10-year-olds, and sometimes Joshua was quite a handful. He has already adjusted to going to nursery pretty well, with just a few tears at the beginning.

May-June 2011

Joshua has never been into pacifiers or thumb-sucking. But he has adopted his favorite blanket, which has a satin edge that he sucks on. It's gotten to the point where he won't willingly go to sleep without it!

Emma with her hair curled. She definitely hasn't inherited my curly hair!

Joshua with our cat, Prince Phillip. All our kids adore the cat, so he gets plenty of attention. He is very sweet and patient with them.

Rachel

Emma lost one of her top baby teeth! She is starting to look like a six-year-old (wait, she is a six-year-old!). I will definitely miss those cute baby teeth.

Joshua has the sweetest big brown eyes!

Rachel has inherited my curly hair. She woke up one morning after a bath the night before, and voila! Adorable curly-tails!

On one of the first days of summer break, the kids played in the water in the backyard. Joshua was loving sitting in the pool while Matthew squirted him.

Easter

This year, we tried a new recipe for easter: Bunny Buns, an orange roll recipe from the Friend magazine. They were sooo heavenly. It made easter breakfast special.

Spring Tulips! When Brent heads to work each morning, he passes in front of the house, where the kids are all gathered in front of a window to wave and blow kisses to him. This has been a tradition of theirs since they were tiny in Spanish Fork. They also like to notice the flowers blooming outside while watching for him.

Joshua's first Easter egg hunt in the backyard. We had Lisa & Steve and their family for Easter dinner, then did the hunt afterwards. It was a great day.

Emma

Joshua and Rachel didn't want to stay put for pictures!

At least we got four of them together:Matthew, Elizabeth, Emma, & Rachel

Emma

Rachel

Elizabeth

Brent was so proud of these eggs he dyed.

The kids waiting their turn to dye Easter eggs Saturday night

Spring Break

One of the days of spring break, we took the kids to temple square. They love to go to the Museum of Church Art and History, where they have a kids' area upstairs. They just opened a new one a few months ago, so it was really fun for the kids to just play and explore for a while.



Joshua playing in the toy kitchen

Rachel and Emma picking fruits and veggies from the garden

Elizabeth with scripture puppets

This part was so cute. There was a chicken coop with stuffed chickens, hay, and plastic eggs. When you gather the eggs, the chickens squawk.

Matthew checking out some golden plates. Since it was Book of Mormon themed, there was also a model of Nephi's boat that crossed to the promised land. The kids could climb on board, then fish over the side.




This was so adorable. There was an area where the children could dress up in traditional Mexican dance costumes and a running video with demonstrations of authentic dance steps. Rachel was so adorable, dancing with the other little girls.

Joshua in a pickup truck that was the perfect size for him. He is all boy!

Emma on a stationary bike

Next it was on to Temple Square. The kids love to go up the steps and touch the temple doors. Rachel, Elizabeth, Emma, Matthew

On another day, we went to Wheeler Farm. We love it there, because they have every farm animal imaginable, a bunch of old barns, a farmhouse, and outbuildings, wagons, and old tractors and farm equipment. Plus there is a duck pond and lots of shade trees. Bonus: it's free! (unless you want to ride horses or go on a wagon ride) We have another picture of Elizabeth sitting on this same saddle when she was about three.



Elizabeth (2006)

Elizabeth (2011)

Emma

Rachel

Emma's 6th Birthday

For Emma's 6th birthday, her grandparents gave her the ultimate surprise: horseback riding! For a girl who is completely obsessed with anything horse, this was a dream come true! We had gone to my parents' house to celebrate her birthday, and after dinner, we announced that we'd be taking a walk up the street. Little did she know that around the corner she would see the horse she would ride! Brother Miner from my parents' ward was so generous to let us ride one of his horses.




Emma grooming her horse before the saddle was put on (he was pretty dirty).



Getting the first ride. Emma is so amazing; she isn't scared of anything, it seems! She took to the horse like a fish to water!

Emma and Brother Miner

Back at Grandma's house...the rest of the celebration. Matthew asked if he could man the camera, so he took all these pictures.

Emma with her new Easter dress

The peeps sunflower cake