Creative Kids Report

I know I just posted a big post, but I was looking through some of BethAnne's pictures tonight and I'd like to share some of those also (most of them taken by BethAnne).

 This is a cake BethAnne decorated all by herself last fall.  She really enjoys baking, especially muffins.

This is a newspaper BethAnne made about her dogs (I think Grace helped with the stories too.  It's kind of hard to see on the picture, but inside there were stories and a crossword puzzle.  The front page story is about foods the dogs don't like (which is very rare, and therefore newsworthy :) 

 This is my Mother's Day present from BethAnne.  She spent so much time on it.  There was an origami box and homemade envelope with a special homemade origami card and inside the box was an origami masterpiece (a special box with origami hearts and two tiny origami elephants on top).

 BethAnne called this an origami layered card, it opened up to reveal the message inside.

 Look Closely to see the Origami Elephants, a Mommy and baby touching noses.

 These was a card and some kind of bead creation from Grace (the ballerina ones) and Joy made me a card (farther back, with a mommy heart and Joy heart on the front).

 Then Mark surprised me with this beautiful necklace.  They're all so good to me.  That morning on Mother's Day, was one of those perfect moments.  I felt so loved and so blessed.  They are my greatest treasures.

 Today was Lily Rose's 3rd birthday.  BethAnne is quite fond of her dogs, they are her babies, so she planned a special birthday party for her dogs.  There were games for the dogs and games for the people (including a homemade pinata and pin the tail on the dog) and decorations and special treats for the dogs and the people.  All planned and hosted by BethAnne.

 Here is some special dog food with dog treat candles in one bowl.

 "Mommy BethAnne" shows the dogs their treat.

 Here is one of the games BethAnne made, we all got a turn (Grace won).

 And here's some of the decorations.

I'm glad I went along with this scheme because it was actually a very fun evening as a family.  I'm so grateful for my sweet, creative kids.  It wonderful to see them grow up to be such neat people.

May 2014

Babies grow up so fast, so I took some more pictures today.  Afterwards I noticed that Andy's hair is a bit crazy (I'm going to have to learn to cut and style boy hair), but he's super cute anyway.  Things here have been going well (besides a recent ear/tooth/sinus infection I've been having).  I was busy at the end of April and the beginning of May working on a big project for my Sociology of Aging class.  I went to Utah by myself for a day and interviewed Grandma Shurtliff about her life.  It was a great visit and a special interview.  Then I went home and wrote a big paper on her life, relating the concepts I learned this semester.  I've also been busy every month working on my Relief Society lessons.  I don't have to teach in June and I'm done with my Sociology class, so I'm kind of breathing a sigh of relief overall.  Now I'm trying to focus more on being a good mom to these sweet little ones.

Andy started crawling a couple months ago and he's starting to think about walking.  He can take a couple steps already and he's only 10 months old.  He has been sick a lot this year.  2 ear infections, one sinus infection, and a bad cold/croup 3 or 4 times.  Even with that, he's a pretty healthy baby overall and usually quite happy.  We're so blessed to have him

 Super Handsome boy!

 Pretty Grace.  She is super smart and has done well this year.  Her teacher finds her hilarious, which is good.  Last year she got in trouble a lot more and I think her teacher just didn't have the right sense of humor.  :)  Grace is really helpful with Andy, she's a great little mommy.

 Here's my pretty Joy.  The above picture was her "school picture" taken at preschool.  She struggled with liking preschool all year, so finally we took her out in April.  Then after a week, her teacher and I decided we should give it one more try and she has loved it ever since.  I'm not sure why, but I'm grateful.  She is getting better adjusted to not being the baby anymore, so that is good, but she is still my little snuggle bug and I adore her. 

 Here's Andy again, getting ready to walk any day now.

 And then there's sweet BethAnne.  She has struggled quite a bit with illness the last couple of months.  Normal illnesses can get a little complicated due to her health problems.  But she is feeling better the last couple of days.  She is super smart and she likes to read all the time.  She struggled so much her first few years of school, but now she is top of her class.  We're so grateful for that and so grateful for her.

Mark is doing well.  He stays busy with his work and calling as Executive Secretary and with all that he does to help at home.  I'm so grateful for him and all he does.  I guess this turned into kind of a family newsletter.  I hope you all don't mind and I hope you are all doing well.  We're so looking forward to Suzie's visit and to Chrissy and Stephanie's babies.  Life is good.  We love you.

Love,

Aubrey