Cub Scout Rain Gutter Races

Did you know that Jeff Gordon (Nascar driver #24) also has a Rain Gutter boat? I did. It's newly designed by the famous Carter Shupe! I'm not entirely sure how many races Carter's cheeks won him (haha) but he had fun!

Loreli's First Day of Kindergarten!

The boys were so proud to have their baby sister at the bus stop with them! They couldn't wait for me to leave so that they could show her the ropes without my interference. Guess they will have to save their wisdom for tomorrow because I wasn't leaving until she was on the bus safely! I got a tiny bit emotional (but not until the kids were gone). It's funny because I didn't get that way when the boys went to school, but Loreli was a little harder to let go of. She was nervous this morning too, so I am sure that contributed to it. She is so excited to be at school all day! We are all in school this year (all 5 of us). It is going to be a test of endurance for all of us, but I think that we are going to make it :-)

Having Fun Playing with my Photoshop!

I figured out how to merge two similar photos so that everyone one was smiling at the same time. Technology is a miracle!

Happy Birthday to Me!

Scott bought me a ticket to visit my pal Kristie. We had so much fun spoiling her kids and playing with the new baby, who is the sweetest thing ever! I sure love my hubby who understands that sometimes a girl's gotta have a break :-) It was so fun! Thanks to Ryan and Kristie for providing a place of refuge :-)

Scott's BBQ Competition

Scott had a lot of fun and got some good experience! He didn't win but he got lots of compliments. The kids were more upset than he was. They kept saying, "Dad, we will make you a trophy when we get home!". It was sweet of them to worry that Scott got his feelings hurt. ...pork butts that is :-)
The smoker in the center is the one that Scott built himself!

Please refrain from drooling!

NASCAR at Home Depot!

Loreli Had a Birthday Too!

Loreli did have a birthday complete with cake and everything, but no pictures. I need to glue the camera to me so that I do better next year ;-). She turned "the big, fat 5" (her words!). She is so excited to go to school this year! She got accepted to all day kindergarten. Life is going to change this year!

James 11th Birthday

James and Loreli got new bikes for their birthdays. They have been riding them as much as possible, not a picture to go with it yet.

The CRAZY month of MAY!

Carter had play to do for his reading class called The Nest. All the kids were animals, waiting for their friend Bird to visit. They had to figure out where Bird would stay since not one of them lived in a nest. It was a fun experience for the kids!

Loreli graduated from preschool!!! No more preschool ever! WooHOOO!!! As they called the kids onto the stage they announced what each kid wanted to be when they grow up. There was the usual astronaut, mom, veterinarian, and rock star. Loreli wants to be a paleontologist. Who knew?





James received his Arrow of Light award in Cub Scouts. They had a special ceremony just for him. It is the highest honor you can receive as a scout. It is also the only badge that can be transferred to his Scout uniform. He had to accomplish a lot of tasks to get this award and it could not have been done without the most awesome Scout leaders ever! He is so lucky!!!



Scott and I got to go to the U2 concert!!! It was amazing!!! The opening band was The Fray and the music all night was incredible!!! WOW!!! Can't say enough! That is one show that I would definitely go see again!

Miracles do happen! That is all I gotta say ;-) After 12 years, our house finally looks like somewhere you might want to be. We finally took out the railroad ties around the flower beds and put in garden stones and actually put in plants. Shocking I know!

Carter Got Baptized!!!

Carter and his good friend Spencer got to be baptized on the same day. They were both so excited. It was so awesome to see them so happy! It was a great day!
Carter's Grandma Andrea and Grandpa Yehuda drove out from Missouri for the occasion. All family that could be there was there and the support from friends was awesome. Between our family and Spencer's family we had about 60 people there. It was amazing! Carter felt so loved and I am so grateful for that!

April 26th, 2011

Carter got to have his friend Josh and his cousin Josh over to eat pizza and watch a movie.

James figured out how to make Tron discs.

They had an epic battle after watching the movie :-)

Carter and his friend Josh were a little bit crazy. But they did have a lot of fun!

Carter was shocked and awed when he opened his present from us! He couldn't believe it. Harry Potter Lego Hogwarts!

It only took him two days (a patient mother helper) and 1200 Legos to finish the job.

Pretty darn amazing feat! Go Gryffindor!!!

You can't see very well in the photo, but the kit included a Lego form of Harry Potter, Hermione, Professor Dumbledore, Professor McGonagal, Professor Snape, Professor Flitwick, Filch, 2 Dementors and Lord Voldemort. Also a bat, a rat, a spider, Filch's cat, snakes (for Slytherin), the sorting hat, owls in the owlery, a telescope, books in library, the sword of Gryffindor the Quibbler, the Daily Prophet a knight, a chandelier in the great hall, and the feast too. Those Lego people are brilliant!

Just Because She is Beautiful!

ALOHA HAWAII!!!

Scott got the opportunity to go and do some work at the Polynesian Cultural Center in Hawaii, on the island of Oahu. I got the opportunity to tag along! Here are a few pictures to share with you. It was hard to choose, we took almost 200 photos :-)

5 am just as the sun is coming up. This is of course, the beach just outside the house.

Moon rise over the ocean. Once again, the beach just outside the house. We are so lucky to get to stay in such a beautiful place!!!

Bird of Paradise flower

Hawaii state flower, the Hawaiin Hibiscus

We went to see Pearl Harbor one morning. It was a great historical site! We learned a lot about the sacrifice that was given that fateful day. December 7, 1941 a day that will live in infamy.

The USS Bowfin (a submarine)

We visited the Arizona Memorial. Above are the names of the people who died. And, below, is the memorial itself. Below the memorial is the USS Arizona. Standing on the memorial, you can see where the ship still lies.

Almost 12oo people lost their lives in that one ship as it sunk. So tragic!

The USS Missouri Battleship. I am always amazed at how big they are!

We got to spend a whole day at the Polynesian Cultural Center. We visited as many of the villages as we could fit in.

Samoa

Hawaii

The Canoe Pageant was really neat! We got to see all of the villages represented. They were beautiful!

Aotearoa (New Zealand)

Even got a temporary tattoo :-) Isn't it pretty! It is a symbol of life.

We ate at the Luau and watched the night show. It was called "Ha, Breath of Life" It was amazing! They had fire-knife dancers and amazing artists. I was so tempted to take pictures but the were forbidden. Bummer!