finally!

Alright I am shamefully overdue for a blog post don't ya think?? Of course I'm sure after an 11 month hiatus no one is even reading my blog anymore and I am just sitting here typing to myself, but never the less....I will be trying to catch up on the past years worth of our life so that I can then have it printed into a book because seriously my scrapbooking manually days are OVER, not that I was ever awesome or consistent about doing it in the first place. So over the next couple of weeks I am going to attempt to bring my blog current (cause I'm sure all of you are just salivating for my posts!) Wish me luck!

first b-day party

I'm finally getting around to posting about this little man's birthday bash. We had an island theme party complete with shredded pork roast and all the island mixed plate staples; rice, macaroni salad, coleslaw, and fruit salad. These pics were taken right before the party started. I had to include his yelling photo :)
After dinner it was pinata time!!
I'm not a very ambitious mom when it comes to creating adorable birthday cakes (oh how I admire those mommies!) so my kids get to have birthday cakes ala Costco :) At least they are delicious!
And Kai got in there and enjoyed his cake
What a crowd, he's in there somewhere being adored by all his cousins while he chows down! We are so lucky to have so many loving relatives :)
And now it was time for a little soak in the tub to clean off all the chocolate goodness!
It was a very fun First birthday party can't wait for many, many more!!!

One year ago....

..this precious little bundle entered my life and melted all our hearts! Has it really been a year?!?Things he "does" now..

-Walking or running everywhere

-Still no teeth but that's nothing new to us. Teagan was the only one to cut a tooth before his first birthday.

-He's a 20 pounder

-Won't smile for you until you earn it. But a pleasant little guy otherwise :)

-Loves his big brothers and sisters more than anything! They are his VIP's for sure

And now he's still a little sweetheart but with a budding fiesty side :) This is his "what the...?!" face. Oh how I love you! Happy Birthday to you, my little Kai-Kai ;)))

Courtside fun!

First of all this is a pic of Maddy from last Fall but her first game of the new year is this Saturday and she is beyond stoked about it! That serve is coming along beautifully :)
Sadie participated in a mini-cheer clinic this past week that our cute babysitter Ashley, who cheers at Bingham High, signed her up for and she got to cheer and perform a dance during halftime at the girls basketball game. She was adorable, of course :) I would include the video of the cheer but I just can't get a file that large to upload onto blogger for some reason, ugh!
And then Josh and Alex got to have a little fun on the floor of our very own Utah Jazz. A member of our ward is an owner of Groove satellite which sponsors the pre and post-game shows from Energy Solutions Arena and they were able to arrange a little tour of the court as well as a meet and greet with some local greats.

A for Alex :)
Alex and his best buds and neighbors, Jack and J-Mo at the desk of Jazz great Thurl Bailey and reporter Alema Harrington. Such a cool experience for Alex!

Valentines!

So since Josh and I go on a date every weekend we decided that we would always spend V-day with the other loves of our lives, our kiddos, because unless you are in a serious relationship or married this holiday is actually quite lame! So several years back we began the tradition of having a candlelit dinner on our lovely wedding china (the one time a year that we use it) and we would have crepes stuffed with all types of yummy things as well as hot chocolate in the tea cups and sugar dipped glasses with sparkling juice. The kids have sooo much fun! Sadie was especially enchanted this year and couldn't stop talking about it all night :)We turn off all the lights and Josh plays a fun mix of tunes and I quietly cringe as my little ones try not to spill (or break!!) their hot chocolate.
My lovely ladies :)
and handsome gents!

A cute story I shared with my kids was the tradition that my dad had of always door bell ditching our house while leaving a box of Cherry Cordials for each of us every Valentines. I still love those chocolates to this day! I just have fun imagining my young dad sprinting to the back of the house after ringing the bell after a hard day at the power plant and walking in the house totally baffled at who could have left his children such a nice gift. He never really fessed up to it either; just a cute wink and a smile :) I love my dad for that! It wasn't much but at the same time it was soooo much! My dad's the best.

Hope you all had someone special to share this silly day with :)

First haircut!

It was time for this cute monkey to get a haircut and let me tell you, I have been pretty nervous because as you may know from previous posts T-man has all but traumatized us when it comes to clippers and scissors to the ol' noggin but man, it was time cause this little dude was lookin' downright Shaggy! I mean....
the kid went from girly ponytails......
to manly awesomeness!
All thanks to Josh and I and a steady hand. Kai didn't squirm, cry or freak out in the least! Yaaay!! Maybe we won't have to re-live the terror T puts us through!?!??!

Sooo handsome :)

Spelling bee 2011

Maddy and Alex both qualified to compete in the school spelling bee this year. They are both really great spellers but sometimes those words can be buggers! They did great and I am so proud of them :)I really need to figure out how to use my camera! I never get good shots in their school gym and I can't figure out why but hey, at least I got something right?