Jake is 7!!!

It is hard to believe my little guy is 7. He is such a sweet, tender hearted kid. He is a Mama's Boy and always makes sure I am taken care of, especially when Travis is out of town. Travis tells Jake he is the man of the house when he is gone, and Jake truly takes on that role. We got back from San Francisco the night before Jake's big day so he had a fun, relaxing day at home playing with his presents. He got a new bike, a basketball hoop (it is also a little present for Travis), a baseball glove and a few odds and ends. Jake wanted all of his favorite things to eat on his special day. For breakfast he wanted German Pancakes, sausage and orange juice. For lunch he wanted a Costco hot dog and root beer and for dinner he wanted pizza, all pretty healthy. I got some weird stomach virus on Jake's birthday so Travis had to come home early to help out with the kids, I was really sick in bed so Travis saved the day and made Jake's birthday cake. Jake is going to have his party in a couple of weeks, it is going to be 18 boys running around playing sports at the Sherwood Field House, it will be wild. Happy Birthday to my little Man!

March Happenings

Instead of having a post for each individual even, I decided to just have one post to tell about our March. March has been a busy month for us, probably the busiest month we have had in a long time. Travis has been to New York two times, Seattle, and Atlanta all within the month. I went to Utah with Bryn for 5 days and our family went to San Francisco for Spring Break. In between the many trips we have had swimming lessons, field trips, soccer, Jake's birthday, a trip to the zoo, and St. Patrick's Day. Here are a few of our favorite pictures from this month. (I will have 2 separate posts of our trips, too many pictures.)

Sydney is taking swimming lessons with 3 of her friends; Paige Pearl and Chelsea. (Chelsea is not in the picture, she is in the pool with the teacher.)

Portland Zoo with the Howes Family

Every one's favorite animal at the zoo, El Tigre.

Jake took this of the hippo, he thought it was awesome.

The hyenas are kind of creepy.

St. Patrick's Day

My friend, Carrie, always does something cute for her kids on St. Patrick's Day so at the last minute I decided to do something for my kids. The last 2 years Jake has made a trap to catch a leprechaun but those leprechauns are pretty tricky. When Jake woke up in the morning he found a note on the trap and then a trail of coins leading downstairs to the refrigerator where he found green milk and a box of Lucky Charms.

Jake's note to the leprechaun. In the trap was money and a picture of a rainbow with a pot of gold.

(Thanks for the idea Carrie! You are so creative!)

Jake was thrilled and truly amazed that the leprechaun turned the milk green.

Sydney had a great day at preschool with a St. Patrick's Day party and an all green lunch.

Our budding Photographer

Sydney loves to take the camera and have photo shoots all over the house. I always have to look at the camera from time to time to see what she has captured. She cracks us up.

She even caught us smooching in the kitchen.

Sydney's playgroup

Every Friday Sydney has a playgroup with 7 little girls. We have been doing this same playgroup for a couple of years where we rotate houses each week. The girls, and sometimes brothers, love playing together while the moms love to chat.

Their favorite thing to do is play Dress Up!

Even Ian loves it!

Chucke Cheese

Our kids have been begging us to take them to Chucke Cheese since we have moved here (over 4 years) and we finally did it. I have a thing about indoor play lands such as McDonalds and other places where there are a lot of kids' germs but our kids need to have fun too! Right? We ended up going right when it opened so it was not that crazy and we all had a great time, except Sydney got a little freaked of the real Chucke.

Jake and Basketball

Jake loves all sports and this past winter he played basketball. Travis helped coach and it was quite an experience. Jake had a great time and played on the team with two of his friends, Ethan and Elise.

Jake and Elise

I am not sure what they are doing here, maybe exchanging recipes. Who knows?

Action shot!

Sydney and Paige (Elise's sister)

Guitar Hero

Those of you who really know Travis know that he has a love for video games, he always has and always will. Our kids are following in his footsteps, especially Jake, and also enjoy playing video games. One of my kids favorite things to do with Travis is play Guitar Hero because he really ROCKS! Here is Syd and Travis playing, and Bryn is not very happy about it.

I don't think she is having a lot of fun. Poor girl!

Brynley at 7, 8, and 9 months

I have been so busy with four kids that I have not put pictures of Brynley on the blog. She has grown up so fast and we have really enjoyed every moment with her. Travis and I are so in love with this little monkey, she can always make us smile. Over the past 4 months she has hit many milestones. She crawls, pulls herself up, eats a lot of baby food, holds her own bottle, says Dad, Mom, hi and dog, giggles all the time, plays peek-a-boo, puts anything she finds on the floor in her mouth (I vacuum multiple times a day), loves playing with her toys, loves her blanket, likes to get into everything, loves to take baths in the big bathtub with Sydney, is so so lovable that everyone fights over who gets to hold her, does the bulldog look (sucks in her top lip), crinkles her nose to smile, smiles at everyone, especially strangers and can make anyone happy with her sweet personality. We love our little Brynnie Girl and we are so blessed to have her a part of our family.

7 months

8 months and loves to take baths in the big bathtub.

Now that she can crawl she is constantly exploring. She loves to get into the books on the bookshelf and always leaves a big mess.

Bryn loves to play with her brother and sisters. Baylee put Bryn in Sydney's baby stroller and pushed her around the house, Bryn was in heaven.

Brynley loves to eat in her highchair and when she wants her food, she will yell at you until you feed her. Her whole body goes crazy and shakes when she is about to take her first bite.

9 months and learning how to stand.

Who could not love this little face? She is pure JOY!

Homemade Ice Cream

My parents gave us the best gift this year for Christmas, a homemade ice cream maker. I have wanted one since we have been married but never spent the money to buy one. As a child, a fond memory I have is making homemade ice cream in our blue ice cream maker, I still remember the cranking sound it made. I love homemade ice cream so much that my dear friend, Stephanie, made me a huge container for my birthday, it was so yummy! The one my parents bought for us is really big and can make a lot, we can fill up 6-8 containers to stick in the freezer. We have made vanilla, cookies and cream and our favorite, mint chocolate chip. The kids love the homemade ice cream and I hope this will be a fond memory to them like it was to me as a kid. Thanks Mom and Dad!