Easter Break For the Kids

Since the kids had a few days out of school we have been playing hard.

We took an easy picnic of pizza and a few other snacks and went to a few parks in Great Falls, after running a few errands and hitting up the Dollar Store.  We met up with Misti and a couple of her kids.

Feeding the ducks was on the list of fun things we wanted to do.

We took plenty of older bread and it went fast with 5 little helpers!

Gavin was just taking it all in...these birds were loud and crazy.

It was a blast!

It was so fun to watch the kids.  Who doesn't like feeding the ducks anyway??

Their faces crack me up!!

It is the little things!

We hit a few thrift stores looking for treasures (Payton scored a couple of Under Armor hoodies for $1!  I also found a projector screen in hopes of having some sweet outdoor movie parties this summer.)  By this point Gavin crashed in the car and even stayed asleep while I transferred him into the shopping cart.  It was precious!

 

On the way home we stopped by Ford's Drive-In for a shake, and a vanilla and cinnamon root beer!

The kids thought they were amazing.  It was a great day and got me all excited about the fun things we will do this summer...can't wait!

Easter Festivities 2016

The Easter Bunny came to our house on Saturday before the Fairfield Easter Egg Hunt.  The kids were upstairs playing and then Kenzie looked outside and spotted there were things scattered around outside.

So off  we went to the front yard, trying to find their baskets and other various treats left behind for them.

Gavin was amazed!

Then off to the community egg hunt.  Gavin had plenty of help from Payton and Eli.

Brielle was excited to find some eggs.

Taylor was on the run hunting for treasures.

McKenzie was also a speedy gal as she searched high and low.

Payton was above the age limit, but was happy to hear that his siblings were willing to share their loot!  Kenzie even gave him an M&M truck since she found two of them.

 

After some of this morning fun Mckay had to head to work for a while.

We would celebrate more the next day!

The kids all dressed in their Easter Sunday best.

Good looking crew.

We even made time to color some eggs together.

Payton concentrating.

Brielle was loving coloring these eggs!

McKenzie loved it too.

Taylor was also having a great time.

Gavin thought the egg was funny.  I love this little face.

I am happy to say that some of the kids even enjoy eating them!

It is always fun to participate in holiday traditions as a family.

The Easter Bunny helped us deliver a parachute to the kids!

So we built a fort and had fun.  The static was funny!  I am sure were are going to have a lot of fun with a parachute and finding different ways to use it.

 

We also did the 12 Eggs of Easter with the Easter story.  I made it when I was in Young Womens and it has been fun to do it as a family and to read about and discuss the real meaning of Easter, the Sacrifice and Resurrection of our Savior.

Getting Through Tax Season

I will admit, even though we sure miss seeing more of Mckay during Tax Season and we eagerly await mid April...it has seemed to go by faster and get a little easier as I have kept busy with more kids and their different schedules.

Gavin has absolutely loved to Facetime Dad at work.  This reminds me of a funny story.  Mckay had some granola bars at work and ended up showing one to Gavin through the phone.  This made Gavin yearn for one and he actually thought he could grab it from Mckay.  Another day we did the same thing, only this time I actually had a back up granola bar at home and pretended that it came through the phone and gave it to Gavin.  He was thrilled!

Someone had given Gavin an OREO after church (I was at choir and Mckay had the joy of cleaning this one up).

Brielle's turn to Facetime her Dad!  Oh that little smile!

Then Mckay, Payton, and Taylor took off to the cabin with the young men for an overnight campout.  Leaving us girls and Gavin home.  The girls wanted to have their own campout and we set up some play tents for some extra fun, had a movie night, and went shopping for maxi skirts for the little girls, and then to lunch at Café Rio.  Only poor Payton wasn't feeling well at the cabin, and I got the bug in the middle of the night.  We had been hit by the bug that seemed to get everyone in Fairfield.  I had promised the girls a shopping day and tried hard to troop through my sick feelings and still have fun with Gavin, Kenzie, and Brielle. 

Gavin thought the tents were great, although he would be sleeping in his own crib that night!

This was the look on Gavin's face after ending a Facetime call with Mckay.  He sure adores his daddy!

Dick and his cannon!  The guys have had fun shooting this beast off and man is it LOUD!!

Brotherly Love/Wrestling Together

As mentioned in an earlier post, this is our first year experiencing wrestling as a family and both boys decided to give it a try together!

Watching them go through this together has been priceless!

My mom, Cynthia, Max, and Braxton were able to make in up here on a weekend that the boys had one of their meets.  It was great having them there to cheer the boys on!

It was so cute when Taylor competed and was finished with each meet, Payton would go track him down and lead him back to where we were sitting in the bleachers up above.  I think it was his way of rooting for his little brother and taking that minute for some alone time to congratulate Taylor (Taylor clearly knew how to make it back to where we were sitting on his own, but those tender brother moments were so precious).

This meet Taylor wrestled up (except for the first pairing) with the 7 and 8 year olds and really had to try hard but still won 2 out of 3.  Payton was fighting hard and wrestled his best at this meet up to date.  I am so happy that Mckay was also able to come to this meet in Great Falls, even though it was in the thick of Tax Season, he was happy that he didn't miss out.  Payton WON his first match EVER!  It was incredible and well deserved.  Payton has never been easy for his opponents to take down, but still had not experienced a win until today and it was such a neat thing to watch.  He ended winning 1 out of 3.  I have been impressed with his attitude throughout the season, he has held his head high and keeps on trying harder the next time, learning from previous mistakes.  It sure has been neat seeing both of their improvements in these short weeks!

When my mom and sister were here, we also made sure to go to Byler's Bakery.  Cynthia had heard us raving about it but had not tried it.  It was yummy and a fun way to spend the afternoon.

The Fairfield Team

The boys got their pictures taken together.

This will be a wrestling season we will never forget!

St. Patrick's Day 2016

McKenzie couldn't let a St. Patty's day go by without building a leprechaun trap in effort to catch the sneaky little guys!  Brielle wanted to make one too once she saw what Kenzie was up to.

Waiting to see if we have any luck!

Well we didn't catch a leprechaun, but he did leave us with some green and rainbow loot and a note.

Gavin wearing some GREEN and making one of his silly faces when I mentioned that we were going to see Dad!

The kids dressed in their GREEN!

Sorry.....No pinching here!

Our 12th Anniversary

It has been 12 years of bliss!  I catch myself thinking that I LOVE MY LIFE quite often.  In order to give credit where credit is due...I want to thank Mckay: the man that I married, for being my best friend, and for the children he has provided my with!  I feel as if I am living an American Dream with my true love and best friend by my side.

Maren and Wade helped to watch the kids while Mckay and I went out to celebrate.  We wanted to try a restaurant we haven't been to yet and had heard great things about Suki Cafe, perk it has sushi (a favorite of Mckay's).  The food was delicious and had great flavors but the company was the icing on the cake.  We had a great evening and then did a little shopping before heading home.  This time of year, I am grateful to spend quality time with my hubby, it is much needed and so appreciated!

Just looking back we have only lived in two different states but 8 different "homes" from time to time. Our 5 beautiful children is our biggest accomplishment though and they are our best friends and our whole life!

One of our favorite vacations was when we went to Cancun.  It was the trip of a lifetime and I look forward to many more trips together.

I love you so much Mckay!  I wouldn't want to be on this adventure with anyone but YOU! 

Pirate Preschool Day

For the Preschool Co-Op that Brielle is in, us Moms take turns being the teacher, we choose a book for the day and base all of our activities and snacks around that book.  Brielle loves books and this has been a fun way of learning since there are so many fun books.  We also take turns being the helper mom.

It has been such a fun year of learning for Brielle!  This particular day they went on a pirate treasure hunt (although a few kids were missing for various reasons).  Brielle loves Thursdays since we go to preschool and lunch with Daddy on those days.

It has been fun! 

Payton's Final Pinewood Derby

I think this may be Payton's last year to make a Pinewood Derby Car.  (Never fear...we still have Taylor and Gavin to make plenty more cars.)

Payton is tracing on the shape of the car.

After Payton and I got the shape all ready, we took it down to Swensen's shop to cut it out, carve, shape it, and sand it down.

For this car we even used the chisels.

Now it was ready for a nice paint job.

Payton picked out the design of his car and wanted to really make this one look great,  he has had his eyes on this particular car since the first year.

There were two awards given out: one for design and appearance and the other for the fastest car.  I am glad that we went with looks because this car was sure not the fastest.  It even ran better backwards!!  Dick says it is the Swensen curse.  They can sure make good looking cars but as far as fast...not so much!  Payton was happy and he loved this car!

Here are the cars Payton has collected and made.  He plans on keeping these and showing his future kids someday!