I love how we get to hang with cousins!

Someone took a fancy to the bell... :)

Fire Station Playgroup!

Playgroup has been a part of my life ever since William was little, and I would attend almost religiously. I couldn't even imagine why anyone would have reasons or little desire to join in. I used to take William (and Kate as she came along) to the library, the park, berry/apple picking, and even made trips to KC to the Deanna Rose Farmstead (free and HIGHLY recommended!). There are even a few of the same moms since William's 2-4 year old days.

These days, however, playgroup has become a special occasion. I am figuring out that things in life change. While I strive to find constants and absolutes to satisfy my need to organize life, I am understanding phases and continual change in life. While taking care of my grandma, three kids, and home and church responsibilities, I can only make special efforts to be there for things that are unique or I think that Kate will truly enjoy. Before we left, I told Kate we were going to a fire station, and she had no idea what a fire station, fireman, or even firetruck was! I guess she is a girl... I think I am also beginning to understand that while I think I've figured out how to keep laundry from exploding all over our basement, that sometimes my "fool proof" approach will need to be modified from time to time. What I mean is, I am always trying to figure out the "best" way to organize or accomplish something, and I am realizing that the "best" way changes. One way can work for a while, but it will not last forever. And, that's okay. It's just time to reassess and take another approach. I thought that someday I would get everything figured out, but now I am realizing that does not exist. BUT, I can hone my skills at figuring out the best way to do something until things change. Then, I will work on figuring out the new "best" way of doing things.... :) I also have a new saying - 3 kids equals superspeed. (At least for me. Although, I have never really known 3 kids without my grandma...)

FYI - Nathan is a big sinker. After crawling going on 3 weeks, getting on his knees for 1, getting to his feet 2 days ago, he is now pulling himself up wherever he can, (even made it on the couches upstairs which don't really have good handholds) and he is even moving his feet a bit, taking a couple steps here and there, and he is still 7 months old.

Noooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo!

Well, he is still really, really cute.

I just LOVE those black and white pictures of my kids. Kids doesn't seem a soft, loving enough word to describe them sometimes. And, as I mentioned before - not really in relation to Valentine's Day - here are some things I love:


1. Holding Nathan and looking into his sleepy eyes.

2. Kate noticing the things I do for her, and always says "Thank you, Mommy."

3. Chatting with William about life, and I wish I had more time to play games with him.

4. Kate volunteering to get things for me. And, that she can make herself a sippy cup with water, and get a bowl, a spoon, milk, and the box of cereal. :)

5. Nathan's ready smile, deep blue eyes, and good nature.

6. A freshly tuned piano. Mmmm. (I love it when it's some of the best money you have ever spent!)

7. Long, slow breakfasts, where you can order anything you feel like, and take as long as you want. (The best Valentine's yet!)

8. William's hard work and best efforts. (School, laundry, breakfast, "babysitting", babyfood...) He really helps me keep things afloat around this place!

9. A deep, trusting relationship that I often take for granted. (Sorry, Kevin)

10. Friends and family that support me throughout all of my trials and smiles in life. Thank you. I am truly grateful. (And I guess 10 is a good round number. Just kidding!)

So enough of that cheese! I do have to say I do not love paperwork. I get LOTS of extra paperwork with helping my grandmother. I feel bad for the trees, but I feel worse for gma. Today she said, "This is so hard. I never imagined anything like this happening. How do you suppose this happened? Do you know something? You've got to know something about my head." I really didn't know what to say. Tomorrow she goes in for a CT Scan to see how things are. I guess we'll see. I don't know how things will ultimately play out, but I sure hope they will not be too much more painful for her to go through. ANYWAY! I want to end on a positive note. Here are some cute pictures from Valentine's. Happy Valentine's Day. (I told my students that it is really a made up holiday, BUT it is still a good time to remember to appreciate those you do love, family and friends.) So, Happy Valentine's!

We didn't realize that the sprinkles did not have a shaker cover on them. At least we weren't the only ones!

A cute, but silly smile!

Just thought I would post a few recent pics so everyone can see the fam. Thank you, Lori!

My how time flies! It has already been half a year since I have had a chance to re-enter the blog world, and SO much has changed!

1. We moved! Yes, we had just decided that we were not going to move into a bigger house after having baby #3, Nathan, (who wants to start their mortgage over, and we really could have fit forever if we wanted) but then...

2. My grandmother with Alzheimer's moved in with us for 2 months, bought our house, and then we bought a bigger house just 1 block down. (Sounds simple doesn't it... NOT!) :)

3. I am the person in charge taking care of my grandmother. (Long story, but I am working on writing it out to journal sometime. I think that is really what my blog is going to be for me. I will gladly post pictures and blog events, but my purpose in this will really be a place for me to record and journal our life. Enjoy!) :)

4. I JUST took down my christmas decorations 2 days ago. A new record, I'm sure. But, now my house is back to bare walls and the just moved in look. It really takes a long time to unpack when time is spent taking care of family and grandma.

I just added that last one in for fun, but it is true. I still stay at home taking care of our three perfect (well, almost) kids, teach violin about 5 hours a week, and spend a lot of time organizing the care or directly caring for my grandmother. It has been 2-3 weeks now with almost full time help for her though, and I actually found time that I didn't know what to do with!!! A little time for myself. Taking care of aging grandparents, especially with Alzheimer's, is a highly consuming job. I don't have to worry about having child #4 for quite some time. :) And, I guess I should say, William is 6 1/2, Kate just turned 3 on ground hog day!, and Nathan is 7 months and is slowly crawling around all over. His favorite things to do are chew on socks and kleenex. I definitely do not need a puppy. :) He is also trying to eat my arm right now, so I better get going. But, next time, a blog on Things I Love...

(I didn't even realize that goes right along with Valentine's until I checked my blog for editing an hour later...) :)

COUNTY FAIR con't.

What made this day even better was friends and family! We met a couple friends from church, Livia and Janice, to go through the petting zoo around 4pm, and then later we met my sister-in-law, Lori, and her family to have some food and visit the animals again. It was an amazing time to have all the cousins together, and spend time with family. Not to be too cheesy, but they are going to some of our best memories.


Cousins, Kate and Ava. Kate gets soooooo excited when she get to see her cousins.

Cousins again.
William and Ava are really starting to play a lot. Now that she's older, he has another partner in crime. They even kept holding hands to stay together at the fair.

Nathan along for the ride.

And of course, snow cones! It seems to be a Mom, William, Kate thing. We LOVE snow cones and slushies.

The COUNTY FAIR!

I LOVE the fair. Growing up, I went to the fair every year. I love looking at the animals, seeing what kids are learning in 4-H, and reminiscing about growing up in the country (though I did not do 4-H). I hope to pass that appreciation of green pastures and fields on to my family. So far, so good, although William is still not convinced that he would want to live in the country because there are bugs and poison ivy. He isn't sure he would like to raise certain animals either because they smell. :)


Two cute kids at the petting zoo.

Kate kept seeing what she thought was people feeding the animals dirt. Here, she decided the animal would like some straw. Other times, she would put her hand in the dirt and hold them up to the animals. Since they were used to people holding out their hands with food, the animals would fall for it every time, thinking that Kate had food for them. Kate just thought that was what you were supposed to do. :)

They had some really neat animals at the petting zoo - a zebra, llamas, lemurs, but this was probably the best - a kangaroo with a joey in its pouch. The first time we went to see them, all we could see was a foot and a tail hanging out. The second time we went around, William caught the joey poking its head out of the pouch. I even thought this was neat. I have never seen it before.

William found a hissing goose. For some reason, I couldn't get him to stand any closer...

Swimming Lessons, Level 2

To me, swimming is super important. It's one of the only bad dreams I have on occasion - trying to keep William and Kate from going underwater. William is learning, with lots of room for practice. :) He is a little nervous going in the deeper parts of the pool, and cannot let go of his nose for anything! The really fun thing was, we were able to sign up with a couple good friends from church, George and Carson. He has had a great time, and is a lot more comfortable in the water. We also went to McDonald' s Playland to celebrate. Next summer, lessons again! Maybe we'll get in a few more weeks since we won't have to schedule around a new baby... :)

Goofy William.

William and girl sitting on lilypad.

Bunch of friends at McD's!

Here is the new addition to our family! Nathan was born on June 23, 8 lbs. 6 oz., 19 inches long, actually our smallest baby yet. He seemed so tiny to us, especially when he was in the 7 lbs. We even had to use newborn diapers... :) Kate loves having a real baby around, and loves putting all her babies and stuffed animals in his car seat, bouncer, and swing. The buckles are always buckled (Lori!). William is a proud older brother, but isn't really impressed with him yet. He doesn't have that many tricks. I know as he gets bigger and more interesting we'll have a hard time getting him away from William as well.

Baby Nathan

Kate and Nathan

Beautiful kids

Big brother William and Nathan

Taking a breather.

Still friends, even when playing against each other. :)

A cold spring game, but cute as a bug.

Well, I have to apologize. It has been AGES since I have last posted anything on here, but I do want to give it another go. I'm hoping that as I get more and more pregnant (due Jun. 23), that I will have lots of time to sit around and either scrapbook or blog... :) We'll see.

So, I guess this is soccer mom continued. William is in his 2nd season playing Eudora soccer, and he has really turned up the heat. Last year, he was working on getting the hang of the game, and scored a total of 2 times for that season. This year, William has an average of 2-3 goals per game, with a record of 4. (I have felt bad for some of the teams he has played. He and another kid on his team just really go after it with a couple blowouts of 11-0, and 7-0.) We all have fun going to his games and practices as a family. Kevin is even helping out from time to time running practices with the coach. So, for now we continue on.

William at his first soccer practice

William and Brant running a drill together

Best buds looking forward to lots of soccer together

William and his coach, Elise

Well, it's official. I am now a soccer mom. William had his first day of soccer practice last Tuesday. He is playing parks and rec. soccer in Eudora with some of his friends from church. It's really a good deal. For only $30, there is practice each week and several games. We also live so close to the eastern edge of Lawrence, it works out really well for us.

It was pretty funny watching William go through his first drill. He has NEVER played any type of soccer, and while Kevin had fun showing him soccer on TV and XBox, we hadn't gotten around to going outside and really showing him soccer (really because it has been so HOT). Once William realized that it didn't work well to kick the ball as hard as he could each time, he picked things up really quick, and by the end of practice he was starting to look like a real little soccer player. He even got to play some 3 on 3, and he loved playing defense and not letting the other kids get past him. (He was actually pretty intimidating.) I personally love playing defense when I play soccer, partly because I don't know much about soccer, but really because most guys underestimate my aggressiveness and agility, and it's fun to surprise them. Kevin on the other hand, likes to play forward, or as he told William, he likes to score goals. :) We make great teammates, but clashing rivals. (It's always better for us if we are on the same team. :))

Anyway, it was a lot of fun, and I know William is looking forward to practice again this week. As parents, we did learn a couple of things, like bring camp chairs, or at least a blanket to sit on, and bring lots of ICE water. (ICE is definitely better.) All of the moms were REALLY nice, and it there were even some little girls for Kate to play with. She had a great time watching. Now, I guess we only need the van..... :)

William ready to walk to his first day of school!

William's first assignment (a coloring page, and writing his own name). Needless to say, he wrote his name as nicely as he could (Capital W, lowercase illiam, curved m), colored right in the lines, and "gave each crayon a turn."

William and his K teacher, Mrs. O'Donnell (Mrs. O.)

Well, it is official. William had his first day of school on Friday. No, I did not cry or even get weepy. (I guess I'm just a mean mom...) But, actually I had been unhappy about him going off to all day kindergarten , UNTIL, I woke up early Friday morning. When I woke up that morning, I knew it was the right thing. I had finally said a quick prayer the night before that I would feel good about it. (I don't know why I am still amazed at the power of little prayers. I guess I forget that Heavenly Father wants us to ask for his help, and it is right there waiting for us.) I have always had my doubts about public school, whether they will be able to support his advanced skills, why does he have 21 kids in his class!!!, and does he really need to be gone all day. I will miss him, but I know without a doubt that it is right, which is good because I still can't believe they allowed 21 KIDS!!!

Anyway, William has been struggling with obedience for a couple of months now, spending LOTS of time in time-out. I guess he started to not mind it so much, and while we all struggle with obedience (me included), he was definitely not utilizing his known ability. He is a little too smart for his own good, and thinks that sometimes he knows better than the grown-ups. You can imagine where this will get him at school, besides the lack of fun at home. Kevin was out of town on Friday, his first day of school, but he was able to give William his first father's blessing for school tonight before he went to bed. I know that Kevin carefully listens to the promptings of the Spirit in giving blessings rather than forming his own ideas, but Heavenly Father also had reminders in his blessing about learning obedience, listening to authority, and learning so he can be a good example at school. He even told William that He was watching, and that some things were tests. He also comforted William that He is there, He loves him, and knows all of his concerns. Overall, William felt a little humbled and comforted. We can only wait and see. (Well, we can say prayers for him as well.)

Tonight, I also realized that I had forgotten to teach him a couple things. I forget to remind him that he can ask for help when he's not sure of what to do, whether from his teacher or from us. He tries to be so independent (which we do encourage to a point) that he forgets to ask for help or direction. If he's not sure of whether he should do something, ASK. :) A lot of times he can figure the ways out on his own, but obviously not all of them, and we need to check up on that more often.

The other thing I forgot is teaching him that sometimes he will not learn the reason for a rule until later. He likes to know the reason behind everything right then, but we need to remind him that he can't learn everything all at one. Sometimes he won't learn the reasons behind them until later. We will fill him in as best we can, but sometimes there isn't time to explain right then, and he will have to wait until later that day, or sometimes even when he gets older. I can see so much of myself in him sometimes, though thankfully not as much. As long as he doesn't get suspended in first grade, he is already doing good. :) Kevin said something to him on Friday night I found funny. He said, "William, do you know how many times I got in trouble at school? (and he held up his hand in a zero)" Too bad, I couldn't help by saying that myself... :) Thankfully, I got it all out of my system early!

Oh, and after Kevin gave William the blessing, Kate climbed right up in the chair, folded her arms, and looked up at daddy. She wanted a blessing too! After waiting a little bit, and having Kate keep getting in the chair and folding her arms, saying yes when we asked her each time if she wanted a blessing too, Kevin also gave a her a short little blessing. And, Kate folded her arms and stayed completely still during the whole thing. It was really neat.

Anyway, we love William. We know that his is a wonderful spirit, and sweet boy (really), and that he loves the gospel. We are so thankful to have him as our son. He will be a great example to his siblings. We love him so much. Enjoy his pictures from the first day of school. In his words, "School was Awesome!"

So, Girl's Camp. I realize it has been almost 3 weeks since, but I don't want to forget it. When I finally realized that I was going to be in charge this year, despite my best efforts to find another, I didn't know what to think. I had little to no experience camping; I only went to Girl's Camp myself 1 time and stayed in air-conditioned cabins with a pool; and it was going to be outside all day in the last week of July. One of my sayings though is "Everything happens for a reason." And, while I was imagining a great burden on myself and my family, while already having 2 demanding church callings between Kevin and I, it turned out great. I had no idea that I even liked being outside that much. I think the whole Stake was praying for cool July weather, and we were blessed. While there were a few hot moments, we had lots of shade and many breezes. I also couldn't have done it without Erin. She was amazing. Without really being called, she was my co-director, and between the 2 of us our ward was organized and well prepared. Without her calls to remind me that I might want to start packing or without her vast experience camping, it could have been a disaster. As it turns out, I LOVE Girl's Camp. I would do it every year, as long as I didn't have a newborn. (Bishop, pretend that you never read this...) :) I had so much fun with the girls. I really enjoyed painting our awesome flag (which can now be seen in the YW's room, although some of it got washed away in a little rain), and a lion on some cardboard or our skit (which actually had a pretty good story line: Danielle and the Lion, with gum for the lions). Our girls all got along, took care of each other, and were fairly clean. We have a few funny stories, but I will share just one. One evening while sitting around the campfire with Erin and Sarah and Emily from 2nd ward, a large locust came flying at them. (Previously, a couple of the 2nd ward girls had been torturing this locust on the other side of camp.) Apparently, Sarah really has a problem with locusts. Erin tried her best (wearing gloves from working with the fire) to pick it up and throw it across camp, but every time she picked it up, it would turn around in mid-air and fly back at Sarah and Emily's vacant chairs. We then contemplated the fire. We could burn it, as it wouldn't leave, but that seemed a little inhumane. So, instead I suggested that Erin use a iron skillet-ish thing from the fire and put on top of it. However, instead of putting it curved side down which would have smashed the locust and killed it quickly, she placed it curved side up, so the locust was trapped inside of a burning skillet thing. Needless to say, the locust went nuts. I yelled "We have to kill it now!," Erin moved the skillet thing and I stomped as fast as I could. You may have had to be there, but it was HILARIOUS, and a little sad. That's about it for Girl's Camp. I just want to say THANK YOU, again to those of you who helped bring things out, take things home, pack their girls, and especially to ERIN for getting things going and organized. Girl's Camp was truly great.

Well, we did it. We tiled our floor, and I (and my family) survived Girl's Camp for an entire week.

First for the tiling. We did it, we did it, and it is done! A sense of accomplishment even like unto graduating college. Unfortunately, I did not have my camera to take pictures of the work in progress, but I do hope to post some pre-tile pictures from when we bought our house and some post-tile pictures. The difference is amazing and beautiful. While not perfect, (and I am a perfectionist), we did a good job. While we both cleared and cleaned the existing floor area (yucky linoleum), Kevin became the expert in tiling, and I became the expert in cutting tile using a wet-saw. (I did feel cool mastering my first real power tool.) It just took practice and a even touch. If anyone ever thinks about tiling themselves, we would both say do it, while also giving some helpful quick tips. I learned that it is valuable to wear a hat while using a wet-saw or you will spend a good 30-40 minutes combing tiny pieces of tile out of your hair before you take a shower. And, it is important to wear junk clothes, maybe even a plastic apron, as the saw covers you in clay colored mist that goes through your shirt onto your underclothes. I also learned that when using the saw outside in the sun, cover your neck... (my first real sunburn of the season). I think Kevin would say that it is important to mix your mortar really well so there are no lumps and it is nice and smooth. He may even recommend using a power drill with a mixing paddle attachment (which we did not have). I believe he also mentioned that it is important not to lay too much mortar, because it may make your tile stick up higher than other tiles. Really, it is just important to be consistent in how your doing things.

We are sooooooo grateful for the many people that stopped by to help us and give us a boost of encouragement: Brandon for getting us started, Aaron for helping clean mortar and giving Kevin someone more interesting to talk too, John for figuring out a nifty way to measure tiles for cutting, GR and Bob for getting us moving and providing moral support, Matt for learning how to grout for the first time while my mom was looking over his shoulder, Rob for making sure that we were doing everything right, and finally my mom who had the energy to clean the grout off the tiles so well that we only needed to clean them 1 extra time ourselves AND David my brother (who just moved in from Albuquerque) who pretty much sealed all the grout and came up with time-saving, nifty hair tools to do it with. We also want to thank Irina for making us a full home-cooked spread. (We certainly got tired of microwave food.) We couldn't have done it without them. (Well, I guess we could of, but it would have taken us about a month instead of one week....)

All in all, tiling is VERY tedious and HARD work. We spent many nights up until 2 or 4 am finishing something so we could move forward the next day. As long as you know that and resign yourselves to it without hard feelings, it can certainly be accomplished. (I also know that my prayers for strength and energy were often answered.) I have even noticed a great patience for tedium I picked up because of this project. You can imagine how handy that patience becomes in everyday life, waiting in lines, big piles of laundry to sort/fold, piles of dishes, organizing garages, and sometimes a greater patience in steering William, though at times tiredness took over and there was little room for error... :) (It even helped me in Girl's Camp.) So, 280 sq. ft down, 75 to go. Easy sailing from here. We are still planning on tiling our 2 bathrooms to match, and then hopefully we can take a breather. Who knows, maybe a back splash someday... (but, maybe not...).

Well, I'll have to save Girl's Camp for tomorrow. I actually get a little time to spend with my hubby, and I better take it. We have only had minutes here and there this past week, and without a little time together we both tend to get grumpy. So see you soon.

Gaia

Oh, yeah. And, after going to bed at 11:30 on the 4th, the kids and I got up the next morning and went berry picking with our playgroup at 9:30. (We even left a little bit before Kevin...) We were a little tired (when it was planned we kind of forgot about the 4th), but it's the only picking we get this year because of early frosts. We can't believe it, but there will be NO apple picking in the fall, or any other fruit for that matter. It's sad since we have made it kind of a tradition the last 2 years or so to go as a family. At least we'll still have the pumpkin patch, I think...

And, not only did we go berry picking, but we got to talking about swimming while we were sweating like pigs picking berries in the sun. So, later that evening, minus Kevin who was out with the missionaries, we all went to the indoor pool with Kelly, Eric, Chris, Lori, and kids. We had a blast. William LOVES his uncle Eric helping to teach him how to swim, Kate LOVES swimming in the water (I even dunked her a few times), and Ava had fun catching Kate at the bottom of the kiddy slide. It really is so nice to be able to get our families together. While at times I think I am ready to be done with Lawrence and move on, at other times I think of what we would be missing having our kids grow up together. Already, they love playing with each other and are fast friends (granted they are still learning how to share). It's fun to imagine how they will be when they are older.

Anyway, that really is everything I think. We are having a busy summer, but loads of fun. And, I want to be sure William gets to do all these fun things before it's time to go to school in August. He will be going to the all day kindergarten in just a little more than a month (Wow, I can't believe it will be so soon.) I am so reluctant to let him go off and grow up, but I know he is ready and he wants to. I will work hard at making sure the school keeps up with him, and that he is continually progressing. We will give it a go. As much as I will miss him, I know he is ready to go out into the (kindergarten) world and make a difference. I am not easy on him, and he is a good son. He is loving and kind at heart and loves the gospel. He can easily be polite and well-mannered. He will probably be even more so for his teachers at school. We love him dearly, and he is a great big brother. It's hard to ask for more.

Again, I know the gospel is true. The peace in our life is real and lasting. I am so thankful to have that light in our lives.

Gaia

I am sooooo tired today. We have either been having too much fun or doing too much work without taking time in between. It's turning out that July is my least favorite month because it has too many fun things to do. :) (Luckily, it is all worth it.)

To begin with, William had swimming lessons for 2 weeks straight at the end of June. He loved it, and I loved that he got to get out every day, even playing at the park most days afterwards. (So far, the weather while hot at times has not been killer. Overall, it has been a mild and wet summer.) He took Level 1 and is really comfortable going underwater and jumping in the pool now. He begged me to sign him up for Level 2, but classes downtown were full, and I didn't think I could take another 2 weeks of being gone every morning. (The house definitely missed me...)

Continuing on, our ward had a church BBQ with contests and games June 23. We had a 4th of July breakfast, with Kevin in charge of making pancakes, 4th of July dinner with the Schellman's at our house, 4th of July fireworks at GR's, (He has a commercial license, and it was AWESOME.), and we got together with a big group of friends from church and rented out the Baldwin swimming pool July 7th (Also awesome. I even got to do practice a little springboard diving from my past).

Now, amidst all this fun, some friends and I had planned a garage sale on June 30. We went all out, borrowed tables, put an ad in the paper, and organized all our stuff neatly to sell off. We stayed up late and got up early, only to find that it was raining, and continued to rain the entire day. We didn't give up though, and held our garage sale inside the garage and were surprised at how many people actually did come, many before we were actually open. Things died out eventually though, and we decided to leave everything where it was and have a sale the following weekend (yesterday). The weather was beautiful (getting warmer though!), and we did well selling off many of our things. We packed things up, sending leftovers to various families or goodwill, and I finally got to clean up and put my car back in the garage. (I have always said that if we can't fit our cars in the garage, we have too much stuff). Afterwards, we headed off to our pool party.

So, it has been a FUN and tiring few weeks. We are also officially tiling our house starting this weekend, definitely tons of work, but I know it will be beautiful. I also feel great getting things marked off our big to do list. While we LOVE our home, it is work to keep up with the house. Next, it will be on to painting the outside... :)

One last note for tonight...

William was hanging towels up in the bathroom, cleaning up. William left the bathroom door open. Earlier, William used the bathroom and did not flush.

Kate likes to play in the toilet. Kate found the door open. Kate walked into William's room with a drop of water next to her eye. Mom wondered.

Mom felt both of Kate's hands to see if one was wet. The first hand was dry. The second had was wet. Mom noticed that Kate had a dark colored spot on her white sweater. Mom realized what had happened.

Mom yelled for Dad. Kate smelled bad. William hid under a blanket. Dad cleaned up Kate and her sweater. Dad and Mom still love William and Kate. (See previous post...) :)

Well, tonight as Kevin was getting the kids ready for bed, somehow he ended up laying down and singing songs with William. (Apparently, he had William and Kate dancing as he sang their favorite Wiggles songs.) Then, they started singing primary songs together. After I finally finished up what I was doing, I took Kate in with me and joined in on a few. Just as we were getting ready to lay Kate in her crib, William says, "Wait. Just one more song for Kate. I am a Child of God." (William LOVES to sing primary songs and know MANY by heart.) We sang that one last song, William gave everyone a kiss on the cheek, and into bed they went. (Though it was a good while until everyone finally got to sleep...)

*CHEESE ALERT*

I know this is going to be very cheesy, but, it was such a wonderful feeling to sing together as a family, and I really knew in my soul that I loved being a mom and taking care of my children, that there isn't anything better in life (EVEN though Kate has learned how to say "MOMM-Y" instead of Mama, and says it incessantly to the point of insanity). We are thankful to have the blessings of the gospel in our life. To know who we are, where we came from, and why we are here. There is a plan. (It's always nice to know that.) We know that the church of Jesus Christ has been restored on this earth. We learn so much from his example and from the scriptures, both the Bible and the Book of Mormon. There are parts from both that I love. I know that I can do more in my prayer and study, and I hope that we can visit the temple even more often. I hope that we can be good examples to our children, and I hope they will grow to gain a strong testimony of the gospel. I also hope that we will be able to share the plan of happiness with many of our close friends and neighbors. I know that there is no other way to gain the same peace and happiness in this life.

Okay, I guess I'm all done. I truly love my family. Cute pictures coming soon...

Ahoy, mateys! William had his 5th Birthday on May 3rd, 2007 and he invited all his friends (both young and old) to a Pirate Party on Saturday, May 5th. Yes, that is a pirate cake, and while at first I toyed with the idea of making a pirate ship from Family Fun magazine, I quickly settled on this pirate instead. It was my first ever attempt at cute cake making, and I truly felt like this was the ugliest cake I had ever made until the final beard crumbs went on. I definitely wouldn't quit my day job, ha ha, but I think it turned out all right with lots of room for improvement... :) (It was REALLY hard to try and make red frosting, and no I couldn't find it at the store.)

We had eye patches, water balloons, squirt guns, and finally a pirate ship pinata (a pinata ship we altered and decorated ourselves). Everyone had a great time, including Willam, unless you ask him. Then he will tell you how much he hated me telling everyone to go after the birthday boy with squirt guns and how I told daddy to dunk his head in the water cooler. Of course, I told him that we loved him and we were only playing with him, and we won't do that next time. (I think... :))

Don't forget to check our web albums. http://www.picasaweb.google.com/gschellman There are plenty more pictures of William and his friends. This was actually his third birthday celebration (not planned), and we will have more birthday pictures up soon as well. I can't believe he is 5!

Kate is full of personality. Here are some of our favorite photos.

Kelly, one of Kate's aunts, was recently in Hawaii (poor thing) and brought these necklaces back for her sisters. They weighed a ton, but she put them all on and wore them all over the house. Kate had someone else in mind for them, but she did get to keep the dress. :)

What a sense of humor. Here she is joking around with a squirt gun left over from William's birthday party. (She knows something good when she sees it...)

Here she is lounging around like she owns the place (at Chris and Lori's). I don't know where she get its... (And thank you again, Shaunna for the dress...) :)

Another favorite picture of my two kids. I can't believe how much I love them.