afternoon with our colorado clan

thanks old friends, for the fabulous lunch and fun times catching up. we miss you guys!
the little boys (sans sammie)

since our last get together, another girl has been added. hooray for kate! if only m&m could stop fighting over her

bestest buds from way back

ditto!

trip to idaho #1

with school out and matt busy at work and with YM, the kiddos and i jumped ship for a few days and headed north for a little R&R with the keehans. malee kept us busy with cleaning and weeding (when it wasn't raining) and we got to enjoy the super cold and super high sand bar for an afternoon. the trip was short and sweet but don't worry, we'll be back...a couple of times:)

3 down, 1 to go

mal graduated from preschool a few weeks ago and is right ready to jump into kindergarten. we are in the process of changing tracks and so she doesn't start till mid august and the waiting is killing her. she had a fabulous year with mrs. jean (or "ms. jeans", depending on who you ask) and was sad to see it all end.

that leaves just little eli to make his way through the world of preschool. i can't believe this chapter of our lives is more that half over--wow! where did all the time go?

birthday and a buzz

Mr. Eli is 3!!! (we're hoping that we've seen the last of his terrible twos--but we're not holding our breath.)

He also got his summer buzz with much coaxing--this kid hates haircuts. we celebrated the night before with a lightning mcqueen (of course!) and mater cake with g & g mcqueen and then went with all the hawes cousins to the movie up on the night of.

Some eli @ 3 tidbits to remember:

-still naps every day and loves to "get cozy" with me to read stories in isaac's bed. he's the only one of my children that i have been able to lie down with (as there is no new baby to tend to) and have really loved getting my daily dose of snuggle.

-has been potty trained for nearly a year! this kid was a potty protege.

-has skipped 3T clothes. gone straight from 2 to 4. (This may be more me than him as i'm over buying clothes that last only one year)

-needs his dad to tuck him in and sing "tuppence" ("feed the birds" from mary poppins) while tickling his tummy.

-talks a blue streak. he talks more than megan!! and she drove us nuts-so you can imagine how we're getting along with him. it's great because we can always understand him but his decible level is through the roof! something about being the youngest of 4, i guess.

-is left footed. this came out of nowhere as everyone else is very right side dominant. but you put a ball at his feet and he's up and down the yard--all lefty.

-loves to drive in grandpas "mater" truck that has been visiting our house lately

-favorites: orange, diego, cornmeal, signing time, "cars" and star wars guys, and mud.

-wants to follow mallory wherever she goes. this may prove traumatic when kindergarten starts in august.

-shoots everything in sight with this index finger. please don't be offended if you are on the receiving end of one of eli's "pyoom, pyoom's"-especially during sacrament meeting. we're working on it

-is not satisfied until the little girl across the street is crying.

-is incapable of sitting still.

-is extremely rough and tumble--everything is a tackle, a shove, a push, a whack, a crash, a hit--there's not a soft bone is his body and he's wearing me right out--i need that daily nap.

-amid all his testosterone, he's my little bud and growing up so fast. my baby is quickly leaving all things baby behind. my how time flies!

happy birthday buddy!

killer whales, blue whales and blizzard

these are the soccer teams we've been supporting this spring. how lucky that every uniform is blue! (we'd have fared better if they were red!) megs and isaac played with the same teams they were on last fall and did great! they still love this game--even after basketball and volleyball seasons this winter, soccer still gets the most love. matt and i look forward to their games every saturday, so excited to see our offspring out there, living out the dreams we have for them (that is meant as a joke)
mallory was the newest addition to the saturday morning schedule. she finally got her shot at soccer and pranced her way up and down the field. she played on a team with lots of friends from the ward and was a little less intimidated than we expected. this is a shot of her scoring her first goal and the after-goal high five from coach (yes, i said COACH) mom (that is a whole other story)

she's gotten less and less nervous with each game and starting to figure the whole thing out. she's my best listener out on the field which i am SOOOOOOO grateful for with 6 4-5 year olds out there at a time who need lots of direction. we didn't win many games but learned a bunch in the process (like get your small kids in a league that doesn't have 6 4-5 year olds out on the field at a time)
well, another season, come and gone--and none of us wanting it to end (except for the coach;)