Our Big Kindergartner

Today was Lexie's first day of Kindergarten. She did a great job being dropped off at the school & was very brave. The best part was as she stood in line to go into the school she turned around and waved at Daddy with a big grin. Very cute.

On the way home from school she talked non-stop about all of her new friends & the fun things they did in school. Her favorite things about her first day were her teacher & playing with play-dough that changed colors.

My Dad

My father passed away this morning. We learned about two weeks ago that he had cancer. It shocked all of us at how quickly this happened. The grace, dignity, and humility in which he lived his life was evident all through the end. We were so blessed to be able to spend this last week with him and my family. The Lord's hand was evident through all of this. Amazingly, all 12 of his children were able to be together with him in his final hours (my little brother came home from his mission last night-long story). My father is truly the most Christlike man I have ever met. I am so grateful for his love and example to me. It's such a blessing to be able to say and mean that I have the best Dad in the world.

I will post more about this later, but you can read a little bit here and here about him.

Five Years Ago Today...

Happy Birthday, Lexie!

We sure love our Sweet Girl. She's growing up so fast! We are so grateful to have her in our family.
Here is a sampling of pictures of Lexie from age 0-5 years old!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 Oh, how we love this sweet girl of ours! She's amazing!

To Grandpa

When Lexie heard Grandpa was sick she wrote him a song to help him feel better. We hope it works. We love you!

(And a big thanks to Bunny for singing backup.)

"I'm Not Tired!"

She is one smart cookie.

The following exchange took place during tonight's Family Home Evening:

Dad: Lexie, will you choose the closing song- but not "Sunbeam" (that was the opening song & we're trying to get them to branch out).
Lexie: Oh, man. Okay, the "Follow the Leader" song.
Mom: You mean "Do As I'm Doing"?
Lexie: Yes.
Mom: What do you want us all to do?
Lexie: Jump up and down and sing "Jesus Wants Me for a Sunbeam"!

Joseph Got Tagged!

1. What is something mom always says to you? Obey
2. What makes mom happy? To obey
3. What makes mom sad? Not obeying
4. How does mom make you laugh? Tickling me
5. What was mom like as a child? Me
6. How old is your mom? 29
7. How tall is your mom? As so big
8. What is her favorite thing to do? Play games
9. What does your mom do when you're not around? Be sad
10. If your mom becomes famous, what will it be for? I don’t know
11. What is your mom really good at? Trying to find me
12. What is your mom not very good at? Not doing something that I want her to do.
13. What does your mom do for her job? Play with me.
14. What is your mom's favorite food? Everything
15. What makes you proud of your mom? She’s nice to me.
16. If your mom were a cartoon character, who would she be? Mom
17. What do you and your mom do together? Play games
18. How are you and your mom the same? We both have teeth.
19. How are you and your mom different? I’m a boy
20. How do you know your mom loves you? She tells me.

Lexie really wanted to answer all of the questions too.

1. What is something mom always says to you? I love you.
2. What makes mom happy? Playing with her
3. What makes mom sad? Not obeying
4. How does mom make you laugh? Tickling me
5. What was mom like as a child? She was like a baby.
6. How old is your mom? 29
7. How tall is your mom? Taller than the window
8. What is her favorite thing to do? Have birthdays
9. What does your mom do when you're not around? Prays
10. If your mom becomes famous, what will it be for? I don’t know
11. What is your mom really good at? Doing my hair
12. What is your mom not very good at? I don’t know.
13. What does your mom do for her job? Cook
14. What is your mom's favorite food? Pineapple
15. What makes you proud of your mom? Setting up my dollhouse
16. If your mom were a cartoon character, who would she be? Mom
17. What do you and your mom do together? Play dollhouse & read books
18. How are you and your mom the same? Our hair
19. How are you and your mom different? Our clothes
20. How do you know your mom loves you? Because she gives me hugs.

Joseph & Lexie tag: Gavin, Kennedi, Callahan, & Our cousins in Denmark

Andrew's New Trick

He's been standing on his own for a week or so now. However, it hasn't been easy to catch him in the act with a camera.

"Singing at the Park" Starring Lexie

You know how sometimes you watch musicals & they break out into song & you think, "Like that really happens in real life!" Well, today I witnessed it with my own eyes (& ears).

I was watching Lexie play with a group of boys at the park. There was a bit of "You Can't Play with Us" going on between some of the boys. Finally, Lexie & one other boy were playing together. I overheard the following conversation:

Boy: (Pointing to another boy) Let's not play with him. He's not nice.
(I wondered if I should say something, then decided I was more curious as to how she would reply.)
Lexie: But, he's still our friend.
Boy: He's mean.
Lexie: He's still our friend.
Boy: No, he's not being nice.
Lexie: (breaking into song) Yes, he's our friend. Because we are best friends, we are all friends, always be friends...

It was pretty funny. I was also very pleased with how she handled the situation. We have a sweet little girl.

She also sang while 5 or so 3-4 yr olds were trying to jump up to the monkey bars. None of them could reach. She started singing a "Try, we can try, if we keep trying, we will reach it one time" melody as they all took turns.

She bursts into song all of the time at home (esp. in the bathroom or while cleaning), but this was the first time I've seen her do it outside our home. It was really cute.

Going To Work With Daddy

For the last 3 weeks or so, Joseph has been asking to go to work with Rick. Today he got his chance. They had a base wide picnic that families were invited to attend. There was so much to do: make bracelets, make magnets, decorate visors, play on the bouncy toys/obstacle course, ring toss, bowling, bean bag toss, & much more. The fire fighters on base were there to teach kids about fire safety. They had a trailer set up with a living room, kitchen, & bedroom where they taught different aspects of fire safety. At the end, there was a "fire" (they pumped smoke in the bedroom & smoke detector went off) & we had to escape out the window. This was one of Lexie's favorite parts (& the obstacle course). There were a number of other booths with other fun things for the kids (frisbees, candy, bags, hats, etc.).

Here's Lexie in the obstacle course:

Joseph's favorite thing was bouncing in the dragon:

(And yes, Joseph dressed himself: picked out his socks & 4 of his favorite shirts.)

Poor Andrew just sat and ate his stroller:

It was a very well put on event. At one point Joseph said, "I think I could live here!" We had a lot of fun, so much so that the kids now want to go to work with Daddy everyday!