Jace is 5

I can't even believe it's been 5 years since this handsome little guy came into our family! He is definitely all boy and we are still in awe of him everyday! He has been so excited for this birthday, I don't think there ever has been another kid as excited for a birthday as this one! He had been anticipating for weeks, asking how many more days until Emily made him a little paper chain that he could tear off a link everyday until the BIG DAY! He faithfully tore off a link every morning and let us all know how many more days until his birthday.
Here he is getting ready to eat his most favorite food in the world, french toast for breakfast! He had to go through the whole day until he could actually open his gifts. He was a trooper all day long and didn't ask too many times how much longer!

All the anticipation of this day and all the waiting and wondering how many days was well worth it when he finally got to open his remote control helicopter! He actually was with me and picked it out weeks before so it wasn't too big a surprise. I told him when we got it that we had to save it for his birthday and that he needed to forget about it, didn't happen!

We went to Red Robin for dinner but we had to promise that we wouldn't tell the waiters it was his birthday or he would hide under the table. He didn't want to be embarrassed, I guess. We came home and let him blow out the candles on his cake, we were all too stuffed to eat any. He kept telling me all week he didn't want a birthday cake (he doesn't like cake) only ice cream. Well, this morning, he decided he did want a cake. Not just any cake, a helicopter cake. I knew there was no way I was going to find a helicopter cake, so I just grabbed a random cake from the bakery and bought a match box helicopter, put it on the cake and he was thrilled as can be!

Make a wish and blow them all out!!!
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He had a great birthday and I think after all his excitement, he wasn't too disappointed in the outcome of the day! He is such a great addition to the family. He is definitely spoiled by ALL of us. He is a wonderful little guy and we just can't get enough of him!! I think I'm going to have a hard time next year sending him off to kindergarten, he's been my buddy the last few years and I know I'm going to miss him during the day!

Senior pictures

This post is a little late because Lindsay had her senior pictures taken back in Aug. just before school started. They all turned out great, these are just random ones that I love. I still have to decide which poses to hang on my wall and she has yet to decide which poses to get as wallets to hand out to friends.

This is definitely one of my favorites!

A friend of mine and a lady in our ward, took them. She used to have a photography business in Texas. I think she did a great job! Maybe she shouldn't have taken so many, it's too hard to choose which ones are my favorites, I've only posted a small fraction of her pictures and I have family pictures scheduled in a few weeks from now. I still can't believe Lindsay is a senior, she received some admission information from BYU yesterday and boy was that hard! I know there are great things ahead for her so it will be exciting to see what her future holds but why can't she do it all from home?

Homecoming 2011

Last night was Hillcrest's homecoming dance. It happened to fall on the weekend of General Conference so there wasn't any day dates and the young men in Lindsay's group, picked up their dates after the Priesthood session. They had dinner and played games on Friday night so that all the kids could watch conference. Once again, I am so grateful that Lindsay has such a great group of kids in her life! Here she is all ready to go......

I think her hair is very cute, it is supposed to look like little flowers!

David Norman is the young man that asked her to the dance. He left a head of lettuce and a jar of jam on our doorstep with a note that said, "Lettuce jam at the dance together?" Lindsay had to go through the lettuce to see who was asking her. We thought it was a clever way to be asked and have no idea how he got his name in the lettuce as it was fully intact.
Pinning on the boutonniere........

Her wrist corsage

A few more pictures before they head out

The dance was held outside in the parking lot of the school. The theme was 'carnival' and they had a canopy which Lindsay said was small so all the kids were smashed together if they wanted a cover overhead. She did say it was fun though. We are excited each time she is asked to the dances and I still love shopping for dresses and helping her get ready. She had a great time last night with David and the others in her group!

Jace, back to Pre School

Jace started pre school again this morning. He was all excited and ready to go and since he had been to Mrs. Natalie's before, he knew what to expect. Here he is walking out the door. Yes, it was HOT out but he insisted on wearing this long sleeved shirt.

Once we got there, he noticed that all his buddy's from last year weren't there. He was really apprehensive and decided he didn't want to go. Here he is with his new class. He wouldn't let me take a picture with him and Mrs. Natalie and I even had to walk him inside and a few tears were shed but Mrs. Natalie said he did great once I left. When I came to pick him up, he was happy again and let me take a picture.

We are really excited to have Mrs. Natalie as his teacher again this year. She is such an amazing teacher and so supportive of the kids. Even though all his friends moved on to kindergarten, we are sure he is going to have an amazing year and look forward to all the learning and growth he will do this year!!

Helicopter heaven

We headed down to Soda Springs to watch Lindsay and Kenna run in the Cardinal Classic, an annual XC meet and it ALWAYS falls on Labor Day weekend. On our way through Lava Hot Springs, we noticed a helicopter behind one of the little gas stations. I jokingly asked Jace if we should stop and ask if they will give him a ride, and of course he was all over that! I had to tell him that if we stopped we would be late for the girls' meet. On our way back through Lava, I noticed the helicopter was still there and this time, there was a big sign on a truck that said, "helicopter rides." I told Chris we should stop and check it out, he turned the truck around and we found it to be pretty cheap for helicopter rides so we decided we would go for it! Of course, Jace couldn't have been more excited as that kid LOVES helicopters! Here are a few pictures we took. This is me in the front seat as we took off during my flight. Baylie had decided early that she was not going to participate in this family activity. While Chris and I were signing waivers, the pilot took her to the helicopter and buckled her in to show her that it was going to be okay. She still didn't want to take any chances and didn't end up going.

Jace thought he was in helicopter heaven! He was so thrilled and it's all he can still talk about!

Chris getting ready to get in. We ended up taking 2 separate trips since the helicopter could only take 3 of us at a time.

Jace rode with Chris and Ali. Ali is just on the other side of Jace.

All buckled up.....

Lift off.......

The smile on Jace's face tells us it was AWESOME!!!

After Jace, Ali and Chris got off, it was mine and Emily's turn. We were still trying to talk Baylie into going but to no avail. Being the spoiled little kid that Jace is, he ended up going a second time with us and he loved every second of it. All the way home, he kept saying, "that was the funnest thing of my whole life," or "can we talk about the helicopter?" He just couldn't get enough, he even said to me, "you wanna know what's funny? I'm four and I rode the helicopter, Baylie is 6 and she wouldn't." It was such a fun spontaneous thing we were able to do and we definitely made the day of our cute little Jace, and that was worth it! Too bad Lindsay and Kenna had to ride the bus home with their team, they really missed out! Jace is already asking to go do it again for his birthday........

First day of school... Part 2

With the freshman getting their own day at the high school yesterday, Lindsay and Kenna didn't have to start school until today. As usual, they weren't thrilled with me taking pictures but they'll get over it! This was the last time I get to send Lindsay off to her first day of school while living at home. It was a bit sad for me but as you see on her face, it wasn't for her! Kenna and Lindsay walking to the car.

Lindsay, Emily and Kenna. Lucky Emily won't have to experience riding the bus to school in her jr. high years. Sandcreek is located right behind Hillcrest so she will get to catch a ride with her big sisters And, they're off!

This really was a sad morning for me. After they left, I thought about all the other things that will be the 'last time' experiences for our family with Lindsay (while she's living at home) and I really don't think I'm ready for all this; last Thanksgiving, last Christmas, last birthday, last spring break, really the list can go on but I'm hoping not do dwell on these things and hope to make Lindsay's senior year a great one! Kenna is excited to not be a freshman and I know they'll both have great school experiences, they have fantastic groups of friends!

First day of school

This morning we are officially back to a little normalcy and into a schedule. Summer is a great time but I sure like having a routine with everyone, it just seems to make the house run a little smoother. Emily, Ali and Baylie went back to school today. Lindsay and Kenna won't start until tomorrow. Here are my 3 girls all ready for their school day to begin. Holding up their fingers showing what grades they will be in this year. Emily is in 7th, which is also officially, Jr, high! Ali is starting 3rd grade and Baylie 1st grade.

Ali and Baylie in front of their school

Baylie and Mrs. Brinton. We love Mrs. Brinton, Ali had her last year for second grade and we heard she was moving down to teach first grade and I had to request her - she is a fabulous teacher and I know Baylie will thrive in her class!

Her room was fairly empty when we got there so I was able to snap a shot of her at her desk too!

Ali with Mr. Guymon. She really wanted him for her teacher and we knew he was a popular choice. I opted not to request for her as all the 3rd grade teachers are good. She was telling me that she wouldn't get him since so many people were requesting to have him. She was happily surprised at registration when she found out she was placed in his class!

After taking Baylie and Ali to school, I was off to take Emily to JR HIGH!! I still think she's too little to be heading to jr high, but she was really excited. It will be a whole new world for her. Full of new friends, classes, teachers and opportunity!

It was a great morning and all went smoothly as we got ready for the new school year. Chris was able to give each of the kids a father's blessing last night to help them be comforted and ready to tackle this new year! They are growing so fast, time needs to slow down!