Birthday Party for Carter and Serena with the Hoppie's

More food, presents and attention for the birthday children! But don't worry Aleeya gets tons of love also! Grandpa and Grandma-ma Hoppie and Aunt Kimmie came to celebrate with us today.

 

The kids had tons of presents to open, so as you watch the slide show, you will see them opening many packages. It is so fun to be spoiled!

Birthday Party for Carter and Serena with the Dearden's

 

Since Carter and Serena both have birthday's in June we combine them for one family party. This year the Dearden's and Hoppie's came on different days, which only convinced Carter that he can have as many parties as he wants.

For their cakes Carter wanted a round chocolate one with candles. Great, and I got to buy round pans since I didn't have any. For Serena I made a cake decorated like a present. I got the idea from our Relief Society Birthday party, Lisa Teuscher brought the cutest cake and she said it was easy!

All of the kids loved the presents and food and attention! It was great to have Grandpa and Grandma "Dear", Aunt Marian, Uncle Mel, Granny and Grandpa Dearden, Staci, Stuart, Crystal and cousin Alana come and celebrate with us.

Hill Aerospace Museum

During the summer we have planned a field trip every Thursday. Last week Lagoon, this week the Hill Aerospace Museum. It was very fun and kept the kids attention much longer than I thought it would. Best of all it was free, so we can go again, now that I know they like it.

When we were leaving Serena said, "No go home, again airplanes!" So apparently she is willing to go again!

Cutest pilot ever!

So cute I had to add both pictures!

Carter is willing to take the controls on both sides!

Carter is Five!!

For Carter's fifth birthday we went to an Ogden Raptors baseball game.

After the game we told Carter that we would have presents when he got home and he immediately said that he wanted a bike with training wheels. All I can say is that I am sure glad that is what he got or I would have felt like a terrible parent!

We had waited to give Serena her bike until Carter's birthday because it would be too much torture for him to watch her ride for two weeks without him!

I can feed myself!

If you leave the food close enough on the table, then you don't have to feed Aleeya, she will grab it and do it herself!

Julie McBride, Aleeya's B.F.F.

Every morning when we go to the McBride's to help Jeffrey, Julie greets us at the door and immediately takes Aleeya out of her car seat. She is so cute to watch and play with her while I am there.

When we got there on Thursday she had out blankets and a chair and toys all labeled for Aleeya. It was so cute I told her I had to take pictures, so she put them out again the next day. I love that she went to so much work to make the signs and set everything up! What a great friend!

Aleeya's holding chair

Aleeya's crawling blanket

Aleeya's playing blanket

Aleeya's other playing blanket

Stake Lagoon Day!

We had a fabulous time at Lagoon, thanks to the Stake. I am not a big amusement park lover and so far the four free rides: Merry-Go-Round, Tilt-a-Whirl, Train, and Music Express are enough for the kids.

We went in the morning and rode the rides and had ice cream. Then we went back at night and watched the music shows. I love how Carter and Serena are mesmerized by the performers. We also rode the Merry-Go-Round and train again.

Plaster of Paris is of the devil!

So I had this cute idea to have the children mold their hands on a heart for Father's Day. I have seen many such projects, I just have never done one. So...since it was raining I invited our friends over to mold away. The first batch thickened way too fast before we even got it into the mold.

Then Serena grabbed the bag of powder and dumped it all over the lawn. At that point I was done, but my friends kept trying. The next batch wouldn't come out of the molds and then they tried using plastic wrap under the plaster and it just pulled up the whole thing when the kids hands were dipped.

So as Megan put it, "our plaster disaster" didn't go so well!

Happy Third Birthday Serena!

We had a princess party to celebrate Serena's Third Birthday! This castle was made in our garage late at night in January, yes it was cold, by a group of friends. We all had girls turning three so it has been utilized for four parties, so far! It has two rooms inside for princess pretending!

Pin the Tiara on the Princess!

Princess Hopscotch

Cake Walk

Serena was really good at letting her friends help her open the presents. When she got a box of Starbursts, she immediately passed them around to everyone.

Princess Throne and decorated cupcakes for the cupcake walk.

Birthday mail from Grandpa and Grandma Hoppie. They said it well: "You are a wonderful little girl. We love your wrap around long hugs. We love your happy smile. We love your eagerness to help." Happy Birthday Serena!

Videos from the Princess Party

Opening presents with friend, Kyla.

A sort of cupcake walk, mostly dancing around with some numbers on the floor! This was a nice way to distribute the treats without a mad rush to the table!

Singing "Happy Birthday," apologizes to anyone with a music ear. Nice reminder to let someone with pitch make the video!

Oquirrh Mountain Temple Open House

Our family had the opportunity to tour the Oquirrh Mtn. Temple. The tour was super organized and a few highlights for the children were the cart ride to and from the car and the cookies and water at the end.

The tour is silent, so they asked everyone to turn of cell phones etc., but they said that we could keep the children on. I appreciated this comment, as it acknowledged that they understood families.

Carter walked with his hands in his pockets, silently, the whole way through. Serena was also fairly reverent, just fast. There are many ushers, so she kept saying, "this way, this way?" Aleeya just took it all in.

The temple has beautiful chandeliers and marble staircases. I noted that it is wise to have durable easy to clean stairs, I think carpet is a pain. (I think I might need to change my focus to something more spiritual!)

It was a nice time together as a family and I am thankful that we could tell our children that mom and dad are married for eternity.

Aleeya is eight months old!

Our baby is growing up! She is crawling everywhere and pulls herself up on furniture and climbs up the bottom stair. She is now sleeping in her own room in the crib, not the bassinet.

Her favorite noise is a machine gun sounding laugh. She is also very good at showing off her tongue. Smiles, love and joy describe Aleeya.

She is eating fruits, veggies, cereal etc. in a mushy state. She also eats Cheerios and bite size green beans. She has not yet tried meats or dairy.

We have had so many people marvel at how cute she is! I have been told frequently that she looks like a doll and she usually responds with a smile that makes her look even cuter!

I continue to feel so much gratitude for her in our lives. If you need a moment of peace and joy, just come and hold Aleeya.

Comparison pictures at eight months

Carter

Serena

Aleeya

I think it is fun to compare how the children look alike and different! I had them all wear the same robe and do bathtub poses at eight months.

School Bus! School Bus!

We have had the chance to load and unload Jeffrey from the school bus each day. His mom, Jenni, had knee surgery on one leg and then broke her foot on the other leg, so she is in a wheelchair.

The kids love watching for the school bus and visiting. Serena sounds so cute saying, "Jeffrey, school bus?" I just have to say "let's go to the school bus" and they run to the van.

I have also enjoyed the chance to chat with Jenni on a daily basis, the adult interaction is great and she is such a fun, uplifting friend.