Como Zoo & Chaos Water Park

Jayden's BB4C class went on a field trip to Como Zoo in May and I was able to go along with her. It was a lot of fun! I think the kids enjoyed the rides more than seeing the animals, but they all seemed to have a great time! Jayden's favorite animal was the Zebra and her favorite ride was the swings.






Chaos Water Park
A few weekends ago, we went to Chaos Water Park in Eau Claire with our friends (Sara, John, Chloe & Ian Griffin). This is the first time the boys have ever been to a water park and Jayden hasn't been to one since she was 2-3 years old. They loved it! Peyton had so much fun in the kiddie area, going down slides and playing with the water, but Landon didn't enjoy it so much. :( He played for about 10 minutes and then got scared and wanted one of us to hold him the entire time. He actually fell asleep for an hour in Daddy's arms! Jayden had a blast and even went down the BIG water slide all by herself! She loved it so much, she kept going right back in line to go again.

Jayden's Graduation

Jayden graduated from BB4C (4 year old kindergarden) on May 31, 2011. They had a little graduation ceremony, and they actually wore caps & gowns! It was so cute! They made a slideshow of pictures from throughout the year and also sang some songs. I can't believe my little girl is starting kindergarden next year! :)





The boys patiently waiting for the graduation ceremony to start......

Jayden's t-ball game

Jayden started playing t-ball this year and had her 1st game last week. They didn't have any practices before the game, because they always got cancelled due to snow or rain. :( So, it was a pretty interesting first game. She hit the ball both times very well, but it took her a little while to realize she needed to run to first base after she hit. :) She played short stop when she was in the field, and when the other team hit the ball for the first time, everyone on her team just stood there, because they didn't know what to do. BUT Jayden ran all the way from short stop to almost first base in order to get the ball!! We all couldn't believe how aggressive she was! I guess watching baseball on TV with Daddy has paid off! haha! Here are some pictures and a video of her up to bat.

Corey's Graduation

Corey graduated this past weekend from Grand Canyon University. He has been going to school online for a little over 2 years now and staying home with the kids full-time too. He graduated with his Secondary Education degree in English, so he can teach grades 7-12 in English & Literature. He worked so hard these past few years and graduated Summa Cum Laude! He is so proud of that (especially because he graduated with the same GPA as I did & you all know how competitive we are!!) :) He also just finished his student teaching at North High School. He absolutely loved his class and many of the students enjoyed having him there. He was even nominated for the "Golden Apple Award" (which is a teacher award given locally) by one of his students. I am pretty sure not too many "student teachers" get nominated for this. I am so proud of him.

I surprised him and bought tickets down to Phoenix, AZ, so he could walk in his graduation ceremony. It was a short 2 day trip, but it was definitely worth it. We went and toured the GCU campus and also got to see Chase Field (where the Arizona Diamondbacks play), because that is where the graduation ceremony was held. The kids stayed home with their grandparents, so it was VERY relaxing! It was the first trip Corey and I took since our honeymoon 7 years ago!

Easter

I know these are WAY overdue, but here are some pictures from Easter. We went to "Breakfast with the Easter Bunny" at McDonell high school and the kids got to play games and have an easter egg hunt. They all had a great time and the boys were really good at finding eggs. Peyton always wanted to open and eat the candy right away, instead of finding more eggs, so that definitely slowed down the process! :) When we walked into the school, Peyton went running up to the Easter bunny and gave him a hug and high five! I couldn't believe it! Now only if he would do that for Santa......

On Easter Sunday, the kids woke up and Jayden remembered it was Easter right away, so we had to find the easter eggs and easter baskets that the bunny hid all over the house. They had a lot of fun! Then we went to church and over to my parents house for easter dinner. They had ANOTHER easter egg hunt at my parents house and got even more candy. I think we have enough candy to last us until halloween!!! It ended up being a very nice day out, so we got to spend a lot of time outdoors, which was so nice. Here are some pictures to enjoy!

Playdate

We had another playdate with the Hartman triplets this afternoon, along with my good friend, Kari Stepp's little boys. Kari lives down in North Carolina, so this is the first time we have been able to get all the kids together. Elijah is the same age as the boys (& girls), so it was a lot of fun! It was crazy having 6 two year olds running around (plus Kari has a 9 month old little boy, Xavier, too!) It's amazing how much more rowdy and crazy boys are than girls, but it really showed today! The boys were jumping off the stairs, wrestling with each other and definitely trying to push our buttons....while the girls were watching quietly!!! haha!

Kari and I always joke around that Eli and Peyton should be twins, not Peyton and Landon, because they look SO much alike (red hair, big cheeks and stocky build). And the funny part is that Corey actually wanted to name Landon "Eli" before he was born (after Peyton and Eli Manning).

Here are some pics!

Dress Up Time!

Jayden LOVES to play dress up and have fashion shows for us. Lately the boys have been getting involved and want to dress up too! Here are some pics of all of them dressed up - the boys are going to love these pictures when they are older!! haha!

We are still alive!!!

Sorry I haven't posted anything lately - it's been over 2 months!! It has been crazy & hectic these last few months, having the stomach flu go through our house first and then strep throat/bronchitis after that! I was the only one who didn't get either of them - I think God was watching over me, so I could take care of everyone else in the house! :) We are all finally healthy again and the kids are so happy and energetic! With it finally being warmer outside, we can get out of the house and go for walks and play outside in the driveway. We still have a lot of snow covering our lawn (since our yard is in the shade), but hopefully that will be gone soon. Here are a few pictures of the kids (and my nieces) that Auntie Kristen took this past weekend while we were at my parents house for a fish fry. I promise to upload some more pics soon. Especially some really cute ones of the boys playing with Jayden's dress up clothes! :)

One last thing.....This morning on the way to school, Jayden asked me, "Mommy, did God make Big Time Rush?" (Big Time Rush is her favorite show and boy band on Nickelodeon). I say "Yes, God made everyone, Jayden". Then she asks, "Did God make all the people on Disney channel too?" haha! So cute!

Landon


Jayden


Peyton


Here is my niece, Natalie:


And here is my niece, Addison: