Tball

I decided to create a team and coach Alissa and Molly and all their little girls friends on a tball team again this year.  We had such a great time and these girls have improved so much from last year.  They were awesome and had such a great time playing together!

Molly, Chelsea & Khloe

Our cousin Anita played on teh team this year too and one day we lucked out and played another cousin Jordon's team so we had 4 of the cousins there.  It was pretty great!

Sure love these girls.  Sadly I didn't get a lot of photos cause I was busy directing and yelling. :)  But I'm thankful for the experience and the health to be able to do this.  Also super thankful for Ella who made it possible for me to by watching Lincoln every game and practice.  What a girl!

Pine Basin

Ella saved her money for a year and the day finally came that she got to go to Pine Basin with her best friend Kailee Daniel and cousin Sydney.

She was nervousited!  So excited but almost sick with being nervous.  What if Kailee and Syd aren't there she says as we are pulling up.  lol..  I was glad to see she jumped right in when we got there with a giant smile on her face.

When we showed up Thursday night she was so happy to see us!  She showed us the shelter she and Kailee had built up on the hill. 

And her bunk she slept in every night. 

It was fun to see where she had been staying and what she had been doing. 

Syd informed us of a little drama that had taken place every night as Ella cried from being home sick and her friend Kailee puked from too much sugar.  ha ha!!  The joys of being 11 and away from home for a week.

The kids put on a really fun program with skits and songs and an overview of what they did each day.  Normally there are about 60 kids at Pine Basin and this week there were only 30 so it was a lot more personal.  They had about 2 councilors with every 5 kids.

Hello! This is Ella. Mom asked me to write so... HERE I AM! Pine basin was a blast!  My 2 friends came with me. The first day, we left to pine basin. We got to know the councilors and they each memorized all 37 of our names(- 2 they came later in the week) When we got there we started getting our stuff on the tarp.then, We got all our food for the week in the kitchen. When the councilor who was in charge of feeding us saw all the food scattered all over she said "holey crap!" That knight I was a little homesick and was  crying and so,I told a councilor and they made me feel better.

The next morning,I had a few pieces of candy. I had to take my allergy pills while I was there, so I took my pills got my stuff done (by 9:00) and left to breakfast. Then we had 2 classes. We built a fire a fort  and talked about wilderness survival. Then, we went to music and it drizzled on us so we went inside. Later, we went on the nature hike. It rained on us pretty bad and everyone was calling it the "water hike". After that we went to the lodge and played games until the rain stopped. When it  finally stopped we went to the campfire, had smores,and watched skits. Then we went  to the knight hike. We were planning to scare the boys so papa bear made marks on the trees to look like bear territory. then we got to this site and they told us a scary story about Ivan. I'm not gonna tell the whole story though, it is probably too scary to write about. 4 seconds after it was over someone jumped out of the tree with pots and pans. we got really scared.

On the third day, we went to JACKSON HOLE! We had to stick in partners so we weren't walking around by ourselves. My partners were Kailee, Sydney, and Kenzie. we had 1 hr to explore within our group.First, we went to the icecream store. Then,we split up. Syd and kenzie went to starbucks,( me and kailee aren't allowed to have coffee) Me and kailee went to the candy shop instead. They had a whole wall full of  JELLY BEANS!!!!!!!!

The next day i woke up and kailee was on the bottom bunk and had PUKED.:( I was a little nuts. We had pancakes for break fast. then we had the real water hike. We kept thinking kailee got a leach. Then we got our beds fixed and ready to show our parents. From 6-9 our parents came. Then we had the gitchie ceremony Then we had a PARTAY! TILL 1.

 The next morning I woke up and kailee had puked again. we had my favorite breakfast;  biscuits and gravy, YUM! After that we loaded up our stuff and left HOME!!!!!

Happy Fathers Day 2016

Happy Fathers Day to this most excellent dad!  So thankful he is such an excellent example of a man to my children.  I think based on this picture Alissa takes most after him.  ha ha..  Love this family of mine!!3 

Lia and Sophia are born!

Heidi and Kenny and Russell came over for a quick last picture before the babies were born.  Both babies were laying breech so she had to have cecerian.

June 7th the twins were born!

It makes me so happy to see new nieces and nephews born into this family I love so much!

Love these babies!

Water Party

The weekend before Heidi's was going to have the babies she gathered us all for a little get together at my house to let the kids play in the water.  They had so much fun playing with their cousins.

Even though the trampoline was broken and the swimming pool popped. 

These girls are smitten over the little boys. 

Heidi being a real trooper with those babies ready to come out. 

This is my favorite picture with their faces all just glowing with joy!  Well most of their faces.  It makes me so thankful they have cousins to love and who love them.  So much comfort in family.

These two played Barbies outside.

And these three played dress up and did some pretty amazing make up followed by a show in the living room which for some reason always seems like it lasts an eternity.  lol.. LOVE these kids to the moon and back!! 

End of School 2016

The end of the year shows started with Ella's class play.  She was a cheerleader for Teddy Roosevelt and did such a great job.  The little cheerleaders sang some songs and did some cheers and I honestly had tears by the end it was so well done and educational for those kids.  She had a great time.

We have really loved Ella's teacher this year, Mrs. Stillman.  She has been so kind and sweet to her and gave her quite a bit of confidence.  Ella brought home her report card with straight As in grades and complete Es in behavior.  What a smartie pants.  We are SO VERY proud of this girl and her accomplishments!

Molly had Kindergarten graduation.  Which she took VERY seriously.  She wore her best dress, high heels and had her sister do some blue eye shadow while I wasn't looking.

It hurts my heart that she is going to be in school all day next year, but I'm happy she is growing up and is healthy and happy.

She had an excellent teacher this year, Mrs. Moeller.  The same teacher Alissa had last year.  I got to be her PE teacher every Wednesday and it was delightful.  I loved it!  Molly got great grades too.  She got graded 1-3 and had straight 3s and one 2 in handwriting so I guess we know what we are working on this summer. :)  She is a smart girl and ahead of the game for first grade which I am so grateful for!  Love this spunky Molly.

She made some great friends.  Her favorite was Chelsea Hegstead.

Grandma Carol and Grandma Debbie came to watch and show their support.

The next day was the last day and I got an email from Alissa's teacher that she would be receiving some awards.  

She earned the National Fitness Award and the Highest Percentage Improvement in Reading for her class.  We are super proud of her!

I think we have this good woman to thank.  Mrs. McLaren has been a phenomenal teacher for Alissa and worked so hard to help her learn to read so well.  She gave her all the confidence she needed to know she was a super star!  Alissa brought home her report card with the highest grades she could get in EVERY SINGLE category.  Can't ask for more than that!

What a blessing these kids are in our lives.  We truly are blessed that they have healthy bodies and minds!