Happy Golden Birthday Asher!

Asher,

Eight years ago you were born on the 8th day of December on a frigid night in Helena.  Today you are a thoughtful, sensitive and sweet kid and we are so thankful for you every day.

Some things you might want to remember about you when you were eight:

• You're in the middle of legomania right now.  You can't get enough of them but you particularly like the Star Wars and Ninjago sets.  You will get a new set, fly up to the safety of your room, assemble the whole thing on your own and emerge proudly with the product a few hours later.
• You are currently playing basketball but are interested in playing football and baseball, likely because your friends are.
• We watched the entire Star Wars series this summer and have been rewatching it since.  You are interested in the characters and in playing Jedi with the fake light sabers but you generally steer clear of the movie watching as you're smart enough to know they might give you nightmares.
• You get very frustrated with your siblings as you're now old enough that you want to do things on your own.  Soren, in particular, wants to be with you and doing what you're doing, ALL THE TIME.  This annoys you and you often say "stop following me around" to him.  Someday you'll see this was endearing, I hope.
• You learned to ride your bike this summer which was a wonderful taste of freedom.  We're still working on swimming.
• You are a sensitive guy and your teachers tell us that you're really thoughtful around other kids.  Once in awhile, you even apply that to your own siblings ;)
• Dad bought a winter face mask to wear when it's cold outside.  You've taken it over and wear it constantly as a Ninja mask or simply around your next so you're ready for a last-minute Ninja adventure.
• You've taken more of an interest in cards this year as you've learned a lot of games including Sevens.  You also like to play Chess and are getting pretty good at it.

We are really proud of who you are and who you're becoming.  Don't grow up too fast because this age is pretty fun and you still like to hang out with us.

We love you very much.

Love,

Mom and Dad

Happy 5th Birthday Emily!

Happy Birthday Emily!  Look at that spunk.  You are such a happy, energetic, fun-loving spirit.  You keep us on our toes and make sure we never take our eyes off of you ;)  We love the girl you're becoming and the curiosity you have about everything.

 You walk to the beat of your own drum and that is wonderful.  Lately you've really loved dressing up as everything from a princess to a warrior to a cowgirl.  You make your own path and I hope you always will.

 You and Soren are great buddies.  You (mostly) get along well and like to play together, making each other laugh all the time.  You were SO excited for your birthday this year, turning 5 and knowing that you will get to go to school next year.  When Reese and Asher went to school in September, you were really disappointed that you didn't get to go, too.

You have taken to coloring lately and love to color and draw.  You also love to dance and jam out to music with Reese or Soren.  You enjoyed soccer this fall and definitely got into playing much more than last year.  You run everywhere and I think have some running in your future somewhere.

We love you so much and are so lucky to be your parents.  You will either keep us young or drive our gray hair- maybe both!  Happy birthday Emily.  Love, Mom and Dad

Happy Halloween

May the force be with you!

Emily was terrified of my white makeup so I had to wash it off shortly after these pictures were taken.  Luckily, it didn't start snowing until after trick or treating.

First day of 2nd and 4th grade!

Another successful first day of school for these two:

The only one in tears was Emily because she didn't get to go to school.  One more year...

Reese is 9!

 Happy ninth birthday to the girl who made us parents.  We now share the same shoe size which means I likely won't have many more pictures like this one:

Some memories from Reese's 9th year:

• You love to swim and would probably stay in the lake or pool all the time if you could.
• You are very crafty and always carrying a notebook and some pens or markers to draw and create.
• We've learned a few new card games this year (sevens, hand and foot) and you love to play.  You're begging us to teach you pinochle so you don't get kicked out of the card table when we play the "Adult game".  I bet you'll learn it before your 10th birthday.
• This year you played volleyball, soccer and basketball.  I think you're going to stick with just basketball for the fall/winter but you've also taken to doing Yoga at home and the other kids like to do it with you.
• You joined PEAK last year and loved it.  You really like school and especially the special projects you get to do as part of the PEAK program.  
• You are always singing, even when there's no music playing.  I hope you always do that.  You and Emily like to sing and dance together.  I hope you always do that, too.
• You love holding your new cousin, Ridge, and helping with your younger cousins when we visit them, too.
• You and Asher are still sharing a room and you seem to like it that way.  Most weeks, you rearrange furniture or redo your clothes or set traps for your siblings.

Luckily, we got to celebrate your birthday this year before school starts on the 30th.  You invited some friends from school and daycare to HAC to play on the gymnastics equipment and jump in the foam pits.  You have friends of varied ages because you like to play and help out with a lot of the younger kids.  I can't believe you're starting 4th grade in a few days.

Happy birthday Reese.  We love you so much.

-Mom and Dad

Happy 3rd birthday Soren!

Hard to believe but this little guy is THREE!  He's not so little anymore and talks up a storm these days.  He definitely has his "terrible three" moments already but he's also sweet and smart and was very excited for his birthday cake last night.  As we went to bed, he asked when he could have his next birthday party.

Soren, we can't believe you're already three and that the time is going by as quickly as everyone warned us it would.  Here are some fun things about you as you turn three to remember:

• You are a truck connoisseur and will correct anyone who mis-states a Raptor vs a Diesel.  You also like to call out trucks when you see them on the road.  Over the holidays, while we were in Arizona, you asked us when we were going back to "our Diesel house" 
• You have many toy trucks (3 or 4 toy Raptors alone) and got a few new ones for Christmas and your birthday.  You love driving them around the house and your current favorite position is two hands on the truck, bent over at a V and two legs running fast behind all over the house.
• You, unfortunately, like to torture your sister Emily.  You have probably finally figured out that you're almost as big as her so you remind her whenever she makes you mad.  We're hoping you're over this by 4 but, if experience has taught either of us anything, you won't be.
• You love your green monkey shorts.  They used to be green camo pants that had a monkey on the butt.  When you got too tall for them we cut them into shorts and you still want to wear them every day.  Because we wouldn't let you wear them outside in the winter you've now taken to wearing leggings underneath them.  This has led to a bit of an obsession with leggings.  And, no, we haven't bought you any leggings of your own.  You've just usurped all of your sister's.
• You want no part of potty training.  Despite our best efforts to convince you that big boys use the potty, you're just not interested.  Peer pressure, bribery, none of our tricks work.  So, we wait...
• You like to sing and have been breaking into Frost the snowman and other Christmas carols lately.  It's pretty adorable.

Amazingly, you are three.  Our little munchkin.  We wish you the happiest of birthdays.

Love,

Mom and Dad

Asher is seven

Well, it wasn't -26 like it was the day I went into labor with this handsome guy but it has been pretty cold this week and was a high of 1 on Asher's birthday.  I was lucky to be home and we celebrated with the LaFond family.  Asher asked for "fake weapons" for his birthday this year so he got a foam sword as well as a new bike, and many other gifts.

 Asher, here are some things to remember about you as you turn seven:

• As I said above, you're definitely in a weapons stage asking for fake guns, swords, a shield and a knife for your birthday/Christmas.  At least you said "fake"?!?!
• You're doing great in school and are becoming a reader.  It's amazing how much you've learned since the beginning of the year.  You've gone from barely sounding out words to essentially reading on your own.
• You like "Odd Squad", a PBS kids show.  Once in awhile you tolerate Reese's picks of My little ponies or barbie.
• You absolutely hated the dentist last month and barely let them touch you.  Hopefully you get over this by the next visit...
• You do a good job of trying to calm Emily and Soren down when they get upset.  You're thoughtful and have learned the art of distraction.  Such a good big brother.
• You hate tomatoes and have PB&J most days for lunch.
• You like to build forts and usually have all of the couch cushions taken off and made into a cave of some sorts.  You also get very frustrated when your siblings ruin them. :(

We love you Asher.  Stop growing up so fast!

Love,

Mom and Dad

Emily's 4th birthday

Emily turned four this weekend and she was pretty excited about it.  We spent most of Saturday at Reese and Asher's basketball games and Emily enjoyed wearing her birthday crown and telling anyone who would listen "It's my birthday" or "You're supposed to say happy birthday to me!"  What a ham.


Emily, on your fourth birthday here are some things about you that we definitely want to remember:

• For your birthday you asked for a basketball and last weekend you asked if you could play in Reese's YMCA game.  I think you are definitely ready to be playing sports with all that energy.
• You definitely keep us on our toes.  You love to run and do things on your own.  Most places we go, we have to consider "the Emily factor" which basically means are there enough adults involved that one can be focused on you? ;)
• You love, love, love puzzles.  This summer you found a floor puzzle at Nana's house in RI and you did it all day long, every day.  Since then you've been a bit obsessed with puzzles.  Luckily, you got 3 new ones for your birthday!
• You love to sing and dance. You also like reading books and drawing.
• You still like Wild Kratts a lot (probably because your brother and sister made you watch it so much) but lately you've been requesting Daniel Tiger, too.
• Lately you've been waking up and asking us if it's a daycare day or a stay-at-home day.  It's pretty cute and we like that you want to stay home with us.
• This summer you tried riding Asher's old bike and I think, if we'd had a few more months of nice weather, that you would've been taking the training wheels off.  You have a lot of coordination and may be our athlete in the family some day?

We love our spunky little girl and can't wait to watch you do more and more.  You certainly keep us on our toes but we're hoping that means you have a lot of "leadership potential".  Happy Birthday, Emily!

Love,  Mom and Dad

First day of school 2016

Reese and Asher started 3rd and 1st grade, respectively, today on a beautiful morning.  We almost had a bit of a hiccup as they weren't technically enrolled as of yesterday.  When I enrolled the kids in school in RI this summer (we thought we might be staying there for the school year at one point) RI sent notification to the school here in Helena and so they unenrolled the kids.  Well, when we decided to come back in August, I forgot to call the school and let them know.  Luckily, CK ran into Reese and Asher's Kindergarten teacher in Walmart this weekend who thought we had moved.  The (very nice) principal called yesterday and was gracious enough to forgive our mistake despite the fact that they had no additional spots at the school.  Luckily by today everything was resolved and R&A even got to keep their original teachers, whom they were very excited about.  Sometimes it's really great to live in a small town with very understanding neighbors/friends.

Happy 8th birthday Reese!

Reese turned eight today and here she is blowing out her 8 candles on one cupcake.  It's hard to believe that it's been eight years since we held this little lady in our arms and became parents.  Reese is looking forward to starting school in a few days and I know she had a great time in Rhode Island this summer, spending time with Nana and her East Coast family.

A few things about Reese at eight that we hope she'll want to remember:

• Reese is super creative and loves anything crafty- scrapbooking, creating bracelets and cards- pretty much anything that uses a lot of glue, glitter, paint or scissors and tape
• She's into Barbies right now and can play by herself (or with others) for hours, making up interesting stories about each of the dolls
• Reese is very inquisitive.  She asks great, sometimes tough-to-answer :) questions about everything.  She is also happy to answer anyone else's questions at any time, even if she doesn't always know the answer.  We're working on that ;)
• Reese continues to be a huge help with her siblings but she definitely gets frustrated sometimes when we can't do everything she wants to do because of the "little ones".  
• She loves to swim and spent much of the summer in a pool or an ocean.  She's just about swimming on her own now and would spend all day in a body of water if she could.
• If we're somewhere new, Reese will usually gravitate towards one of the younger kids around and make friends, "guiding" them around and playing with them.  Maybe she's a future teacher or leader of the free world?
• She loves to dance and sing.  This summer Reese and the rest of the kids learned "God Bless the USA" and sang it all summer long.  Reese's voice is really good and hopefully she'll get to put it to good use in choir (or a recording contract to pay for Mom and Dad's retirement) someday.
• Reese's favorite food is probably tomatoes.  Grandma grows them in her garden and Reese loves eating them.

It's a joy to watch Reese grow and we're so proud of the person she is becoming.  Happy Birthday to our wonderful daughter and here's to many, many more.

Love,  Mom and Dad

April snowstorm

Apparently winter is not done yet and Friday we got a nice snow storm that was actually pretty significant.  By Saturday, however, the sun came out and the snow was perfect for packing and building.

The kids had a great time building a giant snowman and a snow fort (and eating the snow, in Emily's case).

Spring Break and our Family Road Trip

For Spring Break this year we decided to take a family road trip.  CK's cousin, LD, got married in Southern California so we decided to drive and make a vacation out of it.  3000 miles later and we had a great trip and lots of fun memories.  

We were planning on leaving around 6a on Friday but CK and I both woke up early, looked at each other and said, "Let's just go."  So we were on the road at 3:24a (proof below).  The kids mostly fell back asleep.

We even had some interesting sightings on our way:

Emily decided to keep herself occupied by turning herself into the incredible Hulk or Shrek, we're not sure which:

Our first stop was to (finally!) visit Bryon and Meaghan in Moab.  Despite such a short visit, it was really great to reconnect with one of my oldest friends.

The kids were doing great and we were trading off driving enough that we decided to just keep going.  We made it 1100 miles that first day and got to stay in Tom & Jane's cabin in Show Low.  Soren even took a selfie, admiring the ceiling, and the kids were excited to see Daddy's handiwork.  In fact, the day we got home from the entire trip, Emily said "I want to go back to the cabin." :)

 Next stop was Nana's house in Mesa, where we got to spend Easter with Nana, Great Nana & Granddad, Tom & Jane, Erin, Aubrey, Jamie and their significant others.  Despite the fact that I came down with the flu, it was a fun stop and the kids loved being in the sunshine and getting to spend so much time with Nana (and Denali!)




Mom even put CK to work taking a tree branch down in the backyard.

 From Arizona, we headed to San Diego where we went to the zoo.  Thanks to John, we got to stay on the Naval Base and the kids got their first glimpse of the Pacific Ocean.

Reese even lost a tooth while we were gone!


The next day it was on to LegoLand.  The kids loved it and are at the perfect ages for that park. (even the big kids)










Thursday and Friday we spent at DisneyLand.  Unlike our trip to DisneyWorld two years ago, there were actually a lot of rides that all six of us could go on together, which was a lot of fun.  The lines were long, though, so not sure I would plan a trip over spring break again.

attempt at a family selfie:

Finally some pictures from the wedding.  

 The bride and groom, LD and Ana

 Someone really enjoyed the cupcakes