I thought having 5 kids was enough

Apparently not! Meet the latest addition to our family, Charly.

She is a purebred Yorkie and is adorable. It has been interesting having a new puppy and an 11 month old together, but we are having fun. We are all very attached to the little fur ball, but I don't know how anyone could resist that little face. The best part is that she is incredibly playful but because she is so tiny, she cannot do any damage no matter how hard she might try.

Maddison turns 4

Maddie turned 4 last week. She is such a spunky and wild little girl. Her preschool teachers always talk about how she keeps them laughing and on their toes. She always has something to say and it usually makes us laugh. We sure love her!

Preschool {the first year}

Maddison started her first year of preschool this year. She was excited to get to have Kenzie's old teacher and Kaitlyn's old school. I expected her to be a bit nervous on her first day but I was wrong. She jumped out of the truck and ran to meet her teachers. All I got was a quick wave goodbye and a "I love you, Mom! See you after school." She loves it!

First day of school 2011

The kids were so excited to start back to school this fall. Okay, I was a tad bit excited too! ;) Kaitlyn is in 4th grade, Kenzie in 3rd and Kaiden in Kindergarten. We were very excited to learn that they all managed to get the teachers I wanted them to have. It is such a relief to have them come home each day with smiles on their little faces.

Happy Birthday Kenzie!

We are so lucky to have Kenzie as a part of our family. She is by far our quietest child but she has such a cute personality. She makes a constant effort to do what is right and to help with things at home. We love you Mac!

Again...

I'm not sure why I have gotten into a habit lately of waiting to update the blog until I have way too many things to post. It will be much easier to find the time to update frequently once the kids are in school so I will try to be better. I updated some posts below about our trip to Idaho and I will post more in the next couple of days. Sorry that they are picture heavy. We did so many things and had so much fun that I struggled to narrow down which pictures to post.

Horses

Of all the things we do when we visit Grandma and Grandpa, riding horses has to be at the top of the list. My kids cannot get enough and would live on the horses if I would let them. My sister, Lisa, is so incredibly patient with my kids and their asking to ride the horses. She will catch and saddle enough horses for all the kids and then help take them riding. Thanks Lisa!

Kael and Austin

These two little guys are 8 days apart and had a blast playing with each other. Austin, my brother's son, had been crawling for a week or so and Kael decided that he needed to join him. It was fun watching them interact and play. What cuties!

Putting up a fence

While we were out in Idaho we helped put in my parents' fence and it looks great. I think everyone was pleased with the end result. Jason spent a couple of days working on it and got a sunburn or two, but he was a trooper.

Unfortunately, they had a little more help at times than they probably needed. The shovel was a tad big for her to handle but she put forth a good effort.

Kaiden thought it was a blast to shovel and has asked a couple of times if he can dig a whole in our yard. Um... nope!

Tysen and Maddie each took a hole and went for it. They had a blast and thought they were really helping out.

Grandma's 70th birthday party

My mom turned 70 this year and we threw a surprise party for her. It was a lot of fun and I enjoyed spending the day laughing and talking with everyone. We were so happy that we were able to make it.

Swim lessons

The kids were able to do swim lessons again this year and they loved them. Kenzie is a little hesitant but the others are fishes. They all did very well and it was nice to just sit by the side of the pool and relax. Next year I think I will end up chasing Kael around and doing much less relaxing so I soaked it all in this year.

This picture cracks me up because it shows just how Maddie was through every lesson. She was singing to the top of her lungs and laughing the whole time. I think she was just excited to finally be able to go in the pool this year.

Grandpa

We are out visiting my family and the kids have been having a blast. Kaiden has a particular fascination with the 4-wheeler. He begs and begs and begs my dad for rides all day long. This was their conversation the other day.

Kaiden: Grandpa, will you take me for a 4-wheeler ride now.
Grandpa: I will in a bit. I need to sit down for a few minutes, I'm pooped.
Kaiden: Grandpa, if you are going to poop, you better go into the bathroom.

Sometimes kids are so literal.

And they're off!

The thrill of victory...

and the agony of defeat.

Sometimes being the little one is hard.

Baseball Season

We decided to try Kaiden in a couple of different sports this year and give him an opportunity to see what he enjoys doing. Last Saturday he had his first baseball game. I was a little worried that it wouldn't go too well, and was pleasantly surprised. He spent more time than I would have liked playing in the dirt and watching the game on the other field. But, I will admit that baseball isn't exactly a sport that grabs and keeps my attention, so I can't say too much about that. ;)

He had a ton of fun and was the only one who hit the ball on the first pitch. While it might have been more luck than skill, I was pretty proud of him and he was beaming!

This picture makes me laugh because it shows just how "serious" all the kids take the game. Kaiden is running from 2nd to 3rd and no one on the other team is even noticing. Needless to say, we spent a lot of time giggling at the various things going on on the field.

Pride Student

Kenzie was May Pride Student of the Month for her class. They did a short recognition breakfast and talked about each of the students. Kenzie's teacher said that she is one of the friendliest little girls she has had in class and that she is always watching out for others.

She has been blessed with a wonderful teacher this year and has progressed so much. I cannot believe that she is now moving on to third grade!

Graduation

Kaiden graduated from preschool last week. I shed a tear or two thinking about him growing up but he is so excited to go to kindergarten. We have been with the same preschool for the past 2 years so saying goodbye was bittersweet. He had an amazing teacher this year that he loved and will really miss.

Kaiden with Miss Jennifer

Kaiden received the "Bounce Back" award this year because he jumped right back into things after being out for over 2 months with his broken femur.

Kaiden, Miss Jennifer and Myles. Those two little boys were stuck together like glue. He is already missing Myles and looking forward to having him come play.

It was nice while it lasted

We have inadvertently found a way to get the teenage drivers to slow down while passing the house. Just make your lawn look like this and they almost come to a complete stop just to check it out. Unfortunately, Jason said that keeping it like this wasn't a good long term solution and insisted that we put it back together. ;)

So behind

Once again I am so very far behind on the blog. I blame it on having a baby, my 5 year old breaking his femur, 4 surgeries, one trip back home, Jason deploying and being in the "new mommy fog". Things are starting to settle down so I will try to be better with the blog. I knew that going back to update everything was never going to happen so I chose a few highlights in the past few months and decided to stick with them.

Kael's blessing

We were fortunate to be able to go back to my parents for Christmas and to bless Kael while we were out there. It was a special day and we were so grateful to have everyone there for it.