A busy week for James

The 2nd week of June was a full one for James. He had his preschool graduation on Tues. His class gave a performance for all the parents and then the teacher presented each child with a graduation certificate.

Then on Wed. James performed with the Orange County Mormon Chorus at the Orange County Performing Arts Center in the Segerstrom Concert Hall. This was James' third concert with the group. This performance they had the 4 & 5 year old section dress in costumes from around the world.

This concert during rehearsals and the show I helped back stage watching/organizing the kids and bringing them on and off the stage. James told me this was his favorite time performing because I was one of the helper moms which then made it worth all the stress and time involved with helping. Once again my parents and Chanel came to see James and made it a special night for him.

Happy 3rd Birthday Makayla!!!!

On May 29 Makayla turned 3 years old! We celebrated Makayla's birthday at my mom's house with all of my family that is close by. She had been waiting all day long to get that cup cake, since I made them early in the morning and her party wasn't till after lunch.

We love having family close by! Both of our kids will tell you their best friends are their cousins! Most of the time Makayla even calls Calie her sister.

Aunt Natalie didn't wast any time in making Makayla a princess on her Birthday! My Mom only furthered that notion with a full princess outfit complete with glass slippers (I made the mistake of calling them shoes one day and Kayla informed me "they are not shoes they are slippers").

Devin & Shira Visit!!!

On April 24th Devin and Shira flew into town from Hawaii. Everyone was so excited to have them come and visit! We spent the entire weekend getting together and enjoying being with our family who live so far away. During all of the fun I barely took any pictures, so anyone with fun photos of the weekend send them my way so I can fix this post and add them to our photo books.

Their trip concluded with a family lunch and send off to the airport. We will miss them but were grateful for the time we were able to spend with them and all of our extended family those days!

First Food!

On April 21st Aleena was introduced to her first meal. Rice cereal was the entree of the evening. Makayla was by her side every step of the way and loved helping me feed the baby. Try as we might Aleena was not a fan of the food and for several days in a row wouldn't have anything to do with eating the pasty, white mush we were trying to feed her.....





....until on night five I discovered the cure. The girl just wanted some flavor. After adding carrots to the rice cereal she ate like a champ!!! I think the pictures speak for themselves!!!

Family Beach Fun!

Jimmy's Sister Mila and her son Joseph came to visit us on the 2nd weekend in April. We loved having them at our home. They are both such wonderful people. We only wished they could have stayed longer and that the rest of their family could have come. They left on Monday afternoon but before going we all went to the beach where Joseph tried skimming for the first time. He did really well, only further confirming the fact that he is a very athletic person! Jimmy was amazing as usual and didn't sustain any injuries while pushing the limits on his skim board.

James spent almost the entire time, body board in hand, in the water with his dad and Joseph. He was freezing, due to his lack of any body fat, but wanted to be one of the guys!

Miss Makayla decided she really doesn't care for cold water and was very happy to just play on the sand and enjoy the ocean water from a distance!

James finally took a break from the water, due mostly to his mother telling him to take a break and warm up, and started a collection of seaweed. He wanted me to "keep it safe" and placed it right next to me, creating a pleasant smell. Yummy!!

This was baby Aleena's first trip to the beach. She spent most of the time napping but woke up for the last 15 min. to soak up some sun and check out the waves!

Conference with the cousins

On the Sunday of Conference weekend my side of the family all came to our house to watch conference. It was a great time with good food and family fun! The cousins all thought popsicles sounded like a great idea and as they sat on the edge of the trampoline I couldn't pass up taking these cute cousin photos.

Easter

We had the most wonderful Easter this year! We created a new family tradition of waking up Easter morning a little before sunrise and, as a family, went up on the roof of our house to read the story of Easter as the sun came up. The kids actually enjoyed it and we as parents loved the dramatic way in which it taught our children the importance of the true meaning of Easter. Later that day we went to my parents house and had such a fun time being all together. We feel very blessed to be so close to some of our family and wish we could have been with those who live further away. We hope all of our friends and family had a beautiful Easter day too!

5 years old!

On March 12th James turned five and we had a birthday bash!!! Pirate was the theme of the day. We decorated the house with all kinds of pirate paraphernalia and had a variety of games, including what else? A treasure hunt where the kids had to actually dig up the "buried treasure." James had a blast and is already planning his next party. It was controlled chaos, what else would you expect with 20 4-5 year olds running around our house for 2 and 1/2 hours? How was I suppose to know that almost all of the people we invited would show up? Thankfully my mom and sister-in-law Natalie saved the day. They helped out the ENTIRE time and made the party a success - I couldn't have done it without them!!!!

Fun in the Tub

This was the first time baby Aleena got to take a bath in the "big kid" tub. The kids thought it was so funny and loved her short lived visit in the bath. Aleena is doing her famous "tongue hanging out of her mouth" pose that she is so famous for!

Handsome Man James

James is our handsome man, as we like to call him, being his parents we might be a little biased! James is an adventurous boy who brings fun and excitement to our family. He loves to go on adventures and play "rough" with his dad, but James also has a sweet and tender heart. He is an amazing big brother to both of his sisters, when they are older I feel sorry for any boy that wants to date our girls, between James and Jimmy they don't stand a chance!

Miss Makayla

2nd in command would be Makayla, though depending on the day, she changes her name between Makayla, sissa or sissy (short for sister). Makayla loves her new baby sister almost more than the baby can take, and wants to do everything James does and repeats everything he says. We call her James' echo. She is a bright ray of sunshine in our family! Her disposition is one of joy and she spreads that to those around her; though she can throw attitude/drama now and again; after all she is a girl!

Baby Aleena

For those of you who haven't met her, this is baby Aleena. She turned five months old this month and is such a GOOD baby. Her favorite past times include eating, sleeping, smiling and sticking her tongue out. I've had more than one person comment on the amount of time her tongue hangs out of her mouth. We feel so grateful and blessed to have her as a healthy and happy addition to our family.

Last to blog

I think we are the last people on earth, or so it feels like, to finally create a blog! I am not very good at this kind of thing but I am going to give it a try. Bear with me and I hope you enjoy!