Disneyland Pictures

 

 

 

 

We took a picture of Conner standing in front of a very familiar Ice-cream parlor. This was the same parlor where he was found 9 years ago. Conner was two years old, and Derek was about 8 months old. We were at Disneyland in the summer with most of my immediate family. Conner was buckled in the double stroller, and Derek was in his car seat. I was standing next to the stroller talking to my sisters. A few minutes went by and I glanced down at the stroller. Conner was no where to be found. I remember feeling like there was no way we would ever find him with the amount of people that were in the park that day. All my family members, Steve, and I were looking for him everywhere. We were standing by Thunder Mountain Railroad when he went missing. Steve yelled down at all the people in line, and asked if anyone had seen a two year old blond boy. He remembered what he was wearing down to the color of his underwear. I hadn't paid enough attention to those little details, so I was relieved when Steve was able to tell the security officers all the information they were asking.(I'm pretty sure Steve is in the right profession.) It took about 45 minutes, which seemed like hours before he was found at this Ice-cream parlor next to the front entrance. He had walked from Thunder mountain Railroad to the Front Entrance without anyone notifying security. A lady that was working in the Ice-cream parlor noticed he was by himself. She brought him into the shop, and gave him free ice-cream while she notified security. That day will never be forgotten. After 45 minutes we started to loose hope that he would be found! Many scenarios ran through our mind, but in the end our prayers were answered.

More Disneyland pictures

 

 

 

 

The kids had a blast riding space mountain, tea cups, Indiana Jones, Thunder Mountain Railroad, Dumbo ride and many others. The lines weren't bad, so we were able to go on most of the rides in the amount of time we were there. We decided to spend more money and eat at the Spring Country Buffet, rather than spend a lot of money on hamburgers and hot dogs. The food ended up being delicious. It was all you can eat barbecued ribs, chicken, sausage, coleslaw, cornbread, corn on the cob, and beans. My kids asked me if Grandpa Terry would approve of this food since it was cowboy food. I told them I think he would definitely approve!

Princess Sydney and Alexa

 

 

 

 

While at Disneyland, the girls were insistent that they get to meet the Princesses. After a very long wait, their wish came true. Syndey was so excited, and Alexa all of a sudden became shy. She decided it was better to hide behind her big sissy. Then we gave them princess suckers! They were on cloud 9!

More pictures of Newport

 

 

 

 

We saw a Baskin Robbins Ice cream sign on the street next to our Hotel. The sign had an arrow pointing the direction to the store. We decided to walk with the kids to the store, thinking it must be close. We ended up walking about 15 minutes before we found the shop.(Things we do for a good Treat!) I guess one of the benefits to having a big family is being able to try many different flavors of ice-cream. Each person got a different flavor, and we all shared!

California Trip

 

 

 

 

We took a four day trip to California. We pulled the kids out of school for a few days, and Steve and I took off work. While we were there we went to Disneyland, Newport Beach, and the Newport Temple. The weather was windy while we were at the beach, but that didn't stop the kids a bit. They played baseball for hours on the beach, and then had fun on the playground equipment. While eating at the Old Spaghetti Factory, Alexa pretended to be the Mom and fed Austin some of her food. The Newport Temple is beautiful! We had a fun time taking pictures of the kids next to such beautiful landscaping.

Our little Austin!

 

 

I can't believe that our 8 1/2 month old baby Austin is crawling all over the place, pulling himself up on furniture, and eating pretty much everything we eat! About a month ago he got his two bottom teeth. Our little baby has become a toddler over night. He is huge for his age! Just like the others, he is in the 97Th percentile for height and weight. The other day he crawled under the bed and couldn't get out. He is such a good baby! The kids adore him, and Sydney is Little Mother Hen to him. She carries him all over the house, and plays with him when I am busy doing other things.

Sydney's May Day Dance

 

 

 

 

Sydney has been in my Early Childhood class this year as a peer model. This year for the annual May Day Dance, the kids performed to a song called, "Lettercise," by Dr. Jean. This song goes over all the letters and sounds of the alphabet, while doing exercises. The kids wore t-shirts with alphabet letters, headbands, and long socks with tennis shoes. We taught them hand motions for each letter of the alphabet. They did so good, and were awfully cute!

End of the Year Music Recital

 

 

 

Sydney has been in a music class for the past year. The class is called, "Let's Play Music." They attend once a week for 45 minutes. Parents are encouraged to attend with their child every other week. The class is very creative and fun! The class emphasizes melodic and harmonic ear training, teaches note reading, and teaches the basics of harmony and chord progressions. This class is for children ages 4-8. It is basically a preparatory class for piano. Sydney has loved this class, but decided next year she wants to keep taking gymnastics and try out sports. Sydney's cousin Rylee, and good friends Paige and Savannah were also in this music class.

May Day Dance

 

 

 

 

Here are pictures of the kids at the annual May Day Dance for Bowler Elementary. Conner is in the 5th grade, so he wrapped the May pole. Both Steve and I had the chance to wrap the May Pole with him. Great Grandma Terry was there and told me that she wrapped the pole when she went to school in Logandale(over 75 years ago). Wow! That is a very long tradition! Derek is in 3rd grade, and performed a Western dance. Cameron is in the 1st grade, and they performed a dance to the song, "Move it, Move it." They all did great. One of the highlights of the night was winning a basket of home decorations from a raffle that we entered.

Easter Dinner and Egg Hunt

 

 

 

 

Easter Sunday we drove to Vegas and ate dinner at Steve's parents house. Almost all of Steve's side of the family were in attendance. The kids had fun hunting eggs that were filled with money. It's a tradition for Steve's Mom and Dad to fill eggs with dollar bills and write names of each Grandchild on the outside of the egg. Each child gets about 5 dollars! They love this tradition!

Easter Morning

 

 

 

 

The kids woke up to lots of fun things in their baskets. The Easter Bunny treated them well this year. They all got their favorite kind of chips and gum. The older boys got deodorant and cologne(They actually wear this stuff.) The younger kids got school workbooks, mechanical pencils, and bubbles. It was a fun day!