Kevin is 29 for the 12th time!

Happy Birthday to Kevin! He is 29 for the 12th time aka 40 years old! Yep!
He has been such a successful husband and father, providing for our family and making our lives comfortable and fun. We love how he loves us, and feel blessed to have him as our provider and protector. He loves his work as a diesel mechanic and enjoys his coworkers. He still enjoys hunting, camping and working on his own vehicle projects.

Birthday Sledding!

Yeah! We were able to go sledding for my dad's and nephew Sam's birthday! The past few years the snow has melted but not this time! We gathered, we sledded, we ate warm food, we laughed and completely enjoyed a family day! We had a great time going off the jumps and making trains with our sleds to go down together. Lots of laughs!

KayDee's Birthday

We celebrated KayDee's birthday with cousins who lived close. We went to the morning movie and then went to the park for cake and then swam at the pool. Aunt Mandy and Bree came with Dani and Charleene to the movie and the park. Then Aunt Roni with Shebli, Scott, and Chloe joined us at the park and swimming.
We had a great time and enjoyed the time with family. KayDee had a great birthday!

Derrick and Shelbi

KayDee

Chloe

Derrick, KayDee, Samantha, Shelbi and Chloe

Happy Birthday Samantha!

Samantha had two birthday parties. One was at Uncle DJ and Aunt Whitney's house to celebrate Dani, Chloe, DJ and her birthday together. Aunt Whitney made the fun cakes with sparklers!
The next party we did at the farm on her birthday.

Samantha turned 10 and we love having a 10 year old in our house! She is starting to grow up and her interests are changing with that. She loves to go to activity days and do the activities there with her friends. She is good at nearly everything that she tries. She enjoys acting, singing, sports, and dancing. We wish we could keep up with all those interests! She is patient with us and allows our budget and schedules to do one at a time. Samantha loves to read and has found some fun books to enjoy. She does great in school too and has really enjoyed writing of all kinds especially poetry and narratives! She is growing her hair out and is happy that her old bangs blend in completely. This year she did not get a party with her friends since we have been busy fixing up the farm house. She has been thoughtful of our time. She really loves the movies Despicable Me and The Parent Trap. Samantha is still playing the piano and is preparing for our family recital. Samantha keeps track of our family scripture reading and makes sure we read out of the "big" ones every Sunday. We love our Samantha girl and are so happy she is part of our family. She is beautiful, smart, fun and thoughtful. Members of our ward have said that they are sad since they won't get to see Samantha at age 16 when she'll make all those boys crazy with how pretty she'll be. We don't want to rush that! She really has a glow about her!

KayDee is 5

 KayDee is 5 and she is so excited about it! She has been looking forward to this age since she has wanted to go to school like her older brother and sister. Now she can go to kindergarten!
She has been going to preschool and doing an online preschool called UPSTART which has helped her with the first stages of reading. She knows all her letters and sounds and can sound out words. She has memorized words like: the, and, me, my and several others. She can read the Dick and Jane books by herself!

She loves to color and write notes to family. She loves to draw princesses. KayDee is a lot more brave riding bikes now and has gained confidence with swimming lessons. She loves her dog Daisy and has taken care of a spot in the garden that she planted, which includes zucchini and cucumber. She loves ladybugs and catches toads. She can shower by herself too!
KayDee loves to say prayers and has been very interested in the resurrection. She wants to make sure that it will be okay when we die.

 We invited friends from church, school, and music class to her birthday party. Nearly all showed up and they had a fantastic time in that tiny pool.

We set up the pool and she received pool toys to share while her friends were there. The water twister pad was a hit as well.
Happy Birthday KayDee!

Happy 3rd annual 29th

So Kevin gets another birthday and more cheesecake and more car parts... We love his birthday since we only devote a limited number of candles on his cake. They always represent something and they really do this time too. Two is for the two at the end of what age he really is! Figure that out!
The kids had fun making a card for their dad and drawing pictures that he would like, like trucks. Samantha drew him sitting in the back of his truck. Maybe she wanted him to enjoy the ride from every aspect of his favorite vehicle. Derrick's truck looked a lot like Optimus (?) Prime with the colors he included. I sketched a motorcycle for him. He totally guessed what model I used too (it was easy since it was sitting in the driveway). KayDee danced while we sang happy birthday. I believe his smile was genuine. Happy Birthday Kevin!

Derrick's Birthday

This is Derrick's month! He has turned 7 years old and is so big! We are so proud of him. He is such a good boy and is learning and growing. He is finally getting comfortable reading and is well rounded in the other subjects at school. He could read before but he knows for himself that he can read. It is so fun to see that light come on inside him, and his writing has improved in the same way. Derrick has always done math with ease. When he comes home it is the first thing he chooses to do for homework and I rarely have to help him.
Derrick is into building things and loves playing with legos, the erector set and fixing things with his tools. He loves to see how things work and wants everything to be robotic! He loves his stuffed animals and enjoys taking them on adventures.
Derrick loves riding his bike and scooter, and he likes skateboards. He can play the piano really well now with his music classes and uses both hands together with chords and melody.
Scriptures was one of the things he really wanted since he loves taking them to church, so we gave him some. He really enjoys reading the scriptures with us as a family and his prayers are filled with thoughtful gratitude.
Derrick enjoys playing with his sisters as they pretend or climb trees together. He also enjoys playing with all those boys at school!
We are so grateful to have such a good son and really appreciate the love he shares in our family. He is the one who keeps track of the things around him. I know if I ask Derrick, he knows where it is and he will go get it for me with a smile. He is so fun to be around. I know that when I take him shopping alone with me that it is so much fun to be in his company. He listens well and is so willing to help. We love our Derrick and we are so glad he is part of our family!

Derrick's Friend Party

Since Derrick's birthday is always right next to Thanksgiving we planned to have his friend party the week before. I crossed my fingers so we could do it at the park with good weather. I sent the invitations on Monday and he handed out 22 to his friends. Usually only 1/3 show up but I was surprised to have 1/2 come.We planned a treasure hunt. Derrick was so excited and was making sure that I got the map ready and helped Kevin blow up some balloons. I went to the park before I picked them up from school and buried the treasure box (WOW, those chocolate coins are expensive!). I literally buried it in the wood chips and several more inches in the dirt. I should have brought a shovel! I tried to keep KayDee away but a 4 year old just wants to help.When I brought the kids over to the park, I had to hurry and use the bathroom. When I came back, KayDee had showed them where the treasure was hidden but they hadn't dug it out yet. I had specifically told her NOT TO TELL, but she is 4. So I had them go on a map hunt since I cut the map in pieces and had hid them throughout the park. I knew the treasure was still a success when I heard them shriek "It's a real treasure box" as they dug it up.
Derrick opened presents and we had cupcakes. Then I dumped the big bag of balloons on them and they stomped on them making it sound like fireworks. They played together on the park until their parents came.
Birthdays at the park are so great. I didn't have to clean my house before or after, and I didn't have to entertain them.

Princess KayDee is 4

Our youngest child is 4! We are so please we have KayDee and she is such a fun girl. She loves getting bigger so she can do the things Samantha and Derrick can do. She is so energetic and loves to entertain us. She is constantly making faces and silly smiles at us. She is a good helper and can make her bed, fold her laundry and clean up all her toys by herself. She can write her first name legibly and enjoys coloring and finding K's in books and papers we read. We love our KayDee!
We had an early birthday party since we were going to visit my parents during her birthday. Kevin wanted to be there for her birthday party at least. She has been collecting the Disney Princess dolls that have those rubber clothes and has completed her set happily. She was so happy that it was her birthday and thrilled that she was sung to in primary too!

Kevin is 29 AGAIN!

It will never end but at least it is easy to keep track of. Kevin is 29 for the third time and very proud of it. Unfortunately, like everyone else, his body is feeling some effects of aging-Crazy I know since he is constantly in tip-top shape. His last present has just arrived today (a month late) but he won't complain since they are towing mirrors for the 99 diesel! I'm sure some time will be spent putting them on tonight.

30

Yeah! I'm 30! Now I can tell people that say I look too young that I am OLD! Although 30 isn't old at all but it sounds better than being in your 20s.
I had a great birthday. We did cake and ice cream with the kids and Rachel, and then Kevin's sister Mandy took the kids to his parents for the night and gave me a break. Kevin took me out to eat and then we helped my grandparents fix a light in the garage and then went home to watch a movie. It was wonderful to only get myself ready for church the next day. After church, we went to the Laub Christmas party and had a nice time there.

Derrick's Birthday

Derrick has turned 6! We are so HaPpY! He is such a good boy and has such a good heart. He loves to invent things and received legos and an erector set to further his progress. He loves his kindergarten class and claims he can't read but he is sounding out words really well. He even writes to his Grandma Laub about once a week. We just need to keep boosting his confidence. He loves riding his bike, playing games, doing puzzles, coloring and pretends with his sisters really well, making sure he is the prince or the male role. He has been taking music lessons and does really well playing the piano. Derrick is helpful and considerate, and makes sure I don't forget things. We feel so blessed to have him in our home and love what he brings to our family.

Campbell Soup Cakes

So, we wanted to do something special for Rachel for her birthday and we like to make her fun cakes. Kevin had this brilliant idea to make Campbell soup cakes with a mug cake recipe he has. So on Sunday we made 5 mug cakes in the microwave and I frosted them even though they were a little warm and the frosting oozed a bit. We think they turned out really good! They tasted really good too...super chocolately!
Sooo.... Happy Birthday Rachel. We love you!

KayDee is 3!

KayDee is three and we are so excited. Time is flying and I am glad to say we are having fun. She had a fun little birthday. I curled her hair and took her picture next to the flowers and in the ladybug shirt (as requested) after breakfast (I was still in pjs). Then she had a friend come over for cake and to play. She requested spaghetti for dinner and Justin, Rachel and Grandma Laub enjoyed that and cake and ice cream with us. She adored all of her gifts. Thanks everyone! She is such a fun 3 year old.

Party In Vegas

My niece had her birthday at the end of may and they happened to be visiting in Vegas so we went to her party. Maryn turned 2 and had a pink elephant party. The kids played at the park, did a pink elephant pinata, and had cake. I took a picture of the kids pretty quick and then saw all the adults lined up taking pictures so I just couldn't resist getting their picture as well. The kids loved the massive frosting balloons, and there were just enough for each of them from the cake.