Summer Activities

 Derrick and KayDee communicating by tube.

I put the kids in two summer town activities. They did a theater workshop for two weeks and learned all sorts of things about how much work it takes to put on a play. They were in a short play they helped prepare at the end of the class.

They also did Karate for a week and LOVED it! They were breaking boards, throwing stars and winning prizes. They had a great time!

Camping At Timid Springs

 We were fortunate enough to go camping this year on Beaver Mountain even without the reunion. The reunion is scheduled for August so we invited people to come to this camping trip and Kevin's two brothers, Milt and Travis and families, came up to join us. Kevin's parents joined us for an evening too.

 It was so quiet and very enjoyable. The kids played and we cooked our meals together.

 Collecting bb's.

 We even ventured to the ice caves so we could make ice cream. The ice cream churned so long that it made butter too! The beaters had a nice layer on them but we didn't notice it in the ice cream itself. :)

We had such a good trip that we decided we would have to do it again next year.

4th of July

 Parade with Travis, Bree, Dani and Charleene; and DJ and Whitney.

 Races at the church. They got a quarter for each race. Here's KayDee's.

 Derrick's

 Samantha's

 Kevin's

Mother/Daughter

KayDee and Kaydee

These are two second cousins named the same. Our KayDee is holding Kaydee who is the daughter of Kevin's cousin Jackie and Justin.

Pet Wasps

Helping Dad

Cookie Monster

The kids drew pictures of cookie monster at church and told Dad they drew a picture of him. He got a kick out of it. Then when I went shopping I found the perfect shirt for him for only $3 on clearance. We gave it to him for Father's Day and he wears it quite often on Sundays.

Just Playing

 Samantha took some pictures of the kids playing in our backyard with Dani. They have so much fun together.

 We finally got a picture of Charleene with us. For some reason we forget when we get to see her nearly everyday. We love the privileges of living next to a newborn! We don't mind holding her while Bree has things she needs to get done.

 Dani has developed different relationships with each of the kids and enjoys them for different reasons. Dani absolutely loves to giggle at Derrick. He is the worlds best comedian to her.

 KayDee is someone she can play, color and blow bubbles with. And Samantha likes to sing and dance and do all sorts of silly things with her.

KayDee is 6!

 KayDee is 6 and we are so happy she is, but her dad will probably tease her that she is "sick" instead of six the whole year. She will keep reminding her dad that it has an "X" not a "K". This birthday means a lot to her. She gets to start 1st grade and go to school all day like her brother and sister. She gets to eat at school and just be BIG! She loves to play outside and play with little toys and dolls. Those princesses still make her world magical and she loves to dress up like them too. She loves legos and kinects. She folds her laundry, wipes off the table and loves to mop!

She plays the piano and is reading really well. She just learned how to ride her bike without training wheels and is still working up the courage to ride on the dirt and rocks.
She is very helpful especially when mom is baking in the kitchen and loves to share. She helps dad at work and gets to move her very own wheel line sprinkler. She has been patient while we have been in transition moving to the farm and finds happiness in the little things. She loves to go to church and carry her own scriptures. Her prayers are always individual and genuine. She keeps track of the rules and gives hugs when we need them. We love our KayDee and are so happy she is part of our family. She is so special and makes us smile.

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

Fun in Vegas

 We were able to go to Las Vegas to visit my sister LeAnn's family. Maryn had her birthday party and a dance concert. The kids have so much fun together and it was fun to visit! We went out to dinner and they sang happy birthday to Maryn and KayDee (her birthday was in a couple days) and got ice cream and balloons.

End of School

We moved with a couple months left of school left. The kids adjusted well even though they miss many things from the old school

Derrick was immediately in a Shakespeare play and was able to perform with his class at the Shakespearean Festival

KayDee had her Kindergarten program

Samantha played the recorder with her class the last Wednesday of school at the flag ceremony. Her Grandma Laub and Uncle DJ and Aunt Whitney came to watch too. They did a great job!

Music

 Samantha and Derrick have been taking piano lessons from me once a week before school and worked hard to memorize their recital pieces.

 We had the kids play just before KayDee's Let's Play Music recital.

 KayDee finished her second year and has one more year left. We are not able to find a teacher in the area so I will have to do it with the help of Samantha and Derrick since they have done all three years.

 KayDee did a great job and remembered all of her parts. All went well except for when her piano wasn't working. It really upset her since she wanted to play what she had learned. That was fixed quickly and she performed great!

We are so happy she loves music and has done so well playing the piano. We will start again in September!