Look at these guys

I just snapped these today right before we loaded up to go to school. I cant believe how good they turned out and how old Ryan looks. Wow time flies when you are having fun.

6 years of fun

Dear Cassie,

It has been so much fun to watch you grow up into such a beautiful helpful and friendly young lady. We couldnt ask for a better big sister for Jessie, Ryan, and Abby. You are always so willing to help when I really need it and are such a good example for the others, even me and dad. You have grown so much this past year and it shows in the trail of out grown shoes and clothes. Some of your favorite things to do are color and create art projects. You also like to mop the floors and vaccum (weirdo). We love doing movie nights with you and reading to you everynight. You just read your first book all by yourself last week and I cant tell you how proud of you I was. We are so glad to have you in our family and are so excited to see what you do next. I am glad that we could give you such a good birthday but it isnt hard when your favorite things are pancakes peanut butter and jelly and crunchy tacos. Happy Happy Birthday! Love Mom and Dad

Best Birthday ever!!

You cant beat free cinnamon twist and balloons from Taco Bell. Yes Cassie said this was the "best birthday ever!" Happy Birthday girl!

Cassiepalooza!

Cassiepalooza officially kicked off last Friday with a slumber party with some of her friends. They had cupcakes and pizza and watched the new Barbie movie. The festivities continued yesterday with Aunt Crystal who had a birthday yesterday too. We went to Red Robin for some burgers and free ice cream.

We even got to see Red there.

Cassie opened her gifts this morning and was thrilled to get a new outfit along with some littlest pet shop animals and some craft supplies from Grandma Hilton. After a pancake breakfast (whatelse) we headed off to the salon and got hair cuts and styles. Now it is pb&j for lunch and then school. She is so excited to bring treats for her classmates. And tonight crunchy tacos from taco bell!! Happy Cassiepalooza!

Cupcakes

Jeff- Ryan you are making a huge mess with that cupcake

Me- Ryan let me fix the cupcake for you (I took a big bite off the top to get rid of the frosting)

Ryan- Moooooom bwoke it!

Change is coming

As the time s.l.o.w.l.y. creeps towards our last weeks as a family of five I have been thinking about how much change is coming into our lives. I am a bit nervous about having another girl but mostly so so excited to break out the frills and bows. I am also a bit nervous about being able to love and nurture four children. It helps to know that Cassie and Jessie are so independent and well adjusted and with Ryan still taking naps in the afternoon I am sure I will be able to fit them all in for some mommy time. Mostly I am so so excited to meet this little baby who is coming to complete our family the kids are very excited to meet her as well so I am sure we will have lots of helpers around the house. On top of our family changes the seasons are a changing as well. To celebrate the first day of fall I made some really good chili for dinner and then we took a walk down to the park. The middle school was practicing football so we stopped to watch. Ryan picked up on the "football stance" right away. I cant wait until we are watching him play all these fun sports. So we welcome the fall with open arms and are anxiously awaiting the arrival of baby Abby.

Rodeo Roundup

I cant believe that this is our third rodeo living downtown! Earlier in the week we walked down to the Sun Bowl to see the horses and cows that were delivered for the rodeo. Ryan really loved all the horses (and the dirt).Friday we walked down a few blocks to watch the childrens parade. It was a good warmup for Saturday when they did the big parade with all the horses and floats and bands. The kids were really good at waving and collecting candy.

This is a little video of Ryan moving and grooving to the bands. He is so cute when he gets into the music. Here is to many many more parades downtown.

Thats cool

We waited all summer and now that it is cooling off we discovered this great place to get wet! Most of St George uses this river to skim board but we found that it is perfect for wading for the kids and Mom only has to get her feet wet. Jessie wanted to go get a towel but I told her if she got out she was done so she found a deep spot and hunkered down until we left.

It was a great Family Night activity and we are planning on going back this Saturday. Lets hope the weather stays a bit warmer until then!

Mom, you have to be skinny to do that!

We took the kids for some early morning fun on Labor Day up on the big red hill. It was a great view and they had a blast exploring and freaking mom out! Every nook we walked past Ryan would squeeze into and say "CHEESE".

Of course we had to get a picture of mom and dad too. Cassie is turning into a good little potographer for the family.

The girls knew exactly where they wanted to take dad and show him the nooks. Little did they know he spent his childhood exploring around there.

And of course we ended our "hike" at the narrows. I have never been up there before and as we are walking up there Cassie says "Mom you cant go up there, only skinny people can go there" I think I would have made it if I really wanted to but I kept having visions of myself getting stuck and the fire department having to deliver the baby while I am stuck in a crack! Being 8 months pregnant I guess I have to slow down sometime. Dad started to follow the girls through the crack but he wasnt quite sure he would fit either. Luckily there were some nice girls that helped our girls get all the way through and Jeff hiked up the back way and met them on the other side. Ryan and I took a breather and played in the soft red dirt for a while. I was quite happy to see the car again and even more happy to get my shoes off!

She can do it!

It took Jessie 10 minutes on Saturday to learn to ride her bike! She is still struggling a bit with the starting part and sometimes she will forget what she is doing and crash but she is up and going on the bike. In a few months we will all be able to ride to school together!

A B C's and 1 2 3's

We sent Jess off for her first day of preschool yesterday. She has been so so excited to get to preschool ever since Cassie started going last year. It made me proud that we have raised independent children as I dropped her off and saw many of the other kids clinging to their mothers legs. Jessie said bye mom and didnt glance back once. Cassie had a kindergarden test at the same time Jess had to be picked up so Jeff got to pick her up. He ended up being a bit late and was amused to see Jessie still happily playing while the other two "orphans" were waiting nervously at the door wondering if their moms were ever going to get there. Jeff decided to take her and Ryan to McDonalds afterward to celebrate her first day. Now that we have two kids in school we decided it was time to give them a little responsibility, so for FHE last night we gave them a chore chart and an allowance and talked about tithing. I cant believe we have such grownup kids!