Karlee's Big Week at School

Karlee all dolled up for her last day at school!

Karlee with friend Jeff and cousin Andylin at graduation.

Karlee and Andy after graduation. What would they do without each other?!

Karlee and Andy at their picnic in the park.

Karlee is no longer a pre-schooler! Last week she had her graduation program at the middle school in Ririe. Her teacher, Onda K., had the kids march in in their graduation caps while she called out their names. They sang songs, did a dance, and even did a lip sync. It was very entertaining. They all had to wear their bright pink shirts (which worked out great for Karlee since that is her favorite color). A couple days after her program, they had a picnic day in the park where they played with bubbles and ate lunch. It was a lot of fun. She has really enjoyed her time with Onda this year. No one will ever love those kids as much as she has!

Celebrating Memorial Day

Layne pulling the grandkids around Grandma Reed's yard.

Great Grandma Peterson even climbed in.

Layne and Mike posing on the roof of the shed.

Memorial Day is always an interesting day for me. There are always lots of get togethers and running around to different cemetaries. But deep inside, I'm usually pretty somber. I spend a lot of time thinking about how different life would be if.... But most of all I am so thankful to have my family close to me. I don't know what I would do without them. We spent this Memorial Day weekend having picnics at my mom's on Saturday and then at Kinghorn's on Monday. We had Layne's sister Janeen and her kids here with us for the weekend which was so much fun. On Monday a whole group of men spent the day working on a roof at Mom and Dad Kinghorn's. It took them all day, but they got it done. I think they really enjoy working together. It was fun for the kids to play while they were working. In between the picnics, we made it to the Ucon and Ammon cemeteries (where my Grandpa Peterson's new headstone had been put in) and also to the Sugar City cemetary. All in all it was a great weekend and I know Layne was extremely appreciative for all the help from his brothers and brothers-in law on the roof. Thanks again everyone!

Birthdays, birthdays!

Today we had two birthdays to celebrate. Grandma Kinghorn and Grandpa Reed. Grandma had meetings at the temple until late so we didn't get to see her, but we took cupcakes to Grandpa Reed this evening. It was and always is so nice to just sit and visit with them. We sure do love our Grandma's and Grandpa's and are so thankful they live close!

A Day with Abby

Abby and her friend Brylei at the zoo

Abby and me on her fieldtrip

With school coming to a close, it was time this week for programs and field trips. All of the second graders at Jefferson Elementary put on a musical program Thursday that was really nice. There were easily more than 100 of them, but the music teacher had done an excellent job. On Friday, those same second graders all went on a field trip to the zoo and to the Titanic Exhibit at the museum. Abby had asked if I could go with her, so Layne took the day off to stay with the other kids so I could go. It was really a fun day. She thought the zoo was fun as always, but she really enjoyed the museum. We each received a boarding pass for the Titanic with the name of a person who was really there. At the end of the exhibit there was a board with all the names of those who survived and those who didn't. Abby was disappointed that her person didn't survive, but she thought it was cool that mine did. It was a really cool exhibit. Thanks for asking me to be a part of it, Abbs!

Getting Older

Monday I celebrated my 31st birthday. It really does sound old, and some days I do feel it. But I really do love this stage of my life. On my birthday, Layne took part of the day off to finish up some honey-do projects and just to be home with us. He made me dinner and dessert and invited my family and our friends the Trimbles to come celebrate with us. It really was a nice day.

Survival

This week started out kind of rough, especially for Kayci. We had family home evening with my family on Monday and Kayci managed to bite a good sized hole in her tongue. Once it stopped bleeding we could see that she probably wouldn't need stitches. We just had to keep her from sticking her finger in the hole. The next day she wacked the side of her ear with a drum and it is still purple. She also had to go to the doctor for an ear infection and horrible cough. She is doing much better now, though, and we hope this will be a better week for her!

Mom and Miss Tea Party

Satuarday morning was a crazy one. Karlee had a gym meet and Abby and I had her Mom and Miss Tea Party for Achievement Days. It was a fancy hat party so Abby and I wore crazy straw hats. She was too embarrassed to wear hers at first, but eventually decided it would be okay to make a fool out of herself with mom. We won an award for the best matching hats! It was a very fun party. We made a little book about each other. We had a hat parade. We learned about good manners and etiquette. We had a yummy brunch, and most of all we just enjoyed being together. It was a very special day for both of us.

Karlee's Gym Meet

Karlee had her first gym meet on Saturday (a luau theme, thus the fancy get up). She practiced so hard on her beam and floor routines and did a great job. She got first on the beam for her group and second on the floor for her group. She also got second overall for her group. She felt pretty good about the whole thing and we are super proud of her. Way to go Karlee!

Mother's Day Flowers

After our busy day with gym and the tea party, Layne and the girls took me to pick out flowers and bushes to plant in front of the house for Mother's Day. When we got home, we got to work clearing out weeds, weeds, and more weeds. But we managed to clear off the mound, plant the new bushes and flowers, and it looks great. I really love it. We also had my mom and Brittany and her kids over for dinner on Mother's Day on Sunday which just made the whole Mother's Day weekend really nice. Thanks to my family for making me feel so special. I love you!

Jake's First Haircut

Jake got his first haircut this week. It really wasn't terribly long, but it was curling over his ears and in one spot on the top of his head. If it would have all been curly it might have actually been kind of cute to leave that way, but Layne wouldn't stand for the hair over the ears any longer. I strapped him in the high chair and Abby entertained him and took pictures while I cut and buzzed. It turned out pretty good and he was a good sport!

Olivia

Olivia was born at 9:37 a.m. She weighed 4 lbs. 4 oz. and is doing great.

Ella

Ella was born at 9:35 a.m. She weighed 3 lbs. 12 oz. She had a valve in her heart that hadn't closed off all the way, but after three treatments, Holly reported today that the valve has closed off. More miracles!

New Little Miracles

Some exciting news for our family! On April 21, my sister Holly and her husband Jared brought two beautiful little girls into the world about 7 weeks early. They are amazingly healthy and continue to grow and get stronger each day. Hopefully they will get to come home in about a month. We are so thankful they are here!