Brookelyn Turns 5!

Brookelyn's birthday was a wonderful whirlwind! She woke up to find her huge blow up birthday cake (a tradition we have started) waiting for her!Then, it was time for breakfast, and some birthday candles on her pancakes.Braedyn had to get in on the candle action too!

Aunt Barby sent them both money for their birthdays and so they decided to go to Build a Bear. It was a first for them both, and they had a blast making the bears!

Here is Brookelyn making a wish on her bear's heart before putting it inside.
And, here is B-man giving his new puppy a nice bath!Brookelyn put her bear in it's new home and was on her way!
Later that night, Gramma and Grampa stopped by with lots of birthday love.
The next day, the celebration continued at school! Here is the cake she brought to share with her class:
Brookelyn had a great time!

Saturday was her birthday party at gymnastics! Here is the birthday girl:

Braedyn loved hanging like a little monkey from the bars (you can see big sis in the background too)!
Here is Brookelyn taking the leap into the pit!

This was her birthday cake from her gymnastics party:

Everyone sang and she made her wish!

Brookelyn told me it was her "best birthday ever!"

Braedyn Starts Soccer!

Braedyn is finally old enough to play soccer, and he was SO excited to have everyone watching and cheering for him (rather than big sister)!

It was so cute to watch him run all over the field!

Honey and Sashi Visit!

We had such an amazing time with Honey and Sashi! We did so much more than theses pictures show, but I am terrible at remembering my camera!

The kids went bowling, and had a BLAST! Here is Sashi helping out B-Man:

And, here is Honey helping Brookelyn:

I think Honey beat everyone, and the kids tied with the same score!

One night, we launched the kids' wish lanterns (like in the movie Tangled). They each made a wish and Allen and Sashi lit them and helped launch them into the sky.

They were gorgeous!

We had an amazing time with Honey and Sashi, and we can't wait until they are back for football season!

Fourth of July Fun!

The past three days have been amazing! It has just been wonderful to be together as a family! Here are the kids the morning of the 3rd...we started celebrating early!

Daddy already had all the fireworks lined up for the show!We really started earlier in the week with bottle rockets every night, but the 3rd was supposed to be our "big show." We started around 6:30. They couldn't wait!
I had to include this "devilish" little picture of Braedyn.

This looks safe, right? A three year old with a lighter! Don't worry though...we were careful!
Allen let the kids take turns lighting all the fireworks. Brookelyn helped Braedyn out a little, but before long he was doing it all by himself!

The kids LOVED the smoke bombs!

Look how smoky it got!!
When Allen lit off the firecrackers, everyone pretended to shoot guns. It was hilarious!! Yea Gramma and Grampa!
Braedyn absolutely loved having his very own root beer bottle! Gramma and Grampa spoiled him!
Grampa took care of Sooie during the fun. Surprisinly, the fireworks didn't bother her. I guess a 3 year old and a 4 year old bugging you all day is WAY scarier!

The night of the 4th we decided to just shoot off a few more. We were still exhausted from being up until 1:00am the night before with the kids, so we told them just a few on the 4th and then next weekend Uncle David is going to come over for another big show!

Here is B-Man chasing Sooie before the fun began:
Braedyn started us off by lighting the little chicken that shoots sparks!
Here is Miss Priss with a punk:
I can't explain how much Braedyn loved every second of fireworks! This smile helps you understand!
Here they are jumping up in down with excitement over all the fun they were having!
4th of July may rival Christmas around here. It was so great to just be together, outside, watching the kids run around with the dog, play in the sprinklers, light off fireworks, and just talk and enjoy each other. It was relaxing, exciting, and just amazing!