Jayden's Musical Debut

Contrary to whatever Jayden says, he likes music.  It took the influence of a great teacher (Mrs. Lunt) to convince him to join the school choir.  He still maintains that he did not enjoy it, but as we'd hear him singing around the house, we all know differently.

 The Sixth Graders hold a talent show at the end of the school year and Jayden volunteered to play the piano.  He did a fabulous job and I regret not getting video of it.  He wasn't nervous at all and had fun showing off his talent.

 As part of music class, Miss Finlinson taught the 6th graders the ukulele.  Jayden was given a ukulele for Christmas a year or two ago, so this was just perfect - finally a chance to put his "mini guitar" as he called it, to use.

Happy Cameron Day!

Cameron has had a birthday, and what a day!  We started if off with a movie and then went shopping for some new shoes.  We stopped off at Texas Roadhouse for dinner and then home for cake and presents.

 One of Cameron's favorite gifts was a new Star Wars piano book.

 I can't believe that Cameron is already 10 - my little Cam-man.

Okay - so this video is funny for more than one reason.  First of all, it's sideways (thanks, Leon).  Secondly, Cameron's facial expressions just crack me up.  And, thirdly, at the end of the video he actually DROPS his ice cream on the floor in true Cameron style.

A Few Things About Cameron:

Cameron has always been a peacemaker - trying to make people happy.

Cameron is a tease.  How can he be both a peacemaker and a tease?  He's complicated that way.

Cameron loves to play the piano, even though it doesn't come easily for him.

Cameron will save candy FOREVER - drives us all nuts.

Cameron's shoes are always untied.

Cameron will talk your ear off, if you let him.  He never runs out of things to say.

Cameron loves just about all foods - always has - but his favorite food right now is Shepherd's Pie - go figure.

Cameron loves Scouts and is my first son to actually enjoy working on it.

Cameron hardly ever complains.  Even when he's clearly not feeling well, if asked, he'll say he's "fine".

Cameron is just a good, happy, easy-to-love kid.

Happy Birthday, Cam-Man!

Oh, Go Fly a Kite!

One Saturday we were tired of working and decided to go find some wind.  We found some at the second park we went to.

Jayden didn't find his own kite challenging enough (read "boring") so decided to try Leon's double string stunt kite.  He didn't do too badly.

Landon was just happy being there.

And, Cameron found the easy way out.  His kite was pretty low-maintenance.

I wonder if Dallin is aware that there is a low-flying object just over his head.  (It was actually farther than it appears on the video.)

Happy Leon Day!

Okay, so let's face it - being the dad means you find joy through your kids.  With Landon's birthday being the same week, Boondock's was just as much for Leon as it was for Landon.  The oldest birthday "boy" and the youngest birthday boy had just as much fun.

 A Little About Leon:

He always keeps me guessing.

He loves to cook.

He has this goofy way of dancing that he gets from his Grandad.

He knows how to do a LOT of stuff.

He enjoys his job.

He likes to be spontaneous, which is hard when your wife doesn't.

He is a good dad.

 (He can also clean a toilet SO well that he's willing to lick it.  Yes, he did.)

Leon has fully admitted that he cannot grow a beard, so his brother sent him one for his birthday.  I told him I wouldn't sit by him in public if he wore that.  But, he did drive around on a cold day with it and got a few questionable looks.  He loves attention.

Happy Birthday, Big Boy!

Happy Landon Day!

Landon's birthday fell on a Tuesday during Spring Break this year, so Leon took the day off, we loaded up the kids and hit Boondock's "$12 Tuesday" and got Landon in for free for being on his birthday.  On Tuesdays the non-ticket games are free, so these boys spent a lot of time on this particular game.  Fun. 

 Of course, a trip to Boondock's isn't complete without driving the cars.  

 This isn't the greatest picture, but I just love the facial expressions - pure joy.

 Cameron had no problem just cruising around - a nice, relaxing Tuesday afternoon drive.

 Dallin and Leon, on the other hand, could ride the "big boy cars" and sure rode them hard.

 With it being such a nice day, the bumper boats were enticing.  BUT, once I got the first blast of water, not so fun.  Again, these boys are having too much fun.

 We managed to do EVERYTHING at Bookdock's - even miniature golfing and laser tag (no pics of that - boo.)  

 After a tiring day at Bookdock's it was home for presents and cake.  I'm really not sure why the Snuggie was involved, but okay.

And, of course, Mom is slow with the camera and Landon had to stage blowing out his candles again.

A Little About Landon:

Being the youngest brother, he has always had a great audience.

He is nearly always smiling.

He likes to keep the rules.

He still likes to snuggle.

He will believe anything I say, just because I'm the mom.

His favorite food is soup - really.

He is a pretty good dancer.

He loves soccer.

He wishes he had more friends.

He will talk to just about anyone about just about anything.

He will always be my "Smoochie-Boots".

Happy Birthday, Landon (a.k.a. "Boots")!

Mission Call

My parents are going on a mission. Yes, it's true. I have to come to grips with this sooner than later. They got their call the week before General Conference, so they got the family together on Saturday for the big reveal. But first, the men and boys got to go to Priesthood Session. This was Jayden's first one, so a picture was in order. So great.

We were kept guessing the whole evening. My parents had a map where we could stick our guesses. I was certain they were going somewhere European.

We Skyped with the Oregon Eddingtons and the Colorado Cunninghams for the big game.

My mom planned a 20 Questions-style game for us to ask questions and make guesses. Oh, it was so hard for her to keep this information to herself, but since my mom had to so much work to reveal the destination, she kept it a mystery until we started guessing.

For the last several months they have been serving as Service Missionaries at the Home Canning Center. My dad has joked that they were called to "Fill-the-Beans". Well, as it turns out, they were called to serve in the Philippines - Loag Mission Home! They leave for the MTC on June 11. Despite some of us being nervous for them, they are super excited. I know they will be great.

We'll miss them when they're gone.

Easter

Easter has always been one of my favorite times of the year. I love just about anything associated with Easter. However, for the past few years I've skipped the annual Nu Skin Egg Hunt. Maybe it has been the weather or maybe we've "been there done that" and have been avoiding it. But, whatever the reason I realized that Landon has been missing out. The other boys are too old for it, but why not just take Landon? So I did. He has been before but said he didn't remember it. But, as we pulled into the parking lot he said, "Oh, I remember this. The last time we came here I got pushed down and someone took all my eggs." It's a good thing we came to create a new, happier memory of egg hunts.

While we were waiting, we strategized a bit. I told him that all the kids would rush to the eggs right up front, and that he should just run past all the eggs and kids and head for the back of the lawn. As you can see from the picture, it worked. Landon had all the eggs he wanted all to himself. He had his bucket completely full before other kids even discovered the "back area."

We are happy to report that Landon did not get pushed down this time and got to keep ALL of his eggs. He had a great time!

Easter Sunday was pretty typical with the finding of the baskets. We weren't able to do the egg hunt since we had early church....

...but, the "Easter Bunny" sneaked into the backyard and the boys had an afternoon egg hunt.

This pink tree in this picture is one of my favorite things and I love the people in it, too.

Later that day we went to Grandma and Grandpa's house for the traditional egg hunt with the cousins.

Grandma numbered and filled all 121 eggs!

Easter would not be complete without a visit from the Easter Bunny/Man. Ry-Guy was very interested in him until he looked him in the eye. I love his subtle head shake "No!" Run, Ryan, Run!