Birthday Week!

Oh Birthday week, how you come at just the right time of the year... The new year in the beginning is always a little rough for us. This is when things decide to break down, the anticipated medical bill comes etc. Luckily, my kids are too cute and loveable making all said things bearable.

Lollie is now 5!!!!!!!! She starts Kindergarten in the fall and Naterb and I are sure going to miss her. She is very excited for aunt Mindy's wedding. She can't wait to wear her pretty dress and be apart of the ceremony. A couple of days ago she and I watched a "Say Yes to the Dress" marathon. The next day she said "What will people think about my dress? Will it be ready in time?" I told her that her dress will be altered in time and not to worry about what people think. I think she took the show a little too seriously. Lollie also has this little competition with a boy in our ward. On Sundays her and Will compete for the same chair. A couple of Sunday's ago Lollie got to Primary first procuring the coveted chair. Sadly I had to remind her that she had to sit in the front for her talk. She saw William run in and said "Darn now William has my chair!" This last Sunday's race was once again won by William. Lollie walked up to him and said, "you are sitting in my chair!" William smiled and said "I got here faster than you!" I asked Lollie if she trys to take Millies chair. She said no. I asked if she takes Kadens chair. She said no. I asked if they took each others chairs in class and she said yes. I asked her why and she said "because it's William mom!"

She loved having Nana and Opa to play with!

I ended up not making her cake after two failed attempts. If you live in high altitude places, do not buy Duncan Hines Yellow Golden cake!

This year it was all about ponies and unicorns. She also has a love for horses lately.

One last story about this silly girl. The other day we went to a friends house. We heard a loud thud from the other room and waited to hear the cry. Of course the cry came from Lollie. She had fallen off her friends bunk bed. First I asked her how did it happen? She said that she was too close and fell off. I then asked her if she was okay? She told me that her head hurt, but that she still wanted to play. I told her it was okay, but to be careful next time. She turned to me and said "Yeah, well that is one fast of getting off the bed." Stephanie and I started laughing. I asked her later why she said that and she told me laders slows you down.

My Mr. Riley turned 7! I can't believe next year he will be 8. Time is starting to fly by too fast. Riley is very kind hearted. Sometimes his kind heartedness can be challenging. He wants to give money to every foundation at school and has this need to feed all of the kids in our neighborhood. So far he is a good student at school and loves being out doors. He asked Brandon if he had two recesses as a kid. When Brandon said no (I'm sure he doesn't remember) Riley said "well at Soaring Hawk we have two!" He really loves it when his teacher plays music and they do these silly dance moves from Just Dance. 

This year Riley wanted a "Dark Vader" cake (he did not know that his real name is darth vader.) I really tried to be enthusiastic about it. I even tried to find a way to make the cake cool and add more color than black and white. As we rummaged through the toy store I found these minions! I showed them to Riley and he changed his mind. Our Birthday theme went from dark to goofy!

He got a Key Board for his Birthday! I am now on the hunt for a piano teacher...

The week was filled with fun at the park, Chuckee Cheese, building a toy town, and just hanging out!

Even though it was not this little persons week, I had to add a couple of photo's.

Our world

Wow, I feel like blogging is a dying art these days. There are so many things that I have been doing with my time. Home ownership has taken a handle on our lives. Usually, I like having a handle on it, but this time it got the upper hand with mold! Not the normal spray some bleach on it and it will disappear kind, but the kind that is black and growing through the wall. Luckily, it was small and in the garage but it lead to holes in our roof caused by faulty flashing. The snow and ice this year really made the holes apparent. The water would melt and drain into the roof instead of off into the gutter. It was really fun when the guys came and took off the tiles from our roof and then days later the hazmat guys showed up. It gave our neighbors something to talk about for a while! :p At least Brandon and I now have a piece of mind and in time too. Two days later we were blasted with this...

We also scored a solid wood bunk bed that I have been sanding down and staining  Whenever there is a good day, I make it a goal to get into the garage and sand away! We Also try to get out of the house as much as possible lately. We are getting Cabin fever and spring can't seem to come fast enough!

 Colorado can be a very pretty place. I love the contrast between the high desert and towering mountains. Plus, the clear blue skies are gorgeous! I had fun giving myself a landscape and light challenge. The more I get into photography the more I love it!

Next challenge is to photo all of my cuties in the great outdoors!

I also have a group of budding artists in my house. I was definitely in my happy place on this day.

So bummed about the photo above. He moved out of my view finder right when I snapped it. Of course it had to happen on an actual smile. This little guy is rocking in school right now and is turning 7 in a couple of weeks! Art really isn't his favorite subject, but he enjoyed pasting shapes and playing with tape. He recently tried out for his first grade musical called "The Kitty Cat Capers." It was fun to see him at try outs and listen to him sing. Recently at church he had all of the adults crying in Junior Primary. They were practicing "If I listen with my heart." He was the only one you could hear clearly and he was on key! I was even blubbering.

 Miss Loli is fully potty trained! I can not tell you how incredibly happy I am. A weight has been lifted off my shoulders and she is so proud of herself. She is so excited to soon get to sleep in a big girl bed (the bunk bed). Loli also loves to be very independent, loves to do imaginative play, tell stories, and hates it when her food touches each other. Lately she has taken upon herself the role of Mother to Natalie, boss of Riley, and has more sass than I ever had! I feel like someone took a twelve year old and shoved it into her little body. In a week and a few days she will be 5! She is so excited for Kindergarten and has shown a lot of interest in learning.

Little Nater B has a mind of her own as well. The ripe age of 19 months does not hinder this spitfire. She draws more than I have ever seen a toddler draw. She will melt down if I take away a crayon or a pencil. I have had scribble art removed from many walls in my house. She climbs any chance she gets and unscrews lids. The other day she got ahold of my favorite shampoo. Lets just say my hallway smelled like Lavender mint the entire day. Nat has also graduated to a toddler bed and loves her independence. She has also begun to speak. The other day as I was running she yelled "Go, go go!"

My little artists and the backside of one.

Riley's B-ball Pictures!

Basket ball ended right before Christmas. He told me he would like to do it again next year!