Chuck E Cheese

For a special treat, we met up with the Thomas' and took the kids to Chuck E Cheese's. We've lived here three years and this was our first time there.

Brayden was there too. He just seems to have outgrown the posing with costumed characters thing. Fair enough :)

And here is an example of what a good little baby Emmitt is. He just fell asleep in his stroller like it was no big deal. Nothing is cuter than a sleeping baby.

The Zoo

Yesterday we accompanied Aunt Jenn and Aurora to the Zoo. Scott came along too since he had never been before. It was a bit of a "zoo" (ha ha) but we all had a great time.

Look closely and you will see Emmitt had a little butterfly friend that hung out on his hat for quite a while.

I love Brielle's expression in the above picture.

8 Months Old

It's time again for Emmitts monthly update. This kid is so stinkin cute and so adored by his family. The kids are constantly arguing about who gets to hold and play with him. He is a popular guy. He's also a very happy baby- pretty easy going and tolerant of his "fans." We just all love him to pieces. He eats baby food and baby snacks and a little bit of this and that. He already gets fed cookies and ice cream and whatever treat everyone else is eating. Sadly his first birthday cake will be nothing new to him :) As for sleep, he gets up still once a night- just too eat. I haven't made him tough it out yet... I guess I am getting soft in my old age (almost 30- eek). No teeth yet though he continues to drool like crazy and gnaw everything in sight. It took me 8 months of taking pictures in this same spot to realize the importance of real good light. Full sun in the afternoon with windows open sure makes these pictures look better. I wish I would have realized that 8 months ago.

Enjoy!

Multi tasking

I have heard that women are better at multi tasking then men but in my marriage that certainly isn't the case. I asked Kevin to watch Emmitt so that I could go to the store and when I came back I found him watching the baby and mowing the lawn like this...You could also add that he was working out too because with Emmitt near the 20 lb mark, he is no light load!

Family Home Evening

For one of his Faith in God requirements Brayden and his fellow cub scout friend Colton Roblyer prepared a Family Home Evening on Joseph Smiths First Vision. It was very well done- right down to the wardrobe selection...No we dont typically dress up when we give the lesson but it was a nice touch. We also had some fabulous conducting of the music by the girls... (who apparently didn't put quite as much thought into what to wear :) It is really so fun watching my kids get big enough to be in charge of parts of Family Home Evening. These kids always keep me laughing.

Strawberries!

Here's the first batch of strawberries I picked from my garden at the end of May. Its a miracle to me everytime I grow something! I picked about three more of these size batches before the season ended mid June. Its a big improvement from last year.And because we love the thrill of the pick, we also joined some friends to go strawberry picking at the real patch. It was hot as always and a lot of fun too.

Everybody needs a Ginger!

Cousins are great. I spent a lot of time with my cousins in my childhood and its sad that as adults life is too busy and people move too far to stay close. I was grateful Ginger made the effort to come visit us. Believe it or not- its not always easy to lure people to visit us in the great state of Nebraska :) So thank you Ginger, for seeing past the stigma and coming out to catch up with Scott and my crew.

We had a great time showing her some of the best of Omaha. And here are some photo highlights:

We toured the Mormon Trail Center and Temple Grounds. It is one of my favorite Omaha spots!

We enjoyed our favorite Frozen Custard at Culvers. Also one of my favorite spots!

Here is Ginger with my kids. They really took to her. Since she left, Brielle has been asking if my cousin is coming on Saturday. I keep telling her no and she frustratedly says "I said SATURDAY" She just wont take no for an answer :)

Ginger really picked a great weekend to come because we were able to take her to a College World Series game. It wasn't just any game either- it was the first College World Series game in the new stadium they just built. We were part of history. Yes even former president George W. Bush through out the first pitch. Pretty special :) It was a good time indeed!

Updated BYU Pictures

For Fathers Day I got new updated pictures of the kids taken in their BYU clothes. He loved it. The combination of his favorite kids and his favorite team/ school is sure to be a hit with him anytime!

Happy Fathers Day Kevin! You are the best dad ever. We love you!

Life According to Makenna

Makenna was explaining age progression to Brielle like this...

"It goes baby, toddler, little kid, big kid, teenager, adult, dead"

(must be the German in her- she tells it like it is :)

New Family Pictures