Bringing out the High Chair

We brought out the high chair for Brielle and she just looked so cute in it I had to share it with you all.

Funnies

Makenna turned off the computer the other day while Brayden was playing it and when he got mad at her she said (in her super expressive and over dramatic way):

"But Brayden I was just following my heart"

(We can thank the Barbie DVD for that one)

Brayden's Birthday Party

Brayden isn't actually turning 6 until May 8th but we gave him a friend party on Saturday since on his actual birthday we will be long gone from Provo :( ... sad, very sad. I always underestimate the chaos of birthday parties. It was definitely mayhem and I was exhausted by the end -- but the kids had a great time ...which I guess is what matters.

Here's the crew- our beloved neighborhood buddies we will surely miss: Mark, Seth, Will, Lizzie, Sammy, Makayla, and Joseph

When we were deciding the party plans Brayden said to me "Mom, whats a party without a pinata!" So yes we had a pinata.

And here's the cake (don't look too closely or you might notice that I spelt Birthday wrong). Brayden dreamed it up and drew me up what he wanted (after I talked him out of an extensive three tiered roller coaster cake he had seen in a magazine...maybe next year). For future reference though -fondant is not exactly what kids want to eat at a birthday party- no one complained but I am quite sure they were a bit weirded out. Next time I will stick to buttercream. I have just been watching way to much "Ace of Cakes" lately (my new favorite show) so my mind could not even envision making a cake without covering it in fondant.

I was sure grateful for both Kevin (a fabulous kid entertainer- since he is quite a bit of a kid himself) and Scott (who was my designated Brielle tender). I couldn't have pulled it off without them!

Brielle is 6 months old

To commemorate Brielle's big 6 month milestone, I thought I would post this cute video of her (its only 10 seconds long so don't let that detour you from watching it). Her favorite game is to shake her head at you and you shake your head and then she shakes hers and the game continues as such. While we were out in Omaha house hunting she was doing it all the time and that is where I took this video- I was asking Kevin if the basement would work for us and I guess I shook my head because she started "the game". Its really really cute (at least I think so).

Beginnings and Endings

Lets start with Beginnings....
We finally officially have a house in Omaha (well its actually in Papillion, but close enough). We just got the call tonight. Its a new home that was a show home so its kinda fun to get a new house without waiting for it to be built. The process of making an offer and getting it accepted took a bit longer because it was a bank owned property (the builder went bankrupt), but we got the official and final word tonight- it is really ours! It makes it easier to look forward to the move now that we know where we will live and can get excited about this new beginning.
I put my pictures into slideshow format so if any of you are dying to see more house pictures check out this link
shadow lakes home

And this weekend we have begun the beginning of the End here with some pre graduation celebrations. Friday night was the MBA closing social. It was a night of nostalgia- celebrating all the great MBA memories created and all the Hawes scholars recieved their trophies (for lack of a better word) Check it out- pretty cool, eh? (I know I know the picture is not great)And so as not to overwhelm my blog I am going to yet again resort to slideshow format to show all our pictures of the MBA Closing Social, the MBASA (spouse association) Closing Social and a big graduation party/ bbq that followed the events.

Free MySpace slideshows, photo and video editing at www.OneTrueMedia.com

What a Morning!

This morning Makenna wound one of those fruit by the foot things all throughout her hair. She claimed she was just trying to wear it around her neck like a necklace but it looked more like she was trying to braid it throughout her hair. It was a disaster. Fortunately I immediately remembered the awesome conference talk from Elder Ballard that I heard yesterday, and I think it helped me to handle the situation pretty well. Elder Ballard talked to mothers about finding joy in the doing and not just focusing on getting it done. That really struck me as something I could improve upon. So I am trying to "enjoy" the time I have with my children and recognize all the wonderful moments we have together and not just try to get through the day and get them to bed. I actually laughed with Makenna as I picked the icky sticky gobs of goo out of her hair and remarkably as I pulled and tugged she didn't have a tantrum (if you know Makenna you know what a miracle this is). Ultimately I decided I would have to give Makenna a bit of a haircut. I was careful as I explained this to her- avoiding all use of the work "cut." I am by no means one capable of cutting hair but since hers is curly- I figure it didn't have to be exactly perfect. Here is a before and after shot (although the before picture doesn't really capture the immensity of the entanglement). I don't know if you can tell from the after shot but I took a couple inches off. I think she needed a good trim anyways.

Swinging in the Sunshine

On Tuesday we went to the park and enjoyed an absolutely beautiful day. Brielle even got to go for a swing and she loved it!