The Kids

Just a few quick shots of our kids:

Liev showing off his new haircut - he looks so grown up now!

Rease showing off her new earrings - her birthday present this year.

Rhen showing us her dirty face.

Josh made Liev this diaper hat.

And Keen just cute as can be standing up in his crib.

Pile of Clothes

I find Keen with a pile of clothes in his bed at least a few times a week.  Liev thinks it's great to take all the clothes out of the drawers and throw them in with Keen.  I've even moved all the clothes into the closet and in drawers up on the shelf to try and prevent this.  But Liev just climbs up and gets them out anyway.  So, most of the time the boys don't have folded clothes because I'm too impatient to fold them again knowing that they'll be right back in the crib the next day.  What fun!

Climbing

I'm not sure what Liev was thinking, but he was supposed to be napping and this is how I found him instead.  He had emptied out all the clothes (and dumped them into Keen's crib) then climbed all the way to the top drawer and sat down.  Not sure how long he was in there, but he finally started calling for me because he couldn't get down.  This has happened multiple times since.  I finally got smart and moved all the boys' clothes into the closet (high enough that Liev cannot reach them) and turned the dresser toward the window so he could not climb up again.  We now have a non-functioning dresser in the boys room just waiting for Liev to outgrow this climbing phase.  Maybe one day I'll be able to use it again.

Rease turns 6!

Rease's birthday was the day after school ended - what a perfect present!  She made some good friends in her kindergarten class and invited them all to come to her party.  We had a good turnout - about 20 kids.  It was super fun for her to have her friends there!  We did a pool party since the weather was great (and it was an easy clean up for mom afterward!)  The kids loved being in the pool and squirting each other with the guns.  

 And who doesn't love a trip down the slip n slide?

 I made cupcakes this year and had capri sun and ice cream to go along with them.  

 Present time.

 Everyone wanted to be right in the middle of opening gifts and giving their gift to Rease next.  It was a little bit of chaos for a few minutes.  

 I had to throw this picture in.  Isn't he the yummiest baby you've ever seen?

 Aunt Hayley got off work just as the party was winding down and somehow she got in the middle of a water fight.  

 Rease and her friends - she said she had a great birthday!

We love our Rease!

My favorite things about Rease at age 6:

1) She is super smart.  Loves to read, ask questions, and do anything that will help her learn more.

2) Rease is a great friend.  She has made some good friends at school this year and I'm so happy to hear when she makes a new friend.  She is truly concerned about those around her and wants to make everyone happy.

3) She's my helper.  As the oldest sister, Rease is the best I could ever ask for.  She is willing to help out with the other kids whenever I need her.  She loves helping me out in the kitchen or cleaning the house.  Overall, she is a great sister and great daughter to us!

6 year old stats from Dr. Erickson:

Height: 50.5 inches - 97%

Weight: 60.63 pounds - 93%

BMI: 16.7 - 79%

Into Mischief

Keen recently found the pantry and all the goodness that it brings.  He just munched away on these chips until I found him.  

Rease's Grades

Rease got her end of year testing results.  She is a smart little cookie!  I'm proud of this girl and all her hard work!

Vampire fangs

Josh and I both think that Keen has the most hilarious teeth.  His centrals haven't come in yet but the laterals are fully poking through.  We just think he looks like a little vampire.

End of the Year Kindergarten Program

Rease performed at her end of year program today at the school.  They had prepared a few songs for the parents, complete with actions and loud voices!  Rease was super excited to finally sing the songs they have been practicing for the past few months.  She has done such a great job in Kindergarten this year and is in the top reading group in her class.  Her teacher told us she is a great leader in the classroom (which means she's likely a little bossy too) and is friendly to everyone.  She also told me about one little guy in her class, Gavin, who is very shy and timid.  She said Rease has taken him under her wing all on her own this year and makes sure to include him in all she does.  She said that if anyone ever asks Rease to be her partner, Rease says, "no thank you, I'm Gavin's partner."  What a sweet girl!  I loved hearing that story.  

After the program Rease took us to her classroom and showed us her art project hanging on the wall.  She is going to be sad to have this year over because she has learned so much and had such a great time making new friends.  But SUMMER is coming!  And so much to look forward to with the great weather!  

The kindergartners all had graduation pictures taken - so cute!

They had a cute little kindergarten graduation and everything.  Rease felt very grown up.

 Rease and Mrs. Dunn.

 We all love you so much Rease!  Great job at school this year!

Dressing up the dog

Grammie bought a new dog recently and the girls LOVE playing with her.  She has become Rease's new doll and gets dressed up almost every time we go visit.  For now she seems to be ok with it - that may change someday soon.  

Boston

The girls and I took a trip to Boston to see Chad, Britt and the boys.  Chad was graduating from Harvard Business School and we wanted to be there for the special occasion.  And of course the girls were thrilled to be able to see their cousins!

We took the red-eye flight from Salt Lake to Boston.  We all wore our jammies and had blankets and pillows so we could sleep on the plane.

 We didn't get too much sleep, but it didn't matter.  Rease and Rhen were with their cousins!

We had a lot on the agenda for the week but first up was a trip to Fenway Park.  Caleb was so excited to be able to see this park and I think it was one of the highlights of the week.  It is an amazingly old and cool field to see and be able to hear the history of it.

 We stole a quick bite at Tasty Burger after our tour.  Delicious.

 In Boston they have this great system for bikes called Hubway.  There are different hubs throughout the city and all the campuses around.  So you rent a bike at one hub then drop it off at another hub wherever you end up.  So we did that for our Fenway tour.  Rented bikes at the Harvard Business School campus where Chad and Britt live and then dropped them off right by Fenway.  It was awesome and cheap and we had a beautiful ride!

 Grammie and Papa saved the day and took the kids to the zoo while we were at the baseball field.  They bought each of the kids a stuffed animal and, believe me, they were carried around everywhere the rest of the week!

 We also went to a beautiful cemetary close to their house and spent a couple hours walking around and enjoying some peace and quiet in the middle of the city.  

 We visited Lexington and Concord...

 Walden Pond...

 And even went to a Red Sox game at Fenway.  Super fun!

 There is so much history in Boston and surrounding areas.  We spent one day seeing all the history sights and walking around downtown.  Britt was a champ and kept up with us all week - 8 months pregnant and no complaining!

 The kids spent some good time at the parks on campus.  

 But the main reason for the trip came at the end of the week.  Harvard Graduation.  Chad graduated in the top 5% of his class and received the Baker Scholar award.  They were able to attend a special reception for all the recipients and mom and dad went with them.  They said it was really special to see.  Britt and I, mom and dad were able to attend the main graduation at Harvard Square and that was really cool.  Such traditions at Harvard and that was really fun to see.  Then we all saw Chad walk and receive his diploma in the Business School ceremony.  Their 3 boys walked across the stage with him.  We are so proud of him and his hard work!  

 The last day we were there, Britt got out their bounce house and the kids had a blast jumping and playing around.  

 Headed home.  Sad to go but so glad to have been there and made great memories!  Thanks Chad and Britt for keeping us busy!

Midnight snack?

I went to get Liev up from his nap and noticed a little something sticking out from underneath his pillow.  

 Old chicken nugget anyone?  Just saving it for later I guess.  Just in case he was in his room long enough to get hungry again.  

Goings on at the new house

The kids settled in and got to work feeling right at home in the new house.  A couple days after we moved in, Rease promptly started hauling things out of the garage to build a "hut."  

Liev still hasn't quite adjusted to sleeping on a real bed - sleeping on the floor is more his style I guess.

And Keen is quickly becoming acclimated to the long flight of stairs we have.  He hasn't fallen all the way down yet, but I did catch him halfway down the other day.  Crazy kid!