Isaac

Isaac!!

Its hard to believe that this was him just 2 summers ago...right after we made the move to Utah (its wierd that Spencer is currently wearing that outfit)

Isaac started out this year in pre-school, he loved going to the same school as Ellie, he was super excited! (you can tell by the silly grin on his face) While we were only there for 1/2 the year, he was awarded student of the week, and he was getting really good and writing his name and spelling the word, MOM!!! (I love it) it seems like all his drawings and pictures were always dedicated to me on the back!

(such a proud moment!)

sorry for the bad picture...its the only one I have of the boys :(

For Halloween last year, he wanted to be a vampire...unfortunately he got strep throat so he couldn't go to school that day, but he was a happy camper otherwise!

These pictures are one of the couple of trips we had to take to the doctors for the strep throat that Isaac kept getting...he was a trooper through the whole thing though!

So, we move to Washington, and when the sun finally started to shine, after what seemed like an endless winter, we went to the beach...Isaac loves to throw the rocks into the water, and of course, likes to find whatever is living under the rocks! He and Spencer sure like to hang out together and the love it when their cousin, Hunter, joins in the adventures

This last picture was taken during our snack time, the seagulls were very interested in our crackers, and the boys got a huge kick out of throwing the crackers and seeing them flock around us!

 We did an Easter-egg hunt at the karate studio the kids were attending. Isaac had a great time, but as usual, half-way through the excitement, he wanted to go home...he doesn't do to well with large crowds for an extended period of time...(he is like his daddy that way)

Isaac had a harder time adjusting to this move, he was quite clingy to me, but I have just been amazed at how much he has grown. He loves to be outside, I wish I had the pictures on this computer, but a couple of weeks ago, he wanted his training wheels off, so Daddy took them off. Looking forward to teaching him how to ride his bike, he got his video camera out, but before he could even turn around from getting the bike all set up, Isaac was off....never even looked back, didn't wobble, didn't struggle, its like he has been riding a two wheeler his whole life! It was a bittersweet moment for Dad, he is proud that his boy is such a natural, but then kinda sad that there was a missed teaching moment...but to be honest, I really wouldn't expect anything else from Isaac, he is constantly surprising us at his natural ability to do things and handle certain situations. Its a lesson for me, to maybe let him spread his wings a little more often and see just how he can fly!! As long as he still climbs into bed with me in the morning for his snuggles, I am ok with him stretching those wings now and then!
Isaac, like his big sister, has discovered his love of playing in the woods, frog hunting, searching for salamanders, picking up slugs, bugs, spiders....anything of the sort! This hobby of creature finding is driving Mommy nuts, but Daddy was nice to bring an old aquarium home, so the creatures can all stay OUTSIDE!!!

I just can't believe how fast this little guy has grown up, he starts kindergarten in the fall. He says that he is ready now, before, he said he didn't want to leave mom, and he still gets that way, but I think he is maturing and ready for some adventures! 

Just some notes for my own record keeping...Isaac just loves music, and he seems to have a natural ability to remember lyrics to songs, even if he has never heard the song before. I catch him singing lyrics to songs that have only been played in background, or songs from shows he has seen. The other day, I heard him singing a song from the "veggietales"...I heard him singing, "God is bigger than the boggey-man" it was awfully cute!!!
He loves to come in and get snuggles in the morning, and he reminds me half-way through the day if we haven't had our snuggles, and he insists that we get our snuggles in!
He loves to see things crash, anything from toys, to cars, to trains...anything that crashes he loves, but he does not like the noise! He is still deathly afraid of fireworks, but he loves to look at them from a distance! Other than that, he has no fear of anything else, he is quite the dare-devil. He thinks he can do pretty much anything the older kids are doing, stunt riding on his bike, scooter tricks, he even wants to start trying tricks on a trampoline! He falls down a lot, but he is never one to not want to try again, when he falls off his bike, he comes to mom for a bandaid and a kiss and he is right back out there!
Isaac has a very tender heart, and is very interested in just about everything, he asks a lot of questions, about big things, like God and death, birth, heaven, etc... I was talking to one of my friends the other day, and telling her about Isaac, and I said that sometimes I wasnt quite sure how to answer some of his big  questions, and she said, "Well, maybe he is preparing you for the questions that you need to know how to answer without hesitation..." (food for thought)
He wants to know all about how things work, how the water gets through the pipes, how our hands work, our toes work, how the computers work, anything and everything. Needless to say, we do a lot of you-tube watching how things work or are made!
He doesn't read yet, but you can often find him in his bed, or on my bed reading though books, he does love to look through them, and can pretty much tell you whats going on from the pictures!
Isaac is a really good friend, he includes everyone, and makes sure that everyone is having fun!

We sure love the addition he brings to the family!

Just a tiny update!

Well, as per the request of my Dad, I will go ahead and finally update my blog! But I think I will do this one in a couple of installments, maybe one entry per child!

Ellie

Ellie started out her first grade year in Utah, she loved it, and her love of reading started here!!

 I cannot begin to say how much I love and appreciate this girl, and the growth that she has done over this last year has been incredible...pictures are worth a thousand words...

During her Thanksgiving program that her class put on for their families...they all got to show off their reading skills! It was very cute!

Finally, around Halloween of 2011, she lost her first tooth...after months and months of asking when she was going to loose it, it finally came out! Her second tooth came out just a couple of weeks later, but as of right now...June of 2012, she is still waiting to loose the two front teeth! (She keeps telling me that the dentist said she should loose them in a couple of months...that was about two months ago...and well, they aren't loose at all, but she keeps holding out hope!)

Ellie wanted to be a witch for Halloween, and it was an awesome costume...made by ME!!! I think I did a pretty awesome job, if I say so myself! It was a lot of fun doing this for her!

Ellie just being crazy!!! We love her craziness, even though it drives the rest of us crazy as well sometimes!

I didn't take any pictures of our big move to Washington right before Christmas...and I was so sick for about 12 weeks because of this baby, but one morning I woke up to this note stuck to the fridge...This is so typical of Ellie, always leaving me notes and little reminders how much she loves me! She loves to write stories and whatever it is she is thinking at that moment. The other Saturday, I got to sneak away to the adult session of stake conference (the rest of the family was sick) I took a notebook with me and I was thumbing through the pages, and I came upon something that Ellie had written and drawn, I have no idea when it was written, but it melted my heart!

This picture, I assume is Ellie and God and apparently God has a cape?!?!

I will do my best to decipher this...
"I believe in God. And I believe, that he loves one another, even if they are bad or good and kid or men ....If they are a girl or a boy. Do you believe in God? I do."
Sorry, I can't make out some of the words in the middle there....but if you are like me and wonder if anything I say, or their teachers in primary teach, ever get through...well, this tells me that something is getting through...and this is her sweet testimony! (out of the mouth of babes!!)

This is Ellie, at the end of first grade, she has grown up so much, she is reading chapter books after chapter books, in fact, she goes through them so fast, I can't keep up with her! She is super excited to be a big second grader in the fall. And though she wont admit it, she is excited to have her little brother start school as well!  Ellie has a tendency to be a bit snippy and impatient with just about everyone, but especially her brothers, so we are working very hard on HOW we say things to each other, and speaking softly to each other. Ellie is excited to be a big sister again, and she has bonded quite nicely, already, to baby brother...she loves to sit and feel him kick and she talks and kisses the belly all the time! She is really hoping that he comes on her birthday this year.  We are learning about money management as a whole family, learning how to budget and save and stay out of debt (or get out of it, in mom and dad's case), She has really grasped the idea of earning money, and she likes to pitch in and do the jobs that she gets paid to do. She likes to do dishes, and sort laundry, she is excellent at setting the table, and even though its her least favorite chore, she is really good at cleaning her room and putting her clean clothes away! She is a big help around the house, and I do rely on her a lot! Her favorite thing to do when she is outside is ride her bike and play on the monkey bars, and she has the calouses(?) to prove it. She has discovered playing in the woods in front of the house...it kinda reminds me of when I was growing up, going and playing for hours in the woods!
We sure love this girl, we love the spirit she adds to the house and the family!