Birthday Celebrations

Alexander was pretty excited to be turning 8!  It's pretty important!

He requested a chocolate bundt cake for his special treat.

He was having a video game themed party a few days later so that is how we decorated his cake.

He was really happy with all of his gifts.

 A few days later we had a party for him.  Alex loves when it's a party year for him.

The older boys led everyone in a few games.

And then we had a pac man pinata.

 I made it a little too strong.  So strong that we ended up tossing it around and whacking it with a bat until it broke open.

Alex really lucked out that we were having the t-ball team party at our house the same day and had rented a bouncy house.  Everyone had a great time playing in it.

Baptism Day

Alex is such a great kid and has been excited for his baptism day.  Since he was the only child from our ward being baptized that day it was a little more personal.  We started in the chapel with all the other wards.  All of the primary children were invited to sing together for a special musical number and all the children were spotlighted.  It was very sweet. 

Our ward was the last to use the font so we were able to stay in there after Rich baptized Alex. Then I gave the talk on the Holy Ghost. 

A good amount of friends and ward members showed up to support Alex which was very nice.

I asked him to share his testimony with me for the blog and this is what he said: "I know the church is true.  I know Joseph Smith was the first prophet of Latter Days. I know that President Monson is the president of the church now. I know that the Book of Mormon--what it says is true. I know that Heavenly Father loves everyone on earth.  I know that Christmas was the day that Jesus was born."

Alexander is a great boy and we are so proud of his decision to follow Christ.


(Even though this is posted in May I'm actually writing it up in December because I am so far behind!)

Baseball

Henry was so excited to play baseball this year!  He especially loved that Rich was his coach.

The season started with a big kickoff where all the teams got to be in a parade and were announced to everyone.  There was food and activities all day.

Watching Henry's games ended up being entertaining because we were always looking to see what he was doing out there.  Like putting his glove on his head instead of his hand.

 I think Henry's favorite part of playing was the snack afterward!  He did love it when his kindergarten teacher, Mrs. Cochran, came to watch him play.  He thought that was pretty special!

We finally got a picture of the whole team at the last game.

 At the end of the season we had a team party at our house.  We didn't really have to do much because the team mom planned the entire thing. She went all out and it was adorable!

All the coaches...

One last time to shout, "Go Cubs!"

8 is GREAT

What is your favorite...
color? blue-green
food?  hamburgers
game? Terraria
toy?  Legos
show? Gravity Falls
animal?  snadger (a snake badger from "Gravity Falls")
book? The Twits
song? I love to see the temple
What do you like to do?  play video games
Who is your best friend?  Seth
What do you want to be when you grow up? video game artist
Do you have a girlfriend?  no

I am - awesome, kind

I am afraid of - snakes (a little)

I like - my family

I like to eat - everything except for potatoes!

I don't like - potatoes!

I know - what 10 x 2 is.  (It's 20!)

I want to be - a video game maker

I like to watch - Gravity Falls

My hero is- Jesus

I cry when - I get hurt

I'm happy when - I don't get hurt

Mom gets mad when - someone punches her

Mom is happy when - I read scriptures with her

I can't wait for - my birthday!
Something Mom says to me - "Clean up your room."

Something Dad says to me - "Yeah, sure!"

My favorite place to go is - our home!  I mean, a swimming pool.

My Mom makes me laugh by - tickling me

My Dad makes me laugh by - tickling me

I know my mom loves me because - she helps me with homework

I know my dad loves me because - he plays king-of-the-living room with us

Chicago

At the beginning of May I took a quick trip to visit Elise before she left Chicago. We did a lot in the few days that I was there.

The first day was nonstop!  We stopped at a yummy bakery first off, then the nature museum, and after dinner we visited the Art Institute.

I really enjoyed the Art Institute!  My history classes at BYU were focused around music and art. 
I had seen many of the pieces of art in my books but seeing them in person was incredible!  It was definitely a huge difference from a small, flat image in a text book.

We went down to Chinatown to look for souvenirs.  I had to get a picture of Alexander St.  for my own Alexander.

I think my kids would really love walking around Chinatown... there was so much to see.

Even though Elise lives just down the street from the White Sox stadium I had to stop by Wrigley Field for my Cubs fans at home.

We played at a really fun park with awesome slides!  They were so long and fast!

The view of the city was incredible.

We also stopped by the "bean" and walked around for a while.

That night we got the best Chicago-style pizza.  It was so, so delicious!

The next morning Elise and Austin took me to their favorite donut place in town, the Donut Vault and then we headed to the Children's Museum and Navy Pier.

In the evening we stopped for some authentic  Chicago Italian lemonade.

They turned Buckingham Fountain on that weekend so we stopped by after church.

It was a fun, quick trip and I'm so glad that Elise and Austin showed me some fun sites in the city!