4th of July Fun!

We had such a great day celebrating our nation's birth!! We went to a parade in Monmouth, and the kids had a great time watching and, of course, eating candy.  Caden saved alot, but Collin ate most of his by the time it was over.  Colson just had one at a time and was very content with that!  Then we had a BBQ with our friends the Arnolds, I painted flags and stars on the kids' faces, and then we went to the Salem Riverfront Park and watched the fireworks, which is always my favorite part of the day!  I love this holiday more and more every year.  Collin said he wants to be in a parade when he grows up.  Keep dreamin' big honey!!!  Dan asked Caden where he would choose to serve a mission someday if he could choose, and he said "Florida!  Then I could teach all the people at the Kennedy Space Center!"  I'm not sure where that came from, but I love to hear the funny things that are going through their bright little minds!!  Oh, today in church there was a guy doing sign language for another man, and I looked over and saw Collin trying to do it with him.  He didn't know I was watching him and he was very serious, so it was so hard not to laugh! He is such a goof ball!  I love these moments.  They make it all worth it!!!

Happy 28th Daniel

 Happy 28th Birthday Dan! He wanted to try Key Lime Pie, so I made one, and it was alright, but a little on the tart side!  The Arnolds came over and shared this little birthday celebration time with us! It was fun.  We love you Dan/Dad!!!

Youth Conference Pioneer Trek

This was such a great experience!  We had so much fun with these kids and bonded more than we ever expected.  They were a great bunch.  Not only did we have to push the cart up the hills and hold it back as we went down the hills, but we each had a name of a pioneer pinned to our shirts and learned parts of their stories, which was very inspiring and humbling.  We also gave birth to a baby along the way, had one son break a leg, had two sons taken away to join the army, lost our little baby and had to pretend to bury her, lost our dad and one son, and then had our dad and son come back as ministering angels to help us.  It was such a wonderful experience and we definitely want to do it again!

Caden's 7th Birthday Party!!

We celebrated Caden's 7th Birthday! I can't believe he's getting that big!  He had a fun time with his friends and got some new Transformers, so he was a pretty happy boy! He is growing up to be such a great kid.  We are so proud of him and love him so much!  Happy Birthday Caden!

Happy Father's Day to all our Papas/Fathers!  We love you guys so much, and Dan and I are so grateful to have such wonderful grandfathers for our children.  You are such great examples to them and show them so much love.  They love playing with you and spending time with you whenever they get a chance.  Dan and I feel so grateful for the Fathers we have been blessed with.  Thanks for all your love and support through the years.  We truly appreciate you and miss you!!!

Love, 

Daniel, Jodi, Caden, Collin, Colson

Happy Father's Day to our Papas!

Here is a little video clip of Caden batting.  It is a little blurry, so you have to really watch closely. Collin is the bat boy you see at the end of the clip.  He did a great job being our bat boy this season.  He loved being a part of the team.  Today was our last game.  I had such a good time coaching, and I am really going to miss it.  Caden improved so much this year, and it was so fun watching him.  He is a great little baseball player!!  We are so proud of him!!

Caden batting and Collin as bat boy

Colson's 2nd Birthday Party!

Dan and I took Colson with us last Monday to Seattle to watch the Red Sox play the Mariners and we had a great time.  We were able to see two good games and it was a really nice little getaway for us!