I know it's been a long time. So many fun and exciting things have been happening! So if you can finish reading this post, awesome! I'll start at the top:

Justin:

He's been working as a county appraiser since January and is in the process of moving into agriculture appraisals, which he is very excited about. We also bought a house on a 4.5 acre lot. It was bank owned and we got a smokin' deal on it, but it needs quite bit of work to be move-in ready. So that's where Justin spends all the rest of his time. My fav. thing about the house is all the land! It has a small orchard and several fruit trees (apples, apricots, pears, and plums).

Trina:

I have been working a few hours a week as a social worker for a foster care agency. I also started my own business in order to help us out financially (click HERE to learn more about that).

Rylee:

She just finished first grade and excelled in everything. She has developed her creative talents and is working on some art pieces to enter into the fair. She is also getting ready to try out for a town play with the children's theater and is very excited for that. This weekend is also her dance recital (more about that below).

Cole:

He just graduated from preschool and loved every minute he spent there. He is so excited to go on to Kindergarten next year! Cole is also getting ready to play soccer this summer and baseball next year ( we missed it this year).

Gracie:

Gracie is busy learning the alphabet, how to count, and learning all the colors and animals and sounds that they make. I'm amazed how much she knows just by watching her older siblings! She is quite the handful and spends a good portion of every day making trouble, but so far we decided to keep her. I'll let you know if that changes!

Miss Bree:

I think that Bree will probably think her name is actually Miss Bree since that's what I seem to call her all the time. Either that, or Breezer! Anyway, she has learned to roll over, right off the couch one time! (oops) She responds to her name, and spends all day smiling and laughing at her siblings, but I think she still likes me best! (for now) She likes to be held a lot, but that's good, because if she didn't demand it, I might not remember to take the time to do it!

Well, that's a tiny synapses of what's going on in our family. How's yours?

Cole's 5th Birthday Party

Cole's birthday was actually more than a month ago, but so many exciting things have been happening around here, and I've been so busy, that I haven't had time to do much blogging. So here is all about Cole:

He turned 5 years old this year and wanted a spider man themed party at the park (easy!) So I made a simple cake, got decorations, and we had lunch, cake, and fun time at the park! Cole loved every minute of it. I gave all the kids masks to decorate with markers and sticker, but Cole opted to leave his blank. I guess he thought it looked more like a super hero mask without the stickers! He such a stud! Here are my top five favorite things about Cole:

1. He is super, duper sweet. He tells me he loves me and that I'm beautiful all the time, usually just out of the blue! A girl should have a kid like him around ALL the time!

2. He learns quick! He sometimes struggles with problem solving but has recently begun to put so much more effort into solving his own problems instead of asking me to do everything for him. I can see what a big boy he is growing up to be when I watch him see a problem and figure out what to do to solve it all on his own!

3. He is my favorite boy, and he knows it! I tell him all the time "you're my favorite boy" and he's so sick of hearing it that now he rolls his eyes at me. But recently, we were having a conversation about something he did ( I can't remember what) and he reminded, "because I'm your favorite boy!" What a cutie!

4. He loves all things boy! He recently went to a father/son's campout and took a wooden sword with him (he loves weaponry) and there isn't a single picture of him from that campout where he isn't sporting that sword somehow. He usually has a sword stuck behind him in the back of his shirt or through the belt loop of his pants. He loves swords the most and probably has about 4 of them, of course, that doesn't count the ones he builds out of pencils, tinker toys, legos, straws, sticks, and anything else that might resemble a sword. Even my mother's day card was decorated with little swords that he drew! He calls them Leonardo swords (the ninja turtle) because he wants to be a ninja turtle.

5. And lastly, he is the best little/big brother. He gets along with all of his sisters so well. He loves to follow Rylee around and lets her be the boss. He loves to play with Gracie and teach all that he knows when it's just the two of them, and he often helps me with Miss Bree when she's fussy and I can't pick her up just yet. He is a lover and snuggler. He wants to sit by me everywhere we go and loves to snuggle with his dad at bed time at night. I just love that little boy!

Dance Costumes 2010

These are just some quick shots that I took of Rylee in her dance costumes during her class pictures. Recital is in just a few days and we are so excited to watch her! She took three dance classes this year, and while she often would complain about having to go all the time, she is super excited about being able to perform THREE TIMES!!! Soooo, now she wants to take three classes again next year. (We'll see).

Her first costume is her jazz costume. She is dancing to Miley Cyrus's "Hoedown"

This one is her ballet costume. She is dancing to Elvis Presley's "In the Ghetto"
And last, is her tap costume (may fav!) She is dancing to Tina Turner's "Proud Mary"