Birthday for days

How is it that my kids seem to get two or sometimes three "birthdays" when my birthday can come and go and I'm lucky if I get someone to say "Happy Birthday?!"  Such is the life of a mom, I guess.

This birthday was a special one for Kya...she became a TEENAGER!!  We surprised her with a trip to Family Fun Center on her actually birthday, then she requested The Cheesecake Factory for dinner, and the actual "party" came a week later.

Family Fun Center:  Bumper Cars, Go Carts, Tight Rope, Bumper Boats, Trampoline...

Cheesecake Factory for the first time EVER!!  

Then the FRIENDS party at the lake!  Kya had planned this party for months, and when her birthday came and the weather wasn't great, she did it anyways.  Those kids had so much fun!!

Finished the night off with more cheesecake, smores and a bon fire in the backyard.  

Wallace Falls

With no "big" travel plans this summer, I had goals for keeping busy with local, inexpensive yet fun activities.  I even made a "Summer Bucket List!"  Right out of the gate, our very first weekday of summer break, I had big plans for a hike at Wallace Falls....a hike that one of my friends said she did with her small kids and it wasn't very difficult...only, she was actually talking about Franklin Falls, not Wallace Falls.  Although, I really don't think Wallace Falls was too difficult, if I hadn't been wearing a 25 lb toddler on my back...the entire time!

The trail was well marked, which is a must when I am leading the way!  Although there was a little confusion about which were the "lower" falls and which were the "medium" falls and which were not falls at all.

Luckily we met some hikers on the way up that told us not to tackle the upper falls with a baby on my back.

We stopped at the lower falls to have a picnic.

These are the middle falls.  They were so beautiful with the green trees and blue sky with scattered clouds.

  

 On the way back down, the girls left Tyson, Summer and I in their dust.  Poor Tyson slipped and sliced his knee up pretty bad.  Luckily he was tough enough to make it the rest of the way down the mountain and lucky I had a first aid kit in my back pack!!  Too bad the girls took all the water with them.  I probably should have taken Tyson to get stitches because it still hasn't healed quite right 2 weeks later.

We had to stop at Sultan's Bakery on the way home because I had heard so many raving reviews and it was pretty good.  It was so cute that when I told Summer she could pick anything she wanted, she picked this little pink doughnut--notice Tyson in the background with his giant cookie?

Next time, I think I'll bring someone with me who can trade off with the baby back pack!!

End of the year...(school year that is)

This school year started off a little different...and not "good" different.

Jordan had seminary at 6am and was starting her first year at Skyview without her best friend.  But I think it turned out pretty good:

Football Games

School Dances

Square Dancing (Jordan's group actually WON!!)

Relay for Life

 And of course...Cruise!

Kya was sicker than a dog her first week of school, then struggled a little getting used to her first year of Junior High.  But she got the hang of things and ended up having a great year:

Football Games

Honor Society

Volleyball

 

Choir

School Dances

 Tyson was put in a class without any of his friends.  But of course he made great new friends and had a pretty good year.

Fifth Grade Camp!!!

Track

And of course, the end of the year party with some friends from church!

Junior High {CHECK}

Jordan started Junior High the year we moved to Washington.  She had done 6th grade at a middle school in El Segundo, CA so we were excited to enter Junior High with a little experience.  She was still a new kid...at a new school...but at least she was still the youngest grade, so most of the kids were starting Skyview for the first time.

Here is Jordan the summer before starting Junior High (7th grade).  She had super long hair, wore make-up once in a while, didn't have a phone (only an ipod), and was just entering the phase of getting dropped off at places like the mall!  (And of course,7th grade is one of the ONLY years I didn't take a picture on the first day of school!!!)

Fast forward 3 years...she's glued to her phone, won't leave the house without make-up, booked up just about every weekend, on the verge of driving herself wherever she wants to go...AND...

...off to CRUISE with all her friends.

I love the way the boys ask creatively.  It was nice that Jordan had a friend who she knew was going to ask her, so she just had to wait...and he actually managed to surprise her!

I got to do her hair...we tried the waterfall braid and I think it turned out so pretty!

Then she went to her friend Anni's house to get ready and take pictures.  

 Then they met at the school and bused out to the cruise ship...where they danced, ate and cruised around the Puget Sound for a couple hours.  Kids these days are so lucky!!

Here she is with Kya on the last day of school.  9th Grade and Junior High COMPLETE.

Summer at TWO years old

Here's a little about our adorable little 2-year-old Summer:

She is fiercely attached to her Mommy...and moderately attached to her blanky (blanky needs to come in the car, store, bed, or if she's sad, or hurt, but Mommy has to be with her ALWAYS).

She loves to watch Winnie the Pooh and Curious George the best.  But she also likes Dora, Daniel Tiger, and Strawberry Shortcake.  Almost every time she wakes up she says "watch a movie."  And if anyone else is watching tv...look out.

Her favorite books are Where are you Pooh?, 10 Little Princesses, Three Little Pigs, and David Gets in Trouble.

She loves to play outside, especially with the water in her little pool.  And if it's not warm enough to play in the water outside, she'll play in the bathroom or kitchen sink...probably for hours if I let her. 

She loves taking care of babies.  Pretending to change their diapers, feed them, sing them a lullaby and put them to bed.

At bed time she sits on Mom's knee and I ask her if she wants me to sing her a lullaby or hum and she almost always says "hum"...I'm not sure how this started, I must have hummed it once and then she requested it again and again.

She loves to pay with Ollie (our kitty).  They'll chase each other around, she'll try to pull him into her bath, or throw him at his food.  Today I found her standing in his litter box--yuck.  But her job is to fill up his food and water dish.  It is so cute to see her kneeling beside his bowl with a bucket of food and a scoop.  She is still learning to be gentle...most of the time she doesn't try to pick him up by the neck...well maybe not most of the time-yet.

She loves to talk and sing.  I am amazed at how many words she knows!!  She repeats almost everything I say.  A couple of my favorite lines are:  "what the heck?",  "doing?",  "have fun" (when she leaves someone she makes sure to tell them to have fun), "one minute", "good stuff".  This past week in nursery we were about to have music time but Summer wasn't done her snack and she leaned forward to the music teacher and said "one minute, still eating" it was the cutest.

I like to call Summer my little angel.  She really is such a blessing to our family and we can't wait to see what each year will bring from that magical little girl.