Photo Shoot

I took my kids to the park Sunday with the hopes of getting some good pictures. It's funny how much their unique personalities shine through the lens:

Jordan
I could not stop laughing at this one!!
Always modelling!
And, of course the beautiful girl pose:)Kya
My little gymnast...any chance to show off her splits:)
This is the crazy Kya we know and love.
Sweet girl!Tyson
Making a face...as usual
This is what he does when you say make a "nice" face.
This is probably the best one I got.The 3 of them together
Cute, but Tyson still looks a little goofy;)My Favorite!!

I {heart} my family

I am having a hard time putting together a post about my Canada trip. I'm not sure if it's because I can't pick which pictures to use, or because I'm not ready for it to be over yet. We had such a great trip (minus Tyson's GIANT mosquito bites and my sliced up foot...oh and the "rash"). I seriously couldn't ask for a better family. My sisters, brothers in law, parents, nieces and nephews...they are just the BEST. I miss them all so much and really wished we lived closer. Luckily soon after I got home, I got to go to a baby shower with a lot of my California friends, which reminded me that I really do love living here too:) So here's why my family is so awesome and why we always have such a great time in Canada:

1. They live in the raspberry capital of Canada (hence the giant raspberry statue on Clearbrook Road).

2. My mom is always willing to bake for us (blueberry pies, banana bread, muffins, trifle and of course, raspberry jam).

3. There's always someone willing to play chess (especially grandpa).

4. Grandma and Grandpa have tons of blueberry bushes (hence the blueberry pie--yum).

5. My sisters are always willing to see the sites (Othello tunnels, Stanley Park, Hayward Lake, White Rock....).

6. My parents have a sauna...in their house!!! (usually it's too hot outside in the summer, but this time their were some rainy days and we heated it up--I forgot how much I LOVE it).


7. Everyone came to celebrate Kya's birthday (even though she turned 8 two weeks before we got there)!

8. A trip to the dairy is enough to make everyone happy (especially when ice cream is involved).

9. We are all crazy enough to take 11 kids to the movies (Zookeeper (lame) and Smurfs).

10. We can have fun in spite of mosquitoes, rainy weather, heat waves, no money, cranky kids, bad sunburns, head aches, and a sliced up foot!!


Remind me again why we don't live closer...sniff, sniff.

Canada here we come!!

We are leaving for our long awaited trip to Canada in a couple hours!! Kya said to me yesterday "when I see grandpa, I am literally going to jump on him and give him a hug." Then Tyson said "I am going to hug grandma and grandpa and tell them that I missed them so much!" It is hard only seeing my family once a year...I think we may have to take a second trip this winter. So, goodbye Cali...I hope your sunshine follows me to Canada again this year!

Inspired by Pinterest

We have been spending too much time on Pinterest lately, but one good thing has come out of it...my kids have created their very own reading "nooks". We saw some really cute reading tents and I said "I wish we had room in your bedrooms to set up one of those"...well before I knew it, my kids had found room and made their own little reading spots. They aren't as cute as the ones on Pinterest (click here to see one of my favorites), but they have motivated my kids to spend more time reading...which is always a good thing. Tyson has even been working on his reading skills:)

Jordan's Nook

Kya's Nook
(I had a better picture, then realized she was only wearing underwear,
so I had to crop it...that's my Kya)

Tyson made it all the way through this book, counting all the words he didn't know on each page. He was disappointed that there wasn't one page that he could get through without any mistakes:( He's getting there though!! I'm proud of my little boy.

Baptism Day!!

I was stressed about all the details of Kya's baptism. Yesterday when I called my parents all upset about it, my dad reminded me what was important--Kya was getting baptized. It wasn't important how many people couldn't make it. What mattered is that Kya cared enough about the gospel and her Heavenly Father that she wanted to get baptized. We are so proud of our little girl. Congratulations Kya. We love you so much!!

Before...

I just love this picture so much. My 3 little angels!!

After!!
(Grandma Kurki made the beautiful dress and sweater)

The whole family
(I tried to pick a picture where my sunburn didn't look nasty--it's REALLY bad!!)

Happy Birthday Kya

Friday was Kya's 8th Birthday!! She spent the day at the beach, movies (we saw Judy Moody--very cute), opening presents, dinner at TGIFridays and cake with the family. It was the perfect day for the sweetest 8-year-old on the planet!!

(My Little Miss Sunshine Cake was a disaster, so she got this one instead)

We love school...but we're glad it's over

This year has been full of ups and downs when it comes to school.

Jordan started her 4th grade year with an overnight field trip to the Wild Animal Park and Legoland. Needless to say, her year was filled with fun and excitement...and a little bit of drama. She absolutely LOVED her teachers (well one more than the other) and had a blast building a dream city with her classmates. We couldn't be happier with all the things she has learned.

Here's Jordan with her portion of the "city" they built. She build an elementary school, an apartment building and an animal hospital.

Kya unfortunately was stuck in the community public school again this year. Luckily next year she will join her brother and sister at the charter school. Regardless of the poor quality of school she was attending, Kya has excelled in her school work this year. She was at the top of her class and tested at a gifted level. She has become so confident in her abilities as a student. We are most proud of Kya's effort level and her excitement and curiosity to learn anything and everything.

Here's Kya with a couple of the awards she got this year!

Tyson started Kindergarten with a few months of crying:( With such a rough start to the school year, I am amazed at how much he has grown to LOVE school. He has made so many friends and learned so much. He has a passion for math! I can't believe the level of math he has achieved while still in Kindergarten. I swear my girls were not doing double digit adding and subtracting while they were FIVE!! I still can't believe he will be in 1st grade next year. Man, it is hard to watch your baby grow up!!

I couldn't resist sharing a couple pages of Tyson's work from this year. His letters still need a little work:)

"I have a dream. My dream is to be a hockey player"

"We play Playstation. I play bow and arrow with my dad.

Sometimes I win my dad"

Anyways, with all the fun, excitement and achievement that comes with school, it is so nice to have a break. The kids are going to spend a couple weeks relaxing and taking swimming lessons, then we are off to Canada. I can't wait!! I really think this is the most wonderful time of the year:)

Canceled

Summer birthdays are always difficult. I usually try to have Kya's party in June before school gets out, but this year my surgery made that impossible. So, we tried to plan her party for this weekend. Well, it turns out that only 2 of her friends could make it (one of which has a sprained ankle). So after much stress, I decided just to cancel it. Kya was surprisingly okay with it...I think I was more upset than she was:) Anyways, with her birthday a week away and no party planned, I am excited to come up with some really fun surprises for the big day. I can't believe she is going to be EIGHT!!!

Here are the invitations! I thought they turned out cute.

Here is the cake I am going to attempt to make (I hesitate putting this on here, because I know mine will not look this good, but here it is):

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