Summer time

We are enjoying our new backyard. We go swimming at least once a week. 

Jamie loves to run through sprinklers as well. It means he has the yard to himself because Brionney freaks out when they are on. 

He loves to hold his breath under the water. He is proud to show anyone who will stop to look.

Once the sprinklers are off, B is right out there with him. She's not afraid to get wet out there but put her in the tub and it's WWII again to get her wet.

Ivins

Well, it must be home because B's already started her rampage. Nail polish all over her and the new kitchen chairs. Daddy discovered her and you can see how happy he is. I couldn't stop laughing. Came right off the chair Jason had to work a bit harder to get it off B, himself, and the tub.

 

This was not so funny. I had spent over an hour cleaning both bathrooms. They needed a good deep scrub. Then I jumped in the shower. B comes in to me not 10 minutes later with bright blue on her shirt. I called to get Dad up and take care of it. This is what he found. 

 Jamie's toothpaste all over the sink...

 ... and the toilet...

...and the counter. I was so mad I couldn't even speak to the girl. Daddy made her clean it up- yeah. Then he wiped it all down to make sure- the man really does love me.

Playing

I guess we played dress-up. Jamie is the Daddy or a cowboy.

Miss B here must be ... What wears a cowboy hat and flip-flops while holding a bottle of Bubbles?

Grandpa had some stumps pulled up. Jamie loved playing in the hole. He was fun to watch. From the house you'd only see the top of his head bobbing up and down now and then.

He wanted to dive into the hole. Lucky for him, he landed feet first with his arms in the air.

TaDa! He was covered head to toe every night. He had dirt in places I had never seen before. He thought it was so awesome to slide down the side on the hole "just like the slides at the park." Not really but he convinced his sister it was so.

We are still here...

Jamie has graduated from Preschool. He is starting Kindergarten this Fall- and he's SO excited.

This is Jamie with his teacher Mrs. Crosby.

In celebration of Summer, we hit the lake. FREEZING!!! It had not had a chance to warm yet. 

But we still took full advantage of the water. 

This is Mom and Jamie... yes he is floating all by himself... yes he was freakin' out a bit.

Grandpa lost his hat as we sped around the lake. Jason was the hero and went in after it.

It was quite the site.

Ever the cheerleader, Hanna cheered him on. Go Jason!!!

Happy Birthday Jamie!!!

Jamie is 5!!!

 If you can notice he is not excited at all.
He got lots of new cars and a cool track along with Legos of course.

And for a super surprise- he got a ride on a helicopter with Dad.

He was stoked. When he realized what was going to happen his eyes got huge and he broke out with a grin.

He had a blast.

Happy Birthday Buddy!!!

Easter

We had a fun Easter with lots of cousins in town.

We had a massive Easter egg hunt with everyone. Uncle Jason was to keeper of the door until we were all ready.

Everyone was lined up and antsy to get outside...

Happy Easter!!!

BUSY, BUSY, BUSY

The last few months have been so busy. I have been finishing my Master's degree....

and we are all so tired....

 Brionney is into babies lately. And books. She has fallen asleep with both on many occasions.

 Grandpa is always great to help get the kids down for their naps.

(This is Kylie asleep with Grandpa. We've had many visits from cousins these past few months.)

Adding to our exhaustion is the many illnesses we've all had.  

Jamie and Brionney have been diagnosed with Cyclic Vomiting Syndrome. 

This means that one child will get sick and puck and be lethargic for several days. We'll have a day, maybe two of health then the other one gets sick. This cycle repeats itself over and over. 

Thank heaven for modern medicine- it has stopped this cycle and returned health and good night sleep to our home.

 Oh and then B freaked us out and added hives to the mess. These things were HUGE!!!

Her thighs were covered with one huge hive each- not seen in this picture. As you can see, her little knees and shoulders have some massive hives as well. We never did find out what caused them but luckily they didn't last long.

We got pretty good at the sick routine. Cover the couch and gather round to keep everyone entertained. 

 But illness didn't keep us down for long. B loves Jordan Almonds. She gets into my stash and scatters them. This time she wanted to play on my laptop as well.

Let's not forget this independence streak. She just had to get the cereal herself. She had powder everywhere! 

We had a visit from Grandma and Grandpa Chipman. 

 Recently, we made our own visit up North. The kids did awesome- even though we started out sick.

Daddy had a birthday!

We attended a Preschool Event Day for Jamie. 

 We got to ride the Carousel. Jamie and Brionney loved it.

We have had fun these last months and are even more glad to have survived them.