{Good Citizenship}

 Owen received a "Good Citizenship" award today at school!  The award stated that he, "Listens when the teacher is talking, follows directions quickly, is safe, kind, and honest, that he is responsible, and a Super Nice Guy!"  He seemed stunned by the whole experience and didn't crack a smile once!  When I tried to talk to him, he told me, "Mom I already zipped my lips!"  I guess he is not a rule breaker!  I thought some strange alien had taken over his body!  He is definitely a different child when he is at home!  

His friend Mia from church and who is in his class received an award too!

His preschool buddy, Kate and good friend Ryder, were given awards also.

We went out to celebrate with friends Carson and Ryder at Frugo's and the Owen I know and love came back!

 Owen is all of those things listed above, but he is also super silly, energetic, and full of spunk!  I don't think that side of Owen has appeared yet in school.   I'm sure in time it will!

Lucky to be the younger sisters and join in on the fun too!

I am so proud of Owen and for how well he is doing in school!  He is an amazing and smart little boy.  I feel so blessed to have this, "Super Nice Guy" as my son!

{Time Out for Women}

Last weekend I put myself in "time-out" and left my family at home and went with girl friends for the  weekend to Las Vegas!!!

We went to Time Out for Women and the theme was, "Seek the Good." The convention center was filled with thousands of women, who were all there to be motivated and spiritually uplifted.  It was a great spiritual booster and each speaker left me with information that I could apply to my life. I laughed, cried and pondered the things in my heart.  I left there wanting to be better and do more for others.  

Of course we didn't spend all of our time at the convention.  We did a lot of shopping, eating, and staying up until wee hours in the morning talking, giggling, and eating some more!

I came home exhausted, but still rejuvenated and ready to take on the tasks of motherhood once again!  

{Mya turns 3}

Today my little girl turned 3!  She isn't so little anymore but, she will always be my baby girl!  Mya has been anticipating her birthday for weeks.  She would ask me everyday, "Is my birthday today?"  It was so nice when she asked me this morning and I could finally say, "YES!"

Mya came down the stairs and into the kitchen beaming and giggling when she saw the table.  It was finally her day to celebrate!

My kids usually pick out a box of cereal of their choice for their birthday, but since Drew's birthday was just yesterday, I wanted to have something different than Froot Loops.  So her birthday breakfast consisted of donuts and fruit.  All of the kids were pretty excited about yummy donuts and were okay with the change in tradition.

 She picked out her own outfit today.  She said she needed to be in a birthday dress.  I think she looks beautiful!

 She has been asking for a vacuum cleaner since ours broke a month ago and she played with a toy one in the vacuum store.  She loves to clean right beside me and spent the morning vacuuming the floors.  I adore the way this girl works!

 The boys showed Mya how to ride a big girl bike.  She cruised all around the cul-de-sac this morning and raced the boys as they left for school.

She really wanted a birthday party with her friends & I had great intentions of throwing an amazing "Pajama Pancake" party, but it didn't happen.  I needed something easy, so I invited her friends to McDonald's, bought them each a happy meal, let them play, and had cupcakes.  It was simple, yet fun!

Mya is very social for 3 and has lots of little friends who she asks to play with everyday!

 When I asked Mya what little girls she wanted to have at her party, the first name she said was, "Brody!"  Darcy and I are hoping for these two to get married some day!

Wishes were made, candles were blown out, &

gifts were open!

Mya is a little Miss Mom and carries a doll around with her throughout the day.  She only had girl dolls, yet named each of them baby Wyatt after Darcy's baby.  She has a thing for those Patterson boys!    Well Brody and Wyatt gave her a boy doll that she was very excited about!  Its name is....Wyatt!

I Love this picture of Mya with her pink bike!  When I was little I had to ride a blue hand me down bike with a banana seat & my neighbor friend, Jennifer, had a beautiful pink bike.  Of course I was jealous, and made sure Mya had the girly bike I had always wished for!

***I did get my own bike when I was older***

Don't worry mom and dad, I know you made up for it later!

Fun Facts About Mya:

~ She loves Berenstain Bears and often pretends she is Sister Bear and I am her friend Lizzy Bruin.

~ Her favorite Disney Princess is Belle, from "Beauty and the Beast."

~ Her favorite app is, Bake a Cake.

~ She is a little fish and has absolutely no fear of the water.

~ Her favorite food is pizza.

~ She loves playing with her neighborhood friends: Elliot, Makayla, and Luke.

~ She is in ballet and loves to dance.

~ Her favorite color is pink.

~ Words that describe her best: Smart, Kind, Beautiful, Bubbly

~ She is tough and wrestles her brothers to the ground!

~ She is a momma's girl!  Even though Kenny might think differently!

~ She likes to boss her 3 older brothers around....

~ She gets mad, to the point of crying, when the boys say she isn't the mom!

Mya has seriously made my life feel complete!  She is my little angel and I feel so blessed to have her as my daughter.  I love her more than she will ever know!   She is so full of life, making me laugh everyday, she is truly amazing.  My wish for her is to always remember that she is a Daughter of God and to have strong values.  I also hope that she and I will continue to always have a close relationship.  I love you my dearest Mya!!!  xoxo Love, Mom

{Soccer & Pizza Extravaganza}

Today Drew turned 9 years old!!!  Its hard for me to believe that I can have a kid that age.  The years are flying by way to quickly.  I love birthdays!  Its a day to celebrate YOU and that is just what we did, we spent the day honoring our DREWSY!

I like to start the day off right, so we start the morning with presents and a birthday breakfast, which usually consists of a sugary cereal of their choice.  (I only buy sugary cereal on a birthday.)

 He received the whole series of, "Diary of a Wimpy Kid."  His favorite books at the time.

 He was most excited about receiving his first skateboard!

 He kept posing for more pictures, which is very untypical for Drew! 

He cracks me up!

 There he goes...slow & steady!

We celebrated at school with his 39 classmates!  Popsicles were enjoyed by all!

 Drew asked for a soccer party, like we don't get enough of soccer right now, but he's passionate about it, so I took it and ran with it.

 We turned our backyard into a soccer field and the boys played until they were pooped!

(Drew has his tongue out!)

 We love Drew's great group of friends!  He is surrounded by wonderful boys!

 Drew's favorite birthday card of "Diary of a Wimpy Kid" characters from Mese, future illustrator!

Drew asked for pizza's and root beer floats, he is his father's son!  Kenny served the same thing at our wedding reception in Colorado!  Kenny probably would have loved to play soccer there too if I would have allowed it!  The boys inhaled 7 pizzas!  I am amazed how much they can eat.  

Next it was time for the presents!!!!

 Drew's loves include: Street Hockey, Ninjago, & Mario, so he was ecstatic about his gifts!

I love the pizza sauce all around his mouth, his messy hair, and his sweet freckles!  He is all boy!

We ended the party with Root Beer Floats, at his request since he doesn't care for cake.

Its been a wonderful 9 years with this sweet boy!  I love him more than words can say.  He is an inspiration to me and a fighter.  I'm so grateful he was my first baby!  Love you son!

Love, MOM  xoxo

Fun Facts about Drew right now:

Favorite Books:  "Diary of a Wimpy Kid" & "I Survived" series
Favorite App:  Stack the States
Favorite Subject:  Math
Favorite Collections:  Beads
Where he would rather be more than anywhere:  Water Park or Hiking
Favorite People: Mom, I added that one :), Robbie and Mese
Hobbies:  Soccer, Basketball, Maps, Mario
Favorite Food: Corn Dogs
Future Profession:  Fire Fighter
Where he would like to travel:  Canada, to play in the snow
3 Words that Best Describe Drew:  Hustler, Passionate, Loving

{ Little Girls & Puppy-Dog Tails' }

Mya and Elliot wore the cutest tu-tu's to dance.  Mya is in the purple and Elliot in the big pink one.  I love getting Mya ready for dance class every week!  She turns all girly on me and it melts my heart!

  Both girls still love dance and are getting better at listening to the teacher and are improving every week.

Kenny called me during her last dance class and told me that he was going to be performing a c-section on a French Bulldog and asked if I wanted to come and watch.  My kids and I love watching Kenny during surgery, so I jumped at the chance to go and we invited Julia and Elliot to go with us.  We went straight from dance class to the veterinary hospital and arrived just in time.  We made guesses on how many puppies there were.  We all guessed low because it was a small dog, but it ended up having 6!

  This was a first for Julia and Elliot, and Elliot's eyes were very big as Kenny sliced open the dog and started pulling out the uterus!

Ballerina's or Future Veterinarian's??????

 Puppy #1

 The girls were in awe the minute they were handed the new little pup!

 Getting a closer look at the wrinkly little face!

 Mya would have loved to take the puppy home, but I know how quickly they get big and we do not need 4 dogs!  I think Julia and Elliot should have taken it instead!

{Soccer Saturday}

Drew, Ian, & Owen are all playing soccer this season.  Each of them are in a different division, which means our week is filled with soccer practices and our Saturdays are spent at the soccer field.  Yesterday our morning started at the soccer field at 7:30 am and did not end until 3:30 pm.  We had four games and pictures, so it made for a long day, but we all love it!

Today was the first day I took pictures of the boys playing.  I was cracking up as I viewed all 130 + pictures.  In almost every shot the boys are all sticking out their tongues!  I never realized this and I love that all of them do it!  Its our Summers soccer trademark!  This is the best one of Owen showing his tongue!  He had just eaten a lifesaver, so the red tongue really sticks out!

Drew, team Galaxy, with his tongue out! 

Drew had an emotional second game.  His team was down 1-0 in the second half if their second game when Drew appeared to have scored. However, the linesman said the ball never fully crossed the goal line so the celebration stopped (Kenny couldn't tell- it was very close and was in the keeper's arms). Drew was livid. He began to cry and wanted to be subbed out. Kenny went to the sideline and gave him some water and spent the next 30 seconds encouraging, pleading, begging, and ultimately threatening him to stay in and keep trying. It took another minute for him to actually start playing hard but he seemed to rally. A few minutes later he scored another goal and started another celebration- unfortunately he was offside (he still doesn't know what that is) and the goal was negated. Fortunately there were only a few tears and he kept playing. Kenny and I and all the team parents kept encouraging him to try hard and get his goal back. Like a Hollywood story he scored again a few minutes later- no problems this time. Everyone was pumped and his teammates gave him lots of high fives. He came to the side just a minute later for the end of the quarter and Kenny asked him if he was excited. He wasn't- he was still mad about his goals being taken away. He replied, "The score should be 3-1!". Typical Drew.  We were very proud that he kept trying and hopefully he learned a good lesson on never giving up.

Drew scored a goal in this shot!

 He was pretty pleased with their double win yesterday, scoring in each game!

 Ian, team "The Bombs, " with his tongue out!

 I love this shot of Ian right after he kicked the ball.  He has such long legs and big feet for his age.

 He made four goals yesterday and has led his team to the last two victories!

Owen, team "The Mighty Dragons," with his tongue out!

 Owen last year was the kid doing somersaults on the field and picking at the grass.  This year he is much more aggressive and not afraid to take some cheap shots!  He totally racked this kid!

 In this division they do not have goalies, but he sure would like to be one! 

I love watching my boys play soccer.  Kenny always brings me a chair to sit in, but I never sit.  I am pacing the sidelines cheering them on as loudly as I can.  I am definitely a soccer mom, toting my kids from field to field in our mini van and I LOVE IT!!!!