Memorial day traditions

We celebrated Memorial day on Monday May 29th.  It was nice having my Dad's cousins Jamie, Jenny, and Jessica with us this year.  

One of the highlights for Kev and the kids is the free pop that Larkin cemetery gives out.

Aunt Amy brought crayons and paper for the kids to do chalk rubbings of the graves.  I heard some stories about my Great Grandma Orlean and Great Uncle Wright that I had never heard before.

We had our traditional lunch at Olive Garden which we all enjoy.  Mike and Scott were carrying on the tradition of blowing their straws at each other.  My Great Grandma Mildred did this at a restaurant once and when her straw wrapper hit another couple she blamed it on my Dad!

We met up with Kev's parents after lunch at the Sandy cemetery.  It was nice to sit and reminisce about Grandma and Grandpa Foster.  We miss them but are glad that our older kids remember them.

We stopped by to see Grandpa and Mable in Provo.  It was nice to see them and hear what they have been up to lately.  They always enjoy seeing the kids and talking with them.  I am grateful that my Grandpa's health has been better lately and we still get to spend time with him.

We went up to the cemetery to visit the graves of my Mom and Grandma.  Addy ran around fixing all the flowers that had tipped over.

There were lots of flowers on both my Mom and Grandma's graves.  It had also been my Mom's birthday three days earlier on the 26th.  She would have been 58 years old.   I miss her everyday!

Parker's 6th grade graduation

Parker graduated from 6th grade on Thursday May 25th!  

Mr. Larson was his teacher this year.  He gave his students motivation to do their best.  

Mckenna was finished up with school and able to come cheer Parker on at his graduation.

I love my Parker boy and am proud of all the good things he is doing with his life.

Kev worked from home that morning and was also able to be there for Parker's graduation.

The school made this memory sheet for all the sixth grade students.  It is missing his Kindergarten picture because the school didn't open until the year he went into first grade.  It was fun to look back at all the pictures and see how much he has grown over the years.  Parker got invited to four different graduation parties.  I am glad that he is a good friend to so many others.  I am also looking forward to the great experiences he will have in Junior High.

Girls night out!

On Friday May 19th Kev and the boys went to Father's and sons so we had a Girls night!  We went to Kneaders to eat dinner.

Mckenna convinced me afterwards to let her practice driving.  I can't believe she is almost fifteen and old enough to get her learners permit.  I let her drive the Yukon around the church parking lot.  She did really well for it only being her first time.  I was only freaked out once while she was driving.

We went back home, climbed in my bed and watched "Wild Hearts Can't be Broken".  It is one of our favorites.  I love having fun with my beautiful daughters!

Preschool graduation

Our little Addy graduated from Little Scholars preschool on Wednesday May 17th.  I can't believe that our youngest child is done with preschool now.

They had an adorable graduation program.  Addy asked the audience to "please stand for the pledge of allegiance".  She also took her turn reading a book to the audience.  Her book was "I love Fall".

Addy's friend Mccoy was sick that morning so he was not there to help sing the song with her.  I was so nervous for her to sing it alone.  She was brave and sang her first solo in front of an audience.  She sang a song about Penelope Pig and amazed us all.

  

They sang another song about letters from the alphabet.

Mrs. S. went around the room and told fun memories about each of the kids.  It was the sweetest and I started to tear up when she was talking about Addy.

Andrea is our friend and neighbor as well as Addy's teacher.  I am glad she was her teacher this year and all that she taught her.

Kev worked from home that morning so he could be there for Addy's big day.  We love our Addy baby!

Grandma Loni also came to show her love for Addy.  She gave her some pink carnations and M&M's Addy was very excited about the flowers and instructed me on putting them in a vase when we got home.

One of Addy's best friends at school this year was Sloane.  It was a memorable day!

Mother's Day!

I had a really nice Mother's day!  I was pleasantly surprised when the kids brought me breakfast in bed.  This is a big deal since we have 8:30 a.m. church.

I always love receiving the cards and gifts that the kids make me each year.  Addy answered these questions about me at preschool.  The best one was, what is her favorite thing to do.  Addy told her teacher "exercise and shower"! I laughed a lot when I read that.  I understand why she answered with that.  When I would pick her up from preschool she would ask me what I did while she was at school.  I am sure I mostly answered with I exercised and showered.  I also got to go to the Ma Spa earlier in the week with  Halle.  She did a great job painting my fingernails, massaging my hands with lotion, and doing an art project for me.  It was a memorable gift!

It was extra nice that Kev didn't have any Sunday meetings and was able to spend the majority of the day with us.  I appreciated him taking all these pictures of the kids and I. One of my favorite quotes by Russel M. Ballard says, "The JOY in MOTHERHOOD comes in moments.  There will be hard times and frustrating times, but amid the challenges there are shining moments of joy and satisfaction."  I feel that love and joy as I watch my kids grow, develop their talents, and make righteous choices.  I love my kids and love being their Mom!

Kev worked hard all day cooking a delicious feast for us. We bought a Traeger grill a month earlier.  It was worth every penny we spent.  I requested pork ribs for dinner.

We had Kev's parents, Spencer, Loni, and Kayley over for dinner that night.  The food was delicious!  It was our first time smoking potatoes and they were extra good.  It was also nice weather and we were able to eat out on the deck.

Tale as old as time

Parker tried out for the school play again this year and it made it into their production of Beauty and the Beast.  He got the part of a hat seller!  The whole family came to see him perform on Friday May 12th.

We love to watch Parker perform and get into his character.  He had a few lines in the village scene at the beginning.

My favorite scene he was in was the one with Gaston. At one point, Gaston bites Parker and he screams loud!  It made me laugh every time!

Brekke and her kids came to watch the play with me on Monday which was the closing night.  We had great front row seats both nights.

Halle had fun taking some pictures of Arwen and Schaeffer during the intermission.

The sets were as incredible as always.  Halle wanted her picture taken by the enchanted rose.

Parker with his friends after the show.  They always sign autographs after the show and take pictures with all the kids.

Parker getting his picture with his friends who were Mrs. Potts and Cogsworth.

A big thank you to Mr. Smith for another awesome production at their school.

It was a little sad knowing that this was the last time Parker would perform at his school.  I can't believe he is almost through with sixth grade.  He was in four plays during grades 3-6th.  We took a picture of him posing by some of the posters.  I am so glad that he has been developing his talent and having great experiences performing!

Milestones for Mckenna!

Mckenna got her braces off on May 9, 2017!!  She had been looking forward to this day for over four years.

Addy told her to open up her mouth so she could see her teeth.

I love this picture of both my youngest and oldest daughters.  Mckenna told me that she just couldn't stop smiling.  All those years in braces were worth it.  One kids done with braces and four more to go.

Mckenna also had a 9th grade recognition night.  She was recognized for her 4.0 GPA!  

We are so proud of her and how hard she works at school.  She is growing up to be such a beautiful young women!

The Little Mermaid

The girls had their dance performance on Saturday May 6th!  They performed in Sebastian's tale of The Little Mermaid.  I love to see my girls perform!

Addy was so excited to perform on the stage at Kenna's school.  She had been talking about it for weeks.

She danced to the song Best Friends Forever from the Lego Friends movie.  She did a great job and was one of the few that remembered all the moves.

She had dance pictures taken a couple months earlier and they turned out darling.  She loves to wear her costume and makeup.

Miss Blayke was her creative dance teacher this year!  She is the best teacher and always choreographs great dances.  Her daughter Maddix was also in Addy's class.

Halle danced to the movie Zootopia's theme song.  She took a Jazz class this year.

I took these pictures at the dress rehearsal.  We couldn't find her Jazz shoes anywhere that night.  Luckily, we found them before the performance.

Halle also is a great performer.  I could tell her technique has improved a lot this year.  She had Miss Jessica for a teacher.  She is also looking so grown up with makeup on.

We took some pictures after the show.  The sets were amazing and creative as always.  We gave the girls both some flowers.

The girls were happy to get hugs after the show from their grandparents.

The Waffle Love truck just happened to be in our neighborhood that day for a multi family yard sale.  We were all excited since it is our favorite.  

We even had earned a free one with our stamp card.  I love my girls and it makes me happy they are developing their talent of dance!