Wesley Celebrates #4

Last Monday the 9th Wesley turned 4. It's hard to believe that we had him not quite a year after we moved here and he is already 4. We tried to make his birthday fun, even though he came down with a fever that afternoon and wasn't feeling well. (Ellie also got a fever that day.) Wesley is the testosterone we need in our family. He loves to wrestle with anyone who will take him on (and sometimes with those who don't) and do all things boy. He is also very curious and is always asking questions about things. You never have to wonder if he is around, he talks a lot and most of the time very loudly. We love you Wes and are glad you are part of our family!

Wes continued the new tradition it seems we have started this year of getting to open a present first thing in the morning.

He had picked this "How to Train a Dragon" toy out a few weeks before, but didn't know I bought it. He's already lost parts of it, but has loved playing with it.

To my surprise he changed his mind about a Lightening McQueen cake and asked for a cat cake instead. Actually it was easier for me, so I didn't mind at all. Didn't know he cared for cats.

The presents had to be opened before the cake and ice cream. He just couldn't wait!

Make a wish!

He did it!

Our little batman...he got this dress up for his birthday. It's a little big, but he'll grow into it.

Spring Sing

Never knew how fun it could be to watch a boy perform in a preschool program. He had so much energy and just couldn't keep from playing with the kids around him. That must be why they sat him on the end of the row near the teacher. He was seriously so much fun to watch. If I had ever had success uploading a video to blogger, I would try to do the one of his performance. Unfortunately, you will just have to deal with some still pictures Reili and Amberly took of him. Some of them are a little fuzzy due to the closeness and lack of light involved.

This is Elizabeth in my room like 2 minutes before we left for the performance. She is in a phase where when we take out the camera she knows it's time to laugh and giggle. I just love it, but I know it will be a different story in a few months so I have to capture it.

Wow....singing and doing the actions!

Hmmmm.....digging for a prize?

Near the end he settled down and even started to look a little tired. Boy, a performance of that magnitude can really take a lot out of you!

Wes's art after the show. Not quite sure what his Dad needs rings for?

Another picture one of the girls got right after we got home from the show. See...she totally hams it up for the camera. What a doll!

Easter and Spring Dresses

I put some of these pictures on facebook, but decided I better document here as well. One of our main Easter activities was an Egg Hunt the Wednesday before Easter at some friends in the ward. I forgot the camera because we were already late having drive Reili to dance right before. They live a ways out of town and I forgot it would take extra time to get there. We were 15 minutes late so the kids only got to "hunt" for a few left overs. Luckily some of the other kids were willing to share the bounty. My friend also had her iPhone with her and was able to take a couple shots of my kids (I think I really need an iPhone...they come in so handy!).

Elizabeth was a big fan of their old dog, who put up with her "loving" extremely patiently.

Too busy having fun and eating candy to look at the camera, this is the best we could do.

Sunday after church I came home and grabbed the camera to get a few shots of the girls in their dresses. We were all hungry and they had to wait to eat until they took their dresses off. I was surprised these turned out so well and that they were good-natured enough to "pose" for me. Ellie started crying when I put her down, but started smiling as soon as the camera came out (love that phase, doesn't last long). The pictures turned out a lot better than I thought they would. If it were me waiting to eat lunch as a kid, I could hardly have stood it. Wesley didn't get any new church clothes for spring and was not interested in being in the pictures, so you won't see him hear. He was probably the one wining in the background for food. Luckily still shots don't have background noise.

Bugs Perform

Amberly had her cute little kindergarten musical performance last week. The theme was a picnic and all the kids were dressed up as bugs going to the picnic. Amberly was a ladybug. Unfortunately, I could only get one good picture because it was dark and afterwords they took all the costumes off before we could get pictures. I was so proud of Amberly. She usually refuses to perform in front of people at all, but she did it this time. She was so cute too!

Cats Party at the Park

We celebrated Amberly's Birthday with her friends on April 8th. She requested a cat birthday cake (who even knew she liked cats that much?...not me). So I took that and made it the theme for her party. There were plenty of ideas on line and that helped a lot. I was worried about it raining since we were having the party at the park, but it turned out to be the opposite problem. It was 90 degrees that day and the party was at 1:30 in the afternoon. It felt sweltering because we weren't used to that heat yet. Luckily it was very windy (and unluckily because we couldn't get the decorations to stay up) and that helped it not be completely unbearable. I believe all the kids had fun....I was lucky enough to have some friends and neighbors there to help when I needed it. I can't lie...I'm glad it's over. Maybe that is why it has taken so long to post about it.

The cake I stayed up til 1 a.m. decorating (but we also had 2 showings that next morning that I was cleaning for too). Thank goodness my friend Hannah came to help me.

Amberly was happy with her cake, which made it all worth it.

All the cats playing "Cat, Cat, Mouse".

One of the cutest cats ever!

Time for cake!

One of the biggest requests was for a pinata. There weren't any in the shape of a cat, so we had to settle for a Lion. Amberly gets all ready to slam it here.

The loot!