Avery's 4th Birthday

The teddy bears I made for Avery and Mikaya for their B-days. The little one is Avery's.







Goo goo goggles is what Avery calls swim goggles. She has been asking for some for a long time. (so she can see under the water when she swims)





An afghan my mom made for Avery. It will definitely get a lot of use!








Avery is 4 now!! A long time ago I told Avery that she could chew gum when she was four. It seemed like a good number that was pretty far away at the time. She of course remembered and it was one of the first things she asked to do, after she woke up, on her birthday. We had a family party, but before that one of Avery's friends(Ryan) brought over a picture he had made and a flower for the b-day girl. He's got the right idea and at such a young age!

Avery also got to talk to her grandmas and grandpas on her b-day. While talking to Grandpa Paul she said, "I wish I could play with you because I haven't seen you for a long time!" Thank you for the cute dresses, shoes, Go-Fish game, afghan, cards, hair accessories from Grandma & Grandpa Minton, Grandma Sandi & Grandpa Paul, Grandma Montelius, and G&G Rands.

Happy Birthday Avery! We love you so much! You are so spunky and sweet!

Sympathy Straight to Selfishness

The other day Avery said, "Daddy, I'm sorry you got sick........because I don't want to get sick from you."
But, in her defense she does regularly say to other people, "I'm sorry you got hurt. I know how you feel." So sweet.

When you are with good friends anything can be fun, even hanging out in a closet with a flashlight.






Last year we had some good friends come and visit from Indiana and we had a blast. This year we were lucky enough again to have some more of our good family friends come out to visit. We didn't let the lack of sun slow us down. The little girls had fun swimming, dressing up, dancing, and playing together. They even got to have a "sleepover". We all had so much fun, just like old times. We miss our wonderful friends we have made and love to get to spend time together when we can!

Avery brushes up on her surfing skills.








Curtis took half a day off to go to the zoo with us. We saw the butterflies again and the girls were so happy to spend the morning, during the week, with their dad.









EASTER EGG HUNT/PARTY- The kids had to race with the balloons between their knees and then sit on them, popping them at the end. Avery opted out on the popping because she was scared, but I think the race helped her to know that balloons really aren't soooo scary. Thanks Jessica for throwing a fun Easter party!






Mikaya watches how the big kids do it and then thinks, "I think holding onto the egg will give me just the advantage I need to win this race."







Mikaya is very determined to win the sack race too!






My friend Jessica made delicious and fun ice cream cones made out of cake. So clever!





Beach buckets worked well for Easter baskets and now I don't have to worry about storing huge baskets until next year(with our limited space).

Avery Shows how to Share and to Love

How to Love- Just the other night, Avery woke up at 5:00 a.m. and I said, "Oh Avery, it's not time to wake up yet. You need to go back to your bed and go back to sleep." Avery said, "But, I love you!" I said, "If you love me you will let me sleep and go back to your room." She immediately replied, "Then, I don't love you. Can I stay!?" Even though I was so tired, I had to laugh.

How to Share- I told Avery that if she finished all of her cantaloupe, she could have a little ice cream. She started eating it again and then gave some to me. I said, "Oh no, you have to eat ALL of it to get ice cream." She smiled and sang, "Remember, it's always more fun to share with everyone!"






Mikaya's Birthday! She is our little sweetie!







Going to the library.








Finding ladybugs at the baseball park.








Pure determination.









Playing at the park.

Awhile back, (It took me awhile to get the pictures off of Coral's camera) we visited Aunt Bea while they were vacationing here. It was nice to visit with her. We hadn't seen her since we left Payson over three years ago. She is such a sweet, funny, and happy person! Amazingly, she is almost 100 years old! I'm glad we had the chance to sit and talk to her and enjoy her company.

We went to the aquarium on Saturday.



Pretending to be sharks...








It seemed as though Avery had some kind of strange connection to this cool orange and white fish. It just kept looking at her.









We took Avery, Coral, and Mikaya back to the wonderful Mexican restaurant for my birthday. Amazingly, the little ones ate tons!






To be a kid again!




We took the kids to the zoo last Saturday. (We are still trying to learn how to use our new camera. It's just a digital, but has options to set aperture and shutter speed)