The Bug turns 2

 My baby turned 2!

 Keira's birthday is so close to the 4th of July so we had a patriotic theme this year.  Several of the kids also came dressed in red, white, and blue.  I tried to curb my party planning just a little because Travis always thinks I go overboard. 

 We had her party at the park by our house and we let the kids play on the playground for awhile before we let Keira open presents.  The adorable pink sofa she is sitting on was a gift from her grandma and a couple of her aunts. 

 We had cupcakes and rootbeer floats while watching fireworks.  We waited as long as we could but we didn't want to keep everyone out too late so Fireworks were done in twilight. 

 We also brought sparklers for all the kids and from the look on Keira's face it's hard to tell if she loved it or was afraid of it. 

 I also had glow sticks and necklaces for the kids as well.

  I love being able to get together with friends and family and birthdays are a good excuse to do just that.  I'm so glad that even though Travis thinks I go overboard, he still lets me do these every year. 

Fun in the Sun

 Some of my favorite days are in the summer where we didn't really do anything but have a little fun outside.  The kids wanted to blow bubbles so I let them loose and grabbed my camera.  Alex and Keria went with traditional bubble wands but Austin, always the inventor, tried to think up something new.

 I'm not sure it ever made any bubbles but he had a lot of fun inventing it.  He used rope, a play gun, and a bubble accessory piece. 

                              I love these kids so much!!  I wouldn't trade them for anything!

Preschool Graduation

 Alex's Graduation theme this year was "Night Among the Stars".  They had the cutest little program where they sang songs about the things they learned and and they got to say what they wanted to be when they grew up.  I had been at the church most of the day with Krissi and Carol setting up and doing a dress rehearsal with the kids but for some reason I mixed up Austin and Alex's graduation times and we showed up about 20 min. late. Alex slipped right into his place though like it wasn't a big deal. 

 At the end of the program all of the big kids lined up at the back of the gym and when Krissi called their name they got to walk down the red carpet and receive their diploma. 

 

  Everyone was all smiles and once everyone had their diploma they got to throw their caps in the air.

We pinned the work they had done throughout the year up on the walls and they had the books they worked on as well.  Alex had fun showing off what he had worked on to his grandparents and Aunts and Uncles, we had a great night celebrating Alex's achievements.  Still hard to believe that he will be in Kindergarten.

2nd Grade End of Year Program

Austins program this year was Proud to be an American. He worked so hard to learn all the songs and the actions. They told the kids that if anyone in their family was military they could invite them. After the first song, they invited current and past military up and they sang a song to them. It was so cute! Austin invited his Uncle Ben to his program so he got to sing to him. They sang the national anthem, God Bless America, Yankee Doodle, My Country Tis' of Thee, and several more. They also did a slide show of all the kids ancestors during a couple of the songs. After the program Austin got to go back to his classroom and get cookies and punch, and of course take a picture with his teacher.

Austin's Baptism

On April 30, 2011 Austin was baptized as a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints.
I can't believe I am old enough to have a child baptized! Austin had so much support from family, friends, and ward members.
Lindsey, Austin's aunt, played the piano for us, and his Grandma Carpenter led the music. His grandfathers both gave talks about baptism and the gift of the holy ghost, and his Grandma Gray gave one of the prayers. Austin listened to everything that was said and gave answers when he was asked.
Sometimes when you least expect it something comes completely out of the blue. Here is a little backs story:
Last Christmas we did a white elephant exchange with Travis' family. I was the lucky winner of adult size batman underwear, yay!
So, the bishop was talking to Austin about being a member of the church and what an honor it was. Austin decided this was the perfect time to tell the Bishop and EVERYONE in the primary room that his mom had batman underwear. I was so embarrassed! I was bright red and couldn't say a thing. It's a very good thing that our bishop is a good friend of our because if not we may have been called in to answer a few question.
After Austin was baptized and confirmed we all went to eat at Golden Corral. Austin loves this place because he can eat as much as he wants and it's all free. . . haha

Easter Egg Hunts 2011

This was Keira's first year being able to hunt in the city egg hunt. It was so much fun watching her!! She decided before the horn went off that she wanted a purple egg. She went and picked up several eggs but if they were not purple she just put them back down and kept looking. She did end up getting one egg . . . and it was purple :). The boys ran right out to the middle and picked up as many eggs as they could. I love this picture of Keira looking at Austin's basket. I can just see her thought bubble . ~Oh, that's what you're supposed to do!~ Sunday morning before church our kids got to see what the Easter Bunny hid for them. This time, with a little help from dad, Keira got more than one egg.

A Very Harry Birthday

Austin decided he wanted a Harry Potter birthday this year. I started my research early and got a lot of great ideas. I made his invitations look like a Hogwarts letter. We told the kids that they were invited to Hogwarts for special midterm classes for Austin's birthday.
Travis and I were different professors and the kids had to go to classes. They started out in the Great Hall and got their instructions and were sorted into their houses. This was my favorite part because the kids couldn't figure out how the hat was talking to them. I made the hat myself out of brown felt and then I hid a cell phone underneath it. Travis started out upstairs and when they walked up to the hat he would start talking. He then would put them in a house. As soon as everyone was sorted I grabbed the phone and put it away. The kids kept coming up to the hat and asking it things and even checked underneath. But, I told them the hat only comes to life during the sorting. So, after the sorting they had to go to Potions with Prof. Snape, Divination with Prof. Trelawny, Care of Magical Creatures with Hagrid, and Transfiguration with Prof. McGonagall. After attending each class and earning (or losing) house points we had the end of term feast. We had butterbeer (cream soda), licorice wands, bertie botts every flavor beans, cockroach clusters (chocolate covered peanuts), acid pops (s0ur candies), lemon drops, and everyone got a cauldron cake (a chocolate cupcake with icing, hot fudge, and caramel) everyone had to cast a spell on their cauldron cake before eating it and then they popped and fizzed in their mouth (poprocks sprinkled on top of each cake). Austin had a blast opening presents and getting a lot of Harry Potter themed items.