Mom's Birthday

I started out my day by getting a pedicure while my sweet friend, Susan watched Hazel and Brigham went to pre-school.  So nice.

I got to have lunch with two of my favorite AZ friends, Susan Hancock and Carol Konopnicki.  It was so nice to enjoy a couple of hours of great conversation with two of my favorite people while the kids played in Susan's backyard.  So sad that I forgot to get my camera out of my purse though:(

Emma had two concerts that night, one for orchestra and one with Bulldog Express.  Two of my awesome young women, Courtney and Kamryn Curtis, watched the rest of the kids so that I could go and support Emma.  I love these girls.  They not only did a great job with the kids, but they cleaned up the kitchen and gave the kids a bath.  Thanks girls!

I felt so loved on my birthday.  I joked to Ben that he should leave me alone and pregnant on my birthday more often (lol).  I had not one, but two birthday cakes.  The girls made the pink one over at Eliza's friend Madison's house and were so excited to give it to me.  Ben's Aunt Ruth brought the other cake along with a delicious dinner and beautiful flowers.

All in all, it was pretty great day!

Brigham's 5th Birthday

My cute little Brigham turned 5 today!  He was so sweet, when I asked him what he wanted for his birthday breakfast he said he wanted "marshmallow cereal".  It was actually quite a relief for his nine-month-pregnant-mommy-with-no-hubby. Marshmallow cereal...no problem!

He got to open one present in the morning--Star Wars guys!

Brigham wanted to take "chocolate cupcakes with mint frosting" to pre-school for his birthday treat.  He's a boy after my own heart:)

We went to McDonald's for a fun birthday lunch.

Brigham loves monster trucks.  He got this semi-truck filled with monster trucks

and a cool new knight costume.

Cinco De Mayo

Rachel participated with the whole first grade in a Cinco De Mayo Celebration.  They sang two Spanish songs and did two Spanish dances.  It was pretty adorable and she did great!

Ruth Powell Family Carnival

 We went to a family carnival at the girls' school on Monday.

Hazel and Brigham playing BINGO.

Emma, Hazel and Rachel getting their nails painted by the first grade teachers, Mrs. Garcia and Mrs. Chavez.

Emma with her face painted.

The girls showing off their awesome hair-dos.

Eliza with her friend, Hannah.

Eliza's 9th Birthday

We celebrated another birthday for our sweet Eliza Beth this week. We love this girl so much and are so glad to have her in our family!

Eliza requested cinnamon rolls for her birthday breakfast.

In celebration of Eliza's 9th birthday, we checked her out of school for a special birthday lunch at KFC (her choice). Eliza thought it was so cool that she got to leave school to go to lunch--Brigham, Hazel and mommy liked it too!

Eliza got this pretty necklace from her bff, Madison.

These are all presents from Madison too. (Isn't this girl so photogenic?)

And last, but not least, a chocolate bunny (also from Madison). Can you tell she likes it?Eliza also got the Dork Diaries books from mom and dad.And some Polly Pocket stuff from mom and dad.

Here's all the kids enjoying Eliza's birthday presents. She got a pool for Polly Pockets and they've all been in my bathroom everyday since playing with it. Fun times!

Unfortunately, Eliza started feeling icky shortly after she got home from school (notice the yellow puke bowl in the pictures). It didn't put too much of a damper on things though and she was still able to mostly enjoy her birthday. We also had about 20 mutual kids over for cake later on that night (it was a progressive dinner and our house was the last stop). What a party!

Easter and moving!

We are excited to be embarking on a brand new adventure. We will be moving (again) to Oxnard, CA! This was kind of a scary decision to make since I never in my life imagined we would be moving to southern California, but we feel very strong that it's what the Lord wants our family to do right now. And I know our family will be blessed for doing His will.

In light of our impending move, we had a nice, but very hectic Easter weekend. Ben has been working like a madman trying to get everything done before he leaves next weekend. We did have a delicious Easter dinner with Matt and Nikki, David and Ruth and fam over at the Van Scoyk's house. We are going to miss all of them so much and have enjoyed having them close by!

Science Fair

Emma and Eliza participated in their first ever Science Fair this year. It turned out to be a fun experience and only a little stressful for mom;)

Eliza chose to grow sugar crystals for her science project. We experimented with using different types of sugars (brown, powdered, granulated) and different types of flavoring (cinnamon and lime). The best part for Eliza: she got to eat her project when the science fair was over!

Emma worked with her friend Becca Clark on an experiment where they tested the difference between baking soda and baking powder. They made three different batches of muffins: one made with baking powder only, one made with baking soda only and one made with both. The muffins were yummy and the results were really interesting. Even I learned something!Overall, I'd say our first science fair was a success and they both did a great job!