WYATT

Boys will be boys, gotta love that dirt! (I shouldn't buy him white anymore...)

PIANO RECITAL

Ashtin and Cortnee had a piano recital on Monday evening at a friends house. We are all LDS, so it was our Family Home Evening for the night. (We'll call the lesson theme "cultivating talents"!) They each performed two songs and both Ashtin and Cortnee were fabulous. Our talented friend Tammy started teaching them a few months ago and she lives close so it is super convenient! Ashtin has taken piano for almost six years and Cortnee is just starting her 3rd year of lessons. Abby would like to start soon- maybe in a year...

Honey the Hamster

At the beginning of June, Ashtin's beloved hamster (Honey) passed on. He was an awesome little rodent, I must say. Memories of honey... Taking him to the vet ($75) when 3 mos. old to see what some bumps were on his sides. Diagnosed with possible kidney disease, suggested to have a "biopsy". Telling Ashtin that there will be no biopsy for her little critter and that he may pass on soon! Defying the "inbreeding" odds and living over a year more, very happy at that. Making mazes for him, as well as "houses" out of Lincoln Logs. Honey chewing through his wire cage enough to escape and go on an adventure. Highlight of his adventure was finding a whole pile of fishy crackers that Wyatt had "spilled" in Ashtin's room and stuffing his cheeks with them so full that once found, looked like he would explode!! But the best memory of all came after his passing when at Primary a couple of Sundays ago, once the children were asked if anyone had a "family" member pass away, Abby of course said "Honey, our hamster." (Not quite what the primary president was looking for, as she was was discussing "families are forever"). Honey joins 2 hermit crabs and 2 beta fish in our "pet cemetery".

CORTNEE

Cortnee had a great time a few weeks ago at a Daddy/Daughter activity, she and Ryan got to decorate a cake. As you can see, they went with an "Under The Sea" theme. Doesn't she look great with her new haircut and her fabulous cake?

SUMMER HAIRCUTS

So Cortnee and I had our hair cut, and Now I took Wyatt and Seth in for Summer cuts. Wyatt's is pretty thick and grows so fast and Seth, well he was pretty much a hippie (which based on an earlier post, works for some of us)! Anyway, here are some pics. I am including a before and after of Seth because it was only his 2nd haircut ever. I'm also including a curled version on mine. Also to note: About 2 1/2 months ago, Abby had 6 inches cut off into a bob as well- I will try to find a decent photo of her soon!

My Girls

OK, so I think I should be fired as the Mom (or maybe just stop having more kids). I forgot to pick-up Abby at the bus today, her last day of Kindergarten- how lame is that? No really, we (Ryan, Wyatt, Seth, and I) were a bit distracted because we had just gotten home from the school for Ashtin's 6th grade graduation assembly and then we attended a class BBQ that Cortnee's teacher put on right after gathering Abby up (late), it was a pretty crazy day. I will try to redeem myself by saying we (probably Ryan) must be doing something right because Ashtin got two amazing awards today at the assembly. Here comes the bragging... One was an Education Excellence award that Pres. Bush had signed, based on test scores, maintaining at least a 90% on all tests and assignments since third grade, and showing other academic growth. She was one of three sixth graders to recieve one. If that was not enough, she also was awarded the one and only plaque for the Hilltop Elementary Character Education award for this year! (Which means that all the school staff voted and agreed that she should recieve it). We have been soooo blessed with fabulous teachers and even more fabulous kids. I tried super hard not to cry when we were called up for a photo, as to embarass Ashtin- she is twelve, ya know! Here are various photos from today at the school- notice we are dressed for winter weather.... Ahhhhh, where is the sun???

SAY IT SIMPLY

Ok, so those of you who do not know what the business is that Ryan and I started, here is my little plug: it is called Say It Simply Decorative Lettering. We started it almost 3 years ago and I realize that the product is completely over saturated in Utah, but we have a fantastic website and do web sales all over this country and Canada. We also have a custom feature where the customer can completely design their own Saying (thanks to Ryan's brain and a fantastic web developer overseas). We also have a "Virtual Open House" option for those who aren't into in-home demonstrations, but want to share Say It Simply with family and friends throughout the US and Canada. Additionally, we have another website locally for the Seattle area. We customize couples' weddings with vows, or a couple verses from "their" song, etc. as well as corporate events and other venues. We do custom logos for companies througout the country and meet locally with community churches and also offer school fundraiser options (usually a school mascot with the school name for the back window of a vehicle. And finally, we have some of our most popular pre-designed Sayings for re-sale in a hand-full of gift shops in the Lynnwood/Bothell area of Washington state, and in my brother's Candy Bouquet store in Centerville, UT. (Cool store, check it out- by the Papa Murphy's on Main Street!) Ok, one more thing; if you watch the video preview, please keep in mind that we were trying to cut costs by me being the "actress" and our house being the "set". The video was filmed a few months ago and I have to say that I have lost 10 pounds since then. -It takes longer each baby :-), however, I never lose it all in my cheeks- it's a curse! So, check out our web sites: http://www.sayitsimply.com/ and our events web site, http://www.sayitsimplyevents.com/

More memories of May...

OK, so there are a few more things to mention that happened in May (besides 2 birthdays). First of all, May 1st I chopped all of my hair off (well not me, but my stylist :) ). I had her cut it into an inverted bob, she cut a total of about 10 inches. I had wanted to donate it to locks of love, but didn't realize that you couldn't even have a couple of hightlights in it in order to do that. It was even super healthy with no split-ends, so their loss! I do love it for a change, however and Seth can no longer yank it! Also, Cortnee followed suit by cutting off 8 inches (also into a bob), it's cute! I did make her wait until after her dance recital, which brings me to the next big event to mention. Abby and Cortnee danced on May 17th in their annual recital. I took a couple of pics of Abby's class. She looks short because she is the only Kindergartener in a class with 1st and 2nd graders, but of course she holds her own. Abby and Cortnee both did Jazz dances and did awesome! Cortnee also auditioned for her elementary school variety show and performed a jazz lyrical dance that she choreographed herself and had the whole school amazed. As soon as I can, I will post some video footage of the dancing. Cortnee was on a competition dance team last year, and misses it. It was a lot of work (nevermind the price) and very time consuming, but she is a fantastic dancer! I will soon post highlights of each of our kids with various photos from the past couple of years. Also to note: the girls had fun pampering their dad today!

'68 is great!

So, I may digress in timing on this blog because I believe there to be noteworthy happenings from the past several months, some of which were before this blog was created. With that being said, in April, Ryan and I went to a 40th surprise birthday party for a friend and the theme was '68 is great, because that was the year she was born. So, with that theme, it was mandatory for us to dress in '60's garb for admittance. It was a pretty far out, groovy party- just see for yourself!These are photos from the "rockin' out bash, ya know?" OK, so Ryan is more like a mix between 60's and 70's, and I just went "shopping" in my closet, I guess I have some pretty righteous threads in there! People really got into it, it was pretty hilarious! Ashtin and Cortnee asked if we used to dress like that, and we had to quickly remind them that we were actually born in the early 70's, and pretty much remember mostly the "rad" 80's! (Besides the fact that their father never dressed like a used car salesman).

May Birthdays!

This month has been super busy. Wyatt turned 4, yes that's right, 4 (dab my eye) on May 14th. He had a Thomas the Tank Engine theme all the way around (cake, party decor, gifts, etc..) On May 26th, Seth turned 1! (Sniff, sniff, dab, dab). He loved all the attention and the cake, as well as his main gift- a Little Tikes toddler swing for the playset in the backyard. Also, Mother's day consisted of breakfast in bed, and lots of priceless homemade gifts!! I think the highlight of the month for me, was a complimentary dinner cruise on Lake Washington/Lake Union in Downtown Seattle. A client of ours through our business, sent us. It was a very unusually warm evening and very clear skies, we could even see Mount Ranier from the water. The food was fabulous- 5 course meal, it will be a fabulous memory with my best friend!