Happy Birthday Kevi!!!! We love birthdays at our house!!

Me and my mom and dad went in a gave him a grill. He was surprised he had no idea it was coming. He was also very excited! He has made some good grub since his birthday so we all have benefited from this gift. Kev we sure do love you and are so grateful you are who you are!Happy Birthday!!!!

Spirit Week It was so fun to do spirit week this year because all three kids were able to participate.
Decades day for Abi (she was the 70's) and sports day for the boys.

Decades day for Mac he went as the 50's. It was so funny because I slicked back his hair then when I saw him again it was messed up. I asked him if he messed it up, "Yes" was his reply. He was worried that people would make fun of him because it looked funny, "What" he is in 2nd grade and a boy why were we having this conversation. Well it all worked out I explained that everyone would look a little different and he decided he was ok with having it slicked.

These are the days that life is all about. On October 23rd 2010 our sweet Mac was baptized and given the gift of the Holy Ghost. On Sunday he was read in as the newest member of "The Church of Jesus Christ of Later Day Saints." It was a uplifting wonderful event. He was so blessed to have family and friends surround him. His grandma from New Mexico came at the last minute and we were so excited that she was here. The whole clan came from Beaver Grandma and Grandpa, Uncle Joe, Aunt Aba, Danielle, Adam, Alex, Aunt Ju-Ju, Uncle Luke, Dominick, Noah, Uncle Jon, Aunt Megan, Uncle Veral, Aunt Rose, and many members from our ward family

I can not even begin to express the feelings that I had on this day it was emotional and wonderful. I loved how sure Mac was that he was making the right choice and how excited he was. I also want to mention how blessed I feel that Kev is a worthy priesthood holder and was worthy to baptize his son.

As hard as it is to believe our Mac turned 8 Mac was excited for his birthday this was a big year for him and he was counting down. This was his special year because he was baptized, it was his friend birthday party year, and it was the year that his dad had promised him he would get a pocket knife. I have to admit I wasn't sure about the pocket knife, but to see the joy on his face and the light in his eyes when he opened it made it all worth it.
I love listening to our kids as they plan their meals for their birthday. Mac wanted eggs in a hole and Lucky Charms for breakfast, a lunchable for lunch, and taco salad for dinner. Pretty easy for me and he was in heaven.

Every other year the kids get to have a friend party. This year Mac decided to have an alien party. It was great for me because it was easy and fun to put together. I have to say I was so impressed with the group of boys Mac hangs out with. That is the best feeling for a mother is liking the friends your kids have. We started the party off making UFOs. The boys had great imaginations and worked hard.

Then we went out to see how well they would fly. We were surprised at how well they did fly. We then had a little competition to see who's would go the farthest.

Up next was pin the eye on the Alien.

Then presents

And then we ended it all with some Alien cake!

I thought I would include a picture of the invitations we sent out. What a great day it was!! We feel so blessed to have our sweet little Mac in our family. He is the peace maker in our family. He has a calm presence about him but he can loose control but usually only for a minute. He is as tender hearted as they come and tries his best to make everyone happy. Happy Birthday our sweet boy!

I have been looking forward to mommy daughter dates ever since Abi was tiny and look me now!!! The young women's planned a, "Pamper your Mom" night, I could hardly wait to go and then look at what she put on my face. No really it was so much fun. Abi did pamper me to the fullest. She started with a avocado face scrub then she painted my nails and did a scalp treatment to top it all off. I have been blessed with an amazing daughter.

GOOO PAGE PANTHERS!!

Abi was excited to try volleyball this year. She was able to be involved in a volleyball camp this summer and thought she would try out for the team. The great thing was they just happened to need a 7th grade volleyball coach soooo Kev thought he to would give it a try. It was a great learning experience for both of them. Kev learned coaching girls is so much more emotional and drama packed than coaching boys. There were many nights that he would come home flustered and say, "I just don't understand girls" or "Girls can be mean." Abi somewhat learned that just because her dad's the coach doesn't mean she gets all the playing time (we are still working on this one.) Overall it was fun and I was just glad that Abi would at least try since it is the one sport I actually understand.

This is a picture showing how we are working on the playing time concept.

SOCCER! SOCCER! SOCCER!

I have decided there is nothing better than being a soccer mom. With that being said it also needs to be made known that there is nothing harder on your schedule than being a soccer mom. We just love to get out and watch our kids have fun and burn off some of the energy!

This was Ben's first season on the big field and he loved it. He would chase that ball up and down with a smile on his face the whole time (unless he gets kicked in the arm like he did in the picture up top) The greatest was when he was running down the field and someone would yell, "GOOOO Ben" he would look over and wave at you all the way down the field.
We often had to explain to him that we don't trip, tackle, or push when we play.

It was so fun to watch Mac. I love to see them finally start to grasp the concept of how to play the sport. He had a great coach and Mac made a few goals and had a great time.

Towards the end of the season it starts to get cold. I love it because then my babies want to sit close to stay warm.

When Miss Abi is in the mood she is a speed demon!! This was a different year for Abi because we let her play both volleyball and soccer. I think it just wore her out. She did well in both though. She was able to talk her dear friend Mia into playing this year with her,they had a great time together. I loved to see how protective Abi was of her she didn't want anyone to make her feel bad because this was her first year. Actually Mia was a fantastic soccer player and together they made a great little pair.