McCallum's 5th Birthday Bash

I can't believe we are celebrating Mac's 5th Birthday!  It is just blowing my mind that this little boy is growing up so stinking fast!  It really does seem like just yesterday we were bringing this kid home from the hospital!  Time really does seem to fly!

Even though it was a little early, we had McCallum's birthday party today!  We make the kids wait till they are at least five before we allow a friend party... that's for my own sanity.  Well, today we did it, we concord the first of many little boy birthday bashes!  I have to say, the boys are a lot easier than the girls!  In fact, I almost wished we would have done it a little bit longer so it didn't feel so rushed.... ALMOST.  Mac decided that he wanted a Superhero party.  All the kids came dressed up as their favorite hero and we made some masks, then ate pizza to fuel up for some superhero training courses!  First, we had the lasers of doom and the wall of death!  The kids had to maneuver through the lasers without getting burned or killed, once in Mac's room they had to climb his climbing wall of death to retrieve their prize!  I think the kids really liked it... simple is the way to go!

Next, we assessed their abilities as superhero's by running them through our obstacle course. The kids had to run through the tire and punch the first ninja/bad guy out of the way so that they could throw the football through the tire.  Next, they advanced to the next bad guy and had to attack him to get to the tire.  The kids had to climb up into the tire where there were webs (silly string) waiting for them.  They had to shoot their webs at the ninja/bad guy in front of them.  After they had shot their webs they could advance to the ladder.  Atop the ladder there was a bomb that they had to retrieve.  Once they and their bombs were safely to the ground they had to hurdle over a series of sandbags to a safe area to defuse the bomb that contained their prize.

It was really cute to watch all the kids go through and show off their Superhero skills!  It was a lot of fun!  Jared really got into it with the kids and made it a big hit!  After that it was cake and presents!  With the little time we had remaining the kids all got a balloon jet pack that they could pretend to fly around the yard till their parents could come get them!  Armed with all their prizes and some Kryptonite (green rock candy) they were out the door and Jared and I were pooped!  It was a lot of fun though!  Note to self... your fingers are going to kill for hours after ting that many freaking balloons!  THE THINGS WE DO FOR OUR KIDS OUT OF PURE LOVE!!

First Day of Second Grade

The school year has begun again and Ryan is now in the 2nd grade!  She was nervous and excited to get back into school.  I know she will do great this year!  We are just so proud of our Ryan!

This Is MANS Work

Jared and his dad planned a day of fishing this past weekend.  The kiads were excited to go and fish with Jared, but Ryan at the last second was invited to a birthday party.  Naturally, Ryan was really torn about what to do... she kept saying that she wanted to fish but was not sure.  Friday night we were playing a game of Sleeping Queens as a family and Ryan finally announced that she had made her final decision... she was going to skip fishing and go to the birthday party.  Mac's reaction had us rolling for days!!  "Yes!!  (going to high five his dad) This is mans work!"  Oh my boy!  This boy is just like his dad!  They left to go fishing at 4:30 in the morning and didn't return until 10:00 at night!  Even at four (almost 5) he loved fishing all day without much rest!  He is all boy!  I would have been crying of pure board-um, but he loved every second of it!

Naturally, all that hard working pulling in the fish was very exhausting!

I can't express enough how grateful I am that I married a man like Jared!  He is so devoted to making memories with his kids!  He loves to get them out doing things that they might not otherwise get to do!  Heaven knows that their mom wouldn't be out on that little boat all day catching slimy fish!! 

 As for the girl and I, we had fun too!  we were able to go hang out at the birthday party for a good portion of our day.  After that, we ran some errands and stopped to get a bite to eat.  We were going to get it to go, but Ryan wanted to stay and "Chit Chat."  My Ryan never stops making me smile!  The pride I have when I take a moment to look at the girl that she is now and the girl she is becoming!  I just love my girl!

As a fun side note, Ryan got to go shopping for some back to school clothes with her Nana S.  She came home and put on the clothes and came into my room to show me how she looked.  She struck a pose and announced, "Now THIS is fashion!"  If you know Ryan, you can picture the moment!  Sweetest girly girl in the entire world!!

Summer Is Almost At An End

I cannot believe how busy this summer has been for us!  We have been at a constant grind ever sense the first day of school let out.  The kids have been in the water most of the time.  Between swimming lessons, playing at the pool for fun, and our two lake Powell trip, the kids are always looking like raisins.  I'm especially proud of my girl Ryan.  She has had a real fear of water from a very young age.  I never could understand why she would have any reason to be afraid, but she has struggled in the water because of this... Not any more!  My girl is a little fish... she is not only enjoying the water, but she is swimming very well.  I'm really pleased with all her hard work to overcome a lot of her fears and learn to  swim!  She also managed to get up on a knee board as well as a pair of double skies!  What a brave little girl!  We will have to post the video of her getting up on the skis soon... stay posted

As for the boy... he is fearless as ever!  It seams like he is enjoying things more when his sister is in discomfort.  A true brother!  This boy is just the most pleasant, loving, funny, and cutest boy you could ever dream up!  Take my word, he is all boy!  Just the thought of a challenge will  motivate this kid to tackle anything!  He has let me know that we should call him "Elder Park" and that he is no longer a ninja... now he is a Karate Master!  Oh and before I forget, I meant to write this story down so I don't forget.  A few weeks ago in the car Mac said he knew where he wanted to serve his mission when he is older... India.  I commented that I thought he would be a good missionary where ever he was called to serve...  "India... or Candy Land"  Lol!  I'm hoping for a call to Candy Land for him!

Playing Catch Up!

It feels like I don't make enough time to keep up with all that is going on with the family... it's a lot to keep up with now days!  I guess I should start with the big stuff, school.  That's right, school is out.  Mac is done with another year of preschool, and Ryan is done with the first grade!  I can't believe how much they both have grown this year!  Ryan is speaking a lot of Chinese, and Mac is still plugging away with his reading and writing.  Next year will mean second grade for Ryan, and one last year of preschool for Mac!  It's unbelievable how fast the year goes!

Other, less notable, things going on include a new addition to the family.  Tux is our new Golden-doodle.  He is the sweetest addition we could have made--as far as dogs go.  Although we didn't really plan on adding another dog, we are really glad that he is a part of the family now.  I guess we can call it a happy surprise.

Also, we went to see the Orthodontist for Ryan just a few weeks ago because she has a really crazy bite.  Turns out it was a good thing I took her in so soon.  We found out that her bite can be really bad news and has to be addressed early if you want to avoid some really serious problems.  She has an under bite, cross bite, and what they call a scissor bite.  I guess the scissor bite is really bad because essentially her teeth are locking together when her jaw closes.  If she were to ever get hit with her jaw closed her teeth would all break!  That's bad!  So we had three teeth extracted and she will be wearing her first of two sets of braces by November!  Crazy!!!  She will probably be the only second grader in braces, but she will also be the first kid to have that perfect smile too... if all goes as planned!

As for us, we are going to try to enjoy a summer of fun before it's back to the grind of school!

Easter

Easter was so much fun this year with the kids.  Plus, it was extra special because we got to stay home and listen to conference!  I really enjoy conference but it is especially great when it falls on Easter Sunday!  The kids were all ready to watch with their games the primary got for them.  I was really impressed with their willingness to try to listen and be reverent for that long!  Kids are the best!

Seven

This little girl just wont quit growing up!  I am late to post her birthday, but I didn't forget!  I think I'm in denial about how big she is getting!  She is just so stinking cute, I can't handle her growing up so fast!  This year she did a fun combined party with our neighbor Kate.  They had a ton of friends come and decorate cupcakes, hit a pinata, play bingo, do butterfly tattoos and balloons, and just run around crazy in the church gym.  I was exhausted after it was all over!  Thank goodness for my friend Heidi helping.  The two of us were able to take on 20 seven year old girls!  Wow, it wasn't easy!

On top of that all, she got a party with my Dad and her cousin Riley who also turned 7.  Spoiled little thing.  Oh and don't forget the sleep over she had with Nana!  She got to shop, go to dinner, stay up late and then wake up and eat 6 cinnamon rolls for breakfast!  Lucky little thing!

Happy Birthday to my favorite little girl of all time!  Each year I get more and more sad that my little girl is growing up and turning into a perfect little lady!