Farewell Joe and Gisele

Sean's dad got a job in South Carolina- we have been sad thinking of them leaving. We tried to cram in as much with them as we could before they left, Gisele had the kids over for a pool party. Sean's brother Brent, Pam, and their baby Xander came up- we were glad to finally get to meet cute little Xander. Brooklyn and Gracie got to have a sleepover with grandma and had a blast. I spent about a week straight helping Gisele pack, pack, and pack. Brent, Pam, and Xander got sealed in the Logan Temple when they were here and it was so nice to be in the Temple with family. Then we got the trailer loaded and said our good-byes. Our little family is going to be moving to Smithfield to live in Joe and Gisele's house- we have been working like crazy trying to get it ready. We are going to miss you Joe and Gisele!

Xander and Luke meeting for the first time

Greg took Brooklyn one day and introduced her to the art of roping- she was thrilled Jonah had a cowboy hat and would let her rope him.

Moab

Several weeks ago, we headed down to Moab to see our good friends- Nick and Monica and their little family. I always tease Sean about being anti-social because he doesn't care about meeting new people or making new friends. But, him and Nick have been BFF's since High School- they talk about once a week. We don't get to see him and Monica enough. We have planned several different trips down to see them and their beautiful house they built, but it always fell through. We had so much fun with them- they have 2 little girls Addi and Izzie and a cute little boy named Griffin. Brooklyn, Gracie, and Addi had so much fun playing- they couldn't get enough of each other- plus they got along so good so that was an added bonus. Little Izzie would go out and play and come crying saying, "they are mean." She cracked me up!! Every time I got my camera out to take a picture, she turned her head to the side and yelled, "CHEESE!" Ella loved Griffin and would have eaten him up had she be able to. One day Monica had Ella hold him and she rocked him and loved him- so cute!! Nick got us a Jeep to cruise around in while we were there and the gals loved it!! We went up to a lake and fished and had a fire. It was so much fun!! The rest of the time we hung around their house while the kids had so much fun playing!

Fishing

With school being out, came our first fishing trip. We met the Andie's and Nat and her family at 2nd Dam and had a Hot Dog roast and fishing. There were no fish bites, but the kids still had fun casting and reeling in the line. I can't wait for many more of these outings!

This picture cracks me up because Ella loves Jan and it looks like she is just staring at her with admiration!

My gals have always LOVED Nat and Ella is no exception. If Nat is around- good luck getting Ella's eyes off of her. In fact, she will only go to Nat even over me sometimes!

School's Out Party!

Grandma had a school's out party on the first day of the break. The kids had fun playing in the water, throwing water balloons, having a picnic on the lawn, and looking for bugs. Here is to a FUN summer!!

Gracie Preschool Graduation

Gracie finished her first year of Preschool and had a fun little graduation! She looked so cute in her little cap and gown. She nailed her part, "I know green and yellow too." We told her she could pick anywhere to eat after- thinking she would pick somewhere good, but she picked McDonald's and wouldn't be swayed so we had a great celebration dinner at McDon's as she calls it. (Next time we will give her some suggestions!) Way to go Grace! We are so proud of you!

Teacher Paskett- Brooklyn and Gracie have both had her and we love her!

Finishing Up the School Year...

I am SOO far behind on my blog, again, but I will get caught up! The month of May was crazy for our family. We had Ella's birthday and all the activities that take place to finish up the school year. Ella and I accompanied Gracie on her field trip to Willow Park. We had a great time. Gracie bless her heart is so shy- at the beginning of the year, she preferred to do things by herself- puzzles, computer time, stories. But by the end, she really enjoyed playing with her preschool friends. We LOVE Teacher Paskett!

Brooklyn needed to make a diarama of an animal in it's habitat. She chose an elephant. We sat down to make it- Sean came in and helped her finish it up and she was thrilled with how it turned out! (And I was thrilled that Sean came and took over- so grateful for the wonderful daddy he is to his girls!)

I was making dinner with Ella at my feet, she was quiet for a minute and then I hear "HMMMM" "YUMMM" and look and she had found this sucker and was really enjoying it!

Brooklyn on her last day of 2nd grade! I can't believe the year is over already. We were so spoiled this year- my cousin was her teacher and Jan or Mrs. Nielson would pick her up every morning and have her breakfast and she kept her after school and made sure her homework was done. It was a lifesaver- I really don't know what we would've done without her this year. We sure are going to miss her next year! Brooklyn finished the year out great- she does so well in school and is looking forward to 3rd grade!