Pumpkin Patch

We took our kids and their cousin, Paige, to the Pumpkin Patch while Paige's Mom and Dad went to the temple last weekend.  It was an extremely overcast day and a little cool.  The kids had lots of fun playing and enjoyed the hayride.  They weren't too fond of the corn maze though.  It didn't help that we got lost in the 5 acre corn maze.  Despite that, we were only in the maze for 40 minutes, that's not too bad considering they told us that there are 2.5 miles worth of trails through the maze.

They all loved the hay bale maze.

Bryce really got a kick out of riding and/or pushing these.

Hayride.  They all decided the needed to hold Ken's hands.

Hey, they even got to ride a cow.  =D

My little model!

Don't ask me what's up with Paige's face.  All the pictures from this were funny.

They loved playing in the dried corn.

Jeremiah

We ordered the marker for Jeremiah and it was placed in September.  It took me a couple weeks to get up there, but it is beautiful.  I still have a hard time sometimes, even though its been over a year.  There are times when I see the children of the women I was pregnant with and can't help but think that I am missing my baby boy hitting all those milestones.  However, I know that he is up in heaven with my sister and his cousin doing what they can to help our Heavenly Father.  And I know that we will be with him again.  I still feel Jeremiah close to me when I'm feeling a little low and that helps to bring my spirits up.  I look forward to that far-off day when I will be reunited with him.

Bryce's Birthday

We celebrated Bryce's birthday on his actual birthday.  Novel idea, I know.  His birthday happened to be on a Saturday.  We just hung out and had fun with all of our extended family.  Bryce had a blast and enjoyed everything he received from his awesome aunts and uncles and cousins and grandparents, and of course, his parents and sister.  Unfortunately, the cake pictures accidentally got deleted and the camera was being stupid and most of the rest are blurry.

School starts

School started for both kids.  YAY!  Isabella is in first grade and Bryce is in preschool.  Bryce goes every morning for 2 1/2 hours.  Its been nice to go grocery shopping with no kids.  (Sorry about the pictures, I'd forgotten to charge the camera, so they were taken on my phone.)

Isabella's birthday

We let Isabella have a birthday party and invite friends this year.  This is the first time she's been allowed to invite friends.  I think a lot of fun was had by all.  Ken was in charge of games.  Of course, I think all you really need is a large space to run around in and a bunch of balloons and inflatable furniture for them to play with.  And of course, it all ended swimming in the pool.  It was a little cool outside, but luckily no one froze.  We had that party in the afternoon and then we had family over for dinner and more celebrating.  It was a long but fun filled day.  Now we're just waiting on school and preschool to start and then Bryce's birthday.

A year...

Today marks the birthday of my sweet angel baby, Jeremiah.  Its very hard to believe that it has been a year.  This past year has brought so much growth to our faith in our Heavenly Father and in His plan for us.  We know that our Jeremiah must have been meant for a greater mission in heaven.  I truly feel honored that we were entrusted with a spirit that was too pure to withstand the evils in the world today.  That trial brought our family so much closer together.  Its so sweet to hear Bryce and Isabella talk about Jeremiah.  I think they love that we have some pictures of him around since they were never able to see him.  We marked the day with church and we had some cupcakes with the kids to remember Jeremiah's birthday.  Ken and I also ordered the grave marker this past week, so you could say that was another way that we marked his birthday.

We've had a few other trials to help bring us closer together as well.  In May, we had a miscarriage, which was heartbreaking, especially that soon after losing Jeremiah.  But we knew that Heavenly Father would help us through the trial.

At the end of May, my husband was laid off from his job.  Its been a hard couple months on that front, but one major thing we learned is that we need to budget our money better.  Luckily for us, he was offered a new job and starts tomorrow.

A trial that was not to us directly, but did affect us was that my sister lost one of her twins.  They were born 10 days after she found out that Baby A (Alyssa) had passed.  Baby B (Brooke) is a fighter and is doing wonderful.  She was born at 33 1/2 weeks but is doing awesome.  She is tiny but long and scrawny.  Its been fun to hold her when I get a chance.  My babies were never that tiny.

So, while its been a hard and trying year, I am so thankful for my foundation in the gospel of Jesus Christ.  If it weren't for that and the support I had from my family and friends, I would not have made it through this last year.

A little bike riding

The kids have been wanting to ride their bike like crazy lately.  So one day last week, Ken took the bike and the big wheels out so the kids (including their cousin, Paige).  They all had a blast despite the fact it was quite hot out that day.

Aftermath of the Cicadas

So many have heard about the cicadas that plagued our area this year.  They are harmless but ugly and annoying little suckers.  And boy are they loud. 

Now that the onslaught is pretty much over, its nice to finally be able to hear the birds and such again.  Unfortunately, they do cause a little aftermath.  We have many many trees in the area that look like the picture below with lots of brown spots.  But, we won't see these guys for another 17 years.

Happy Father's Day!

I asked Ken today if 10 years ago he thought he would ever be driving a minivan rocking out to songs from Disney movies.  He really is an awesome Dad.  If he wasn't, would he allow his kids (and his niece) to do this to him.

Isabella had decided that she needed to have a spa night, so Ken helped her make a "facial" and she painted toenails and fingernails.  And he was rewarded by this....

Kindergarten Graduation

I can't believe Kindergarten is over.  Isabella's Kindergarten Graduation was on Friday (even though there is still a day and a half left of school).  It was lots of fun to see a few skits and such from Isabella's class and to see them get their certificates.  It was especially fun for me since I was in the classroom every week and knew the kids as well.  Unfortunately she got sick that night and couldn't go out and celebrate with us.  We'll celebrate later instead.

The background kind of stunk, so I added this background in for all the kids in the class.

Spring Break and Easter

Spring Break was last week.  This is the first year that its a big deal for us since this is the first year we've had a kid in school.  We kept it pretty low key.  The kids "camped" a few times in the living room with their Daddy.  We went into DC one day and stopped at the Natural History Museum.  The kids loved riding the metro in, Ken...not so much.  We spent a lot of time together just hanging out.  Friday night they decided to have a fashion show modeling their Easter outfits (and a few of Ken's new shirts).  Saturday was Easter with Ken's side and we had lots of fun.  Bella flipped out about her Aunt and Uncle's dogs (I don't think she could have climbed any higher up her Daddy), but she eventually calmed down and would even pet them.  Sunday was pretty quiet.  The Easter Bunny did visit and brought some fun treats and toys.  We of course had church and got to see some cousins we hadn't seen in a few years.  Monday was spent doing Easter for Tammy's side and it was very busy with 11 kids around.  Lots of fun though.  Here are a few pictures from the week.

We went into the Butterfly Pavilion at the Natural History Museum.  It was pretty cool.

Ken modeling