Our Graduates

As we raced out the door, I forgot to bring the camera to Rylee's last day of school and graduation, I feel so bad! Luckily, Mrs. O'Brien had taken pictures of her own of the students in their caps and gowns and gave then to the parents along with a class photo. In these pics, Grandma, Aunt Carla and Aunt Katherine made caps and a cake for our graduates. We are so proud of them and their progress. Rylee is now our first-grader and we feel so old! She had a wonderful year and made some incredible progress. She brought home her report card of all E's (excellent) and a reading level now of 14! She was adored by her teacher and all her classmates. We are so proud of her and the wonderful friend she is to everyone! Way to go Rylee!

Happy Birthday Lucy!!

YAY! Lucy's One! And we can't believe it, she has grown so fast. She had a great time opening her presents and cards and eating her cake and ice cream. Lucy loves to talk on the phone so she really enjoyed hearing from her grandparents. We sure love our little Lucy and enjoy watching her learn and grow. She is starting to talk more and imitates what she sees. She knows about 4-5 words and she actually just learned to "la la la" when she sings. As you can see in the pic, we got her a little ride-on/walker thing, so hopefully she won't be walking too soon.. :) She goes back and forth really well though sitting on it. Thank you for the cards and gifts, she absolutely loves them. Happy Birthday to our little "Lucy Bean!"

Clay Graduates from Joy School

Clay had such a good time in Joy School this year and made some really good "buddies." He's looking forward to attending pre-school in the fall.

The Sanctuary

It's incredible. Here is a picture of the back side of the lodge and then from various holes. Amazing! Any takers for next year? :)

http://www.sanctuarygolfcourse.com

A Day of Golf

Ryan and I and some friends of ours had the opportunity to golf at one of the most exclusive golf courses in the country, The Sanctuary. Created by the founder of REMAX International, this course was breathtaking. It was opened to corporate employees this month free of charge, so it was an opportunity we couldn't pass up. It was a beautiful day and we played all 18 holes. It was quite intimidating walking up to this lodge that was just phenomenal. I mean, the bathrooms were granite and marble with personal hand towels and then only to be out done by the locker rooms (they even had gum you could take!). I'm a little sore now, swinging so hard and making contact only about half the time, but we certainly had a great time. We rode around in carts with a cooler on the side with ice water. We ordered lunch before we started and picked it up after the 9th hole. It was so much fun, we can't wait to do it again. (I think we'll practice a little more at the driving range next time as it took me awhile to "warm up.")

Something new

Well, we certainly have to admit that we are not so good with our blog. Here are some recent pictures taken the other night after we went over to Rylee's school carnival. The kids were thrilled to get their faces painted. The next day , Ryan had all the kids at a lacrosse tournament (so I could attend our Women's Conference) and everyone came home a little rosey, especially Lucy! We'll have to take another picture when she wants to show off her bottom two teeth and her "freshly cut" (today!)tooth on top.

Updates

1. WE HAVE A HOUSE!!! Yes, we closed on a house this afternoon and we are thrilled! We'll post pics of it soon, but we plan on moving next Saturday. It is in a great neighborhood and actually just a few blocks from the temple! We look forward to having an attached garage, a yard and no neighbors attached! Plenty of room now for visitors!!
2. It's been a couple weeks, but our little Lucy Bean is crawling. She wasn't too sure of it when she first caught the hang of it, but has since learned that she can follow people around on her own! She's not the speediest little crawler but our little tortoise. She is one in our coughing quartet, so things have been a little rough for her.
3. Kaycee is just as vibrant as ever, even when she's sick. She is talking so well now and is leaving her toddler days behind. She frequently reminds us that she's a big girl now.
4. Clay is doing well also and we're looking forward to having a yard for him to explore. He is such a sweet little boy and makes us laugh. The other day, Grandpa Hunt was asking him if he could name his 4 Grandmas. Clay answered confidently with "Yes,...Grandma....and Grandma...and Grandma..." We all had a good laugh.
5. Rylee is just as bright as ever. The other Friday we attended her school's assembly where she received the Outstanding Citizenship award for the second time in a row! We are so proud of her and grateful for her good example. At her parent/teacher conference, her teacher only had good things to say about Rylee and just adores her! Her teacher surprised me when she said that most kids starting 1st grade are at a level four reading and Rylee is at an 8! Wish her parents could take some credit for that, but she does a great job!

We'll post pics of the house soon!

Some pictures

Here are some pictures of the kids and our "new" living room.

Double Trouble

I was talking with Mom L. the other day and relaying a "more difficult" day I had had. Clay had bitten a DVD (usually something KC would do, in which he had blamed her the whole day for doing) and he had ruined the DVD. ARG! Then I had gone shopping and bought a box of individual yogurts which KC thought would be fun to bite almost half of them open! Looking back it probably shouldn't have been a big deal, but the day had already started off wrong. I should probably mention the personalities of our little people. Rylee (5) is a huge help. She thrives on praise, so therefore is very cautious in the things she decides to do. She has a good sense of right and wrong and would prefer to stay on the right side. However, Clay(4) and Kaycee(2.5) are more free-spirited and find some joy/adventure in doing things they know they probably shouldn't...hence the picture. This isn't the first time that Kaycee has done the whole "body art" thing, but Clay certainly jumped in. Kaycee has since been banned from all markers finding that her body isn't the only thing that she's colored. I hope I am not the only mother out there that feels like they need to be "talked off the ledge" some days! Luckily, little Lucy (almost 8 mos) can't talk back yet and is still just precious as can be. She's really starting to figure things out and is just at the cutest little age/stage right now. I love my kids, but there are some days that I wonder if I'll make it (or worse, if they'll make it!). :) Perhaps some of you could shed some light on how to get through these kinds of days.

Our Family

I tried to find a recent family photo for when we started our blog, but I couldn't really find any...kinda sad. So, here we are on Christmas Eve.