Well as usual for this time of year Hunter has been talking birthday ideas since shortly after Easter. He has always loved science and told us that when he grows up he thinks he wants to be an inventor :) He really wanted to have a science party for his birthday.
I love that he told GG that next year he would be eight so therefore he would soon be a "half teenager." This new term cracked us up even though to be honest he already is a mini teenager in the working. We sent out invitations to all his buddies addressed to Dr. such and such from Burch Labs Inc. stating that their presence was desired to take part in some new and exciting experimentation.
We found a cool science kit at Hobby Lobby that had 5 test tubes in a holder and each test tube contained a different experiment to be done.
The kids would have to do the experiments one at a time which actually worked out well. We decided that they also needed to look the part. Deke had an old pair of college chemistry goggles and I found an old white blazer at Savers that looked just like a lab coat.
We had a tag for each Dr. to wear. The morning of the party we hung green streamers from the windows so it looked like slime oozing down and put pictures up on the walls of different laboratories.
First thing Hunter put on the lab coat and googles and got his tag on to greet his guests. When the kids starting arriving Hunter greeted each boy at the door welcoming them to Burch Laboratory and giving them a tag.
We went over the rules of experiments such as no touching the liquids with their fingers, no drinking any of the liquids etc. etc. Then we let each boy take a turn one at a time doing an experiment and wearing all the "official" lab gear. They first got to make a bouncy ball which they were all quite intrigued with.
Next they got to make worms which was actually really cool. Deke and I laughed quietly to ourselves as we began this experiment and Hunter excitedly exclaimed, "Hey guys let's make some observations" Seeing the questioning eyes of the other boys who undoubtedly at that point were wondering where the cake was Hunter started in. It was neat to see that after he started the other boys started in as well. After they saw the first worm come out they were hooked.
They could hardly wait for their turn to experiment and each one was quick to remind that they needed a turn with the lab coat. As they made the worms we all discussed how the worms were forming and why.
The boys shrugged their shoulders not quite sure as Hunter piped up, "I think that the chemical mixes with the other chemical and that causes them to start making a goo which then makes the worm." Good answer Hunter. Love that kid.
I never thought an "educational" sort of party could be fun but it really was. The teacher in me loved discussing with the kids about the different reactions and watching their little minds race at the concepts. It was great to watch their faces as they put the liquid into the test tube and watched for the reaction. Next they did a little experimenting with invisible ink.
We didn't have time to go on to make touchable bubbles or form crystals since we only had two hours so we headed to the park for our last experiment. We used diet soda and Mentos a fun thing that I had never done before but Deke had.
Each boy got a 2 liter and had a turn releasing the Mentos from the chamber to result in this:
Okay really fun and very entertaining for all of us.
Especially when Deke shoved eleven Mentos in the chamber instead of the recommended seven and it really went high. Then we headed back to the house for pizza and create your own sundaes which turned out about like this:
Of course the boys had piled so much on there I don't think that any of them could finish more than four or five bites before they were full. Then some presents and off to play LEGO's until parents arrived.
We gave them each a goodie bag consisting of glow sticks, pop rocks, and a mini magnifying glass. It was such a fun party and Hunter had so much fun, we all did. Here are just a few things we love about our Hunterbug:
* Hunter is a natural born leader
*Hunter is a major people person there is not a shy bone in that child's body
*Hunter has an amazing vocabulary and can hold adult conversations
*He is hilarious and witty
*He is an extremely inventive and creative thinker and has a great imagination
*He is a wonderful big brother and is protective of his sisters
*He has a sensitive side and is very thoughtful of others
*He is definitely our deep thinker
I have to end with a story that is so sweet everytime I think of it my heart burns. That night after his party he asked if I would lay by him in bed. Now I'll be honest I am human and some nights when he asks me the answer is that I am tired or I want time with Daddy so on and so forth. "Sure buddy" I said and laid down next to him on the bed. As we laid there quietly back to back in the dark I started to drift off to sleep. "Do you want to know what my birthday wish was mom?" he asked. "No buddy don't tell me remember if you tell me then it might not come true." "Please mom, I want to tell you" he added. "Okay if you really want to." Then in a quiet sweet voice he said, "Mom I wished that you would come in and lay by me tonight, and guess what mom....it came true." Then saying nothing more he closed his eyes and within a minute I could feel his calm slow breathing of sleep. Quietly I laid next to him in the dark tears literally pouring down my faces as I tried to quiet my nearing sobs. My heart was so tender. I love him so much and it is amazing everyday watching him grow. I looked over at him with his cute little freckles and remember holding him in my arms for the first time and thinking how much I loved him then. Not even comprehending the way I would feel about him now. If that love only continues I can't even imagine what is depth will continue to grow to be. We love you Hunter, happy birthday bug. Now about that mermaid.....
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I knew it was bound to happen eventually and finally it has. Emma is definitely no question about it a major Momma's girl. Hunter was always happy to go to Deke or I and was content to be taken care of equally. Avery was a total daddy's girl and would go to Deke over me majority of the time. I used to tease Deke that Avery had him wrapped around his finger. I would tell him he was spoiling her and he would protest saying that he couldn't help it that she loved her daddy so much :) Now I admit I am eating my words.
I am completely, willingly, not even trying to get out of it wrapped by this little girl. If she cries I am over there attending to her or usually picking her up. I am comitting what I consider cardinal sins :) in parenting with her such as: 1. rocking her to sleep every night 2. Holding her all the time 3. letting her sneak into bed with us at night or in the morning for a little while . She is still sleeping in our room with us because I am not ready to move her in with Avery I can't hardly stand the thought of it. She really looks a lot like Deke's baby pictures but I think that she may have my eyes. She melts me I am absolutely smitten. 
I just can't get enough of her. Deke and the grandparents all sets harrass me about holding her to much but I can't help it. I am so grateful to have her and waited so long for her. Every morning when I wake up I can't wait to rush over and kiss on her because I actually missed her during the night.
I feel so connected to her little spirit that I felt for so long before she was acutally here. The second that I come into the room if someone else is holding her and she hears me she starts looking around for me. I am truly so grateful for her she brings our family so much joy. I love you so much Emma you are so precious to me sweet girl. Love, Mommy.
Though I am all about pink and girly stuff I have to admit I love putting Emma in any shade of blue. Like I said whoever said that blue is for boys has never seen a big blue eyed girl in it. 
She has those big blue eyes that when she wears blue just stand out they are so beautiful. She is getting so big these days. 
I can't believe that she is going to be five months old next week! She is so verbal these days and laughs now all the time. .JPG)
That adorable belly laugh that babies do that just makes you melt. 
Our kids have all been good sleepers but she takes the cake. She will go to bed around eight o'clock then get up between six and seven for a little snack then back to bed until ten or eleven. It is amazing. She is a major binky baby which I am okay with as long as she doesn't find her thumb like Avery did it is so much harder to break. Her little facial expressions crack me up. All eyeballs just like Hunter. 
She loves to be talked to. All you have to do is start talking to her and she lights up and starts smiling or laughing and making all sorts of noises at you. She won't even try to roll since everytime she needs anything she only has to barely squawk and Hunter or Avery are at her side attending to her every need. 
They are so cute they just kind of hang and melt into her shoulders, she makes me laugh :)
I love this shot of her little bum. I think it is so cute how they stick their bums out like little bugs or bettles.
She has the cutest little roll right above each kneecap that Deke affectionately calls her "fatcaps" which cracks me up. She is such a sweetheart and such a good baby who is content to be held anytime or just play on the floor with toys. Here is her "serious face" 
She is so easy going if all babies were like this I swear I'd have at least ten :) :) She loves blankies and when she is sad or even just laying on the floor she loves to have a blanket in her arms and right by her face. She especially loves to nuzzle her face into the really soft fuzzy ones. By the way you can kind of see her little high top sneakers in this one they are seriously adorable. 
We are so excited to have Hunter at a different school this year for first grade. Last year we had him at a charter school which was okay I guess. They didn't let parents volunteer in the classroom which to me was ridiculous, they had an extremely tough handwriting policy even for kindergarteners , they hardly did any music or arts and their library was an old renovated classroom that was tiny. 
Not to mention his teacher should have been teaching fifth or sixth grade she was extremely strict and not affectionate at all. How many kindergarten teachers do you know that don't hug their students? This year we transferred him to the public school where most of the neighborhood kids and ward friends go and we are soooo much happier. The library is triple the size and is painted like a jungle with a giant tree with vines hanging down and flat screen computers. 
The teacher has parent volunteers tues. through thurs. throughout the day and you can go eat lunch with them whenever you want and bring your younger kids. The excitement that we didn't see from him last year is now bursting from him. 
He loves school so much and I only wish that we would have moved schools last year for him for kindergarten. When it is each kids turn to be the Star student they get to eat lunch with the principal as a treat. When we went to register him we met the principal and she shook Hunter's hand. He quickly asked her if they had Science at this school and she told him about a couple of projects they do during the year. In October they do soil studies and work with milipedes and pill bugs they even get to hold the milipedes. They do lots of Science in their classroom. His teacher is awesome and has been teaching for twenty six years she definitely knows her stuff. Some other things they will be doing this year include a musical during their Egypt unit and doing some Antartic explorations. He has already made some new friends of course. Four days after school started I was already set up to meet one of their moms at the park to get to know them so the boys could play. 
It is such a transition having a kid in school not to mention starting a preschool group for Ave and some kids in the ward on Mon. and Wed. starting next week. He had been begging us to let him ride the bus and so finally we checked into it. 
I'm not going to lie I was pretty unsure about it but after about a week of waiting 30 plus minutes in the parent pickup line with two very bored very hungry little girls I was a little more open to trying it.
It is so nice because the drop off is right on the corner of our street. The girls and I just have to walk him to the corner wait a few minutes and tada! the bus takes him to school.
It will be nice in the fall and winter because we can use this time for walks to the park or stroller rides for Avery and Emma. The first day the whole family walked Hunter to the bus stop. I know we are all a little sentimental it's sort ridiculous :) :) When the bus pulled up Hunter walked right on and then I realized that he might forget where to get off. I hurried and hopped on the bus and called out his name. He slowly lifted his head up and looked at me as I reminded him to pay attention and remember to get off the bus at this stop and then added to have a great day and that I loved him.
It suddenly hit me as he quietly said "I love you mom" and gave me this unfamiliar look that I realized I had sort of embarrassed him. Smooth MeKell. He later said that he wasn't embarrassed he was just talking quiet but I am not so sure. I thought I would be worried as I watched the bus drive of but I actually felt good about it and was so happy to hear his excitement when I picked him up from the stop that afternoon. 
He loves riding the bus which is great and it is nice for our schedule. Great first grade year here we come!!! 
Well it is that time of year again for birthdays. I am so thankful that Emma decided to be a spring baby instead of a summer baby like her older siblings. Having Hunter and Avery's birthdays within a week of each other is sometimes really busy. Avery decided that she wanted to have a Mermaid party since Ariel is her favorite of the Disney princesses. 
We had the party over at Deke's parents house since we have no grass in our backyard and invite her cousins Brecken and Madison over for some fun. 
Avery of course had to wear her Little Mermaid dress up outfit to the party and every Ariel doll in the house had to come and attend the party as well. We started out by having the girls make gummy sea animal shishkabobs. 
We gathered an assorment including gummy fish, sharks, turtles etc. etc. and let them put them on sticks and then eat them. 
They had such a blast and it was interesting to see how they made their selections of which gummies to use and their placement on the stick. 
Then they headed outside to dive like Mermaids and find seashells which they loved.
They spent a long time finding and gathering different shells for themselves and then tossing them back in and finding different ones. 
I made them these fun little goodie bags filled with some fun mermaid goodies.
Avery insisted that I make one for Emma. Even after I explained to her that Miss E wouldn't be able to use it she still insisted that her sister be included in the fun which to me was so endearing. What a good big sister. I can't believe how fast Ave is growing she is such a busy little happy ball of energy in our home. After that we brought out the slip and slide and all the cousins joined in. 
Then we had a little BBQ along with a very homemade mermaid cake (baking and cooking not exactly my creative forte.) Scrapbooking, quilting more up my alley :) Even though Deke and I made her cake that morning at the kitchen table it is was very rough around the edges she giggled in excitement and I realized it didn't matter to her what it looked like just that it was a mermaid and mom and dad had made it for her.
After presents we decided to head home. We had not even left the driveway as our little mermaid crashed out sound asleep content from her day of aquatic birthday fun. Here is some things we love about our Ave:
