Aria is Seven!

When making plans for our trip to California we contemplated coming home before Aria's birthday.  When Aria heard of the possibility she pleaded to have her birthday in California.  She has spent every birthday there and it has become a tradition.  She loves spending her birthday with Grandma Hunt, her Aunts and Uncles, and her cousins.

Since her birthday was on Sunday this year we thought we would celebrate a day early.  We started the day with a trip to the movies to see Frozen.  This was such a sweet movie and perfect for a 7 yr olds birthday.  Later that evening we headed out to Walnut Creek to meet Uncle Steve, Aunt Shannon, Jaxon, and Jordon at the Cheesecake Factory for dinner.  The waitress at the restaurant treated Aria like a princess and the Oreo cheesecake with the candle on top made her night.
On Sunday Mike made his special Lasagna for her birthday dinner and then we opened presents with the family afterwards.

 Aria had been asking for this Lego set for months.

She was bummed when she didn't find it under the Christmas tree but so happy and surprised when she tore through the paper that night.
For a birthday cake she got a tower of yummy gooey brownies.  It was fun watching her blow out the candles.

I can't believe she is growing up so fast.  We all love her so much and are so thankful she is a part of our family.

7 Fun Facts about Aria:

1.  She can do back walkovers, one handed cartwheels, and the splits!
2.  She loves fashion and putting cute outfits together.
3.  Her smile melts all the boys' hearts.
4.  She is super smart and loves to read.
5.  She doesn't like bananas or oranges.
6.  She loves to help Mom make dinner.
7.  She has lost 8 teeth.

Happy, Happy Birthday Laina Dear!

How can my baby be 3 already!  She is growing up way too fast for me and I need her to stop right now!  She is such a joy to have around.  She is constantly making us laugh with her silliness and funny little sense of humor.  I can't give her enough hugs and love to kiss her sweet little head as often as I can.  We had some family over to help us celebrate her birthday.  She requested a "My Little Pony" party, because she is in love with all of their pretty pony goodness.

Gosh, we love this little girl of ours.  She is a constant ray of Sunshine in our house.  Everyone loves her and her smile just lights up the room.

3 Fun Things to Know about Laina:
1.  Whenever there is Music on She is Shaking her Booty.
2.  She is the Happiest Little Girl and Gives the Best Hugs.
3.  She Can't go to Bed Without having at least 3 Books Read to Her.

Hunter is 12!!

Holy cow, how did the past 12 years just fly by?!  Hunter is celebrating his 12th birthday today and it seems like just yesterday he was my sweet chubby baby.  Hunter was always smiling and his smile still melts my heart today.
We celebrated this morning with pancakes and smoothies.  He got to open his present from Grandma Hunt.  Legos and some cash for his growing ipod fund.

12 Things to Know about Hunter on his 12th Birthday:

1.  He hates to get his haircut!  Yesterday we had our neighbor cut his hair and afterwards I asked him how he felt and he said, "Exposed."  Ha, ha, ... he is so used to having a big bush of hair on his head.

2.  He has a great sense of humor.  He is always coming up with the funniest things to say.  He's a little on the sarcastic side like his Mama.

3.  He still loves Legos.  He comes up with some pretty cool creations.

4.  He enjoys being a Boy Scout.  He loves it all; working on merit badges, serving, and most of all camping with his Dad and buddies.

5.  He wants to learn how to make balloon animals and do magic.

6.  He is an avid reader.  His favorite genre is fantasy.  I think he has read all of the Harry Potter books 3 or 4 times.  He is always trying to stay up late to read.  My favorite is when he tries to act like he fell asleep on his book when I walk in and surprise him.

7.  He loves to ride his bike.  He, Michela, and his Dad like to go on long bike rides together.  The new canal trail is a great way to get around.

8.  He doesn't like to try new foods.  If there is something new on the table he will stare it down and refuse to eat it if it doesn't smell or look good to him.  He is so going to Asia on his mission.

9.  He is an awesome big brother.  He is a great babysitter and loves to hang out with Laina.

10.  He is really smart and got accepted into the advanced learning classes for next year at the Jr. High. He also won the school Spelling Bee this year!

11.  He is very responsible.  I can always count on Hunter to do what he is supposed to and can trust him to get something done when I ask him to.

12.  He is a big goofball.  I love it that he doesn't always take life too seriously.  He likes to have fun and be silly.

Gosh I love this boy of mine.  I am so glad we were blessed with Hunter in our family.

Michela is 14!

We had to drag Michela out of the shower tonight to get her to come and open her presents.  That girl is always in the shower lately!  She got a new book and some new church clothes which were much needed.

Instead of a birthday cake, I made her a birthday pie since her birthday falls on pi (3.14) day.  She always gets a kick out of that.  Even better, the math classes at her school always celebrate pi day with, you guessed it, Pie!  The perfect day for the Queen of Sweets.

It took her a little while to blow out all of those candles.  She is getting to be such an old lady!  Love this girl and all she brings to our family.  She is such fun to hang out with and keeps us on our toes.

14 Things about Michela:
1.  She is in 8th Grade this year and is whipping out the straight A's on her report cards.
2.  She is still playing Violin and is getting really good at it.  She has such a beautiful tone.
3.  She is always listening to Music.
4. She can't wait to get her Own Room this summer.  She has multiple pictures of ideas for her new room on the computer.
5.  She is always chewing Gum and is a gum thief.
6.  She LOVES sweets.  "Does it have sugar in it?  Then Yes!"
7.  This is her last year of AA Soccer with the Panthers and Coach is letting her play more Offense.
8.  She is so Artistic.  I love all of her creative creations.
9.  She loves taking Pictures of Laina.
10.  She is taking Foods class this year so we get to Benefit from all of her Cooking.
11.  She loves being Outside.
12.  She likes to Talk in Funny Voices.
13.  She is so Beautiful, even though she doesn't Realize it.
14.  People always comment on how Quiet and Shy Michela is.  It always makes me Laugh because she is the Loudest and Craziest Girl I Know!

Aria is 6!

Aria had her 6th birthday while we were in California.  We always keep it pretty low key which seems to please her just fine.  She helped Grandma make waffles for breakfast, her favorite.

 She even got a candle to blow out.

 We waffled on the idea of where to go for dinner, wondering if we should try somewhere new, but we ended up back at Fat Apple's again and she loved her "burger sandwich", just what she asked for.

After dinner we headed home for presents and cake.  Aria couldn't wait to open presents so we did that first.  Gosh, she is such a beautiful girl!

She loved getting her own girl Legos.

Michela decorated the cake and I loved what she came up with.

We had to hold Laina back so she didn't blow out the candles for Aria.

Such a sweet girl we have and she is growing up to be such a beautiful and talented little lady.

6 Things About Aria on her 6th Birthday:
1.  She just recently cut her own hair.
2.  She loves to dance and do gymnastics.
3.  She is getting to be such a good reader!
4.  She is a bit of a Fashionista.
5.  She is so Loud!
6.  She loves Kindergarten and going to school everyday.

Happy Fourth of July Birthday!

In years past Mike has taken the kids down to the Fourth of July parade with his family.  Last year Chase decided it was his birthday so he got to decided what we should do.  I would much rather hang out at home, open presents, and have pancakes for breakfast than sit in the heat and watch the parade go by.  Chase got some fun new Lego sets and the new Batman Lego 2 game for the Wii.  After a pancake breakfast he and Hunter raced downstairs to try out the new game.

 In the afternoon we headed over to Mike's Uncle Scott's new condo for lunch and swimming.  I love sitting around and talking with family members I haven't seen forever and finding out what is going on in their lives.  The kids spent almost the entire time in the pool, briefly popping out to get something to eat.  Luckily there aren't too many people living at the condos yet so the fact that all of the cousins took up the entire pool didn't matter too much.

That evening we had Peggy, Megan, and her family over for dinner and a little celebration for Chase.  I made him a chocolate oreo filled cake for his birthday.  He loved it!  It was fun watching his eyes bug out as I pulled the cake from the fridge and stuck in the candles.  No problems for him in blowing out all 9 candles.  Yes, that is right, 9!  When did he get so old?

We ended the night with the cul-de-sac of fire.  I didn't buy any fireworks this year but we enjoyed watching the neighbors set of theirs.  The real treat was the huge aerial fireworks that a couple of the neighbors were setting off.  Who needs Stadium of Fire when you have neighbors like this.  Of course my camera's battery died right when the fireworks started, bummer.  I guess I'll just have to rely on my memory instead.  The kids loved it all.  We kept running back and forth between the front and back of the house to see all the fireworks going off.  I have to say I was a bit nervous that some of them would start a fire, but luckily nothing happened.  At one point I walked into our backyard and looked out over the valley.  I couldn't believe the sight!  There were fireworks going off everywhere.  It was like my own fireworks show.  It was a wonderful day for us and definitely went out with a bang.

Nine fun facts about Chase:
1.  He is such a skinny little thing.  He is just like his Daddy.
2.  He loves all things Lego, especially Ninjago Legos.
3.  He thinks the movie "Baby Geniuses" is hilarious.
4.  He loves swimming and is getting better at all of the strokes.  After only 2 weeks he can now do the breast stroke and can keep up with Hunter and Michela in the freestyle.
5.  He loves to read.  He just finished all of the Percy Jackson series and the first 2 books of the new series.
6.  He likes to hang out with his friends.  They come up with some pretty fun things to do together, like mini golf courses in our backyard and baseball using wiffle balls and tennis racquets.
7.  He likes to sing and dance.  He loves busting a move in the family room.
8.  He screams like a little girl.
9.  He is a ball of energy and loves being outside.

We love Chase and are so glad he is a part of our family.  He is still my little cuddle buddy and loves being close to Mike and I.  He has the best smile and a big laugh.  Love our little towhead with those big brown eyes!

The Terrific Twos!

I can't believe my baby is 2!  We celebrated Laina's birthday with a family Cookie Monster party.  She LOVES cookies and is always asking for one, she is her Daddy's girl, so I decided a cookie party would be perfect!
We invited Mike's and my families over for dinner and cookies.  Everyone filled up on taco salad for dinner but left plenty of room for dessert.  Did I mention we were having cookies?  Five different kinds of cookies to be exact.  We had Chocolate Chip cookies, Peanut Butter cookies, Lemon cookies, White Chocolate Cranberry Oatmeal cookies, and Triple Fudge Oreo Crunch cookies.  I got some awesome recipes off of Pinterest.  I couldn't believe how many cookies there were but the group polished them off with no problems.

Laina was so excited for it to be her birthday.  For breakfast we made her blueberry "Fuffins" and put some candles in one to practice for the big event that night. 

She didn't know what to make of them.
She did a lot better in the evening.  She tried to blow and with a little help from Mommy we got them out.

It was fun having everyone over.  The cousins had a blast playing together, inside and outside the house.  I often found Laina tagging along after her older siblings and cousins laughing and screaming along with them.

 Laina loved opening her presents.  She got a cute piggy bank and some "monies" from Grandpa and Grandma Staker.  Matt, Sara, and the boys gave her a cute little book and a much loved Minnie Mouse.  

 Grandma Hunt sent out a present full of cute clothes and a sweet book about 10 little monkeys.  And our family gave her a little Cookie Monster and a new microphone for all of her singing moments.

Laina is the sunshine in our family.  She adds so much fun to our lives.  I can't imagine life without her!  She is becoming such a big girl.  She is always running and dancing through the house, singing and talking up a storm.  She is always so concerned about where everyone is and loves having her whole family together.  She is so sweet and sensitive towards others.  When someone is crying she is the first one to run over and give them a hug.  She is the life of the party!

Two fun things about Laina:
1.  She loves being a girly girl.  She likes twirly skirts, pretty shoes, and lots of bracelets.
2.  She is a dancing machine.  At our nephew's wedding reception she danced the entire time.  She loves shaking her booty and likes to try and copy Aria's moves.