May

I love spending the day with Grandma Stock! I've been able to go two or three times now. David stays home for the day so I can go solo. We usually water color paint, go to lunch, and then goodwill shopping. Our favorite is the Goodwill Outlet in Pasco. It's kinda wild in there. Everything is in big bins on wheels. It's not organized by any categories. And every so often, they roll bins to the back of the store and put new ones out. Everything is sold by the pound. We've got some killer deals on kids clothes and shoes, books, and fabric for grandma. The first time we did this we went to like 4 or 5 goodwills around tri cities. We didn't end up buying anything until the goodwill outlet, our last stop. So now we just go to the Goodwill Outlet. I feel so blessed to live close to my Grandma and that David is able to watch the kids so I can make these memories with her!

Esther's mind is quite unique. She decided to tie our front doors together. I can't remember if it was to keep bad guys out or to lock her family inside.

So fun to watch Benson enjoy his role as big brother. Tyson and Esther love riding with him!

We went to a baptism on a Saturday night. The kids ended up matching. And Benson's poses are the best.

Esther likes to stop at this tree on our walk and take a picture. It will be fun to keep up this tradition and have a series of these photos.

Annika and I bought tickets to see BYU ballet perform Sleeping Beauty in Pasco. Sadly, Rose and Amayah couldn't join us as planned because Amayah was sick. So we brought Ellie Ashton with one of their tickets. It was a late night for Annika. But we both enjoyed the show to so much! Very impressive and beautiful dancing. We got to meet some of the performers after. I told Annika she could dress up as a princess if she wanted. She chose Snow White, her favorite. She was thrilled to get her picture taken with them after.

after the ballet. I hope we can go back next year!

trying to get a picture on Mother's Day. It obviously didn't work. But we got some good ones on Easter a few weeks ago. And I still like these real life pictures. :)

I loved the gifts the kids made at school and church.

Pam's playground!

These babes were so happy in the Lowes shopping cart. They really do have the best carts for kids. It's a beast to push around the store though!

Her outfits and accessories make my heart smile

I love these two little brown eyed monkeys!

getting ready for swim season!

Papi got the girls matching outfits on his trip to Thailand! They were marked as a size medium and small. But they size difference was nearly undetectable. It was almost too small for Annika and way too big for Esther. Oh well. They look darling but I'm not sure they'll wear them again. I put it on Esther. And by the time I was ready for church and wanting to take a picture, Esther had taken hers off! Papi had to bribe her with candy over FaceTime to get her to put it on for a picture and wear it to church. :) 

Benson authored his first story!

David had 4 girls make it to State tennis. And he was voted league coach of the year! As much as I hate his busy schedule during tennis season, I'm so proud of the coach he is!

Annika wrote this thank you note and I was so proud of her thoughtful words!

babes riding together!

he can't reach the floor on the motorcycle so they ride together :)

haha These boys working on putting dress up heels on Tyson. :)

I was brave and took all the kids to the EMS open house while David was at tennis. They had a hot dog dinner and tour of the ambulance and building. It was a little crazy with Tyson. But I still want to do things like this with the kids. Making memories.

gowned up in the ambulance

Tyson enjoyed the water bottle with his hot dog :)

Tyson loves to find little places to sit. I just adore him.

Annika's first piano recital! She did so well! No smiling but she nailed her songs. Sadly, David was at tennis. But it was fun to have Papi come for the night! I got a babysitter for Tyson since it was at his bedtime. That was a great decision. :)

This boy loves it when I poke a hole in the top for him!

He loves baby dolls!

Grandma and Grandpa came up for Memorial Day to visit the cemetery and they stopped by. I can't remember if they called first. Sometimes they don't. I actually think they didn't this time. But our house was fortunately pretty clean. It was fun to have them over!

I took these three to the cemetery for the Memorial Day ceremony. It was hot! But I'm glad we went. It was moving to see all of the flags up.

Baby cakes is 4! She told me she wanted a blue cake with an L.O.L. ball stuck in a tree with eyes on it. With how specific she was, how could I not make that happen? :) She loved it! We love this zany, fun-loving, adventurous girl!

Benson is 6! This boy has excelled in pre-school. He is ready for kindergarten. And I'm so glad we had him do preschool this year. His teacher said that she knows he will do awesome in kinder and his teacher will love him. He has excellent behavior and is excelling academically. So proud of the progress he has made!

He wanted the same Captain America shield cake as last year. We had a pretty low key day for each of their actual birthdays. But we had a big bday bash on Memorial Day for them.

ready for Hawaiian dress up day! She made her leaf skirt on her own! It was her idea and she found the perfect leaves!

We invited, Abby and Shaun, Adam and Emilee, Grandma and Grandpa Stock, Papi, and Heather and Nathan to Blake and Julie's for a bbq and swim party! It was a little hectic. But actually really nice not to have it at our house. We brought most of the food to keep it low key for Julie. I'm so grateful for her generous heart! The kids had a blast with their cousins. Heather gave Esther Brynlee's hand me down balance bike. We're pretty excited about that!

Rose came over on my birthday and brought me this yummy peanut butter chocolate cake! She is such a loyal friend.
Earlier in the week, Nicki Freeman texted me and asked if I would be ok with her planning a birthday lunch for me. I was so touched it nearly brought me to tears. She is my ministering companion. But she ministers to me just as much as she does to our assigned sisters. I'm so grateful for her friendship. It has made all the difference for me as I've been adjusting to being in 1st ward. She invited like 7 or 8 ladies and our kids over. It was one of the nicest things someone has done for me. We had chicken salads and all of the kids had a blast while we visited. I was surprised by several people bringing me gifts of chocolate, chapstick, lotion, and a darling hexagon letter board (from Caroline Roylance). It was a lovely day. I'm sure David and I did something together (maybe temple and Costco the next day). But I'm writing this almost a year later and I can't remember.