School is OUT!

We slogged through the last days of the year and made it to the finish line!  Summer is finally here and we couldn't be more excited!  We started with a water balloon fight!  Maxine was off with her friends.

Jack likes to double fist.

Mikayla danced around excitedly.  Not sure if she actually hit anything.

After we established some rules about not throwing at peoples' tummies, we had a great time!

Rock on summer!

Loving his BMW, motorcycle, not car...

Merril loves to ride motorcycles.  He's flipped so many lately that I figured none would stick.  His BMW R1200 might be his new favorite.  He's had it for a while and just got all new motorcycle gear to go on his long rides.

He looks great and it helps me sleep better knowing he's wearing good protective gear to stay safe.  :)

Maxine in choir...

The end of school is almost here!  Time for end of the year concerts and programs.  Maxine did well in choir this year and won the award, "Most Valuable Vocalist."

She had a solo at SUPAF, the Southern Utah Performing Arts Festival. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GwWNPzinnio  I'm just including the link so I don't forget about it.  Her solo is at about the 6 minute mark.  It's amazing to watch your own kids excel in a way that makes you proud that you had anything to do with it.  I'm proud of her!

Fell asleep on the couch...

I can't believe how fast my baby is growing up.  He's 18 months now and I can't believe it!  Even the older kids wish he would stay cute and small forever.

Someone slow down time and keep my little guy from growing up!

Exotics Racing in Vegas...

Merril and I have decided that we need less "things" as we get older.  Instead we want experiences as gifts.  This year for Merril's birthday, I surprised him with the opportunity to drive a really awesome car around the Las Vegas Motor Speedway.  He could choose from several high end cars with badges like Ferrari, Lamborghini, Porsche, Corvette, Aston Martin, etc.  He decided to go with the Audi R8 V10.  It must have been a cool idea because Ryan R., his Dad, and his sister Becky all decided to come too!

Before racing, there was a block of time where everyone could sit and take pictures in the cars.  The kids about came unglued with happiness!

Mark's not even sure why but he's very excited!

After all the picture taking, Merril had to go and learn a few things and get his helmet.

 The kids and I messed around the nice facility while we waited.

Then it was time to take off!

Merril said it was fun because he likes autocross so much.

And then we went to Krispy Kremes with the kids because when Merril and I first moved to Vegas at the apartment complex called Latigo, we lived right across the street from Krispy Kreme.  We would come home late at night and smell the donuts being made for the next morning.  Delicious!

The kids had never seen anything so cool in their whole lives as the donut making machine.  What country mice!  It was a fun little adventure!

Thinning the peaches...

Time to thin the peaches.  I was trying to hurry and thin the peaches while the kids were at school.  Mark was "helping" and pretty much took over the ladder.  I still managed to get a fair amount of thinning finished and snapped a couple cute pics of my cutie!

I thought this was a happy pictures but now I'm not so sure.  

His eyes kill me.  Green on the outside and flecks of yellow in the middles.  I never thought that would be attractive but I'm loving them!

Kidlets...

I think it's so sweet when I come out in the morning and the kids are bundled under the same blanket watching cartoons.  :)  It makes me believe that one day, they will be more like a team instead of individual kids.

Merril's 37th birthday...

Merril turned 37 this year.  I planned ahead and made his cheesecake earlier in the week so it had plenty of time to age and get delicious.  We blew out candles as a family and then had friends over on the weekend.

I forgot to get lots of candles.  Oops.

We had friends over for a Mexican fiesta.  Salsa, 2 kinds of tacos, beans, rice, delicious.  Didn't I get pictures?  Hmmm, must not have.  Oh well, it was fun.

Plain White T's Concert...

The Plain White T's came to St. George and I kind of wanted to take the kids to a concert.  The Plain White T's are know for "Hey There Delilah" and "1,2,3, I Love You".  We got lots of kettle corn and treats and I brought ear plugs because I worry about things like that.  ;)

There were bounce houses for free and Jack and Juliet took off to play in them about half way through the concert.  Max and I stayed and listened.  

It was supposed to be family friendly but they swore a couple of times.  Woops.  It was still fun to go and listen to the live music!

Easter Sunday...

Oh it's time for Easter.  Time to remember the sacrifice of our Savior and the gift of the Atonement.  Time to listen to General Conference, feel a spiritual charge and renew our commitment to the Gospel of Jesus Christ.  This year General Conference and Easter fell on the same weekend.  I wish it could always be like that.  We listened to Conference as we cracked hard boiled eggs and ate jelly beans.  Wonderful wonderful wonderful!

Reese's pieces carrot themed candy.

All lined up!  Ready....steady....

Mikayla is just fun to watch.  She still gets a head start and then the older 3 jump in.

GO!  Juliet seemed the most eager this Easter Sunday morning!

See what I mean about eager?

Such a frenzy and then it's over.  Everyone pours over their baskets, trading eggs

Dyeing Easter Eggs and the Winchester Hunt...

Poor Mikayla.  She's trying to drop her afternoon nap.  Most days it's fine.  And then there are days when she falls asleep on the couch at 6:00 p.m. and is up until 10.  It's a hard to be 3 when you have 3 older siblings who don't take naps.

That was just a side bar but we're here to dye some Easter eggs.  Mikayla dyed her hands too.

Mark loves to walk on the dining room table and push around the chandelier.  I promptly put him down for a nap.

We all love to dye eggs.

We love to find eggs as well!

Grandma Campbell's ward is the favorite egg hunt.  It's the biggest and the best!

This is Maxine's last year finding eggs on the lawn.  Next year she graduates to the 13-17 age group that searches for eggs in the desert adjacent to the lawn.  A REAL egg hunt!

Everybody loves the Winchester hunt.

Juliet was the only one to score prize eggs this year, which is unusual.  She shared prizes with all the kids and everyone was happy.

Mikayla scored some unclaimed fairy wings towards the end of the hunt.  I'm just showing off my new scarf Emily U. sent to me.  I felt pretty wearing it.  :)

Jack and the Pinewood Derby...

Time for Jack and Pinewood Derby.  Merril's not the kind of Dad that makes the car for his son so that he can win.  If Jack makes a slow car, so be it, as long as he did the work himself.  Jack's car is driven by a Lego guy.

Jack said the backwards cap makes him more aerodynamic.  *raised eyebrow*

It must have worked because he won in the 1st place in the Bear division!

The winners' plaques have dowels to hold the car in place.  I think they're pretty awesome!

Mikayla's Easter dress...

Mikayla wanted this dress for Easter.  Since I prefer dresses to have sleeves, I decided to buy a larger size, cut the excess off the bottom and then alter it to have sleeves.  I also purchased the most amazing sewing machine and was dying to try it out.

Before:

After:

My new/used machine is a Babylock.  It is computerized, does small embroidery, threads the needle, cuts the strings.......it almost sews itself.  If it ever goes kaput, there's no way I'd go back to a regular machine.  It.is.amazing.