Spring Time Happenings

It's time to get caught up again. We've been pretty busy around here, so here's an update:

Loved listening to General Conference! Here are a few pictures of the family during the 2 days...

Charlie looks comfy!

Making origami things

If the fire is on, Charlie will be in front of it.

Love these little fingers!

For spring break we didn't have any fun trips planned, so we decided to go camping in the house. We set up the big 6 man tent, which is huge when it's inside!

Excited to have his own sleeping bag!

Ready for the stories to begin

I loved that once the kids were asleep (finally!) Justin and I got to go up and sleep in our own comfy bed. My kind of camping! :)

 We also got a fire pit, which we were determined to initiate, even if it was a little windy and cold.

Here is a picture of Charlie, caught in the act! He stole Dylan's hot dog!

Great way to keep the smoke out of your eyes Lindsey!

Yummy smores!

Daddy is pretty hilarious!

Oh my....

Cooked to perfection!

Happy to stay indoors and stay warm!

Happy Birthday to Us!

Because of a Cub Scout Pack meeting (talent show) on my birthday for Brandon, we celebrated both of our birthdays on Justin's birthday, which is only 2 days before mine. We had a whole cheesecake in the fridge because of it being left over from a baby shower I'd hosted the day before. But between that and eating more cheesecake after choir practice (which is at our house now) in the afternoon, we didn't want another bite! So we blew out candles and had some ice cream instead! :)

One year older, and hopefully a little wiser.....

A few more pics.....

Some silly kids....

Our attempt at a good picture of all of them.....this was the cream of the crop......so we decided to try again on another day

This one is a little better. That's a good as it gets with 5 kids and a dog I think.

And finally here is a sequence of a tickle fight - 1 dad vs. 4 kids - with occasional reaction from Weston and I. This is how we entertain ourselves on a Sunday night right before bed....

And they ended with a group hug. I think Weston was less than enthused.

Happy Birthday Lindsey, Baptism, Baby Blessing and Company!

We had a fabulous time celebrating Lindsey's 8th birthday, witnessing her get baptized and spending time with all four grandparents! We loved all of it, and the word that comes to mind to describe our time with our parents and grandparents is "joyful." We loved it!

Can't believe this little lady isn't so little any more!

My favorite part of birthdays at our house is watching the kids open presents from their siblings. They are always so thoughtful and excited to see what awesome dollar store finds were found!

Then a couple of days later Justin's parents arrived. It was especially sweet to get to spend time with them because Justin's Dad had been diagnosed with stage 4 lung cancer, so it was very special for us to have them travel up to spend time with us in our home.

I'm pretty sure Weston loved Grandma Maner holding him!

And of course Grandpa Maner loved getting to hold his newest grandson

We had such a fun time.....and soon my parents arrived the next day

Brandon loved challenging everyone to a game of PIG

And we went to the Ballard Locks up in Seattle to watch the boats pass through

  

                                       

 Love these baby blues!

Going over the little dam to the salmon ladder

Love these people!

And we finished off the outing with trip to Chinooks's. Best fish and chips ever! And a beautiful view of the fisherman's terminal

We had some Dalmuti fun

Lovely!

And then we enjoyed a beautiful baptism

What a special little girl!

And here is the baptism girl and the baby blessing boy!

Proud grandparents

I think Weston likes sitting on his grandpa's lap!

And the other proud grandparents

We sure love this little man!

And here is a game of uno attack! 

Not pictured is all of the talking we did, the good food we ate, and the late night Rook tournament we enjoyed with all of our parents until 1:00 am! The Maners left on Monday and we sure enjoyed spending time with them! 

We got to spend a  couple more days with the Smiths and we had a lot of fun!

Here's Grandpa and Brandon looking at things with his microscope

We had a fun time at the Museum of Flight!

Here's my mom showing off the last Air Force 1 before it was retired. Very fun to go inside!

And of course we ended things with an epic twister tournament.

Here's my favorite sequence....

Okay so far......

Getting uncomfortable.....

And down everyone goes!

We loved our time with family and celebrating two important milestones for our kids. We love Grandmas and Grandpas! Come back and visit again!