Sensational Six!

 This cute boy woke up on his 6th birthday and went to find his balloons in his room and his presents on the table (as per tradition). All smiles for his special day! This boy brings so much happiness into our family! He is such a good boy with a huge heart and thoughtful and wise beyond his years. Watching him grown and learn and become his own little person is incredible. He is smart as can be. Learning comes natural to him and he does so good in school without much of a struggle at all. He is full of life and smiles. He still holds his mama's hand, which she is grateful for more than he knows! We love you Kellen boy and are so lucky you are ours!

 As it turned out with Sarah being in town and his birthday being on a Saturday, we ended up having a big get together with Grammy's side of the family that day too. But that didn't stop us from celebrating this boy. 

 A nice big chocolate cake and pool party with all the cousins! So fun!

 When we got home we let Kellen open one of his gifts before dinner. He got an Awesome hot wheels track that he had been dying for. We all went into the room and built the track together. If you look closely at the pick below, Kellen was a bit less than happy to have all his siblings in the room with him for the tracks first run. 

 But once I kicked them all out he was all smiles. I get it. When you have a big family sometimes you just want a little space and alone time to enjoy something yourself. This boy is normally the quickest to give and share, so a little request for special time is fair enough! Especially on your birthday!

 All smiles with his card, stickers and his $6 from Grandma and Grandpa for his 6th birthday!

 What boy doesn't die for a remote control car?!

And what cute almost 2 year old little girl doesn't LOVE chocolate cake!!

 A few weeks later this lucky boy got to have his birthday party at Chuck E Cheese with his best friend Joseph! We invited a bunch of his friends from class and a few from church. The boys had so much fun! 

 Dad and Mom with the handsome birthday boy!

 You always hope and pray that your child will find a friend that compliments them, that is a good kid and the kind of person you want your child to turn to and lean on. I am so grateful and lucky that Kellen and Joseph have each other. I know that they are young and that friendships will change and grow. But no matter what happens with their friendship, whether they stay best friends for life or grow apart a bit and make new friends as they get older, I will always love and be grateful for this friend he had as a child!

Not Giving Up Yet

I  keep thinking I should just stop the recapping and trying to catch up and just pick up from the current events. But I just can't! Not yet! I am not quite a year behind, and until I am I am bound and determined to catch up. 

Back in October 2014 Sarah and her kiddos took a last minute trip here during "Potato Harvest" in Idaho. Seriously. Their kids get a week of off school so the whole town, state, whatever it is can focus on harvesting potatoes. I love it!

All of us crazies at Greek Chicken for Dinner. Somehow this has become our first meeting place as soon as they get here. 

A day at the beach! I love that in October it is still totally beach weather!

I love these cousins and how much they love each other!

Makenna was in heaven getting to help take care of little baby Paige! Such a sweet little baby! And I have loved seeing how much Makenna has become a little mommy the older she gets!

Probably one of my favorite pictures from their trip here. I love all these girls so much!

The boys being boys! 

When you take the McKamey and Robinson kids to the park this is what you see when you look over. No joke. Sarah and I were just chatting and then we look over at the kids and here they all are....not sitting and riding as you would think kids would, but all of them standing and rocking and laughing out loud. I love our crazy bunch!

It is hard being far from my sis and having her have babies without me. It makes me sad that every time I see Paige, she has grown and changed so much! Even if it is only a couple of months. Its hard to not get to be there as the every day Aunt the way I thought I was going to be. But I just hope the fun times and the trips we have together will be memories that will stay with them forever!

September Summed Up

 This handsome boy totally adjusted to Kindergarten great. If anything he was slightly bored because so much of it was review for him! But he has done a fantastic job being a leader int he class and is really loving it!

 The kids discovered the game LIFE. I remember this game when I was a kid and I was obsessed with it! The kids pretty much felt the same way. Mostly they were focused on having as many babies as possible. And once Conner was married and full of babies all he wanted to do was drive around. But they loved it. Playing with 3 kids under 8 makes the game last a LONG time. But I love every second of it!

 Carys has Friends! It is so weird to see her old enough to have real friends! She LOVES Aubrey and Elise! She constantly asks to have them over. She is in heaven every minute she is with them. She calls them her best friends and they really are just that.

 We don't get summer storms here all that often. But we got one and it was amazing! It was a nice, perfectly warm day. We got home from school and it started to POUR! One drop quickly turned into TONS and they were coming down hard and fast. All 5 of us ran and jumped and sang and caught rain drops in our mouth. It was amazing. It was one of those "this moment is so fun and perfect it is almost surreal" kind moments. Honestly, I think I will remember it forever.

 Conner and his buddy Rawson have become two little peas in a pod. They LOVE each other so much and get along great. Their personalities really balance each other out so good. Love these two boys.

 It was "dress like a pirate and get free donuts" day at Krispy Kreme. And no one says no to free donuts in this family. So these boys dressed up and got some good pirate attitude and they both scored their Own dozen donuts. I think this is a day these kids will look forward to every year. 

 Kelen had his All About Me parade. It was absolutely adorable watching the kids march around and sing about how special and loved they are. It is one of my favorite kinder moments. I love this boy to pieces. He will always be my little mamas boy.

 This picture makes my heart melt.

 Todd and I were able to go out and saw PAUL McCARTNEY in concert! And of course he was absolutely nothing less than amazing! I love both of those men!

 Makenna had a great Soccer team this year. And she really dominated as one of the leaders and best players on her team. She is a goalie to be reckoned with. It still amazes me how much she loves to play goalie. To me it just seems scary and intimidating. But she does so good. She is also an awesome forward. She is fast and aggressive and is so good at anticipating the ball. I hope she continues to love soccer because she really has a lot of natural instincts and can be Sooooo good if she sticks with it! 

A Special Day

 This sweet girl turned 8 in August and then the first Saturday in September, the 6th, she had the opportunity to be baptized. She was so excited about this special day for her. And was very ready. She has such a sweet spirit and such a pure love for her Father in Heaven. She is an example to me of faith in her savior Jesus Christ. She knows it to be true in her heart and doesn't question or waver. I am so proud of her and the maturity and growth I have seen in her. I am glad to know that this is a choice that she has been able to make for herself, with her own testimony and her own desire. 

What a beautiful girl, all dresses in white!

 I know that we were all excited and also just so happy for her and being able to be there with her to watch her take this step in life. 

 Makenna LOVES Sister Woidka. She has been someone she has adored since she was a sunbeam. Her face lights up every time she sees her and I know that Sister Woidka has gotten a lot of very big, very intense hugs from Makenna each and every Sunday. We were lucky to have her be able to give a brief talk before her baptism!

Makenna got the opportunity to have her uncle Ding baptize her. It was special for all of us because it was the first tine we were able to see Ding baptize someone. And Makenna and David has always had such a special and close relationship. I know she loves and adores him and I know he has a special place in his heart for her too! After her baptism Pa confirmed her and gave her a very sweet blessing. I am so grateful that she as such wonderful men in her life that love and adore her!