Big Family Update

Tyler:

The biggest news about Tyler is that he can now ride a bike without any training wheels! I'm so proud of him for conquering his fear, and figuring it out. He is also so proud of himself! It was so neat to watch that accomplishment take place over the course of a week. I had to take the kids to the church parking lot so that we didn't have any cars to worry about, it was a big, open area and the girls could play around while I (or daddy) worked with him.

His summer soccer season just ended last week. He had a great time and improved a lot. The funnest part about watching him is how hard he works. He runs twice as much as any of the other kids he's playing with. This boy's a hustler, he just never gives up and keeps going after that ball. I love watching his enthusiasm.

His reading is also improving so quickly and that makes me sooo happy! I've waited for this day for a long time because he's such a book-a-holic and it will be so nice for him to be able to read to himself, and to the girls.

He and his dad had a fun project that took them a couple of weeks. They built a birdhouse! One weekend we all went to pick up the wood, the next weekend they built it. A few days later Tyler painted it, and now it's hanging in our backyard in a tree. Each side is a different color, he took it very seriously. :) He had fun working side by side with his dad, too.

He likes to assert his independence with little things like going to the bathroom or getting a drink by himself while we're at church, going to class by himself after sacrament meeting, ride his bike around the neighborhood square without me, etc. He's growing up so quickly and is a fantastic helper.

 Below: Tyler watching while Kenny sliced open some salmon he caught earlier that day. They had printed off a picture of the anatomy of a fish, and they were cutting it open to see where everything was.

 Brynlee: Bryn is so fun to have around because she just loves life. She makes being a girl seem like the most fun and glamorous thing you could be! She loves nothing more than dressing up in all pink, or very fancy and being a princess. She refers to herself as "your pinkalicious daughter" or "Princess Brynlee". Every single day, she puts on her ballerina outfit, or a princess dress-up, and asks me to do her hair pretty, or in a Rapunzel braid. She spins and twirls around the living room and watches her tutu poof out.
She shows so much love to everyone and is so sweet. She tells me throughout the day how much she loves me. I love her positive comments like "you're the best mom ever!" Or, "I'm growing up to be a mom just like you!" Or when I do something like wash her ballerina outfit so she can wear it again she says, "I'm so proud of you!" I'm not sure she understands the meaning of the word proud, because she's proud of people for lots of different reasons :).

She has recently started to love showers. I showed her how I wrap up my hair when it's wet and she thought that was pretty neat.

Fell asleep with gum in her mouth and woke up with it in her hair. We were lucky it was near the bottom, and underneath so it was hidden well when I cut it out.

 Madison is almost 20 months and she thinks she's just as big as Ty and Bryn. Her vocabulary has improved dramatically and it's so nice! We just switched rooms around this last weekend. Before, Tyler and Brynlee shared a room and Madi was in her own room. Now, Madison is sleeping in a big-girl bed, and sharing a room with Brynlee. She loves it!! The first night she just couldn't stop smiling. It was like, "are you seriously going to let me sleep in here?" haha she was so cute about it. Now Tyler is in a room by himself, but we plan to move Kelsey in there with him in a month or less.
She loves to play dolls more than anything else and is a great mommy to her little babies :).

 She occasionally likes to run around in the nude :)

 These kids love to splash in the puddles after it rains whether they're wearing their rain boots, or not.

 Kelsey: Turned 5 months old yesterday! She makes great efforts to escape her bumbo by leaning out, or arching her back so hard that I swear she's going to pop out of there.

 She gets lots of love and attention from her siblings, (obviously Brynlee with the crown) and she handles it all pretty well. We still call her the volcano, but I think her spitting up is improving a little. She's started sleeping so much better, around 10 hrs., and it's amazing how good life can be again! :)

Kenny: Enjoys going fishing every opportunity he can! I have never known him to love any hobby as much as he loves fishing. It is hard for me to understand, but I don't have to I guess :). He goes with guys from work a lot and they have a good time. Last Thursday his company had a barbecue that we went to and I got to meet everyone he works with. I always enjoy being able to put faces with names and stories he tells. After speaking with everyone I realized Kenny is exactly the same at home as anywhere else; he teases everyone ruthlessly and is sarcastic to a fault, but he works hard and they all had high praise for the things he does there. :) I really am proud of him, and grateful that he is able to support our family so well so that I can stay home and raise our kids. Because that's exactly where I should be, and want to be.

Me: I only got to go to one day of girls camp because of the kids, but I had a great time. I really wish I could've been there with them the whole time. They are great girls and I really do love them. It makes me so happy when I see them improving their lives and strengthening their testimonies. Young Womens is keeping me busy (on top of having 4 kids, of course) but I love being a part of it.

I am on week 2 of going to boot camp every morning. It's my last big effort to lose the baby weight before my brother's wedding! I am dying to see my family again and can't wait till I fly into SLC on Aug. 16th! I go to either the 5:30 a.m. or 6:10 a.m. class. I found this great deal on Groupon and it turns out it's exactly what I needed to drag my bum out of bed and workout!! It feels great!