Happy Birthday Koko!

Karoline's birthday was a success! I was feeling a bit pooped out with all of the Roman and Capri's parties and so I was feeling sorry for poor Koko. Thank goodness our families were so great to help make this such a fun day!

We started by heading to the Discovery Gateway Museum. My kids absolutely love that place. We have to play in every exhibit available! Capri loves the store, Roman loves the construction site, and Karoline loves the farm.

Yeehaw!

Cheri, my mom, Drew, and Susie all came and we had quite the crew!

Having fun on the helicopter!

After the museum, we headed over to Jason's Deli for some lunch. These cute cousins played ring around the rosie along the way...

Once the kids were fed, we kept things going by getting Build-a-Bears! All of the kids loved picking out their animal and getting them made, complete with fun outfits.

That night we celebrated with everyone at Grammy's house. It was so cute because Capri loved buying decorations for her sister's party and helping me get it set up...

Karoline loved being the center of attention along with the many presents she was given. This was one of her favorites, a "gumbella."

And here is the birthday girl sporting her new scooter accessory:

Such a fun-filled day for my sweet Karoline!

Daddy Daughter Dance

Lifetime Fitness hosts a Daddy Daughter Dance every year and they go all out. It is always the week of the twins birthday and we never have made it til this year. The girls were so excited as we went to the gym day after day, to find more and more decorations for the upcoming event. It is Princess themed complete with "real" Disney princesses there in full costume. There were balloons galore, sashes aplenty, and the tables were decorated to the nines. The anticipation was ever growing!

The girls got all dressed up, hair done, and makeup on. They looked like the prettiest princesses in all the land...

Cinderella:

Rapunzel:

Daddy and his gorgeous girls:

 These two were so happy, they decided to be nice to one another-hooray!

They had so much fun dancing the night away, visiting all of the princesses, and eating a delectable dinner of macaroni and cheese.  What a fabulous evening!

Happy Birthday Roman and Capri!

We have two that are six now. My how the time flies! I couldn't believe that I was putting together a birthday party for my twins turning six year old. They seem so big and mature now and I will continue to have a hard time wrapping my head around the fact that they keep growing. I also struggled with the fact that I was putting together a birthday party for twenty kids...seriously?!

It was actually a lot of fun. We made it super simple by making it a "Movie Night" theme and held it over at my parent's house to use their huge screen in the basement. The kids were totally sold on the idea from the get go and so I knew it would be a success. I found a birthday kit on Etsy that made the whole party that much cuter and complete including a banner, food labels, cupcake cups, and water bottle labels. The kids got to fill a sack of concession goodies, grab a water, and get a tub of popcorn to take down to the movie...

The setup:

Plenty of yummy treats...

While we were waiting for everyone to get there, we had sent the kids down to play some Just Dance-they were so into it! The only way I got them to line up to head back upstairs was to say they were going to get treats. Here they all are...

And then back downstairs for the movie...

Once the movie was over, the kids came together for cupcakes and presents...

It was a great 6th birthday celebration, but of course we didn't let it end there! That Sunday we had a family birthday party with cousins and Grandparents in attendance. I made an enormous sheet cake and Capri was thrilled to finally be sung to (she was being a bit of a pill at her friend party!):

Daddy and the twins:

Mommy and the twins:

Their actual birthday fell on a Thursday which meant for class treats and birthday crowns at school. Check out my birthday buddies...

They were so excited to hand out donuts to their classmates!

And what's not one more party?! That night we headed to the new Texas Roadhouse that opened up really close. The kids got to ride on the saddle while being sung to and Roman got a kick out of it:

Capri wasn't too thrilled by the idea, but once the employees left, she was happy to saddle up!

Such a fun birthday for my kiddos!

President's Day Weekend

President's Day Weekend is one of the most popular times for people to migrate down south, and now I know why. Beautiful weather, a break from the winter, and the Parade of Homes. We joined the migration along with the Fords, my parents, and our friends the Phillips and Ross'.  It was a great getaway as always, but this trip was particularly fun due to our fun hiking day with everyone.

We headed up Snow Canyon and tried out a new little hike that is only open during the fall and winter months-perfect timing. The hike was totally doable for even the 3 year-olds which made it perfect. All of the older kids stuck together and were totally making an adventure out of it-nothing better than that! Too, the adults all got to hike and talk together, and with it being 65 degrees, it was ideal.

The trail led to a stream, arch, and then a big cavernous end full of sand for the kids to play in...

Karoline has turned into Miss Independent these days. She would not let us hold her for more than 2 seconds and insisted on hiking on her own. But at least she found this great walking stick to help her along!

Zoey, Sarah, and Capri getting dirty and having fun...I promise Zoey was smiling right before I took this picture!

Roman was so into the adventure of it all and used these sticks as his "gun" and "sword."

And here I am with my pregnant belly...27 weeks!

A few of the troop members-Sarah, Danny, Roman, Capri and Cohen.

The burly men-Tucker, Brian, Seth with baby Crew, and my dad.

And the even burlier ladies-Annelise, me, my mom, and Jenn.

The Fords came down that night and we finished the trip off with our normal list of to-dos while down in St. George. Lots of fun and so glad we made it down there for a perfect time-out.

Jr. Jazz

Roman found a new sport and we couldn't have been happier! A few kids from the neighborhood were signing up for Jr. Jazz and so I thought we should give it a try. When I realized that they weren't able to get us on the same team, I was weary of going through with it not knowing how Roman would do. Well he was just fine! He loved basketball all season long and was very disappointed when it was over. But don't worry, he still loves to practice dribbling at home...inside...hmmm...really can't wait til we get a hoop OUTSIDE for him! ;)

Roman was the BEST at playing defense. He would get his hands up and not stray more than a few inches from his man the entire time. It was actually kind of funny because the poor kids didn't have a chance! Sometimes he took it too far and continued to play defense even when his team was on offense...we will have to work on that!

Asking for the pass...

My happy boy!

What made this season that much better, was Roman being able to go to a real Jazz game. Grampy, Tucker and Tanner all took him and he was in absolute heaven. Catching the t-shirt, listening to the music, seeing the "big guys" play, and meeting the mini jazz bear were all highlights...

GO JAZZ!!!

Fresh snow!

The inversion finally broke, the temperatures raised a bit, and we got a thick blanket of fresh snow. I was thrilled to be able to send the kids out for snowman making fun! We also played with colored water to use on the white snow-it was a hit and it kept them busy for awhile. However, Roman was more interested in throwing snowballs...