LAST DAY OF PRESCHOOL

Sterling had his preschool program while Josh and Laura were here. I took Israel with me and left Dellin and Gouverneur home to play with their cousins. Dad met us there. It was fun to sit and watch Sterling Henry. He has absolutely loved preschool! He will go back to the same one in the fall and Dellin will go with him.

They sang lots of cute songs and had a graduation at the end. I loved it.

Little Man with his teacher, Miss Lynn.

We are so proud of you, Sterling Henry, You are such a darling, smart boy. You love life and live it to the fullest. We know that this is just the beginning of all the great things that you will do!

JOSH AND LAURA CAME TO VISIT.

Josh and Laura drove down from New Hampshire with their girls, Bryn and Mya to stay with us for a week. We had been looking forward to their visit for weeks. We had such a great time with them.  We took advantage of every second that they were here, and were still so sad to see them leave. We spent a lot of time out and about, but also spent time around the house. The kids were just happy to be together. I love seeing my boys having fun with their cousins.

Josh and Laura with all the kids minus Israel.

These kids had so much fun together. They played super heroes, read book, watch shows, and ate every meal together. Bryn was a great sport to put up with these wild boys who were constantly trying to tackle her. It was fun for me to watch the boys want to do whatever Bryn was doing. They really love her.

At night, we'd do scriptures together before bed. My boy loved it when Josh read to them.

 

It was a lot of fun to have all the kids together. This picture is a good showing of what we did most of the time. Just sat around and played. All six kids here.

I really wanted a good group shot of the kids. This one turned out great. Cutest kids.

Gouverneur 2nd Birthday Celebration.

I love prepping for my boy's birthdays. I always blow up balloons and hang them from the ceiling and I put up our birthday banner. I love the look on their faces when they come out and see everything. We started out Gouverneur's birthday right with German Pancakes with strawberries and cream and sausage. My boys all request the same thing, which is fine by me.

 We did presents after breakfast since we had plans that evening. His birthday fell on Memorial Day this year. Here are the boys giving Gouv his present from them.

His very own bat and ball. He was thrilled to get his own. 

 He also got his own shovel and wheelbarrow. The boys love nothing more than to work outside with dad. They love having their own tools too. Gouv has moved into a new big boy world and that means his own shovel. The boys were a bit jealous of his wheelbarrow. They put it to good use all day to help dad move wood.

My boys working hard. The birthday boy is right in the mix. 

Later that evening, we got together with some friends for a barbeque. I made cupcakes and we sang to Gouv there. He LOVED it. He cheered and clapped when the whole thing was over. Just look at that face!

This boy just melts my heart. 

Gouverneur is TWO!

It's hard to believe that our little Gouverneur is two years old. He has been such a sweet boy and a LOT of fun.

He has really grown in to his name, although we call him Baby Fufu most of the time. Sort of on the other side of the spectrum from Gouverneur, but it works for him. 

He can hang with older brothers and doesn't get pushed around. In fact, most of the time he is the one doing most of the pushing. He isn't talking a whole lot, but when he does, he has a deep voice. It cracks us up.

He is our power sleeper. He can sleep through anything and sleeps a solid 12 hours every night with a good 2-3 hour nap everyday. He still has his own room since baby Israel is still with us. He is going to love having a brother in his room. We hope.

He is such a little man. We took him hiking and he walked up the whole hill by himself. Such a tough guy. He likes to do most things by himself. He insists on saying every prayer. If someone else says it, he wants to say one after theirs.

He is a serious daddy's boy. More so than any other of our boys at this age. He wants to be with his dad all the time and usually is. It's pretty cute.

 2 Year Stats

Weight: 30 lbs. 6 oz. (80%)

Height: 36 1/2 inches (95%)

Head: 20 inches (95%)

We sure love you Gouverneur. And LOVE having you in our family! You make us all happy.

My Boys

The three older boys were all playing in the boy's room and I found them playing in the bed. I layed Israel down by them and they were so happy to have him part of it. My heart nearly exploded. I grabbed the camera fast and had to document this moment. Most of the time our house is loud, crazy, and messy. But these are the moments that I live for as a mom. Four darling boys just smiling at me. I love being a mom to these guys. This is definitely the good life.

Mother's Day Weekend.

I had a wonderful Mother's Day weekend. My boys are always good to me, but it's fun to have a special day to be spoiled by them. On Saturday, they smoked lamb for our dinner on Sunday. I have to admit that I was a bit skeptical about lamb, but Sterling assured me that it would be good. Here are the boys helping out.

While the boys were smoking, they also helped dad get my pots ready for my garden. They were really good helpers, especially Little Man.

Little Man was very excited to give me this darling gift that he made at school. It's a darling wind chime that he painted all pretty.

Here are my boys testing out the lamb. It was amazing. It completely exceeded my expectations. The boys clearly thought so too. Look at them just going to town on it.

Before church with my boys. I am one lucky momma.

My Mother's Day dinner with my boys. Lamb is probably what I'll request from here on out. It was truly delicious.

I feel so privileged and lucky to be a mom to these four darling boys. I don't know what I did to deserve them, but I feel a huge responsibility to raise them up right. These boys are the future. They are future priesthood holders, missionaries, husbands, and fathers. I can't wait to watch them grow up... Just not too fast! I'm so lucky to have such a wonderful husband who teaches them to be good to me. I am truly blessed!

AUNT MARILEE COMES TO VISIT

My sister Marilee came to visit us this last week and we had such a great time. She is three years older than me and has five kids. Last time she came to see us was 5 1/2 years ago. A lot has changed since then. She got in on Tuesday afternoon, and Sterling left on a boys trip with his dad and brothers the next day, so it was perfect timing for me to have her out here.

We hit up all the fun stuff while she was here, including The Ribbon Outlet, Lucketts Antique Store, Georgetown Cupcake, and many other girly things.

We got frozen yogurt everyday, went shopping, and ate lots of yummy good. We cut. colored, and straightened each others hair, and watched lots of girly movies. I introduced her to my love of thrifting and yard sales. She spent lots of time reading and playing with the boys. The adore her. Obviously.

Us.

We were all in tears as we dropped her off at the airport. I kept telling my boys that we were lucky to have her for five days. Now her kiddos need her too.

Thanks for coming to see us Mar. I know that your family all made sacrifices for you to be here. Thanks Brandon for sharing her with us. Can't wait to see you all this summer.

I am so lucky to have three beautiful sisters who I love, admire, and look up to.Being the youngest girl in my family has always had it's perks, but having three sisters for best friends is the best by far.