Spring Soccer 2011

Spring soccer has begun! The kids had their first practice April 12th. It was the perfect time to start since Grandma and Papa would be able to see them in action.

Ben loves his soccer shirt Grandma and Papa gave him when they came to visit. He thinks it is so cool that the shirt says "use your head." Ben was also thrilled that his feet were finally big enough to wear Hyrum's old blue cleats. He thinks he is pretty awesome.Emmy loves wearing her "super fast shoes" when she plays soccer. For whatever reason, wearing the cleats have given her a new found confidence. She runs so quickly and attacks the ball. I never expected her to be such an aggressive player.Hyrum loves every minute of playing soccer with his friends. He is really good at playing goalie and I think he really enjoys it too. Brandon is once again coaching Hyrum's team the Bengals. I think he does a fantastic job. So far it has been a great season!

Papa and Grandma's Visit

We did many fun things while my parents were here visiting. Unfortunately, I didn't take as many pictures as I would have liked. I think that had to to do with the fact that sometimes I stayed home since I wasn't feeling well and my parents took the kids to the park multiple times, to pick strawberries and other fun adventures.

Below is a picture of the list the kids made of things they wanted to do with Grandma and Papa when they came.My mom got in an exam from Brandon while they were visiting.
One of the things I did take pictures of was when we took the kids to Shelby Farms. I love these pictures since I feel like they really show how much my little monkeys love their grandparents.Another thing we did was go to a new amazing park that is so close to our park. The kids had a fantastic time. The kids love it when Papa plays tag with them.Before my parents left, we checked Hyrum out of school to go to lunch. Hyrum thought he was so cool being checked out from school. He loved every minute of his time with his Papa and Grandma before they headed off back to Utah.We loved having my parents here. We are so lucky to see them so often even though we live far apart.

Natalie's and Brandon's Birthdays

I was completely spoiled on my birthday this year. My parents watched the kids while I went to go and get a pedicure. It was heaven!

After we picked Hyrum up from school, we went to Chuck E. Cheese. Like always, the kids had a great time. Emmy hit the jackpot on many of the games that she played.

We picked up pizza on the way home. I was spoiled rotten by my parents and siblings. I received many nice presents.We also celebrated Brandon's birthday as well since my parents wouldn't be able to celebrate his special day. Brandon was also spoiled. To finish the night, we had cake and ice cream and watched Tangled as a family. It was a fantastic birthday!!

Botanical Gardens with Grandma and Papa

My parents came to visit during the month of April. They came from April 8th to the 15th. I was so excited to have them come. Before they came, the kids and I made a list of things that we would like to do with them during their visit. One of the things on the list was to take them to the Botanical Gardens here in Memphis.

We went and visited the gardens on a beautiful sunny Saturday and had a great time.
We checked out the colorful fish in the Japanese area of the gardens. The kids loved throwing some crackers to the fish.

We also walked around some other gardens before we went to the amazing children's area. The kids just ran from one activity to the next. They loved playing tag in the large tree house. Emmy's favorite part of the garden was once again the stick house. Everyone had to come and knock on her door to have some cookies and apple juice.The kids loved exploring the music house as well as another cute little play house. The kids were in heaven and were disappointed when we said it was time to leave.

Before we left the gardens, the kids had their papa push them on a huge swing and we played with hula hoops.It was a beautiful sunny day and the perfect way to start off my parents trip here to Memphis.

1st T-Ball Practice

Hyrum has begged and begged to be signed up for baseball. This spring, a friend called to see if Hyrum wanted to sign-up for t-ball with him and we jumped at the chance. Hyrum was so excited to hear that he was going to play t-ball with one of his best friends Jake.On April 1st, Hyrum had his first practice. He kept asking me over and over again if it was time yet to go to practice.

Hyrum was so thrilled to finally be able to go to practice. It was cute to see Ben and Emmy get so excited for Hyrum and his new adventure with t-ball. During practice, they covered the basics; how to run the bases, how to throw the ball, how to bat. Hyrum loved every minute.
Hyrum has had so much fun this season so far. He is always anxious to go to t-ball. I am sure he will be playing again next year.