Little tyke is riding a BIG bike!

 And he's up!

Uh oh a little wobbly!

Nope he got it..he's going and going and.......

 Going!

 Genna was there to cheer him on and make sure he didn't fall.  So crazy but Jacob took his training wheels off all by himself and decided he wanted to ride it without them.  He can go the whole block all by himself.  He has a little bit of a hard time at the initial go but once he's off he is OFF!!! The best part is all of his big sisters were the ones helping him and SO excited for him.  Way to go Jakey!

Superhero experiment's!

Jacob has hit the "WHY:" stage! You know where a child asks: Why do we wear pants? Where did the pants come from?  Why do I have hair? Why do I have a belly button? why does daddy go to work?  Why is the sky blue? Where does the water come from? Where do the pipes go? Where do those pipes underground go? What about the water in the tub where does that go? What about the water in the toilet go? Those last few questions about the pipes are Jacob's on going questions. He asks me multiple times sometimes in one day.  I tell him where they go but he wants to see it in action.  So he found this unused tubing that goes to a dryer and was very excited to play with it. He's done lots of creative things but this one I found the tag team doing was my favorite.  Jacob tried to hook one end of the tube up to the water from the fridge to a cup and have it fill up but he couldn't do it alone. Have no fear..>SuperGiselle to the rescue.  She was happy to help..even if only for a minute or two.  Luckily it wasn't too much of a mess and I enjoy their curiosity. Let's hope he doesn't get into fire stuff next!

School carnival fun!

Jacob's preschool had an ice cream carnival on the last day of school.  So that night we headed over and was super excited to see a clown doing face paintings. I was not surprised the girls got fun butterflies and stuff like that but I was surprised that Jacob got his whole face painted as Spider-man.  He was so proud and told everyone he was Spider-man.  He hasn't even watched the show. I guess maybe I should get some more movies of super hero's.  He really does seem to like that stuff.  The kids had a blast and it was fun to watch them so happy. Giselle did not get her face painted but she did LOVE playing at the water table and the giant sand table.  Ice cream wasn't too bad either!

Nothing spells summer better than S M O R E!!!

Ever since Jacob went camping with Daddy he talks about camping. He loved it.  Genevieve had a friend come over last week and it was a beautiful night. So we thought it would be fun to get out the fire pit and roast some Smore's.  Yes that is Genna's friend and yes they are the same age!

Giselle had a lot of fun holding her stick and trying to roast marshmallows. It took us A LONG time to get the wood to actually catch on fire for longer than a second but no one minded. It was a lot of fun to just be outside and stay up late. For the kids at least. haha

Jacob is SO Brett...look at that classic Fox look!  Jennifer you would be proud!

Getting the fire pit out and eating smore's too me is the signal summer is almost here. I love a yummy smore..the sticky marshmallow...the melty chocolate so good.  The only thing better is being able to enjoy it with some pretty amazing kiddos and Hubby!!

Mother's Day Tea!

I have been very blessed to be able to go to all of my preschoolers Mother's Day Tea.  The 3 older girls preschool was in Virginia and each year it was pretty much the same thing but always adorable.  A few songs a poem and usually a how well do you know your mother. Always hilarious..you know like the year one of mine said my favorite drink was Coffee. I was stunned to say the least..mostly because I didn't think she knew what coffee was..since NO ONE in our family drinks it. Too funny.

So this year was my first time with my little man.  We both got dressed up..which none of the other moms were dressed up.  The other preschool all the mom's got dressed up. Oh well who knew?  I came to the school where I was greeted with the best hug.  I got to see all his art work and projects and cubbie.  We did a little dancing and read a story. Then we sat and did a little project. Had some free play time and ended with cookies and juice.

So quite different from the girls but still absolutely wonderful.  Just to be with him by myself and see how he is with the other students and what he loves to do.  The tool section was a big favorite.  I also found out he likes these connect tube thingies a lot. So I was excited to see that.

Thank you to Jacob's wonderful preschool teacher's and all their hard work!
Thank you to Jacob for the cute crafts and sweet spirit. I love you!

Father/son/children campout!

This is where they camped!

Brett was lucky this year to take Jacob and The 3 older girls on a camp out.  Usually it is just a father/son camp out but our ward does father/children.  Mostly due to the fact that our Bishop has only daughters!  We haven't done very much camping as a family so we were really lacking camp gear.  I did a lot of research of which tent was durable, easy to set up and have room for our family.  Costco had the best deal.  A 10 person tent with great features and a great price.  Then later the day of the camp out. I got all the stuff to make tin foil dinners. Now, I haven't made tin foil dinners...really ever. Yes I've had them but I have not personally made them.  So I went on line and found some great recipes.  I mixed up the meat and seasonings. cut up the potatoes and carrots and onions. Wrapped and froze them for the trip. You can't go camping and not have snacks. So I stocked them with chips, cookies and soda's...all the essentials.  Don't worry I didn't forget stuff for Smore's. I also packed, a tablecloth which Brett thought was funny and he didn't use. 
Brett got home from work and the kids and I met him at the train station.  We switched cars. Giselle was excited to ride in Daddy's car.  Then he left to meet up with a friend of ours and his 2 girls he was bringing.
They got to the site and began the fun time of unloading.  Took a little while but they got the tent up  and then went to put the dinners on the fire.  Long story short..the foil dinners did NOT work out.  So he grabbed Jacob and ran to McD's. I know sad, right! 
I surprised the kids with a bunch of glow bracelets in the cooler.  Brett said they were a big hit..and was also nice to be able to keep tabs on Jacob. 
They had A LOT of fun running around, playing Frisbee, football and eating fun treats.
Brett said Jacob never used the bathroom while there..he said it was too stinky. 
At 5am is when the storm started.  I heard the thunder at our house and thought uh oh. 
They quickly packed everything up and pulled up to the house at 7am.  I really wish I had a picture of the car packed for when they left and then when they came back...so funny.

Brett said the night was too crazy to get any other pictures and then he was planning on doing pictures today but it started storming so he didn't get any. They shared a tent with good friends The Korella's and I believe a kimberling was in there as well.   It was quite the experience and I am so glad they got to have this adventure together. Now, I am excited to go camping with the family.  I will triple layer foil for the next time!

Jacob's 1st field trip

 Jacob was SO excited for his 1st ever field trip.  Ms. Kate and Ms. Brenda and his class met us all at a Nature Center.

This is Jacob's Preschool class!

Jacob with his two best buddies from school. Yes, they are girls. He adores them and they adore him. I guess having all sisters might not be such a bad thing after all..huh Jakey!

Here he is smelling peppermint on the rope..that is where a certain beetle comes out at night and it leaves a scent of peppermint.  They had to put a sticker on the spot where they smelled it!

It was really chilly so he cuddled up to me most of the time. I didn't mind at all.

He also went inside the nature center.  A bunny was hopping around all over the place.  He was able to pet him..using two soft fingers. 


We had a great time and it was so nice to have just Jacob and I.  Thank you to my friend Leah for watching Giselle!

Dallin H. Oaks

Brett and I were invited to go to The University of Chicago's Law School with a couple from our ward..the Chandler's.  They actually also went to UVA law school with us..but we were only there at the same time for one year :(  Anyways, it is always a little bit of an ordeal to go downtown let alone on a week night. Luckily I was able to find a babysitter and I was able to borrow a super cute dress from another friend in the ward...Sara you are way too kind..thank you thank  you! 
We drove down to pick up our guys..who happen to work at the same firm :)  Then we headed over to the Law school. For those that do not know. I am a member of the The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints. Dallin H. Oaks is an aspotle of the Lord.   I've always liked Dallin H. Oaks and being so close to an apostle is such an amazing thing.  He talked for a little while than opened up the floor for all of us to ask questions.  A few people asked some questions about his career..which was amazing by the way. Some asked about church stories..So I raised my hand and he picked me.  I asked if he had an advice for a family still in the thick of firm life and with little kids.  He was like well, it's like a bar graph..there will be times when it's focus is work, than family..basically you have to muddle through each day and just get through it.  Brett and I turned to each other and laughed..yup that's what we do! :)
There wasn't a ton of people..I'm not sure maybe 60-75.  So afterwards they had a little reception where he said he would shake hands.  We gladly waited a few minutes to shake his hand.  When it was our turn we told him we were the ones that asked him about the family life..he smiled and said I knew you guys were LDS when you asked about that.  We said yes, than he said well you guys are a young successful family. We laughed and said well not as young as some here. we have 5 kids and are muddling through. :) He laughed and said 5 huh, well you are successful for sure. 
The small moment of his time was so nice and encouraging.  Amazing that we got that moment and more amazing it was with my best friend. Brett I will muddle through this anytime you want. Love you tons!