Maizy's Preschool Graduation

I can't believe that I am going to have a child in Kindergarten next year. It is amazing how fast time flies. I am so proud of Maizy. She has grown into such a smart and beautiful young lady. She teaches me everyday and is a great example and helper to her younger brother and sister (most of the time). She has always been really bright and picks up on things quickly. She is going to do great in Kindergarten-I just hope she isn't bored.
Below is Maizy with her teacher, Miss Shelley. Maizy has always been one to get attached to her teachers and school mates. She LOVES Miss Shelley!

Maizy makes friends very easily. Below is just one of her school mates that she is talking about constantly.

Here is a little clip of them at their graduation.

Scrapbook Night

Last Saturday night I hosted a Stampin' Up party and then a continued into the night scrapbooking extravaganza. It was a lot of fun and we had a great group. Some of us stayed up doing projects until after 1 am. I suck at taking pictures and forgot to get one of the group, but here is the sandwich I made to eat-it was delicious!

I also took a picture of the projects we completed for the Stampin' Up portion of the night. I think they turned out pretty good if I don't say so myself!

The card was made using the shaving cream technique.

The page used sticky page cutouts to apply glitter to the "L's" in the title. The page has a light background that is difficult to see in the picture!

Another Zoo Trip

In the beginning of April, both Casey and I actually had a day off together where no one needed to sleep (amazing these days), so we decided to have a family outing to the zoo. It was a beautiful day!

A lot of the animals were out in great view for us. I have never seen the gorilla this active and the tigers were really close to the plexi glass.

The kids were all in a great mood.

Maizy loves the playground so she can explore everything.

Zander had a blast wandering around.

Zoey hung out on the slide mostly.

She has turned into a real monkey climbing on everything.

Maizy even talked us into going on the train.

She was in 7th heaven.

I love when my kids are happy and not fighting/whining. We had a fun day.

Grandpa Dick

Richard Heber "Dick" Wilde, 89, of St. George passed away on May 2, 2010 at the George E. Wahlen Ogden Veterans Home in Ogden, Utah. He was born in Coalville, Utah, February 17, 1921, to Willard Heber and Ella Spackman Hall Wilde.

He graduated from North Summit High School in 1939, and was selected to that year's All-State Basketball team. He remained active in sports throughout his life, including basketball, baseball, golfing, and hunting and fishing. He was an avid fan of Jazz basketball and BYU/UU sports.

His life was filled with close friends and cherished associates. He married Betty Rollins at Salt Lake City on June 27, 1941. They were later divorced. He married Wilda Walker Birch in Reno, Nevada on November 16, 1972.

He served in the 96th Army Infantry Division in World War II, and went ashore in Okinawa with the initial landing force on April 1, 1945. He was awarded a Purple Heart, was advanced to the rank of Staff Sergeant, and received an honorable discharge. Service to his country was a defining theme throughout his life.

Following the war, he worked for the Ideal Cement Company at Devil's Slide, Utah for 32 years. He is survived by two sons, Glenn (Anne) Wilde, of St. George; Douglas (Robin) Wilde of Coalville, six grandchildren, 18 great-grand children, and one sister, Judith (Sheldon) Crittenden. He is preceded in death by both his wife Wilda; his former wife Betty, his parents; and two sisters, Virginia Pace and Josephine Knowlton.

The family thanks the staff at George E. Wahlen Ogden Veterans Home; St. George Care and Rehabilitation and Bristol Hospice for the sensitive and humane end of life care given Richard. The family also thanks the Coalville American Legion Post 93. Family and friends are invited to a viewing to be held from 6:00-8:00 p.m., Thursday, May 6, 2010 at the Stake Center in Coalville Utah. A graveside service for Richard will be held at the Coalville Cemetery on Friday, May 7, 2010 at 11:00 a.m. Arrangements are under the direction of Goff Mortuary.

Kids just hanging out

My kids were being a pain in the butt today, so when they were actually being cute I had to take a picture so I could remind myself why I love being a mother and why I love them so much.

Kittens

So quite a while ago, a stray cat adopted my mom. I should be used to this as this was a common occurrence growing up. My parents really haven't had animals for a while, but they seemed excited about this cat. We soon found out that she had babies. When we found them, they were quite large already and very skittish. To this day, we still cannot get very close to them without them darting away. The mom cat has gotten used to my parents and has warmed up to my mom enough over the last few months that she is now very trusting. A little while ago, my mom noticed her belly was very large. Next thing we know, she disappeared. A few days later, she led my mom to her hideout where my mom heard tiny meows. Oh boy, kittens!

(Tomcat)

A few days later (kittens just over a week old...we think), the mom cat brought them to my parents house...all 3 cute kittens. My dad got busy immediately building them a house out of wood that would be warm for the new kittens. We made the decision we would keep one. We have been letting the kid play with them practically every day so they could get used to them. Night before last, we brought all 3 kittens in our basement to start weaning them from their mother. So far so good. All 3 are eating solid food and drinking without problems and we believe all 3 are now using the kitty litter box. Yay!!!

(Tigger-Maizy's favorite and the one we will keep)

We are still only keeping 1...at least that is my hope, although Casey continues to try to convince me otherwise. Maizy has now chosen names for all 3 and has picked her favorite to keep. We have Tinkerbell (the only girl), Tomcat and Tigger (Maizy's favorite). Casey has build a nice large area for them to play around in. My kids go insane around them. I sometimes fear for those little kittens. I guess the only way for my kids to learn is to practice and hopefully the kittens survive 3 crazy children.

(Tinkerbell)

Zander turns 18 months

I realize that this day occurred over 2 weeks ago, but I have been waiting for his doctor checkup to give the full update, which didn't occur until the 1st.

Zander continues to be a cute, but busy boy. He is just as big of a troublemaker as his sisters (they have taught him well). He continues to amaze us everyday. He is saying more words daily and is much better as copying what we say that Zoey was at his age. He LOVES to climb on and get into everything. We have child proofed and locked as much as possible, but he still finds ways. It is always scary when you walk into the kitchen and find your 18 month old holding a knife that he got out of the dishwasher. Needless to say, we now have a lock on the dishwasher....as well as the freezer, most doors, and some cupboards/drawers. There are scratches and dings in my brand new walls from Zander knocking down the gates because they were preventing him from getting somewhere and there is a nice round indention in Maizy's wall from who knows what. All I know is Casey told me Zander was crying and when he went in the room, he found the dent. He is a lovey child as all my kids seem to be. He will follow us around the house crying just because he wants to be picked up and held for a few minutes. He loves to sit on our lap-as long as he has some entertainment, and he is excellent at giving kisses (so cute). He is still a little bow-legged, but that seems to be improving.


He is my big boy. He is moving into some 3T clothes as 2T's are starting to get a little tight. We may have to roll sleeves and legs a little, but otherwise they fit great. The doctor told me to start an exercise routine with him and get him outside as soon as the weather gets good enough. I told her he runs around the house with his sisters as much or more than he would outside. If any of you have seen this kid, he doesn't have a roll on him anywhere...he is just pure SOLID! He may weigh more than most kids his age, but he is also taller than most kids his age with a bigger head too. I understand where my doctor is coming from. Childhood obesity is a real problem, but I don't think Zan is heading there.

Stats:
Height-35.43 inches which is the 99% (off the curve according to the graph)
Weight-33.25 lbs which is the 99% (off the curve according to the graph)
OFC- 19.6 inches which is the 93% (still on the curve but barely)

What can I say, we grow big stock around here.
He is a healthy and happy boy, and that is all I can ask for.