Farm Day

A local farm was having a celebration of their tenth anniversary and had lots of fun activities to do yesterday so the kids and I went out while Andy worked on some church stuff. They got to paint on a horse, saddle a pony, lead a horse, brush a horse, and Sydney got to learn about and try her hand at vaulting, which is apparently gymnastics poses on a horse. Then they each got 3 horse rides. the best part about this is that Abby recalls her first time on a horse whose name was Cocoa very fondly. She named her toy broom horse Cocoa and talks about Cocoa all the time. She loves it the most and is so tiny on the big horses, it's adorable. They all had fun and it was a great way to spend the afternoon. Make sure to try to watch the video below... the helmet are so big on Abby her head bounces all around!

"Accidents"

Our house have been having a lot of "accidents" lately. Our mischievous little Abby definitely is our most wily and sneaky child. She somehow finds all her siblings' candy I hide from various holidays around the house and I've been finding little wrappers in corners all around the house quietly tucked away. She also has a bad habit of writing on things. Markers have again been banned from our home because they inevitably get left out and Abby writes all over everything. I thought we had it taken care of but she found the pens too. She came into my room recently like the picture below and said... "Mom, I accidentally wrote on myself." Its curious then that there are so many marks if it was an "accident." :) Unfortunately I soon discovered she had written all over the walls in her room and in some of my books as well...... sigh. I get lots of practice taking deep breaths these days... oh and you may notice she was wearing panties in the photo. She completely potty trained herself for a few weeks before our trip to Texas but when we got back she'd have nothing to do with it and insisted she liked being a baby. I got tired of cleaning up number one and number two in various corners of my home where she decided to do her business... so we let go of the power struggle and go back to diapers until she's ready again. It seems a stretch to think anyone can "accidentally" run into a corner of their brother's room or behind the play kitchen when the real potty was closer, go potty, and then run out and keep playing, more likely we're just not ready to potty train yet. We love you Abby... someday your clever ideas will serve you well.

Texas 2017

I wanted to share and document our pics from out trip to Texas a few weeks ago. It so fun looking back and see all the things we got to do. We love our family :) and miss everyone!

Ropes Course

I wanted to go try out the Trinity Forest Adventure Park ropes course in South Dallas for my birthday, and it did not disappoint! We all had fun. Sydney did one run on the youth/adult course with us too. She was so brave as I had no idea what to expect and was surprised at the difficulty of the obstacles on the first run. This place have over 20 zip lines and 70 obstacles that all get harder as you progress through it. Sydney was a trooper having never done anything like that before. She was sandwiched between Andy and I so he would set her off to me on the opposite side of the obstacle. Each time she finished, I would ask her how she was doing and she would say, "A little scared, but it's fun." She pinched her hand a little in the block on her last zipline to the ground, so she joined my dad and Wynn on the children's course after that. Andy said I tricked him into a workout, but I still think he liked it! I would definitely love to go back sometime it was super fun. 

 

Triple Birthday Celebration

While we were in Texas for spring break, we celebrated my, Sydney's, and Andy's birthday. We went to a restaurant called 'The Time Machine' and had a lot of fun. Sydney and I had a caricature drawn together and a magician came by our table and did a little show for us that was fun. The best part of the show was how much Wynn loved it. He was laughing hysterically! We'll have to take him to another magic show sometime. We had a blast doing lots of fun things, going to breakfast, and celebrating together. Andy even took me to the Cheesecake Factory to get my favorite dessert, Strawberry Shortcake and even though they were out for the night, the waiter was super nice and talked to the chef so they made me some fresh! I was super stoked and it was super delicious.

3/24/17 - Sydney's Baptism

Sydney's baptism day was very special. She was able to have most of her family and tons of her friends there present to support her. As part of her program, she asked Grandma Pack and Aunt Donna to speak at her baptism and each of their messages was very special for her. Sydney and I also got to sing a song together at her baptism and I will always remember that. We are thankful Grandma and Grandpa Pack we able to fly up to be able to support Sydney as well. Sydney says she remembers most feeling happy and peaceful inside. I asked her to share with me her testimony and this is what she said:

I know the Church is true. I know that Heavenly Father lives. I know that we can be baptized and get the Holy Ghost because Jesus was baptized. I know the scriptures are true and they help me learn about Jesus in the name of Jesus Christ, amen.

Beauty

Sydney turned eight this year and what better way to celebrate than with Beauty and the Beast! Sydney is growing up so fast. She loves to try her hand at lots of different hobbies and is learning to dance, sing, play piano, swim better, and play soccer. Of all her hobbies though she loves to read and do art the most. Sydney is a very social little girl and has lots of friends. She loves to make up stories and dress up to act out the scenes she imagines. She and her friends come up with lots of fun different stories to act out at recess. We were very proud and happy for her to make the decision to get baptized a few days after her birthday. Her knowledge of the scriptures and how quickly she learns at school and at church is great. She definitely keeps me on my toes as she watches everything I do and imitates how I react to situations... yikes! It is so great to see her trying to learn and figure out what she believes and who she wants to be as she grows up. We love you Sydney. Happy Birthday!