Free Range Family

I love my job, for sooooooooo many reasons! One of them is my Y family! The people that I work with aren't just coworkers, we are a community, we are our own family. Our children grow up together, we celebrate holidays and birthdays together, we support those who need it and praise those who have succeeded. I wouldn't want my little family to grow up anywhere else! :D Speaking of Y family members, one of Alan's best buddies had his fifth birthday this weekend. He just happened to have it at the Y (as do most staff kids, our birthday parties are so popular!) and he invited Alan. We all had such a wonderful time! The party was football themed and there were several of Alan's classmates there as well. Anna tagged along for the party, she did pretty good too, considering she was the youngest in the whole group! :) She hung out with Tucker's teenage sisters almost the whole time lol. Already such a diva… Thanks for inviting us Tucker! We had a wonderful...

Oh my word! These are the BEST pictures I have ever had taken! I swear that I say this every year, but I loved the pictures so much! Miss Kelsie Peterson is such a wonderful photographer! She knew just the places for good lighting and just the pose to have us all in. She is also an amazing editor! I love how all our photos turn out, from our several photo sessions at Norm's Island to our Christmas sessions at home. Thanks Kelsie, you are the best! Thank you so much Kelsie! These pictures are just beautiful! 

So my wild child son could not come up with just ONE thing for his birthday. He has a love for gymnastics and all things tumbling (just like his mama) but he also is quite  obsessed with fond of Legos, just like his crazy  creative father. :P So he was torn between the two themes. We decided to have his "school friends" party at the YMCA Kids Gym. Then we would invite anyone who wanted to join in to the local Lego store, Bricks and MiniFigs. They could play and look at the Legos with Alan. He loved the idea! It ended up just being the kids, Lon and I at the Lego store, but Alan didn't care. He was instantly in hog heaven! :) Anna went over and played with the big bricks while Alan and Lon explored the Lego creations throughout the store. We currently have a Lego exhibit at our local art museum, entitled The Art of the Brick. One of the artist's creations was at Bricks and MiniFigs, a sculpture of the inside of an eye! It was so cool and entirely made out of b...

Today my handsome, amazing, super sweet, very smart, wonderful, loving son is turning five years old. I cannot believe that he is five now! I remember being pregnant with him, I remember the labor, I remember having him and I remember him as a itty bitty baby. Now he is big, entirely his own person with his own opinions and personality. He is so stinking smart, always wanting to learn about new things. He loves everyone and everything! He loves to take care of his baby sister and his cousin Benton. He wants to be friends with everyone, will talk to anyone he meets on the street and tell them to "Have a great day." I have never met such a wonderful young man before! We are so lucky to call ourselves his parents, he is just amazing! We are having his birthday party tonight. First, we will be making the trip to Bricks and MiniFigs for some Lego fun and shopping. Alan cannot wait, he has been talking about the Lego store all month long lol! After our Lego exploration, w...

We have been so busy this week preparing for that boy's birthday party on Friday, that I have yet to even post about his first day of school! Wow! So we are in need of some MAJOR catching up!  This past weekend, Aunt Natalie and her family came into town to host their wedding reception in Billings. They stayed the whole weekend and we even went to one of Aunt April's first football games as a varsity cheerleader. We had a wonderful time! Benton even started walking while he was here! We all were able to see a major milestone for him! I was so happy! Auntie loves you so much BB! Gotta love my weird siblings and I. Trying so hard to take a family photo at Aunt Natalie and Uncle Jake's reception, it took probably five times to get a nice picture! And Uncle Jake's thumb is even in it! Lol, we are so crazy! We also celebrated Alan's birthday early because Aunt Natalie and Uncle Jake wouldn't be able to come back next weekend. They took us to Chu...