We Have a Teenager!!!

 It's official, June joined the dark side - the emotional, no one understands me, my parents are idiots, raging hormones dark teenage side!  Look how happy she was when we woke her up at the crack of dawn with donuts to celebrate!

 

 To be fair, June's been a pretty cool pre-teen.  She can still tolerate being seen in public with her family, she still begs for hugs, she doesn't try to sneak out of the house in a tube top with bootie shorts, she still not very into boys and she hasn't been overly emotional. We can't complain.

 Yaya and the Babe sent this cute birthday package to brighten her big day! TREATS!!!

 Nana and Papa got June this stylish, "I'm ready to look a little more grown-up" coat, and the young women put up this amazing, colorful, vibrant, birthday sign (okay, I may have made the sign for the young women) to help her celebrate! See, she even tolerates a pesty little brother stealing her thunder.

 We enjoyed a birthday dinner at her favorite sushi place - Sumisu.  We both love the Tiny Dancer roll!

 Gifts from all of her siblings . . .

 Including the furry ones!

Can you tell she is still obsessed with Harry Potter?  JK's one true quiz sorted her into Hufflepuff, so she's all about black and yellow now!  Happy birthday, Junie B!  You are so full of energy - you light up every room you enter.  Your list of talents is a mile long and ever-growing.  You are loved by everyone you meet and make a new friend wherever you go!  We love you!!!

Matilda with the Girls!

For my birthday present this year, Kolby sent me and the girls with Nana Deb, Yaya, and Auntie Auds to see the Broadway Musical Matilda when it came to Salt Lake in February.  We LOVED it! We've been listening to the Matilda music for years and the show did not disappoint!  Matilda was a mischievous little darling, her parents were disgustingly despicable, Miss Honey was lovely, the school children sang and danced their hearts out, but the Trunchbull stole the show! She was played by a man with chicken legs sporting an upper body fat suit - imagine her gymnastic prowess in that garb! That show was definitely on my bucket list! I would pay to see it again! Now June's caught the Broadway bug. She's planning to try out for a local musical in the spring!

The Big 4-0!

 Kolby's been pretty down in the dumps about hitting his 40's in March. I was racking my brain to come up with a fun and exciting trip to take his mind off of the big, depressing birthday and fill the cracks of his heart with joy and adventure!

 

 I finally came up with an idea! But I didn't tell him! He started telling the kids and his work buddies that I was taking him to Elko, Nevada. When we got to the airport we ran right into this sign!

 So we fully intended to go party in Elko, but we got sidetracked and wound up in the happiest place on earth to celebrate the big birthday! I know, we go here a lot, but this time was special.  We finally stayed in Disney's Grand Californian Hotel! It was magnificent! Again, the kids were pretty angry.

 We enjoyed a delicious breakfast at the Grand Californian's buffet restaurant and then headed out to the parks an hour earlier than the crowd.  I've always wanted to do that!!!

 I doubt we are ever going to outgrow this place!

 I spoiled the birthday boy with treats and let him be in charge of our ride itinerary!

 He also got to experience a really special birthday dinner at the Blue Bayou on Pirates of the Caribbean! That was a first for him!

Can you believe after all these many trips we've made to Disney, Kolby has never ridden on King Triton's Carousel?

 Check this on off his bucket list!

I think he completely forgot he was another year older!

 We always have fun at the parks, but I don't think I will ever be able to stay in another hotel ever again! We were right in the middle of Downtown Disney's night life and could come and go as we pleased! In fact, I got a wee little tummy ache from riding too hard and so I ran up to our room to take a half an hour power nap before heading right back down to the fun! It was life-changing!

 Happy, Happy birthday to my one and only!

 Here's to another 40 magical years!

Happy Birthday to Me!

 I got to turn 36 on the slippery slopes of Malad Summit!

 Nana and Papa, Curt and his kids, and Audra and Drew came up to do a little sledding with us!

 We had a great afternoon and we were all careful not to break any body parts!

 Birthdays with family are the best!

 I've yet to take a picture of this crew where everyone is smiling, opening their eyes and not making silly faces.  I guess this is the best we are going to get!

Part-Time Model!

Here's the proof that I'm one lucky girl! Not every girl gets to go on a date with such beautiful, elegant man!  How about a little back story:

Our neighbor is the young men's president in our ward. He's been concerned that none of the priests in our ward are doing much (if any) dating. His solution was to create the most amazing scavenger hunt all around town for the day his daughter turned 16, and force all the young men 16 and up to take the young women 16 and up on this amazing scavenger hunt date.  He and his amazing wife put so much work into this thing - it included hunting down out-of-state license plates, adding up grocery totals at Winco, finding hidden gems in old town Pocatello, and playing games at the arcade. We were stoked when he invited us old married couples to do a test run of the scavenger hunt the night before to work out any kinks! We went with our friends, the Fenstermakers, and I'm pretty sure we had more fun than the youth! If we wanted to check something off of our list, we had to take a picture and send it to his daughter who was keeping track of the teams' progress at home. And that's how Kolby ended up in this glorious pose at J.C. Penney with that stylish mannequin! He could be a part-time model! (But he'd better keep his regular job!) 

Love Day

Our mailman had to deliver this big baby right to our front door. He said he wished someone loved him enough to send him a giant valentine! Yaya never forgets! I guess it helps that she works at the post office, but still, she knows how to make a few grand kids feel special!

100 Days of School

This old feller reached a milestone in February - He completed his 100th day of school!  The kids got to celebrate by dressing up like they were 100 years old! So Klive channeled his inner old man and transformed himself into Grampy Bruce! I couldn't decide if he looked cuter with or without the hat, but he sure made one sweet looking senior citizen!  He spent the day reading the paper, shuffling around, and yelling at unruly kids to stay off his lawn! Don't make him turn the sprinklers on!!!