April is Child Abuse Awareness Month

My awesome dad has served for many years with PCAU and because of that, we get pin wheels every year to recognize the importance of child abuse awareness.

The kids love their pin wheel garden each year.  Okay, they didn't remember having it last year but they did love it this year :)

The pin wheels look so cute with the tulips and daffodils growing up in early Spring.

Bowling with buddies

We made our 2nd round of bowling with some our friends this Spring.  It was so fun again - I love watching the kids learn something new and then master it shortly after.

My friend Kristina with her girls and my trio watching on

Jax & Austin ready for their turn

Rio was ready for her turn and did so great again.  She's a natural :)

My Logan with his buddy Hayden.  They watched on and will be ready next year :)

GO!! Good job Jax

Austin is READY...

SET...

GO!!

My cute friend Karrie and her little kiddos

Roxy with her 3 cuties taking a lunch break after working so hard on the alley

WOO-HOO!

They did so great!

Jax = 87

Austin = 88

Rio = 69 - she killed it last time so she must have had an "off" day :)

Taking our turn for lunch - good job kiddos

All our little bowling friends - we had a great time

I love how my littles are holding hands - it's so sweet!

Had to get a pic of their tiny shoes - love it

Next we were onto the arcade - Austin was loving the car games

Andrew & Rio on their bullet bikes - who knew I had a girl who loved motorcyles

Cute Reese - her gun is as big as she is!!

Oh my sweet boy Logan!  He loved feeling a part of the gang

Think we found the funnest park!!

Near my friend Angie's house is THE FUNNEST park!  It is a discovery park and is so much fun!  I really think I came here years and years ago when I was in college but I have to say, it is much funner with my kids :)

How many kids can we fit on the tire swing?  Well, at least 6.  So far...

A different angle to see Rio, Lia, Caden and Austin



Twist and Twist boys!

Hunter, Austin and Caden

I love this showing how they are all trying to hold on as best they could

Whoa!  That is a lot of tiny feet!



Angie holding our "little boys" - Logan and Karson

Austin and Caden couldn't get enough of this tire swing!  They absolutely loved it!

Happy boys!

Rio loving the rope climb - she is really good at balancing and climbing

After all the park fun, we stepped over to the benches and ate some yummy pizza with our friends

Love these two mamas and their adorable kids!  I'm so lucky to have them in my and my kids life!

Conference entertainment & my chubby love

Each year with the kiddies has gotten progressively harder to watch General Conference but we try like most families...

This year, I had pages with the pictures of each General Authority and when they spoke, they could color them.  It worked great! (For the first two - ha-ha)

Good job though kids - it is hard to sit through talks you don't always understand.

They did great though and had an entire bag of jelly beans to prove it!

 Just had to add these pics in - this boy is absolutely adorable!  He is so dang chubby and I love it!

I love bath pictures, don't you?  Somehow, they are the cutest!

 Chubby tummy and gorgeous eyes!

See what I mean?  You're a joy Logan - we love you so much and you complete our family so well

My birthday

Birthdays are so fun to celebrate with the kids because otherwise, the day is just the same as always.  Somehow kids make things so much more fun and enjoyable

Happy birthday to me :)

Lennox had to jump up and join in the photo this time

 

Opening their sweet card - Austin was so excited to hand it to me

Love this of Logan - his eyes are huge watching the wrapping paper rip

Thanks kids!

Time for cake!

Spence was really cute when he came home from getting my cake - he said, "it's pretty sad when you buy your wife a cake based more on what the kids will like than her."  Ha-ha!  I loved it though - meant a lot that he thinks so much about them too :)  Love you Spence!

Blowin' out the candles!



Of course, the kids joined in too

What a pretty cake - good pick Spence

Yummy!

Spence with the kids - gotta get a shot of him too.

 

Thanks for a great birthday!  You are all my best presents every day!

Tales for Tots @ the Children's Gardens - FINALLY!

It was finally warm enough to do our favorite Tales for Tots at the Children's Gardens and we were all so excited!  Probably more me :)

This is a sign I take too many pics - Jax sat down on the bench and said, "mom, take our picture"

All the kiddies listening to their story about the little ducklings

After the story, they all got to decorate a little egg with rubber duckies - it was the cutest idea

Eden, Bella and Hannah



Jax, Austin and Rio decorating and wearing their "paining shirts"

I think this picture will be one of my very favorites because it is so, so telling of who they are and how their creativity comes out.

Rio although very bright and orderly in her play is very messy and blending when being creative

Jax is VERY ORDERED in all he does so there is almost a pattern to his picture

Austin's is just all about fun and yet still structured to some degree

Love it!

This pic is of all the 6 kids pictures and Julie, my friend was loving it just as much because her girls pictures were just as telling :)  So fun to see each child's creativity and thinking

Next was play time at the gardens

We love, love, love this climbing ball or the "spider web" as they call it

Hmm...where do we go?  Rio, Austin, Bella, Lia and Caden were trying to figure out where the trail went

The next circus acrobats

This area is one of the funnest places to play - all the kids love it!

Jax kept trying to make this board flip over by jumping on it - yep!  Totally made me nervous that he was going to flip it up and hit himself but he was determined to make it work

What a very fun day!

Top to bottom:

Bella, (Katie's son - we just met for a few minutes and didn't catch her cuties names)

Hannah, Eden and Jax

Austin & Rio

Hunter & Caden

(Katie's daughter) & Lia

Karson & Logan