Today's Infusion

Trevor was tuckered out from scout camp, so his infusion today had him very tired. I got a kick out of the blanket that we had to keep him warm--one he hasn't used since he was born!

Happy Birthday Raider!

We took 5 minutes out of our day to celebrate Raider's 1 year "birthday" (his birthday is the day we got him when he was about 2-3 years old). We got him a new rope toy and a squeaky toy. It will probably be the last squeaky toy he ever gets because it is worse than having a toddler making all that noise. We love having wonderful dog. I don't know how we got so lucky having him. He loves flashlights, rope toys, and tires. He is spoiled and gets to be inside way more than we ever agreed to in getting a dog. But he has been so good for the kids. He is sweet, gentle, and not too much of a guard dog. We think he is going blind and sometimes he runs away and rolls in dead stuff, but other than that he is awesome!

Trev's scout camp

Trevor got to go to his last year of cub scout camp. I was bummed that I didn't get to go be with him. I love doing that each year, but I just wasn't feeling up to it this year. He had fun, but I think he is pretty excited to move on to boy scouts!

Ben's *Finally* Home!!

We missed Ben so much this week. It was his first time away from home. We were so excited when he finally got to come home. I got a few texts from my brother-in-law proving that Ben was at camp, and okay. In one picture I had to take his word for it that Ben was out in the sailboat--and having a ton of fun. In another picture, I could see Ben in the background so I knew he got there safely.

We were so excited to see him walking up the driveway when he got home. However, once home, he pretty much slept the rest of the day, so we "saw" him, but didn't get to "see" him.

Happy Birthday, Piper!

I cannot believe Piper is 3. She still seems so young to me. But we love our girl whose name fits her so well. She is a leader in our family---and outside our family. She has an amazing way of commanding crowds to follow her and do the things she suggests. She wants to be a princess when she grows up. She has no desire to be potty-trained (one thing that I'm pretty sure she won't be choosing once I am feeling better). She is THE BEST cuddler ever. She comes in our bed most nights of the week and snuggles as close as she can for the rest of the night. She loves to go and do things. She loves anything electronic. Our whole family adores her, and we are probably wrapped around her little finger.

Painting Art Birthday Party

Lydia had some serious ADD when it came to the theme of her Birthday party. Her brother did not help at all and was probably the culprit. He kept trying to convince her to have a lego-themed party, or an Infinity party where people could bring her different Infinity characters (you know because she loves that game so much). I tried to convince her to do a fairy or garden party, but finally found the winning ticket with a painting party. In retrospect, I am so glad because it made it easy. I also think next year I will have her party before school gets out because so many people are out of town. But, her best friend Natalie came, her friend Owen---and Keys came!! (What a sweet cousin)
They did a lot of painting and just playing. It was great and very low-key.

Our Weekend

This was a wonderful weekend. I loved it, and felt so well. I think the fresh air did me wonders. Thursday, after Grant got home from work, we finished packing up and headed over to the property. Karmin and Trevor rode their bikes:

Trevor left Karmin in the dust--she was a bit hesitant on her first ride on the road.
We got everything set up and ready to go all before dark.
We all enjoyed hanging out and being with each other. And all the fresh air. Raider had fun too (until the fireworks). Friday night, Gina and DeWayne invited a bunch of people over for dinner. It was fun to camp for more than 15 hours. I enjoyed our new bed--we use to sleep on mattress pads on the floor which wasn't too comfortable. It just was a fun weekend. With how well I felt for the weekend, I am half-tempted to move up there and live in our "tent" for the summer.

Our moose--affectionately named "Moosetard" (rhyming with mustard) who kept walking by us

The girls even made a little bit of home outside with some wild flowers

Swim Lessons

Karmin and Lydia both took swim lessons from a boy in our ward. They loved it! The first week was super cold, but the girls stayed in and were troopers. The second week was a lot warmer which definitely helped for things like diving. Karmin was a master diver. She even had the art of doing a flip under the water after her dive for awhile. I think lessons helped Karmin a lot so she is ready for the summer. I think Lydia had fun--so that was good.

Liddy-Pie!!

Our little miss Liddy-Pie turned 5 today! The cutie patootie! She was super patient with me with her breakfast. I just couldn't get up early to make her crepes, so it had to wait until after swim lessons. At swim lessons, everybody sang to her and that made her day.
They got to play on electronics today. I took her to Walmart so that she could pick out a cake (again, not feeling up to making a simple cake--blah) and she found flowers, so of course we had to buy those. We had pizza for dinner really quickly before the boys had to go to scouts and Dad had to go to Bishopric meetings. Pretty laid back day (as most of our days are becoming lately).
This little lady is all worth everything. In 5 years she has taught us a lot about being parents. She was the one who prepped us for GI issues. She has taught us to let loose and laugh; she has taught us patience. She has taught us that sometimes brushing someone's hair in the morning before they leave the house just isn't that important--a ponytail will do just fine.
Lydia is Karmin's shadow, and I have no idea how they are going to be apart this year when Lydia goes to Kindergarten. She is Keys' biggest fan. She has a way of melting a person's heart. She wants to be a ballet teacher, an art teacher, and a fireman when she grows up. And that is Lydia. She doesn't want to be the ballet performer or the great artist--she wants to be the one to help people obtain that dream for themselves. She is our most service-oriented child. We love our sweet spunky girl!