Hunter turns 7

We ended up coming home from our Vegas trip Sunday afternoon. Hunter's Birthday was on Monday so we had a nice quiet birthday for him at home. The picture above is Hunter with is first of 3 birthday cakes. I didn't have enough candles so we had to improvise and I got 3 normal candles so he could blow out 7.

Here the kids are getting ready to watch the fireworks that we bought to shoot off in front of our house. It was the first year that we actually lived somewhere that allows us to shoot fireworks from our own front yard. It was a lot of fun. Hunter has always hated fireworks. The loud noise freaks him out. This year for his birthday he asked for an MP3 player....we compromised by getting him a CD Walkman, which he loves. We told him he could listen to the music really loud and it was the first time that he enjoyed watching fireworks with us.

All of the kids got to help Kelly light some of the fireworks. It was fun watching them light them because as soon as the fuse was lit they would run to the safety of the blanket so they wouldn't get hurt. After our small pack of fireworks was lit we went into the backyard and watched as some of the neighbors shot off illegal fireworks. Later we went into Kelly and my bedroom and opened the windows and watched them from the higher view. The kids loved the fireworks. It was such a fun 4th of July that I know I'll remember for a very long time.

Above I had mentioned that the cake that Hunter was blowing out was only 1 of 3. We ended up having 2 birthday parties for him this year. 1 with our family (which I was too lame to remember to take pictures) and the second was a friends party.

When we had Mylie's Friends party for her birthday I had gotten a pinata. When I brought it home Hunter asked me why I had never gotten him a pinata for his birthday. Of course I felt guilty but I also made sure that I would get him one for his birthday.

Here the kids are waiting for their turn to whack the pinata. Surprisingly, it was a very sturdy pinata and all of the kids were able to take at least 1 turn.

After the pinata we had a slip'n slide. The kids had a great time. The one we got was a racing slide and the kids had fun racing each other to the end. Finally, Hunter's last cake. Yes, all 3 looked exactly the same. I was lacking in creativity this year. I can't believe my baby is 7 years old.

T-Ball Pictures

Hunter's final year in T-Ball has been fun. I enjoy T-Ball because they don't keep score. The kids learn the game and just have fun. I think it's so important for the kids to have fun. Although, now that the season is over it's nice to have our Saturdays free again. Kelly has been such a wonderful coach. Overall, the team did pretty well throughout the season. I don't have many, but here are a few pictures from this season. The picture above is Hunter's favorite spot in the Dugout. He loves to sit on the end.
A picture of our little batter!

This last picture is of the boys getting their participation medals. Hunter was so proud of his medal he wanted to wear it everywhere and show it to everyone. He kept telling everyone it was for being really good in baseball. We're excited to start on the Farm team next year. It should be interesting.

Shaving

Hunter wanted to shave just like his Dad. So, Kelly put some shaving cream in his hands and let him put it on. Here is how he did it. Please know that Kelly has to shave his beard AND his head. So, when the kids see him when he's shaving it probably does look something like this....except the shaving cream on the nose.

The Toothless Smile Expands

Here's a picture of Hunter's latest smile. We think he looks a lot better now that 2 teeth are missing rather than just 1. I love the way he talks. If you listen really carefully you can hear a slight lisp. So cute! He pulled this one out all on his own. It wasn't even wiggly until the day it came out. It also looks like the new tooth is ready to come in. You can see the tip of it. Big tooth stage here he comes.

He lost his tooth on a Saturday. When he woke up he came to me and said the Tooth Fairy forgot to come. I told him that maybe the Tooth Fairy doesn't work on Sundays.....oops. When we got to church Hunter told Kelly that the Tooth Fairy forgot to come and Kelly told him that when he gave him a hug and kiss in the morning before his meetings he found a dollar on the floor from the Tooth Fairy and wanted to keep it safe for him from the girls. Wow, what a save Dad! Hunter actually thought Kelly was holding out on him because the last time he lost a tooth he got $2. I think the Tooth Fairy forgot she came and maybe the Daddy and the Mommy Tooth Fairy both left him money...unknowingly.

Hunter's New Smile

I am so behind on blogging that most of you have already seen Hunter's newest toothless smile. Regardless, I'm posting it to mark the occasion. Here is a picture of Hunter's newest smile...along with a picture of his favorite little buddy and cousin, Bryson. Hunter lost his front top tooth early in March. It has been wiggly since December and was finally wiggly enough to be pulled out. He actually pulled the tooth out himself. Kelly's new nickname for him is "Toothless". Hunter equates the name to the dragon in the movie How to Train Your Dragon whose name is Toothless and doesn't think he looks like a dragon at all. It only makes the nickname that much funnier because he doesn't realize it means you're missing a tooth....regardless of how many time Kelly tries explaining it to him.

Loose Tooth

Enjoy this sweet baby toothed smile now because this will be the last picture of him with all of his baby teeth. He came to me yesterday morning saying that his tooth was wiggly. I took a look and sure enough his tooth is loose and not only that but the new tooth has already broken through and coming in behind his baby teeth. In the picture below you might be able to see the tooth coming in on the bottom.

When Kelly got home Hunter gave him the okay to pull the tooth. Kelly first tried to tie a string to the tooth but it just wouldn't stay put. He instead got some pliers out and pulled it out. I think that this tooth must have been wiggly for awhile because it was more than ready to come out.

This last picture is minus his baby tooth. Funny thing about this picture...because the new tooth is already growing in you can barely tell the baby tooth is really missing. Well, I guess if it wasn't for the red gap. Hunter put his tooth under his pillow and the tooth fairy brought him a dollar. He was so excited. He has big plans for that dollar and is looking forward to spending it when he gets home. His words to me when he left for school this morning "Don't let the girls touch it!" . This happened August 4th. Since I had a backlog of posts I had to put this one later.

First Grade

On July 29th Hunter started his first day of school. Since moving out to Fontana we heard that it was a bit difficult to get into the schools out here because there are so many homes but not enough schools. There was a slight possibility that we were going to have to bus Hunter to another school. The very first day that we could enroll him into school I made sure I was there bright and early so that we were in a better position to get him into the school close to our home. We didn't even find out until the day before school started that he actually got in. We found out his teacher's name is Mrs. Fisk. She's an older lady but seems like a good teacher. We are excited for the school year!

Hunter's first day of school was unfortunately not an uneventful one. At around 2pm I got a phone call from his school. My first thought, "What did he do?". He is such a good boy that the thought of him doing something so bad that I get a phone call was kind of mystifying. The office proceeded to tell me that while Hunter was at P.E. they were playing Duck, Duck, Goose and Hunter happened to be sitting on a red ant hill. He got multiple bites all over both of his arms and a few on his legs. When I picked him up it wasn't too bad but he did have a lot of bites. He was the only child to get bit...of course it would be our son that this happened to. Thankfully Hunter has been going to school for a week now and no more freak accidents like the first day. At least this will be a fun story for him to remember when he gets older.

Beach Fun

My niece Taylor came down from Colorado to stay with her Nani and we got to do a few things with her while she was down. One of the things was to go to the beach. We went down to Huntington Beach. It was a perfect day with just a little breeze. The kids had a great time. They loved digging and playing in the water. Here are a few pictures of our beach adventure.

Of course a day at the beach wouldn't be complete without someone being buried in the sand. Once one child did it, they all had to do it. Kora wanted me to make her Ariel. It took me awhile to figure that request out but it meant that she wanted me to bury her legs and make her a fish tail in the sand.

This bucket of sand with shells is actually a bunch of "sea creatures" as my kids put it. This was the first time I have ever been to the beach where they had real animals you could collect off of the beach. The kids found a ton. After the sea creatures sat for a bit they would open their shells and put their tongues out. If you look closely you can actually see some of the shells opened. The kids had fun touching them and watching the creatures go back and hide in their shell. This is our niece,Taylor. She loved playing in the water. My kids were too little and scared to really play in the deeper water with her but I think she still had a good time.

As always, Mylie did her own thing. She had fun eating lots of sandy Cheetos, sitting in the sand, digging and hiding in the beach blanket. I tried to get her to play in the water but I think the water was too strong and scared her. She wouldn't go out without holding my hand. I didn't mind this so much because at least I didn't have to worry about her being swept away by a wave.

Hunter had a great time too. He loved playing in the waves. When I told him we were going to go to the beach he told me that we HAD to build a sand castle. We built a good one...and of course didn't take any pictures before Godzilla...a.k.a Mylie jumped on it. The kids loved the beach and since I am always a fan of anything near water I had a great time too.

Kindergarten Graduate

Hunter's last day of school was May 25th. His school had a little promotion ceremony and he sang a few songs and then the principal handed out diplomas (little pieces of paper rolled up to look like diplomas that said "You did it") We are so proud of Hunter. The picture on the right is a picture with Hunter and his Kindergarten teacher Mrs. Harford. She was a wonderful teacher. I only hope that Hunters next teachers will be just as wonderful. I still can't believe an entire year has flown by.

Kelly took the day off so he could be there for the promotion. Afterwards we went to a place called John's Incredible Pizza. It was our first time going but definitely not our last. What made it cool is they had a pizza buffet. The pizzas were really good...and also interesting. I had to try their "spicy peanut butter" pizza, the word interesting is the first thing that comes to mind. Another thing cool about the place is they have 5 different themed rooms you can sit in to eat. Since it was our first time we had to check them all out. They had a cartoon room, surfing room, sports room, music room and a lodge room. Each of the rooms had big screen TVs playing something that went along with the room theme. Kelly and I decided to sit in the lodge room. This was the only room without a TV and clearly for adults. As we are about to sit down Kora states "This room is boring." Interestingly enough this was the first time I had ever heard her use that word. We ended up eating in the cartoon room, which happened to be a great choice because the kids were entertained while Kelly and finished eating. Afterwards we went and played games in their game room, think ChuckECheeses but for kids and adults. They actually had a full size ride in there. The kids had a great time and overall it was a fun day.

Batman

The other day Hunter came up to me wearing all of this garb and asked me what he looked like. I said....a swimmer(notice the swim goggles)? No, I'm Batman! Well, of course he is. Gotta love a child's imagination.

Angels T-Ball

Before we moved out to Fontana we knew that the Little League Season would begin shortly after we moved. We decided to sign Hunter up to play. Kelly was an assistant coach last year and loved it. When we signed Hunter up he informed the person we registered Hunter up with that he would like to assist coaching. Next thing you know Kelly gets a call that his first meeting is Tuesday. They actually made him a manager. He's a wonderful manager and does well with the boys. The cool thing about him being a manager means he got to pick what his team was going to be. Luckily the Angels weren't taken so of course he picked the Angels. We have games 2 times a week. It keeps us pretty busy...I guess I should take the word "us" out and replace it with "Kelly and Hunter" because all I do is take myself and the girls to the games. It's fun to see the kids out there playing. I have to admit that I am a horrible picture taker. I can't believe I haven't taken one picture of Hunter and Kelly together. That will obviously change. I'll post one soon!

A Little Snack

Last Sunday, right before they started passing the sacrament, Hunter came and sat on my lap and announces "It's time for the snack now!" I guess I never realized that the passing of the bread and water would be viewed to a child as a snack. I had to then try to explain to him what it all meant. I am not sure if he fully understood but hopefully he realizes it's not "just" a snack. It did however put a smile on my face regardless.

Hippopotamus

Hunter and Kora have found a new fascination in Hippos. I guess this isn't too new because they first became interested when we went to Disneyland back in August after riding on the Jungle Cruise. Hunter was scared of the hippos when they came out of the water wiggling their ears. He was also impressed at how large they were. Now, whenever something is big he calls it "Hippo-ca-ma-mus". Kora has now adopted the term but pronounces hers as "Hippo-ca-ta-mus". I find it funny that each child pronounces it differently. After we got a Christmas Tree last month, Hunter told me we got a "Hippo-ca-ma-mus tree". Kora also told me that we don't have a little dog, we have a "Hippo-ca-ta-mus dog".

Halloween

Halloween was interesting this year. Normally I am stressing out the week before Halloween trying to get costumes sewn. Fortunately, our ward Halloween party was the Saturday before Halloween so I was rushing two weeks before trying to get costumes made. This made for a stress free week before Halloween, which was very nice. The kids chose what they wanted to be for Halloween months before so all I needed was the desire to make them. Having to get them done the week before made it really nice. Sometimes I need that push to get things done. So, here are our little munchkins Halloween night. The pictures are a little dark because I took them at night. Sorry.

First up is our little Mylie. When she first started sprouting hair we would clump it together on the top of her head to make a little ponytail. Kelly started calling her Pebbles and so we decided for Halloween the only fitting costume for her would be pebbles.

Next up is Kora. She surprised us this year by suddenly liking Snow White. When we asked her what she wanted to be for Halloween she said Snow White. For some reason I kept expecting her to want to be something else since she has never seen the movie and at that time had never been on the ride at Disneyland. She didn't change her mind. About a month ago Kelly was at Sam's Club with his mom and saw a Snow White dress with shoes a crown and a little wand for an awesome price. We cheated this year on her costume and bought the dress. She was happy...and so was mom. I take pride in making my kids costumes. It has become a tradition that I LOVE but it was really nice not having to make her dress and since it came with shoes, even better! Okay, I couldn't have her be the only child that I didn't put work into her costume so I broke down to make her a cape. Snow White can't be Snow White without a cape.

Finally, is Hunter. He decided he wanted to be Anakin Skywalker for Halloween. I searched everywhere for a pattern but they didn't make any his size so I made my own pattern for the shirt and belt and altered a pattern to make his cape. He loved it...therefore I loved it.

We continued our tradition by going to Steve and Carolyns house to trick or treat. We went out with Colt again which the kids love. Kelly set up a new rule after going to a few houses because Hunter was so much faster than Kora. He made them hold hands so they couldn't go ahead of each other. Who would have guessed so many people thought it was so adorable that they would give them more candy? Overall, we had a wonderful time. The best part was that the weather was so nice that the kids could walk around without jackets. It was perfectly pleasant. Hunter is already planning for next year and secretly, I can't wait!

I had to add this last picture because I just love it. I love Mylie's smile...so cute.

Writing Words

Hunter has been learning how to write his letters for the last 2 years but something just clicked this year and he loves to write his letters. His teacher gives him homework at school and he can't wait to do it. You can often find Hunter walking around the house with a notepad and pencil in hand. Although, the notepad has to have lines. He asked for paper to write with the other day and I found an old notebook without lines(plain white paper) and I found out you can't write words in a notebook without lines. His favorite thing to do is copy words he sees and write them down. He doesn't always know what he's writing but that doesn't stop him. When I ask him what he's doing his reply, "I'm writing words Mom."

Kindergarten

Today was Hunter's first day of school. When Hunter woke me up this morning it reminded me of the movie Finding Nemo when Nemo jumped on his dad saying "First day of school, first day of school." Hunter was so excited. He didn't quite jump on me but instead he looked at me from the edge of the bed with little eyes peeping over the mattress saying, "I go to school today, right?" Because Hunter has already gone to 2 years of preschool it didn't feel much different...until I actually dropped him off. He looks too tiny to go to school but he's certainly old enough. There was so much going on that he seemed a little frightened but off he went with the rest of his class and then came the tears I didn't expect. My little boy is now a kindergartner.

When I picked him up he was excited to tell me about his day and show me his new folder. As we walked by his class he showed me the playground he played on. He was so excited and I was excited to hear all about it.

Disneyland

Kelly's parents and sister gave Hunter a Disneyland ticket that still had 2 days left on it so we decided to buy myself a 3 day pass and take the kids. Kelly was unable to come with me so I took Hunter and Kora and left Mylie with family. Let's say that it was no simple task but I quickly realized what great kids we have. Don't get me wrong, there were moments they wouldn't listen but overall, it was a great experience. I still doubt that I would have ever been able to make it if Mylie had been with me but who knows...maybe in a few months. I was grateful at how well Hunter and Kora behaved. The only time I was pulling my hair out was when we decided to stand in line to see the Disney Princesses. We waited in line for an hour. Hunter didn't want to see the princesses so it made waiting in line that much more miserable but after we were done he did well. Of course, once we got to see the princesses Kora acted shy and almost made it not worth that hour wait. She got to see her favorite princess, Cinderella. After we walked away she was so excited that she got to meet her that it made it all worth it. She kept saying, "Mommy, I so essited"...too cute!

Hunter's favorite rides were Pirates of the Caribbean...which we rode on twice...both days we went and the Buzz Lightyear Ride which we also rode on twice...both days we went. Kora seemed to panic every time we got in line for the Pirates ride. She didn't like the dark too well or the drops. I can see how a talking skull could be quite terrifying as well. I just held her close and once we got to the fleshy characters and music she would be singing "yo ho, yo ho a pirates life for me" along with the ride.

Kora's favorite ride was Small World. She loved the dancing and singing dolls. I was amazed to find that they changed the ride to add a bunch of Disney Characters like Alice in Wonderland, Jasmine and Aladdin, Ariel, Cinderella, Dori and Nemo and a few more. It was really cute.

Overall, we had a great time. It was a bit hot but bearable. The only time I thought we were going to melt was when we were waiting for the parade. Unfortunately all the shade seats were taken so we sat directly in the sun. The kids enjoyed it but boy was it hot. Thanks to sun block and an ice chest filled with waters and capri suns we made it through! I have one more day left on my pass so I will be taking Kora for her Birthday. I upgraded Hunter's pass to a season pass so that he can come along with us. The kids are anxiously awaiting our next trip. I missed my little Mylie and my Handsome Hubby but we had a great time so I'm excited for our next trip as well.

Graduation and Birthday

The last week has been a crazy one. Hunter has officially graduated from Pre-school and had a little diploma ceremony. Kelly took half day and it was fun getting to spend the morning with him. It's still hard to believe our little boy is going to start Kindergarten this August.



Hunter's 5th Birthday was on Saturday...July 4th. The great thing about having a birthday on a Holiday is that family that isn't usually in town tends to be here for the holiday. We decided to have Hunter's Birthday at the park. The weather couldn't have been greater. It wasn't more than 96 degrees with a wonderful breeze and shade that made it so pleasant. The park that we went to was empty except for our little group which meant we had our own private park for the afternoon. Hunter asked to have a Star Wars party. Above is the cake I made for him (R2D2). Unfortunately, Kora decided to get a few samples of icing before I got pictures...not much you can do about it once the damage is done so I'll just say he has a few battle wounds.

Hendricks Kids were here and got to spend the day with us. Hunter, Kora and Mylie had a great time with their cousins.

After the park we headed over to Kelly's parents house and the kids played on their new water slide. The kids had a great time. When night time arrived Grandpa bought some party poppers and the kids got to shoot off 1500 poppers. The mess left over on the grass was crazy. It was a fun day spent with family. Hope all of you had a Happy and Wonderful 4th of July!

Here's our little Mylie enjoying some fun in the sun.

As we were about the leave Nani's house she asked if we could sing to Hunter one last time. When we were at the park it was too windy to keep the candles lit so she placed 5 candles in 5 Oreo's and we sung to him and he finally got to blow out his candles.

This last picture is our nephew Mason. He fell asleep about 6:30pm. He was wiped out. We thought he was only napping but apparently he slept until 8am the next morning. He missed...well slept through party poppers and fireworks. He must have been extremely tired. Actually, us adults were just envious of him because he was doing exactly what we wanted to be doing.

End of T-Ball

T-Ball season is officially over. It's a little sad to know that we don't get to wake up on Saturday morning and head out to a T-Ball game. Although, the opportunity to sleep in on Saturdays will make up for it. Hunter had a great time. He even got a little trophy yesterday with his name on it. He was so excited. He showed it to everyone he saw and wanted me to share it with everyone else. Kelly was an assistant coach and since he got a little plaque too, Hunter wanted his Daddy to show off his little trophy as well. After we took pictures he wanted to put it somewhere his sisters couldn't touch it and break it. So, it's up on a shelf high above his bed. He had me take it down this morning so he could play with it. I love how easy it is to put a smile on a child's face. Can't wait till next season!!!