A few things we have been up to...

Mark and I took the kids to the St. Louis Zoo to see the Dinoroarus exhibit. Gavin loves dinosaurs and has really been wanting to go. They had life size dinosaurs that moved and roared. One of them even spit water at the kids. It was a really fun exhibit and the kids really had a good time.

Madison was very hesitant and didn't dare turn her back on the dinosaurs which made it difficult to get a picture. She also wanted to touch them because she was amazed that they moved. When I tried to help her touch one she was too scared. When we got home she told everyone that the dinosaurs had batteries.

Gavin kept his distance from this dinosaur becuase it was the one that spit water all over him.

Mark really enjoyed the exhibit too!

This is the Tyrannasaurus Rex. This is the dinosaur that Gavin was so anxious to see. Gavin brought his camera and took pictures of all the dinosaurs himself. He really had a good time and is trying to talk us into taking him again before September.

My parents came to visit a few weeks ago and we went to Grant's Farm for my nephew's birthday. Gavin and Madison always enjoy feeding the goats and petting the animals. Madison is such an animal lover and it's hard to get her out of the pen. Usually the goats start eating her clothes so that makes her get out a little quicker. We sure had a fun visit with Grandpa and Grandma Binks!

Gavin always had a herd of goats following him.

Madison enjoyed feeding the goats. I think the goats were probably a little frustrated because she would only feed them for a second. She wanted to make sure none of the goats went hungry so she tried to feed every one.

I think Madison gave a hug to every goat in the pen. She sure loves animals.

A fun picture with Grandpa and Grandma.

And finally our most exciting update is we are having a baby! I am due January 1. Gavin and Madison are so excited and can't wait to find out if it's a boy or a girl. Of course Gavin wants a brother and Madison wants a sister. Although Madison says quite frequently that I am going to have both. The ultrasound is scheduled for August 12 so stay tuned!

Happy Birthday Gavin!

Gavin turned six years old yesterday and I can't believe how quickly the past six years have gone by. Gavin is so much fun to have around. He always tries to choose the right and he is a great big brother. He watches over his little sister so carefully. Gavin has a great sense of humor and is so witty. He brings so much laughter and smiles to our family! We love him so much! I asked Gavin a few questions on his birthday so I can document some of his favorite things as a six year old.
Gavin's favorite food: pizza and manicotti.
Gavin's favorite color: white, red, black, gray, brown (this I am happy about because it wasn't too long ago that it was blue and he didn't want to wear anything but blue. This has broadened his clothing choices).
Gavin's favorite thing to do: riding his bike.
Gavin's best friend: Sinan (he lives a few houses down the street) and Jonah (he lives a thousand miles away).
Gavin's favorite primary song: Book of Mormon Stories
Gavin's favorite song: Christmas song sung by Alvin and the chipmunks
Gavin's favorite subject in school: math
Gavin's favorite book: Watch out Jar Jar! (Star Wars book)
What Gavin wants to be when he grows up: a stormchaser but he's not quite sure yet.


Gavin had a Star Wars birthday party and he and his friends went through Jedi training. Mark was a good sport and put the darth vader mask on and battled each of the kids. The kids had a great time!

There wasn't much left of the pinata after these boys were through with it.

Gavin as Luke Skywalker and Dad as Darth Vader. I think Luke Skywalker ended up winning the battle.

All of the Jedi's posing with Darth Vader.

Gavin opening his presents. This was by far his favorite part!

We also had a party with Mark's family. We all really enjoyed the cake and ice cream!



Gavin opening more presents! He loved all of his gifts!

Summer Fun

We have been keeping ourselves busy this summer and having a lot of fun! We spent some time in St. George visiting my grandparents. We did a lot of swimming and hiking. Gavin and Madison had so much fun! We had planned to go camping when we got home but it was supposed to rain all weekend. It has rained so much this year that it has been hard to plan anything! We went to Six Flags instead of camping on the one day it didn't rain. We had a lot of fun and the kids really enjoyed the rides and the water park. But they liked meeting all the characters even more! Gavin was so excited about riding the Scooby Doo ride. He even wore his Scooby shirt and everything and it was closed temporarily. He was really disppointed but he did get his picture taken with Shaggy and Scooby. Madison sure has enjoyed having Gavin home from school. I have been trying to plan fun things and keep Gavin busy, but I still hear I'm bored quite frequently.

The Khaki Team

Gavin has really enjoyed soccer this Spring. He was on the khaki team. You would think they could come up with a better name than that. Last fall he was on the burgundy team so I'm not sure which was worse. I guess they have so many teams they have to get creative with the colors. It has been so much fun to see him improve each year. A few of my favorite moments this spring have been when our team scores a goal for the other team and they are still so excited! One little boy wasn't watching where he was going and ran into the post of the goal and fell flat on his back. Luckily he was okay and he actually laughed about it. I loved it when Gavin scored a goal and he walked away like he was so embarrased because he was the center of attention. When I finally got his attention and gave him a thumbs up he smiled from ear to ear!

Gavin almost scored a goal in this picture. We are talking inches from scoring!

This year Gavin hasn't been afraid of getting in there to kick the ball. I love this picture because it shows how determined he is.

There's nothing like a good workout!

Madison loves to ride the exercise bike. She can barely reach the pedals but she manages to still get a good workout. My favorite is when she has me sit on the back. She makes sure my seat belt is buckled and she drives me to far away places. I love this girl and her imagination!

Life is like a Roller Coaster....

This is just a little update on what is going on in our family. As you all know we moved to Illinois to start a curbing business. There are hardly any companies who do curbing here so we thought it was a great opportunity. After many prayers we felt like this was the right thing to do. So we made the move and we started the company. Mark realized after last spring and summer that working with concrete was hard work! He would come home shaking because of the heat and the hard labor. It was so hard to see him like that. I don't know if it was too soon after the chemo and radiation and his body just wasn't ready, but it was not good for him. I shed a lot of tears over the scenario because we had tried so hard to make it work but I did not want Mark doing something that he didn't enjoy. So during this last winter Mark decided to go back to school at Southern Illinois University. Mark was really close to getting his Business degree but decided to take one of the career tests that the university offered. Business was one of the occupations that Mark should avoid. Engineering on the other hand was something he scored high in. Now of all the things Mark has ever done this is something he has always been interested in. Life is funny sometimes and it took Mark some time to figure out what career he really wanted to do. But he is majoring in Mechanical Engineering and is loving school. Which is something I never thought he would say. He is so happy to finally be doing something he enjoys. So this path is a little different than we had expected, but it is good! I don't think Mark would have realized what he wanted to do if he hadn't gone through this experience. Our prayers were answered and we were supposed to come here but it was for different reasons than we thought. We really enjoy living in Illinois and are excited for this new journey!

Fun Roller

My mom got this Fun Roller for Gavin and Madison for Easter. They have loved it! I also love it because they play outside with it for hours. Who knew that something that resembles a hamster wheel could be so fun. They have been getting plenty of exercise playing with this!