Sting Rays

We went to the sting ray exhibit at the St. Louis Zoo. The kids loved petting the sting rays. They were nice and slimy and splashed water all over us. Madison was a little nervous at first but towards the end we couldn't get her to get her hands out of the water.

Gavin and Hobbs reaching for the sting ray.

Gavin, Madison, and Hobbs waiting for another one to swim by.

Gavin's Birthday

Gavin Turned 7 years old this year! Boy how time flies! We went to Ice Age: Dawn of the Dinosaurs in 3D with several of his friends. They had so much fun watching the movie in 3D. Later we had a party with family. He wanted cupcakes instead of cake so I made him a soccer ball cake out of cupcakes. He got a razor scooter that sparks, rollerblades, a cd player, and a new mitt. We had such a fun celebration! Gavin is such a great kid! He is such a good example to his brother and sisters. He makes good decisions and is nice to everyone. Some of his favorite things are soccer, swimming, riding his bike and scooter, listening to music, reading, and making Dylan and Camryn laugh which he is really good at! We love you Gavin!

Gavin is always playing tricks and telling jokes so we got trick candles for his cake. He tried and tried to blow them all out with no success!

The soccer ball cake I tried to make out of cupcakes.

Gavin trying out his new rollerblades.

Ethan, Lawson, and Austin wearing their 3D glasses and watching the movie.

Gavin and Evan watching the movie. What cute boys!

Just a few things...

Mark had a break in school before he started summer semester so we tried to fit some fun activities in before he had to get back to studying. We spent some time in Ohio and went to Kings Island and some of our favorite places in Amish Country.

Gavin and Madison waiting in the bumper cars. This was the ride Madison was really anxious to ride.

The crew on Plankton's Plunge. What a fun grandma! We all had such a great time at King's Island. Gavin was a little more daring than he has been in the past and went on a few roller coasters. We didn't have to wait in any lines so he would stay on the coasters and go over and over again. Dylan and Camryn even enjoyed their first amusement park. They were so content riding in the stroller.

We went to Rolling Hills Ranch to feed the animals. Gavin and Madison were able to steer the wagon.

The Amish don't like you to take their pictures but since Madison was steering it was a great opportunity to sneak a snapshot of our driver Jebediah.

Our first photo with our whole family. My how our family has grown!

When we got home we were able to get tickets to the Cardinals game. We had so much fun. Gavin enjoyed watching the game and seeing Albert Pujols. Madison enjoyed people watching and pointed at about every person there. Gavin and Madison were both amazed at how much beer was being consumed. On the way home Gavin said, "I saw one guy have five bottles of beer". I couldn't believe that he counted. It was a good teaching moment.

We have had so much rain the past few weeks. We had over 9 inches in one day and our street was flooded. Mark couldn't stand not getting in the water. What a great example he was to Gavin and Madison. They couldn't stay out either. I think they changed their clothes 3 or 4 times that day. Which meant lots of laundry for me!

I am enjoying.....

The toothless talk of this cute boy!

The funny things this little girl says. One of our more recent conversations went something like this:

Madison: Mom everybody has armpits.

Me: Yes they sure do.

Madison: Yep, everyone has armpits and Jason has furry ones.

Oh, she makes me laugh!

And last but not least the smiles and laughs I get from these two. They are growing way to fast! It seems like time goes by even faster when there are two of them!

A doorbell

Madison thinks Dylan and Camryn are a doorbell! We have to agree with her. We think they are pretty adorable too!

City Museum

My family came to visit this weekend and we took them to the City Museum in St. Louis. It is a really neat place and fun for all ages. As you will see in the pictures even the "older" kids had fun!
My Dad posing as one of the sumo wrestlers.

Mark swinging on the rope in the skateless skate park.

Riley climbing through the tubes. I am still amazed that he made it through these without getting stuck.

Gavin going down the 7 story slide.

The kids were like little hamsters climbing all over the museum.

Madison taking her turn on the slide.

Our Crazy Life

Wow! What a month. We have made it through the holidays, finals, a wedding, and talks in sacrament meeting. This month has been such a blur but we have enjoyed every minute of it. Dylan and Camryn are such good babies. They sleep well at night and I think we finally have somewhat of a schedule. Gavin and Madison love their brother and sister and are such good helpers. Every morning Gavin changes Dylan's diaper and gets him dressed for me. Gavin even wakes up during the night when they are crying to make sure I get up to feed them. He is going to make an excellent father some day! Madison likes to hold the babies but tends to treat them like she does her dolls. She is learning that babies like to be held still and not bounced all the time. Mark and I are adjusting to having four children and have realized that we each need an extra pair of hands. Life may seem a little crazy at times but we sure feel blessed for all that we have! Here are some pictures of our cute kids. For those of you who have seen Gavin and Madison as babies the resemblance to Dylan and Camryn is quite shocking!