Lucy Turns 10!

 Lucy turned 10 years old this year. She had a fabulous party at the Swimmin' Hole where she does Swim team. We had glow sticks and pizza and popcicles. It was perfect for her! She invited several school friends and neighborhood friends and of course her cousin Sophie! 

Lucy is such a delight to have in the home. Lots of energy and light and laughter comes from her. Some things about Lucy at 10 years old:

1) She LOVES being Tickled! She loves to play ABC tickle where she picks a letter and I tickle something on her body that starts with that letter. Also, hide n' go seek tickle. 

2) She still lives for friends and friend time. She wants to schedule play days at least 3-4 times a week and keeps me busy with finding friends who are available. 

3) We finally found good medication to help her succeed with her ADHD. Now she is able to focus a lot more in school and her tests/grades are going great! She is also able to better handle big emotions that come her way at home. We are SO glad!

4) Lucy is trying cheer for the first time and loves it. She will probably do tumbling and swim team again this summer. 

5) She loves spending time wrestling, playing outside, getting fruit snacks and go-gurts from Gma Close's house and anything with friends. 

We love our Lulu!

Emma--Stage Crew her Sophomore Year

Emma has absolutely LOVED doing stage crew this year. She is interested in all things technical and helping run the show behind the scenes. Mrs. Rhodes has been very impressed with Emma because she is extremely accountable and reliable. She has learned how to do the sound board for the shows and has really enjoyed it. The first show they did was Newsies. Then they did Spelling Bee and currently doing "Catch Me if You Can" (which we saw last night). It has been SO fun to see her do something she enjoys and is good at. 

Nora's 12th Birthday Plant Party!

 Nora Boo is 12 years old! And of course we did a plant birthday party this year. 

First of all on her actual birthday we had ice cream pie and opened gifts. But after dinner she wanted to go to the temple to do baptisms for her birthday. I just love that so much. Of all the things she could have done (or not done) she wanted to be in the Lord's house that day. 

Her birthday party was fun. She invited Lucy Swan, Annabelle Nuss, Ava Reid, Amelia Thomson, Leah (can't remember her last name) and Rachel Bagley (their 5th grade teacher and our good friend). Oh and of course Reese :). 

We had dinner- a pasta bar with everyone and then we painted little succulent pots with paint markers and planted succulents in them. We played the card game "spoons" with plant face cards I had bought and had yummy ice cream pie. It was a super fun night! 

Some things about Nora:

1) She still loves plants, crafting and playing with LEGOS. 

2) Nora likes to help cook and make things in the kitchen. Especially making chocolate chip cookies with Reese on Sunday's. 

3) She made STUCO (Student Government/Council) at Lincoln for next year and is very excited!

4) She LOVES going to the temple as often as she can. She also is great at teaching lessons in Young Women's and is excited to go to girls camp next month for the first time!

WE love you Nora! 

Trip to Cali with the Young's!

 This post makes me a little sad because this very well could be our last vacation to California with the Young's. Maybe we'll go back and visit with them but maybe not. They will be moving back to Arizona this summer. But this trip was epic and I'm grateful for the memories!!!

Of course we did lots of beach time and our family absolutely LOVED it. Benson loved having the waves chase him and also looking for shells. Jane and Lucy loved finding cool shells and rocks and making things in the sand. The older girls loved playing ball game with the older cousins like "keep away". 

We also attempted to do a day trip to Universal Studios. I say attempted because the ENTIRE state of California decided to go the same day as us...AND it poured rain all day long. So not only were the lines 90 minutes + for every ride but we were soaked all day. Not the best but we tried to make fun memories still. 

It rained a lot of the week we were there but snuck in beach time when it wasnt raining. But other times we played lots of games, did crafts, watched movies and did a temple day. That was special. It was the first time Grandpa Close came to the temple with us in over a decade. Pretty neat. 

We had such a great time! We love spending time with the Young's!