Violinist

Kenyon had his first violin recital tonight. He has only been playing for about 8 months. 

He worked so hard to get ready. 

He played 2 songs, Irish Washer Woman and Allegro. 

Great job, Kenyon! I'm so proud of you!

Beach Party!!!

For Kenyon's 7th birthday he wanted a beach party. I was very excited about that! He had a great party.

We had a seafood buffet with shrimp, fish n' chips, and "chicken of the sea."

There were Shark Attack cupcakes, octopus cakeballs, life preserver donuts, life savers, swedish fish, goldfish, and tropical fruit salad.

They played in the pool and sandbox. We had a volleyball net set up and we played volleyball with beachballs.

He had a great day, and his favorite gift was a giant "Wild Animals" book.

What a great day! Happy Birthday, Kenyon! I love you a ton!

Soccer

Cruz played soccer for the first time and absolutely fell in love with it. I think this season was just the first of many soccer seasons to come.

Mara's Dance Recital

Mara took a dance class and loved every minute of it. The day of her recital she was so excited and she looked so pretty. She is pretty shy, so I wasn't sure how the recital would go, but the shyness won out over the excitement. She did a few moves here and there, but mostly she just followed the other girls around with her head down. Poor thing, she was just so scared. But she still enjoyed her dance class and can't wait until she gets to start again next year.

She also loved the cupcakes she helped me make for the recital.

Red and White

We had a blast at the red and white game this year.

The family with Eric Weddle.

On the 50 yard line.

Mara was in heaven getting her picture with the cheerleaders.

Go Utes!!!

Jungle Diorama

Cruz made this awesome jungle diorama for school. He got a perfect grade on it. Of course, how could he not. The teacher especially loved the waterfall. I think he did a fantastic job painting the trees and plants in for the background. And thanks to Kenyon for loaning him all the animals!

Great job , Cruz!

Koen's Birthday Party

On April 2nd (yes I realize it's May) we had a party for Koen. A lot of family came, and it was really fun to all get together. I decided to do a kite flying party because that's something everyone can enjoy and because it was April. The perfect time of year.

It was a little chilly outside, but the wind was perfect. Everyone got in on the kite flying. Then we came inside for barbeque sandwiches.

Koen nibbled a bit of his cake while I was trying to get a picture.

We had a great time. Thanks to everyone who came!

Koen's Turns 1!

Koen turned 1 on March 31st. My little baby is now a big baby - even though he is little.


I tried to keep the day very low key so he didn't get too overstimulated and just planned a very little celebration for him in the evening. Thank goodness the boys were in school. The day was going quite nicely until they got home. They were so excited about it being his birthday that they were a bit (and by "a bit" I mean "a lot") overwhelming for him. They had him so keyed up in just a couple of hours that he was a complete wreck.

We had to take a break after opening his presents. I sent the kids downstairs and spent some very quiet time holding Koen and helping him relax. He was finally ready for the last half of the party.

He didn't know what to think of the cake at first. I don't think he like the feel of the frosting, but once he got through the frosting to the cake it was all over. He had a blast with it and I couldn't believe how much he actually ate.

Birthday cake from Shari Schempp on Vimeo.

This is how he looked by the time he was finished:

Koen was very aware that this day was all about him and he definately enjoyed it. I sure do love you, Fuzzy!

Basketball Season

Cruz's basketball season came to a close in March. He had a great season. Here are a couple of highlights:

Cruz - basketball rebound shot from Shari Schempp on Vimeo.

Cruz - basketball block from Shari Schempp on Vimeo.

Breaking My Silence and a Baby in the Snow

I know it has been very quiet on here for quite some time. I kept telling myself I wasn't blogging because I was just too busy, but that wasn't really the reason. Here's the real reason - I needed a break. I really needed to take a little break from blogging for a while. I guess 2 months qualifies as "a while" because I found myself waking up this morning thinking, "I want to blog today." It has been a very long time since I've thought that. So here I am, back, rejuvenated, and ready to blog.

Here's the first item I'm catching up on...

Koen went out to play in the snow for the first time in March.

He didn't like it.

Not one bit.

It took a half hour to get him dressed to go outside and he stayed out for about 2 minutes.

But I was determined to get my picture, no matter how much he hated it. That's the kind of mom I am. My children are going to need counseling one day.