Here are some pictures from Lincoln's big day. We are so proud that he made the choice to be baptized.
He has been waiting for so long for his own scriptures. It was almost painful for me to make him wait so long. He has been so patient taking his plain jane missionary Book of Mormon to church with him. Now he has his very own scriptures with his name on them.
At his request, the whole family headed over to Cici's after the baptism. I mean WHOLE family. Cousins and all. Even his good friend Rylan convinced his mom to take their family. Thanks Julie :) Then we headed over to our house for cake and swimming. It was a fun, fun day. Congratulations to my little man!
The kids finally finished school. Hallelujiah! It is just too hot to be in school. We will now LIVE in the swimming pool until the fall.
All of the kids got straight "A" Honor Roll. I was surprised this year at how few kids got it. There were a lot of "A-B"'s this year. Blake barely skinned by. The morning of the assembly she said, "Mom, I don't think I did it." I started crying when she got "A" HR, because she worked so hard this year. I am so proud of her.
Taylor got her Great American Award.
Blake got her Nevada Citizenship Award. Both really difficult awards to get. So proud of their hard work.
Lincoln got the Awesome Gladiator Award for his hard work on his writing this year. Ms. Vela started talking about a little boy who started out hating writing, and then by the end of the year was writing pages. She caught me off guard. Right away I knew she was talking about Lincoln, and I started crying. I am so proud of him. He used to just scribble all over the page, because he hated writing so much.
Brooklyn graduated Kindergarten, and Taylor is moving on to Middle School. This was the last year that I will have 4 kids at the same school together. Taylor is sooooo ready to move on. Next step will be Young Women's.
Dylan has one more year of Preschool and then Kindergarten.
Levi is just barely 4 months old. He is rolling over already, and can do an army crawl and get to whatever toy he wants. I AM NOT EVEN KIDDING!!! Hello! Who told him he could move so fast! Slow down!!
Lincoln got baptized. That's a huge one. So proud of my little man.
So, Jim took the kids camping this weekend, and I am enjoying the peace and quiet. It's amazing what you can do when there are not 100 interruptions during the day. They only left yesterday, and already the laundry is done, folded and put away, and the house is clean. I am free to veg.
I have been training really hard since Levi was a month old, because I knew that I had the Mt. Charleston Hike coming up. 18 miles. Ugh. I have been running a lot, and doing a lot of pre-hikes to prepare. We did a 5 miler, a 7 miler, and we did Griffith Peak (10 miles).
So, the big hike is tomorrow, and why do I not feel prepared!!! Is it because I am not quite back to my old self, yet, after having Levi? Is it because I have not quite yet forgotten how HARD it was last year?? Is it because I don't think my new hiking shoes are quite broken in enough? Maybe. I am terrified. I have been thinking of a million excuses not to go. Levi is teething. That's a good excuse, right? I'M GOING, OK?! Wish me luck.
My next post will have lots of pictures. Lincoln's baptism and the camping trip. Jim took my camera, so I have no pictures to post this time :)
Also, if you are a MOM and you have not seen this, you MUST watch it. It is inspiring, and a good reminder of why we do what we do.
Brooklyn is just about done with Kindergarten. She had her graduation program, and it was so cute. They all dressed as what they wanted to be when they grow up. She, of course, wanted to be a ballerina. She and I had a confrontation earlier that morning, because I told her she had to wear a leotard with sleeves under that tutu, so that she would be modest. Well, she was not happy. The leotard was not "comfortable". Brooklyn has issues with clothes. If it doesn't feel perfect, she will refuse to wear it. Anyway, that little stinker came onto the stage with NO LEOTARD under her ballet outfit! She totally took that leotard off in class before the program. She won the battle in the end, I guess.
Her teacher is one of my good friends, Lisa. She is an amazing teacher, and I have loved having her teach Blake, Lincoln, and Brooklyn. I will be sad that she won't be able to teach Dylan! Wish I could've been more help this year, Lisa!
Brooklyn is reciting her little poem about being a ballerina with one of her best friends.
These are Brookie's very best friends. I am praying they will all be in the same class next year!
Father's Day was so fun. I hope my sweet husband had a good day. I made all my boys matching ties, and they were so excited to wear them to church. I am so mad that they are blurry in this picture! We were fighting with a palm tree that kept moving in front of them, and I guess the palm tree won :( Oh well, they're still handsome.
Oooooh, i LOVE this boy. He is the cutest thing EVER! I just want to kiss his face all day long.
Levi's first swim...he's not sure what to think. Taylor was having a blast dumping water all over his head.
Blake thought it would be a great idea if we did Smores in the firepit for FHE. They were yummy. We will definitely have to use that thing more often. I'm thinking Dutch Oven...
This isn't really the most flattering picture of Levi, but I thought the kids would want to see it. He really wanted that marshmallow.
Lincoln had his first day of Scouts. Of course, Jim, being the scouter that he is, had him all decked out in full uniform. Lincoln will probably be the only one in full uniform each week, but Jim won't have it any other way, and I'm glad :) Lincoln is stoked to be in Scouts. I'm excited for him.
She wanted to play "Minute to Win It" games which somehow turned into a HUGE marshmallow fight
Even Dad and Uncle Robby couldn't resist
Lincoln is 8!
We had a little swim BBQ for Lincoln's birthday. That's the best thing about summer birthdays. The parties are so easy. His cake says Happy Birthday K-Rod. K-Rod is the pitcher from the Mets that they always call in to finish the game. Lincoln always says he closes it down like K-Rod, so that's what we put on his cake. He thought it was pretty funny.
Levi is 3 months!
Look at our big boy! Don't you want to eat him up? I do everyday. We love this boy. He sleeps through the night, and practically all day. When he's awake, he is happy and smiling. He loves his Bumbo and his swing. He gets A LOT of hugs and kisses from his brother and sisters. He gets all the attention, and Diddy doesn't even care. She is so proud to be a big sister. Everyday she says, "Mom, I'm a big sister." We all love our little man. Can't believe it's already been 3 months.
I am overwhelmed with all of the things that I have to post, so I am going to just take it one at a time, even though, I'm so far behind. The last month has been very busy for us.
Dylan had her little Preschool graduation (even though she still has one more year of Preschool) I was taking pictures of her, and she said, "Mom, now let's do a silly face."
"Mom, now let's do a mad face."
Really. Is there a cuter 3 year old in the world? I don't think so.
Her teacher is one of my good friends, Lisa. She is an amazing teacher, and I have loved having her teach Blake, Lincoln, and Brooklyn. I will be sad that she won't be able to teach Dylan! Wish I could've been more help this year, Lisa! 
