Jenna also played a great year of soccer! She is very athletic and loves to be in activities!

Joy school

Here's our big group!
Some days were like this-
These kids are great!

For the past 2 years Samuel has been in Joy school- it's a home based preschool that teaches values as well as academics. We had such a good time. I did the same thing with Jenna. My mom did the same program with us. I still have very fond memories of this program and I am still friends with those people. So that makes this extra special, knowing that my children will be life long friends with these kids. We had so much fun and did so many activities. Some of the kids went to kindergarten this year, but the O'Neil family is home so we still can do some of the same things with them. The things that I have learned and that the kids learned are invaluable. I would suggest this program to anyone!

Settlers

We love playing the Settlers of Catan! We had to play one last time while Jake was home. Our friends the Stapeltons introduced us to this game and we have loved it ever since! Also, when you play the game it's a requirement to have lots of snacks! In our case it has always been- licorice, popcorn, the rice cracker mix from costco, and whatever anyone wants the candy bag. This would be all the candy that I don't let my children have. All in all - good times!

Fun at the Lake

More summer fun at the lake with friends- Reeds and O'Neils and Abby's first time there! We love to be in the sun and play in the sand!

Jenna the Swimmer

The Spectators


The back stroke
I'm ready to race!



Jenna joined the Mills Creek Swim Team this summer. She had practice 4 days a week all summer long. She had so much fun! She is sitting here with her friend and neighbor, Katie Justinani. It was really neat for her to be on this team because Uncle Jake and Uncle Dave had swam on this team. She swam back stroke, free style and relays. She really did well and loved competing! We all so proud of her hard work and dedication. She has become an excellent swimmer. We also appreciated all of the spectators who endured the length of the meets!

The day got Jake got set apart- and the morning he left. President Titera came over and all the men got to be a part of the setting apart. It was very cool. I stayed up late with Jake that night. It was great to be with him then-we had some great conversations. It was an exciting time for all of us. The next morning we had a HUGE breakfast to see him off. We had everything you could think of and more! The Bower boys came to join us and see Jake off. They have been his friends and running partners for years. Jake has come such a long way. We are all so proud of him and his desire to serve the Lord. May he be blessed for his service. We love you, Jake!

More birthday!

The Family dinner! Samuel requested just a couple things for his birthday. He wanted Lasagna for dinner. The only thing he asked for, was for me to make him a beach cake. So I did! I'm really quite proud of how it turned out! He also said this" Mom are the Beach Boys still alive?" Yes they are. "Do you think they could come and sings my favorite songs at my party? It would be the best ever!" I had to disappoint this hopeful boy, but we did play them at his party and the music on this portion is for him. He is so happy to hear the Beach Boys sing!

Just a few more party pics!

July 15th -Samuel's birthday

Samuel's favorite food for his birthday breakfast- BACON!!! This boy can eat a ton of bacon!
We went to the Splash pad for Samuel's friend party! He had such a great time! We all did! Here he is with Spencer.
He is trying to spray someone with Tyler.
It was so fun to have our friends the Reeds come into town right around Samuel's birthday. Jenna loved playing with them along with cousins Julie and Tommy.
Thanks mom! You're the Best!!!

The little man is 5!

I LOVE my little Samuel so much! I cannot believe he is already five! It really has gone by fast! In order to celebrate him here are some of his favorite things.
Samuel loves Star Wars, I try to ignore this fact, but it is true. He believes that he is a Jedi master and that he is the best light saber fighter. He believes this because he went to Jedi camp at Disney Land. He fought Darth Vader and won! This was such a cool experience for him. Can you imagine loving star wars and then getting to go to a camp for Jedi's. He thought he was in heaven! I would not try to fight him though- he is only five but he WILL hurt you! At least he believes that he is a good Jedi and he wants to fight the bad people. I should be happy about that right?!
Samuel LOVES his BA, Ba-be. This is his special blue cozy blanket that isn't allowed out of his bed. It has soft bumbs on it. He calls them his cozy Cheerios's. At night when we tuck him in it's part of our routine to have to "Feel how soft BA is mom, don't you just love BA!" He tries to touch my face with his special blanket. He makes a soft home for his "Happy turtle" in his ba. It is amazing how much love comes out of this boy! His turtle is also a favorite because it laughs when you push his belly-hence the name. He is also blue-Samuel's favorite color. It is also a favorite because he love to laugh! He loves to laugh and to make people laugh. It is definitely one of his talents. His laugh his so infectious!
Samuel Loves water and he loves swimming. He could go to the pool every day and he would just think he was in heaven! He took swimming lessons last year and again this year. They were every day for about a month. This was so much fun!
He also loves his uncles! He talks about them all the time. He asks me questions about them about them all the time as well. What do you think they would do, mom? Or, Do they like this? Or, Would they eat this? Watch out boys he's watching your every move! He wants to be just like them. He talks about how big he's going to be when he's older. He can't wait-but I can! Uncle Jake is pretty special right now because he is on a mission in Samuel's favorite place-California! We will definately have to go see him when he's done with his mission! Which leads me to the next thing-
Samuel is a beach King. Some would say he's a flesh god. He never wants to wear a shirt and he LOVES flip flops. The world is bad when he can't wear his flip flops. You would not believe how fast he can run wearing them. He loves to be outside. Every day in the summer looks like this! Although he tries in the winter as well by saying-" I'm just so hot mom!" This little boy has so much spunk and personality-it is a joy to be his mother. It's a wonder to me that he can be so wild and then if he sees that something is wrong with me, he runs over and says "I love you mom" and gives me a quick kiss on the cheek. He is very in tune to people's feelings. We love you Samuel and are so glad you are in our family!