Father's Day

It's tradition-Breakfast in Bed. Rachel woke me up early and helped me make pancakes for
Chris.

Ethan and Rachel made a treasure hunt for him. At the end was a big "D" which he proudly wears!

Chris in his homemade shirt, with his cards, and crazy kids! I am so grateful for the husband that I have and the good man that he is. Right before this picture was taken each of the kids told him what they loved about him. They were grateful that he read to them, skiied with them, and spent time with them and encouraged them to share their talents. We love our Dad and Husband!

Rachel's 9th Birthday Party

Rachel just finished the Harry Potter series and wanted to have a Harry Potter birthday party. Here is what she planned:

On the Hogwart's Express-playing Musical Chairs

Being Sorted with the Sorting Hat (Chris was behind the couch as voice)

Potions Class-Making Root Beer

Herbology Class-Planting Magic Seeds (Later, Chris & Dallin secretly put real plants in them)

Quidditch Time-playing "Monkey in the Middle" using a broom and of course, the snitch!

Scott played Professor Hooch

Honeydukes! Do I need to say more?

Bertie Bott's Every Flavor Bean Game (Cassie is tasting to see if the jelly bean is good or bad.)

Rachel's and Carly's were bad! They got soap and earwax.

Chris's was bad too!

Second Cousin Found

We went to a Ward dinner group a few months ago with the Hotchners and started talking about where we were from and what our maiden last names were. Jennifer said she was a "Bowman," which is my maiden name. She said her grandfather's name was Cecil Bowman, who I later found out is my grandfather's brother, so we share the same great grandfather. It was fun to look at our grandfathers' pictures and see the resemblances.

Trip to Salt Lake

We took Dallin and his friend, Austin, to EFY this week. We visited the capitol, gravity hill where Chris proposed to me, and temple square. After dropping them off, we visited Lisa and her family and then had dinner with Cathy and Jeff in Cedar. It was a quick, yet fun trip! Dallin really enjoyed EFY where he meet new friends, heard incredible speakers, and had a lot of fun.

Dress-up Time

Alli has asked several times to see my wedding dress, so this afternoon we got it out and the girls loved trying it on. It was fun to see my girls play in it. It was not fun to try it on and find I couldn't zip it up!

Dance Recital 2009

Brothers supporting their sisters!

Rachel had her dance recital and we enjoyed watching her do a jazz number to West Side Story's "America." She got the video and watched it, but didn't like it too much-gangs, death. I don't blame her. Nonetheless, we are proud of our little "Maria" for all her hard work!

Big V's 80th Birthday Bash

We celebrated Dad's 80th birthday with family and friends this weekend. Each of his children spoke of memories and lessons learned, Taylor and Kelly sang, and we watched a wonderful slide show. It was great to see friends we haven't seen in a long time and the new babies that have joined our family!

Ethan's Soccer Party

Ethan has waited for this day for a long time. Everyday he would ask, "Is today my soccer party?" "Is today, tomorrow?" It was fun to order the soccer cake and see his eyes light up when we finally went to Costco to get it. It's been a great season and fun to see him get so excited about playing a sport.

Ethan's Gymnastics Performance

Scott's Track Award Banquet Spoils