Playing Catch up: January-April

I'm behind on blogging. So now that it's summer vacation and my boys are building a fort in my kitchen (really? my kitchen?!) and Kara is probably reading her third book of the day I thought I'd take a minute to try and catch up.  It's been such a fun year so far…fun and exhausting!  I've never been so tired in my life (except maybe when I served as a missionary for 18 months in Italy.)

{In January}

Kara, Jared, Jeremy and I went to help make meals at Feed my Starving Children.  They loved helping and I hope it helped them realize a little bit more how blessed we are and how important it is to serve others.

{In February}

We got to meet (and fall in love with) this little cutie-

I swear I've never seen such a content, easy going baby in my life.  And SO CUTE! And of course he brought the rest of the family too.  We had a good time playing card games and trying to convince them to move to Denver.  We really miss them!

(And I had fun taking their pictures on this very windy day!)

And just like that Jared turned 7!  We celebrated by taking him and two of his friends to "Monkey Business."

He was excited about all of his gifts…but he was especially excited to get his own unique copy of The Book of Mormon that he can read before he turns 8 (we are currently reading in Mosiah.)  Some interesting facts about Jared:
*He is taller than most kids his age (and most kids that are older too!)
*His favorite food is salad
*His favorite colors are black and orange
*His favorite ocean animal is a shark
*His favorite sport is baseball
*He loves playing kickball and soccer in the backyard
*He really loves his family and spending time with all of us is his priority
*He also wants me to write how much he loves and misses his Grandpa DuBravac

{In March}

Jeremy spoke at a conference in Chicago and I realized how grateful I am that I don't have to attempt this parenting gig on my own.  (Next year I'm tagging along!)

Oh, and Sammy discovered pickles.

{In April}

We had a visit from Jeremy's parents.  Kara got her first real sewing lesson (she made a headband) and the boys had someone to play "Crash Canyon" with them.

Then we celebrated our first Easter in Denver.

This is how Sammy thinks he's supposed to find the eggs!

 

And then we celebrated another birthday- Luke turned 4!

Luke is such a fun kid…
*He says the funniest things like "Oh yeah, bebe!"
*He is almost always singing…even when he's just talking he'll do it to music
*His favorite color is blue
*His favorite things to eat are oreos and soft pretzels
*I cannot get him to go anywhere near a sandwich
*His favorite animal is a tiger
*He loves to be on the go…always swimming or running or playing…he is the life of the party!
*He loves playing with Jared (who is always really good to include him!)

In conclusion…here are a few shots that Jeremy caught of Sammy and the kids in our backyard...