Morgan's 5th Birthday (yesterday)

Wake up sleepy head! Time to open presents!

Here is Morgan's look of amazement as she saw her very own hot pink Barbie scooter!

10 Things We Love About Morgan: (written by Dad)

1. She is her mommy's girl-a princess who loves dresses, Barbies and make-up. Joel has his two rough and tumble boys. Shannon needed her girl!

2. Her tummy tastes like chocolate ice-cream!!!

3. She can hold her own with her two older brothers. Like any smart girl, she knows when to turn on the tears and when to turn up the charm!

4. She is addicted to gum.

5. She is starting to want to learn how to throw the baseball (Joel is holding out hope), although she has a purple mitt and we are sure she would prefer that the ball was pink.

6. She loves to read, especially before bedtime. Who can refuse a girl with a little timid, sweet, voice and big eyes asking, "Daddy will you read me a book?" After the "yes" is heard, the negotiation begins. "OK, Daddy, I want to read 5 books." With his response, "How about two?"

7. She loves to cuddle with her mom, but when she is not available, she will cuddle with her dad, her grandparents, and even her primary teacher.

8. She is going to have a rude awakening when she starts school next year. She likes to sleep in until around 8 or 8:30; get up; lounge around in her pajamas; have a brunch because she doesn't like breakfast right when she gets up; and then go to preschool or swim lessons. We want her life!!!

9. She can never find her flip-flops or her shoes (we are not sure if she currently owns a pair of shoes other than her church shoes). We are constantly showing up at events and looking at Morgan and asking in an exasperated tone, "Morgan, where are your shoes?"

10. She is an amazing piano player. She has been playing for the past year and her teacher is amazed at what she has learned. And the amazing thing is that she loves it! We will find her all the time sitting at the piano singing while playing her songs. Joel is living vicariously through his boy's sporting events and Shannon is living vicariously through Morgan's piano playing.

We love you Morgan!

My Super Scouts

Who couldn't love this face? Adam is so excited to be a scout. It's only been about three weeks and we've already lost our kerchief, our slide, and our belt. It's not looking good. Adam is a little bit like his Dad. He immediately starts taking anything and everything that's "extra" off once he walks in the door. They remain decent but barely.

Adam received his Bobcat award last night. He is off to a great start! I unfortunately missed the photo of him eating the bobcat "poop." It was funny, yet yummy.

Seth earned his Webelos Award last night too. He is with Brother Haslip above and absolutely loves his pack. They have such a great group of boys and excellent leaders. Seth is working overtime to try to finish his activity badges by August. He's working hard and so am I.

I am so proud of my guys!

General George Crook

I love the boy's school but they do require the kids to complete some huge projects throughout the year that make life a bit difficult. This is one example: The 4th grade Wax Museum Project. Seth has been researching General George Crook for the last two months. I have to say though that other than gathering costume items, Seth was able to complete almost everything completely on his own. He is one of the most self-motivated kids I know and love. He wrote a report, made a backdrop (forgot to take a picture), dressed-up and memorized a two minute speech that he will be giving everyday for the next three days. Friday he will be giving his speech in front of all the parents. I was so proud of him for all his hard work and can't wait to see him perform on Friday. The beard was a little "fuzzy" and kept bleeding everywhere but boy does he look like a handsome old man!

Adam's Baptism

Adam was baptized Saturday, May 15. I had never seen him so excited!

Here is Atticus Lee with Adam. They shared their special day together.

Grandma and Grandpa Beckstead drove all the way down from Utah to be with him.

We love our grandparents! Thanks to both sets of grandparents for always making an effort to be with us during our special moments.

Saturday morning Adam woke up with his usual excitement to be alive. He had a huge smile on his face the entire morning. He's new, crisp, white shirt made it through his breakfast without his typical drowning of syrup. We headed to the stake center with his "extra" clothing and prepared for the baptismal service.

Seth lead the music.

Morgan gave the opening prayer.

Atticus' 10 year old cousin gave the talk on Baptism and the Holy Ghost.

Adam and Atticus were baptized.

Atticus and his brother played the violin. (so beautiful)

Adam and Atticus were confirmed.

Brother Lee bore his testimony.

Sister Vance gave some remarks.

Joel gave the closing remarks.

Closing prayer by Atticus' grandfather.

It was a perfect day! We are so proud of you Adam for making this important decision.

We love you!

Hey, Look at Me!

These pictures show one of the things we do for fun at our house. Check out Joel sticking his tongue out in the first picture. He does that when he's really concentrating, and Adam actually takes after him in that regard. My husband is so talented! And yes, he made it all the way up to Seth's hand.

Happy Mother's Day!

What do I love the most about Mother's Day? Homemade cards. Adam loves to make cards and he made me a total of six this year. I loved it! This is what he wrote in one of them:

Mom, I love you.

Others are not nicer than you.

Eat whatever you want.

Race me to see who is the fastest, so we can have fun.

Love, Adam

Morgan came home from preschool with this cute little thing:

MY MOM

She is 15 years old.

She weighs 15 lbs and is 20 ft tall.

Her favorite food is broccoli.

Her favorite thing to do is she likes to sign me up for swim lessons.

She loves me because she likes to play with me.

Where did the broccoli come from? Yummy.

Mother of Six

Well it has been a busy, crazy week and that's why I haven't posted in awhile. I've been playing catch-up all day today and hopefully later I can post other events that I've missed but just haven't had the time. Lara and Lee took a little trip to New Orleans for four days last week and I watched the kiddos. To be honest, it wasn't all that bad. The kids just blended in with the rest of mine and I loved playing house with baby Halle. I didn't realize how much I missed changing those stinky diapers and getting those after-nap cuddles. The kids were all so great and I kept thinking to myself, "This is a piece of cake! I could totally do six kids!" Here's a picture of Halle. The only picture taken during those four crazy days. I was too busy finding binkies, pouring apple juice and acting as a taxicab driver. Now it's back to the good life with only three kids. I do have it pretty easy!