"8" is very GREAT!!

This past week, my little baby Chance somehow turned "8"!!! So many wonderful things come with turning that small number. Baptism, 3rd grade, and being able to finally go to CUB SCOUTS! What a great year it will be for my little munchkin! He is so excited for what lies ahead.

As far as celebrating his birthday, we did a couple of fun things over the weekend.  Friday at school, Easton and I took in root beer floats for Chances class. It was his teachers birthday too, so we got to have a little more time than most birthdays because she was feeling so fun. She made sword balloons for all the kids and went out on the playground and got on the swings and monkey bars with the kids. Chance thought that was spectacular!
On Friday night, we took him and a couple of buddies to see the new "Pirates" movie.
And the next night, we took our family and a few of the kids friends to the "Blaze" game. Where my Dad and Jods got a suite and filled it with goodies and an adorable football cake! My Grandpa Wendell came and a few of Jodi's family members. It was really kicked back and fun.

We are so in love with our sweet Chancie (as Easton calls him). Here are a few things that make me smile when I think about him:
His new "toothless" grin
His gorgeous baby blue eyes
His little face...so defined, so serious
Nobody asks more questions than this kid. Thrives on information and facts.
He rarely laughs really hard, but it is contagious when he does:)
He is really good at sports and doesn't know it!
He is obsessed with the military. Especially the "Navy." He was so proud they killed Osama:)
He wants a German Shepherd when he gets home from his mission
He is so great with our new puppy "Oakley"
He works so hard at being a better reader
He is an awesome artist. You can always find him with a packet of "sharpies" and a stack of paper.
He likes Justin Beiber. I sometimes catch him trying to pull down his britches so his boxers stick out:)
We have to cut his hair often. He tells me he needs a "snip" if it gets too long. A military thing I guess.
He can't put his new "scout" manual down. He wants to pass everything off immediately.
Mostly, he reminds me so much of his Daddy...(and we all know I like him a lot too)

He is very shy. He is a creature of habit. Only Brandon and I understand most of his behaviors and what makes him tick. We get him, we love him madly! We are so proud to have him for our BOY.

Chance and Mrs. Tucker

PiRaTeS of the CaRIBbeAn

bLaZE GaMe

Our first "boy scout!"

Happy Birthday Chance. We love you buddy!!

Easter 2011

Brandon and the kids ALWAYS do the eggs together. I think he likes it as much as they do. He takes like 20 minutes per egg, and they always turn out to be egg masterpieces.

Chance is starting to take after Brandon...he really takes time to think about each egg. I, on the other hand just dump an egg in each color, pull it out and call it good!

 I love the gorgeous colors that "brown" eggs produce when dipped in the dye. The white ones are pale in comparison.

Easter wouldn't be complete without a "pirate egg."

 Hannah even took time out of her busy social schedule to dye a couple of eggs:)

Easter morning: the boys got baseball stuff in their baskets, the girls got new jeans.

We did the egg hunt, had breakfast, and hurried off to church. Look at these kids...nice and clean. So cute in their Easter best.

After church, we headed over to Grandma and Grandpa Mackay's for a delicious dinner and Grandpa's famous Easter Egg Hunt! The kids will literally take each other "out" to get the most eggs. The Easter Bunny puts quarters and dollar bills in the eggs there! 

The older cousins spent all day teasing my nephew "Griffin" about his new Justin Beiber hair. They are just jealous. I have to say, I think it is adorable:) Except, now Chance wants the same doo.

Easter was bitter sweet for us this year. We loved being with family and friends. But our dog passed away the night before, and we were all in a fog that day. But that's another post. All and all...Easter was a success. And how appropriate it was, to remember the resurrection and that we will be with our loved ones again someday:)

April 13, 14, 15: DAYS 6, 7, 8

Day 6:
When we woke up, Brandon ran down to the gas station and picked us up a breakfast pizza, some orange juice, hot chocolate packets and some pastries.  We all sat around the big log table in our cabin and enjoyed our meal together.
Chance and Easton kept going on the front porch to feed their new friend "Pieces" the stray cat. Chance really grew to love this cat and was so sad that we couldn't take him home!
We got dressed and took the kids down to the RLDS church to their visitors center. We had to go there because the RLDS owns the part of the property in Nauvoo where Josephs Smith home and cemetery sit. Oh, and the "Red Brick Store." It was really cool to see inside all of those places and hear little inside stories that took place there. Also, in the "Red Brick Store", we bought rootbeer candies, pioneer gifts and pioneer hats for the boys.
When we were done there, we rushed back to the cabin, ditched the kids, changed our clothes and hurried back to the temple so we could do a session.
The Nauvoo Temple was gorgeous inside. A little old mixed with new style. I absolutely loved it! The hand painted walls were gorgeous. One of the ladies that sat next to me, pointed out one of the sections of a wall that President Hinkley got to paint!
Brandon and I glanced over at each other multiple times during our session. Reminded me of our wedding day. Only now, I love him even more and understand the importance of the temple in my life so much clearer!
That night, we took the kids to a river bank along the Mississippi and watched the sun set. It was fantastic. Brandon and the kids skipped rocks for at least an hour. What a perfect last night we had in Old Nauvoo!

"Pieces" Chance's buddy!

We took this of ourselves after our temple session:)

Day 7:
Our last morning in Nauvoo. We woke up early, packed up the car and headed out. But not before Chance found his little buddy "Pieces" the kitty. He was genuinely sad that we couldn't take him home. I explained to him that cats hate to travel and get really nervous in cars and planes. He thought about it, and settled for just feeding "Pieces" one last plate of scraps.
Chance talked us in to going back to the "Brickyard" before we could leave Nauvoo. I'm so glad he did because they gave our family a brick made from real Nauvoo clay. Neat.
Our next stop was "Carthage Jail." Where Hyrum and Joseph were killed. We expected this to be the neatest stop, but noooooo. Some dumb crap family let their kids scream the whole time and crawl all over the antiques. Brandon and I were so frazzled and stricken with anxiety that it kind of ruined the whole experience. But it was really neat to see anywho!
After a few hour drive, we landed in St.Louis. We stayed at the Hyatt (quite fancy) especially compared to the places we had been staying. We all spread out and relaxed for a bit before we went and met a guy named "Charles" and his family that work in the industry with Brandon. We met for pizza. It was a quaint little restaurant downtown that was surrounded with trees and we ate out on the sidewalk. It was gorgeous there. I loved it. And my kids had a ball with their kids! They were begging for a sleepover by the end of the evening.
 

Carthage Jail

Easton: just chillin' in the hotel window seat.

 Charles Dugan and family

 Brandon pulled over on the way back to our hotel and made the whole car try a "White Castle" burger! Ewwww...it was soooo gross! We all spit it out. SICK!

 I forgot to mention...Brandon let Hannah practice her driving skills! Holy freak....scary!

Day 8:
The most beautiful and yummy breakfast buffet awaited us in the lobby that morning. We stuffed ourselves silly. Then, we ran across the street and took a tour of the St. Louis Arch and stopped at a fun kids museum before making our way to the airport! By five o'clock that night we were on our flight home.
I was so sad. I mean like really, really weepy. I loved every minute of my vacation. I had all of my kids within reach the whole time. I could hear their every word. And loved having them close. By Saturday morning (the day after we got home) everyone had spread in their different directions...and I hated it. Now I know why it is so important to take "family" vacations. Not just for the sight seeing, but the bonds you make! Absolutely priceless.

This is the inside of the capsule that takes you to the top of the arch: tiny, tiny, tiny!

This is from the top looking down. It was swaying a little in the wind. I couldn't get down fast enough:)

City Museum

                                                                            the end.