Parkinson Family: May 2015

Thursday, May 28, 2015

Heidi and Jared's Birthdays

May is always a big month for our whole family, but especially for Heidi and Jared because it is also their birthdays. I honestly think May is as busy a month as December most years, with all of the end-of-the-school-year events we have going on.

On May 16th, Heidi had her dance performance. This is the first time Heidi has ever had dance and she really had a lot of fun! I wanted her to have the experience at least once in her life. She loved being up on the stage and wearing a pretty costume.

I know this isn't the best picture, but it's such a sweet memory. At the end of the program, they had all the dads go up and dance with their girls on the stage. It was great to see Aaron and Heidi up there together. I could tell Heidi was so happy!

May 19th was Jared's birthday and he turned 5.

On May 20th, Jared had his preschool graduation. He took preschool from Mrs. Carolyn Francom, the same teacher Erika and Kyle went to. She is getting close to retirement so Jordan will probably have to go somewhere else. Jared really had a lot of fun at preschool and just soaked everything up like a sponge.

The next day, May 20th, we had a birthday party for Heidi and Jared together. They each got to invite a few of their friends. This made things so much nicer for me, as their birthdays are less than a week apart. Our kids only get a party every 4 years, on the "big" years, and it just so happened that both of theirs ended up being this year- Heidi turning 8 and Jared 5.

We had a whole bunch of fun games in the backyard and then the piñata. I loved that Jared got excited about a rainbow unicorn piñata. Hmmm.... Well, they both loved it, then. The kids had a great time hitting it and of course getting the candy. We got the piñata done just in time for a big rainstorm to hit. Very lucky!

After the piñata was broken, Jordan thought it could still be used to ride around the kitchen...

Of course, I had to throw a picture in of our adorable Kaylee, happy as always.

Heidi's birthday fell on Memorial Day this year (May 25th) and we decided to take a trip down to Salt Lake and go swimming in Oma and Opa's pool. Swimming is one of Heidi's most favorite things to do. We first went down to my sister's house in Orem and then went out to lunch at Golden Corral, Heidi's favorite restaurant.

Erika and Lucy chillin' in the pool.

Kyle and Logan swimming

After swimming, the kids enjoyed a short ride on the horses.

Heidi is such a sweet girl and we are so grateful to have her in our family. What a special girl! I can't believe she is already 8 years old.

I made Heidi a frozen cake for her birthday...

Friday, May 15, 2015

A Day in the Life of a Parkinson...

Kaylee is well-loved by her older brothers

I guess over the last 4 1/2 months, there haven't really been any big events to take pictures of so I haven't updated my blog since Christmas. But, as I have looked through my photos, most of them have been of just everyday things with the kids. Between diapers and baby food and potty training, here are a few little clips of everyday life at our house...

We spent January and February watching Kyle play basketball with Tremonton City.

If you want to know anything about the Northwest Indians, talk to this kid!

Need I say more?

My boys like to arrange their cars by color...

Showing off her school project. Thanks, Daddy!

On Feb 4th, Heidi lost her first tooth!

On Feb 11th, while Aaron was at his Stake Presidency meetings, I went over to the seminary with the kids and "Heart-Attacked" his classroom. The kids had a lot of fun decorating it!! Aaron also loved his surprise when he went into work the next morning.

That weekend was President's Day Weekend. (Feb 14-17) We went up to Boise to spend some time with Aaron's parents. I regret not getting more pictures there. Here are a few of my favorites from when we were at POJO's. The kids had a great time playing games and going on rides. We also enjoyed playing at the park, swimming in the pool at the hotel, and going out to dinner for Aaron's birthday.

Mother and son watching the kids play

Feb 28th I helped to do a baby shower for my sister-in-law Alisa at my mom's house.

March 3rd and 5th Erika and I took our Hunter's Safety Class together at the Logan Shooting Range. It took a lot of time to do all the reading online and take the tests. We were both glad to have it done. I thought the class was actually pretty fun and I enjoyed learning everything. I especially enjoyed doing it with Erika. And, I liked shooting guns more than I thought I would.

A few days after St. Patrick's Day, I looked out the window to see Jared snapping pictures of Lucky with my phone and just giggling. He had put a little hat on Lucky that he got at preschool and the poor dog was just patiently enduring. That same day, Jared did his kindergarten roundup and aced it!!! Yeah, Jared :) (Hence the name tag on his shirt) Also notice the "fort" the kids made behind Jared.

Our little future chef displaying the bread he made at preschool

Heidi and Jared just got done riding their bikes and Jared is showing off his ant farm
that he got for Christmas (and we finally got the ants, and they were still alive at the time...).

Last but not least, our adorable little Kaylee: She has been such a delight! She is such a smiley, sweet little baby. We are so blessed to have her in our family.

Parkinson funnies

Nov 2012- Aaron was watching football on TV and Jared came out saying, "I want to go watch grass!"

Dec 2011- Heidi said one morning, "Mom, there's frosting on the house!" (on a cold day when frost was on the house).

June 2, 2011- Driving in the car Kyle said to his sister, "If you don't learn to talk, Jesus will make you talk Spanish." (He explained later that he actually meant sign language. That's how he thought it worked.)

Feb 28, 2011- Kyle said, "I don't like to have babysitters because they are only supposed to take care of babies!" Then we explained that they can take care of bigger kids too.

Dec 15, 2010- Kyle said, "I know how they make egg nog. First they dump in the eggs and mix them around. Then they put in the nog..."

Oct 20, 2010- Kyle said, "Mom, is some cheese blue?" I said it is called blue cheese but isn't really that blue. He said, "Well, then does it taste like blueberries?" I love all the questions he asks about how the world works- He's really trying to figure things out.

Oct 7, 2010- We were driving by Arctic Circle and Kyle said, "Is that the hamburger hut? I like that hut." I am wondering if he was remembering a time when we went to "Pizza Hut".

Aug 12, 2010- We were driving by a farm where there was a big fire burning up the field and Kyle said, "Dad, is that where the indians live?"

Aug 8, 2010- We were driving in the car and Kyle said, "Dad, I think I 'm truck-sick." "You mean car sick?" "No, truck sick- when you're sick in the truck."

Aug 2, 2010- We were headed off to a doctor's appointment for the baby and he was crying. Kyle said, "Mom, I think he's crying because you said he is going to get a shot."

June 28, 2010- The other day at dinner it was Heidi's turn to pray and daddy was helping her. She was just repeating everything word for word when he got to "Please bless it.." and said it 3 times. Finally I had to open my eyes to see what the hold up was. Well, little Heidi was just stuffing spaghetti in her mouth as fast as she could and it was hanging out all over. We all just bust up laughing. I guess she just couldn't wait any longer!

May 19, 2010- On the way home from the hospital after seeing their new baby brother, Erika said, "When I was born mom and dad said that I looked blue." Kyle said, "And when I was born I was pink and red. "

Dec 9,2009- The other day we were eating dinner and Kyle didn't want to eat. He said, "I don't like to eat aliens!" We told him there were no aliens in his dinner. Then, realizing what he was talking about, I said, "You mean onions?" He kept calling onions "aliens" and we got a kick out of it.

Nov 20, 2009- Erika lost another tooth at school today. Kyle said to her, "Erika, when my tooth gets loose and comes out, I'll give mine to you."

Oct 10, 2009- Today Erika said, "Mom, someday when I'm older, I want to get that recipe from you!"

Sept 9, 2009- We couldn't find our puppy anywhere and had driven all over the neighborhood to find him. Finally about 2 hours later Kyle showed up holding him and I said, "Where did you find him?" He said, "In the killer-box". "The what?" "The cooler-box". He had stuck him in a cooler in our backyard and forgotten about it. We were glad he was okay!! I felt terrible and gave him some extra TLC for a little while.

Sept 4, 2009- Erika said tonight, "You know what my favorite thing is about school? It's lunch... and learning... and break!" We said, "Isn't that the whole thing?"

Aug 17,2009- We were camping and had brought all our bikes. As we were leaving camp for a little while, Aaron commented that it might have been wise to bring a chain to lock up our bikes so they wouldn't get stolen. Erika said, "Or, we could have just brought a sign that said, 'DON'T STEAL!'".

July 12, 2009- Today at church Kyle looked at my Young Women's Medallion and said, "Mom, is that you on the necklace?"

July 3, 2009- Kyle had been sleeping down in Erika's room with some friends and came upstairs before we went to bed. He said, "Mom, there was some noise down there. I think it was the tooth fairy, coming to get the loose tooth."