Alice in Wonderland

Erika had the opportunity of performing with the Old Barn Theatre this year and it was a great experience for her.  This was our first experience doing a play with this theatre.   As with the Garland Children's Theatre, it is a non-profit organization all run by volunteers.  It is run by a board of directors in an attempt to provide positive experiences for the actors and good entertainment for the community.  Ticket sales and donations keep the program going.   I would've loved to do it with her, but with a new baby it wasn't possible this year.  Someday!  It was quite a bit different than the Garland Children's Theatre in that a lot more was required of Erika.  It is a bit more professionally done and required a lot more practices.  This was a "Jr" production, so it was almost all children in the play, another reason there were a lot more practices.  I was very lucky, though, because there were about 6 other families in my ward who also did the play and so we were able to carpool and take turns helping at the practices.  It is located in Collinston, Utah, about 10 min away.

Erika was the Cheshire Cat, at least a part of the Cheshire cat- the tail :)  She was on stage almost the whole show and did so great at memorizing her lines.  

It was so fun to watch her perform.   We are so proud of her for her hard work!  

Aaron's parents came to watch Erika the closing night of the show on June 27th and Kyle got to stay with them while Aaron and I headed up to Rexburg for the day with our 4 other kids.   Aaron really enjoyed seeing his old classmates and reliving some memories there.   

They had a couples dinner in the evening at Sugar Salem High School.  We left Jared, Heidi, and Jordan with Aaron's aunt Renee and took Kaylee with us.  

We also got to spend a few hours with Grandma Parkinson in the afternoon.  This was the first time she has ever seen Kaylee.  Last summer when we came up to her house, I was pregnant.  

Jordan's birthday

  

June 6th, just a few days later, was Jordan's birthday and he turned 3.  He was very excited to open his presents and have cake with our family.   We didn't do a lot that day besides a short trip to Logan with our family but he didn't mind.   In the afternoon we had fun playing with his new sand and water car set in the backyard.  

We are so grateful to have such a sweet boy in our family!  He makes me laugh daily and gives me so much love.  He loves to play with cars and gets into whatever his brothers like, which is currently skylanders, legos, or mario kart.  He likes to be silly and laugh.  He is very social and loves to play with friends and meet new people.  We love Jordan- He is a lot of fun!  

I made Jordan's "Super-Why" cake with a buttercream transfer-
my first time with this method and I was so excited with how it turned out!

Here are some pictures of Jared doing T-ball this year.  This was his first time and he was really excited for it.  We had fun watching him learn a new sport.  What a fun time for him!

Heidi's Baptism

June 6th was Heidi's baptism and it was such a special day for our family!  We had a wonderful day with many of our family here to celebrate with her.

Instead of buying a new dress, I fixed up the dress that Erika wore as a flower girl for Aaron's brother Thayne's wedding years ago.   It is such a beautiful dress, it just didn't have sleeves so I added some sleeves and fixed a few of the rips in the dress.   She looked so beautiful all dressed in white!

My favorite thing about the whole day was how happy Heidi was.  She knew this was a special day for her and she was just beaming the whole time.  During the program, when the speaker had her come up to the front of the chapel, she just couldn't take the smile off her face.   I love Heidi for her purity and innocence.

Heidi was so excited to have her own set of scriptures to read.  

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...

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.