Not too many interesting things happened at the end of August, but here are a few pictures that were taken.
She loves her big bed and makes sure to use all of it!
Yep, gas dropped below $2
Doesn't this look like a comfy way to sleep or just sit in general???
Such a mess when she feeds herself
Bentley taking pictures of Dad working in the yard.
Kenney's Grandma Hoer passed away this month, and his Grandpa wanted all the grandkids and great-grandkids to learn two songs to sing at her funeral. Most of the great-grandkids from Texas were not able to make the trip for the funeral, but we recorded the songs and sent them to him. Here are the kids singing I'm Trying to Be Like Jesus.
These kids have been doing puzzles like crazy!! I think our extra table will be a permanent fixture for a while since Papa Dude brought about 20 puzzles with him when they came to visit. I also keep finding lots of pictures on my phone as they have to take a picture of every completed puzzle and apparently themselves!!
This little girl is getting active and busy, more than normal. She crawls and gets anywhere she wants, finally had a tooth cut the day before 8 months, giggles and smiles (sometimes fakely), pulls to stand up and lets go trying to gain her balance on two feet, screams at anyone who is bothering her, and is so loved by everyone!
The first day of school came a little slower to me this year, but the boys would have been content if Summer continued. I think everyone was excited once the day actually came. They all wanted to see their friends and play with them. I thought it might be a hard adjustment for the girls too with all the busyness of 5 kids in the house, but they have done great with our quieter days. I asked Bentley if she missed the boys, and she said, "Nope!"
Here's to a great school year and a lot of learning!
How are they getting so old so fast!?!?
Headed to Mrs. Skelton's class. We loved her when Damon was in her class and were excited Radley got the same teacher.
Going to Mrs. McLain's class. She is the same teacher Kyler had, so he was happy because Kyler says she was the BEST teacher ever.
He was really hoping for Mrs. Wischkaemper and he got into her class. He has to change classes several times this year, so he will be learning a little bit more responsibility!
We had a nearly perfect and special day when Damon was baptized. I love that so many people were able to celebrate and support him and our family. We all had a great morning and made it to the church without forgetting anything, phew! The baptism itself was great. Damon as a little nervous but super excited. Damon asked Papa Dude to speak on baptism, and there weren't many dry eyes in the building. The Spirit was strong and it just continued. Kenney's talk on the Holy Ghost was great, and there was a huge circle of men to help with confirmation. Everything else was great too. Afterwards we ate with all of our visitors before we parted ways and enjoyed our time together. It was a quick weekend that ended too soon, but we were so appreciative of the support and love we all felt, especially Damon.
Damon had Dad doing all the work! Kenney baptized him, then gave a talk about the Holy Ghost, followed immediately by confirming Damon. He really does love his dad!
Love these people.
We are so happy and proud of this kid!!
There's a lot of love and power in this circle of men. A lot of uncles were able to be here, but we're still missing some. Love that Damon has so many good examples to look up to. President Tipa was in the confirmation circle too; he just missed out on the picture.
We were so blessed to have all the grandparents come visit and be here for Damon's baptism. All the kids couldn't wait until they got here. Grandma & Grandpa got here first on Friday afternoon. We played games and opened a few presents. The kids loved playing chess and doing puzzles with them. Bentley used the makeup they brought too. MJ was a little nervous about them at first but warmed up really quickly. Grandma even brought water balloons which were a huge hit.
That evening Oma, Papa Dude, & Zadi got here. They unloaded the van that was full of surprises for everyone. More puzzles and games were played. We stayed up too late, but loved having them here.
Filling up the balloons and making a mess but having a BLAST.
Everyone had fun pumping and filling the balloons; it was just too hot to do it outside.
Grandpa getting to snuggle with the sleeping baby.
Papa Dude is rarely left with an empty lap! They were all loving the Calvin & Hobbes books.
More games.
Learning a new game. Kyler and Radley really love this one.
Love this!! It's been 3 years since we've seen Grandpa and loved being with him.
So glad she let other people hold her.
This kid was super excited Grandpa got to come. He would have rather gone to Montana, but I much preferred the convenience of this visit!!
Damon is 8 years old!! This boys has such enthusiasm for life. He goes from one extreme to the next without much middle ground. He has the softest and most tender heart of all our kids. He is the kindest brother to his sisters, always helping them. He wants to hold Mackenzie all the time and wake her up from a nap if he thinks she's slept too long. He is the most patient with Bentley and probably understands her the best because they are similar. He still loves sports almost more than anything and just wants to compete. He gets so into any competition that he gets emotional when things aren't going his way. He is incredibly intelligent and comes up with correct answers when he doesn't even know how he figured it out! He thinks outside the box and comes up with solutions in such abstract ways. He has amazing gospel knowledge and asks great questions about spiritual things. It has been an adventure for 8 years with this boy, and I don't see that changing anytime soon! We love you Damon Blade!
It was so fun to have some of Damon's friends over. This friend ended up spending the night with us. It got extra crazy with all the boys running around, but they had a great time!
He was really confused when he opened this present and got dog toys and a dog collar. Obviously we don't have a dog, but he got the hint and was really excited when he realized that we will be getting a dog!! Mom and Dad aren't nearly as excited, but he's been asking for a dog every Christmas and birthday since he was 3. After 5 years, he finally wore us down!!
He's also been asking for scriptures, so he was happy about his new scriptures too and already started marking in them.
This dog loving boy asked for a paw print cake, and then didn't eat one piece of cake!!
Next year we're just blowing out candles with root beer floats!
Happy Birthday Damon!
All the boys started playing Just Dance, and it was pretty funny.
Damon got a balloon launcher for his birthday. They were ready to use it, but Damon wanted to shoot a balloon by himself. I was surprised how well he did it without help!
