Tessa Turns 7!

On Sunday, our beautiful Tessa turned 7 years old! I say this all the time about all the kids, but time has gone by so fast! I still feel like Tessa should be a baby. And now she's 7. Tessa is our talented girl. She is so artistic, kind, smart, social, independent, curious, and creative. She has been so excited for her birthday and planned a fabulous party to celebrate her special day. 

 Before church, she had her favorite lunch of chicken flavored ramen. 

 Tessa wanted a Science Birthday this year. She helped Mommy plan a lot of the party. She designed her cake and wanted specific colors for her party. Mommy came up with making her birthday sign with the Table of Elements. 

 Tessa also wanted to decorate the house with atoms and molecules.

 All ready for her party.

 Our little Scientists. 

 Even Caleb looked cute in his glasses. 

 Tessa designed her cake and Mommy did her best to recreate what Tessa drew. 

We even had beakers and test tubes as party decor. 

 Her birthday dinner....a buttered roll. 

 She got so many fun presents that she was thrilled about!

 After she opened her presents and blew out her candles, the kids went out back for a special Science Show, led by Aunt Katy. The kids got to do a couple of science experiments with Katy and they had so much fun! 

 Trying out her new roller skates. She's pretty good!

All her birthday loot. 

On Wednesday, we had Cooper and Presley come over for a little party. We made more lava lamps and the kids made their own molecules out of marshmallows and gumdrops. 

 Tessa got to go out for a special birthday dinner with Mom and Dad. She chose her favorite place-Red Robin. She thinks the pizza at Red Robin is the best ever. And she loved getting her own giant birthday ice cream sundae. 

Happy Birthday, Tessa Boo! We sure love you!!

Summer of Fun-Week 8

Adam has been so anxious for this week to come! This was his special week at BYU Sports Camp. He got to spend everyday at BYU learning about and playing a different sport. Monday was pouring rain, but luckily it was soccer day, so they got to stay inside and play at the indoor field. 

 He was a sweaty, muddy mess when I picked him up that evening. He said it was the best day!

Tuesday, Adam got to train with Cosmo. He said it was so much fun-especially learning about Cosmo's crazy jumps off of trampolines. 

On Tuesday, the girls had their friends, Presley and Cooper come over and play. We made paper bag kites and the kids had fun trying to fly them outside.  

 Wednesday was football day for Adam. He got to spend the whole day playing football at the stadium. Even Mommy was jealous about that!

 Ares came and spent a few days with us while Uncle Danny was away for work. Tessa loved having a buddy her age here. On Wednesday, the kids played in the backyard for hours getting everyone and everything wet. 

 Thursday was baseball day. Adam was so happy that his team won and he said he got some good hits. 

 Mommy and the other 4 kids had a busy day on Thursday. First stop was to the Fire Station. We got to take a tour and see an ambulance and learn about some of the different fire truck. The kids loved being able to go inside everything. 

 Tessa bumped into her friend, Jasmine from school!

 Next stop was the Library for our last story time for the summer. 

 After lunch, Tessa and Ares went bug hunting in the backyard and caught 2 huge grasshoppers. 

 After we picked up Adam, we headed to a duck pond to feed the ducks. We were surprised to find tons of turtles at the pond and loved watching all the baby turtles swim around the water. 

 Adam ended his week with his beloved game of basketball. The women's basketball team spent the whole day with the kids and Adam said it was awesome!

 It was another rainy day, so we spent the morning building forts. 

 Friday afternoon, we stopped by to visit Great Grandpa. I think our noise overwhelmed him just a tad. But he sure loves his Tessa! He brags about what a good artist she is to everyone he introduces her to. 

 After we picked Adam up on Friday, we decided to stop by the Dinosaur Museum. The kids had a lot of fun checking out all the dinosaurs. Gwen freaked out about almost everything. It took us almost 30 minutes for her to stop freaking out about all the bones and skeletons. She was slightly dramatic.

 Tessa loved watching some of the Paleontologists work. She told me, "That's what I want to do when I grow up!"

 We thought this giant sloth was cool. Gwen asked me, "Do sloths eat little girls?" 

 Saturday was party prep day and lots of yard work. The kids had fun riding bikes while Mommy and Daddy got some work done. Gwen got herself all ready for a bike ride. She looks very protected. 

 I thought the gardening gloves were the perfect touch. 

Boys Night Out

Last Saturday, the boys landed some free soccer tickets from some ward members. Adam was beyond excited! The Real Monarchs (the minor league team) were playing at Rio Tinto Stadium.  The boys said the game was pretty slow until the end when fights started breaking out and one of the goalies even got ejected. Most of the points were scored at the end of the game,  and that is all Adam cares about. They had a good time and can't wait to go to an actual Real game.