Happy Birthday Ella!

Ella helped decorate her birthday party invites! I thought the rainbows and clouds were super cute!

I think it looks like Ella in the box

Ella and her cousin Clark are such good little friends. On her birthday, after preschool she had Clark come over to play. We got two happy meals. We rarely get to go to McDonalds and they thought it was a real treat. We just went through the drive in and on our way back home Ella and Clark had a cute conversation. Clark said once I got to play on the playground at McDonalds and Ella responded me too. Someday I think they will be glad we gave them some good homemade meals!

Ella turned five! Yes my baby is now five! I can hardly believe it! Ella's saw that her cousin Saylor had a rainbow party and she had to have one. She made it really simple on me this year. She didn't want a cake just rainbow popsicles. She and her friends ran through the sprinkler, jumped on the trampoline, did water balloon games and played musical chairs.

Gold Panning

Brent loves the idea of gold panning. So for Christmas a few years ago he got gold panning stuff. He has gone a few times to a creek and did some gold panning. He also did a little panning when he went to Alaska. Then some friends of ours brought us some dirt from a mine that their father is mining in. We found some gold and the kids had fun thinking that any moment we were going to find that huge chunk of gold!

Kindergarten Registration

Ella is officially signed up for kindergarten. She thought for sure that now she would be going to kindergarten not preschool. On our way there we talked a little about what she was going to be asked. She was a bit nervous and hoped she would answer everything right. I tried to reassure her that she would do great and not to worry. We went in filled out lots of papers and they took her back to start her testing. I finished my paper work and was waiting in the hallway. She walked passed me with a big smile a wave and went on to her next room to say the alphabet. Soon I heard this loud beautiful voice singing with a very beautiful tune belting out the alphabet. The moms in the hallway giggled and told the mother of the child she had a beautiful voice, and she did! I then realized Ella was the poor child that had to follow such a performance and knew all too well she was now wondering if she too had to perform at that level and kindergarten was on the line. Later I asked her what she was thinking while that other girl was singing the alphabet so good. She said, "I sat there and thought, WHAT THE...???" Too funny to imagine her sitting there in a big chair feet dangling watching this girl belting out the alphabet and thinking WHAT THE??? Luckily they let her into kindergarten! What a relief!!

Planting the garden

I love this time of year when everything is blooming and turning green. Planting flowers and the garden. Brent teased us about our bare feet but the freshly tilled ground feels so good on your feet. The BIG plus is that we are together as a family.

Albuquerque

Grandma and Grandpa Wiltbank took us on a trip to Albuquerque New Mexico. We had a really good time!

On the way we stopped at this neat rock formation
One of these kids is not like the other....

Wiltbank grand kids

When we got to Albuquerque we checked into our motel room and then went to this neat park to eat lunch. The park was also surrounded by museums and fun statues.

The kids loved this slide. I never would have thought that it would be so fun!

Then we went swimming at the motel. Brent went into the lobby and turned on the game so he could watch it through the glass and enjoy swimming with the kids. (March Madness)
The next day we went to the zoo and the aquarium. We got to ride a train in between both of them. Here is a picture of the boys waiting for the train. It took some time to get there so they decided they would listen for the train to see if it was coming.

At the zoo I got Wes and Brent in their natural environment. Just kidding! One of the mama's was nursing her baby and she even leaned over and kissed her baby on the shoulder. Too sweet!

The kids acting like a bunch of orangutans! The kids loved to watch the orangutans there was this little baby orangutans that played it up for the on lookers. He would fall off a branch and keep rolling then when he got up he would look at us and hold his hands in the air!
This was Brent and Wes's favorite! He would eat then spit it up and then look at everyone and eat it again and then do it over again each time the food that he spit up got bigger and bigger.
Sweet little Pierce got lost. I thought Wyatt's T shirt was fitting. "No one Gets Left Behind" He was probably confused seeing how it is always a zoo when we get together!

At the aquarium the kids could touch the sting rays and the little sharks

This tunnel was full of fish and lots of fun to walk through!

Jellyfish and Weston

This huge fish never closed his mouth

White turtle

There was this huge of glass wall and inside there were sharks, turtles and fish. This was fun and a bit serene watching the fish. The kids LOVED it!

There was also a lot of neat things surrounding the zoo and aquarium. Lots of different gardens and this fun park that made you feel smaller then an ant. There was also an old homestead,a Chinese garden and a garden that had play trains and if you pushed the button you could watch them travel through the garden.

We had a REALLY GOOD TIME! Thank you Grandpa and Grandma!!!

Happy Birthday Ashtyn

I know I should try to find a sweeter picture of Ash but this also says volumes about her personality. I can hardly believe that she is 12 and loving YW! She has met me in height and always getting compliments on how beautiful she is. Love you Ashtyn Happy birthday!

12 things I love about you!

1. Your sweet spirit
2. You are teachable
3. Love your red hair
4. Personality, pretty funny
5. You were there when I needed someone the most
(ask me sometime)
6. Your caring heart for animals
7. Sweet way you love to help the little kids
8. I love that you can do hair so well and share your talent
9. I love to hear you sing
10. I love that you like to make cookies just like me
11. The way you let everyone be your friend
12. Just because you are you and I get to be a part of that!

Ashtyn turns 12!

Ashtyn and a few of her friends went to Roper Lake to play in the water and have fun in the sun! I loved watching these girls play and laugh. Brent got this really fun trampoline from a friend and the kids had a ball on it. Weston pulled the girls around for a little while. I am sure they really loved that. I heard one of the girls that has an older sister in middle school where Wes is say that her sister told her that if you don't know Weston Wiltbank you don't anything. Lets just hope he didn't hear that.

Ella and the boys also loved getting to finally break out the suits and get wet and play in the sand!

Cutie

LOVE, TRUE LOVE

When I was packing up I saw this. Brent is such a sweetie!

Really?!?!!

I know it is important to teach your kids to work but really?!?!!! How can it be that they even got the door closed? Never mind I guess it does look well balanced. On the bright side they are good at balancing things! Where is that magic wand? Fairy dust anyone?