April 2019

Derek joined the Million Word Club at SCA as a 2nd grader!!!!

Here he is at chapel getting announced!

 Ryan, Derek's best bud from preschool, came back to visit AZ. The boys picked up right where they left off. Ryan is always making Derek laugh until his stomach hurts. 

Rylie spent an afternoon making a macrame bracelet. 

She was very focused and kept at it until she finished.

Rylie practiced very hard for the month of April at gymnastics 

learning routines for her gymnastics showcase!

Half day park fun. On the half day in April Christina took the kids to the park. It was a super windy day and so she bought the kids kites. They had a blast for hours flying the kites. It doesn't get windy like this much in Arizona so this was a special treat. So thankful for good friends!

After flying kites the kids spent the rest of the afternoon scooting. So grateful for their friendships.

 Matt and Rylie went on a Daddy/Daughter date at SBC. It was a pajama and pancake and crafting date. Rylie and Matt made a pillow, had pancakes, played lots of games and had a blast!

 Derek and I had a pizza dinner and watched baseball together. 

Derek is playing baseball this spring. He LOVES baseball. We play catch about 3 times per week and he is always asking me to throw the ball with him. He is now in the kid pitch league. He enjoys the new challenge and has learned a lot. It is so fun to watch him play. 

We've had several friends come watch Derek play. 

This game Julie, Grace, Garrett and Chris came to cheer him on. 

 Rylie was invited to a swimming party with some of her friends from school. 

Such a sweet group of girls. I pray they can remain close friends as the years go by. 

Rylie did a school project where she read about Flat Stanley, then created her own version of Flat Stanley and mailed him off to someone else. She chose to mail Flat Stanley to her cousins Max, Jack and Josh. The boys took Flat Stanley around and took pictures of him doing different activities. Then they mailed Flat Stanley back to Rylie. Here she is getting some pictures and a letter back about the adventures that Flat Stanely went on.

Special congratulations to Derek for reading 1 million words this year at school. He was the only 2nd grader this year to complete that challenge. He got to choose a book and a name plate was put inside the front cover with his accomplishment. Way to go Derek!

Derek comes downstairs every morning and sits right on the couch to read his book.

He can't get enough reading in!!

In training for the Grand Canyon I climbed stairs. The best set of consecutive stairs I could find was downtown Phoenix parking garage that Matt parks in. It had 150 stairs in a row. What a great view!!

I love the note that Rylie wrote to God after going through the Desert Springs Bible Church family friendly Stations of the Cross event the week leading up to Easter. It was very powerful and well down. The kids could understand what they were experiencing.

THIS girl!!! We love her. She has such a bright personality!!

LOVING our kitchen and downstairs remodel!

Field trip with first grade to the Butterfly Gardens

Getting ready to watch the 3D show!

Rylie, Brecken and Hannah C

Lunch with Rylie and Derek

2019 Baseball picture

Such a handsome boy!

Sylvester Family Visit

Breakfast cousins on the first morning. 

So fun that we have a nice long island and 5 stools!!

 Reading together!

(President Taft is Stuck in the Bath)

Jack has on the hat Derek gave him!

 Reading on the way up to Sedona to go hiking!!

When did these kids get so big!!

 Sedona Hiking with cousins was so much fun. 

Derek and Rylie got such a kick out of Josh and the way he talks to his brothers. 

They kept laughing at his funny antics. The kids were troopers hiking in the heat. 

It sure is beautiful up there.

 After a full day of hiking we stopped on our way out of town and got the kids ice cream! 

A great end to a super fun and active day!

Shopping in Costco with 4 cousins is so much fun...Derek was at baseball.

 Max, Jack and Josh came to cheer on Rylie at soccer!

 Max and Jack (Josh was sleeping in the car) came to cheer on Derek at baseball!

 And the whole crew came to cheer on Derek at hockey!

 We finally were able to take them to dinner at Organ Stop Pizza. Everyone enjoyed the music and pizza. There was lots of dancing to the music by all the kiddos.

Making homemade ice cream with Uncle Matt is a tradition!!

 Eating ice cream together after a full day of activities!

 On Easter morning we traditionally have Auntie Katie's coffee cake muffins. 

This year we had 2 big helpers making the muffins.

 Easter Bags this year instead of Easter baskets!

 Derek got a Gryffindor shirt and tall Under Armour socks.

 Rylie got a Hogwarts t-shirt and new jelly shoes.

 The kids had a blast finding their eggs. Without the pool fence the backyard doubled in square footage for hiding eggs. Matt hid the eggs in super hard places for both Derek and Rylie. It actually took quite a while for the egg hunt seeing as the kids only had 16 eggs each to find!

Derek reading the Easter story fro the Bible at breakfast!

 Matt and Uncle Patrick at Church

 Easter family picture!

 The Bumans!

We clean up pretty well! 

Matt and I all dressed up for once so I thought I'd have someone take a picture of us!

 Rylie helping get the Easter dinner ready.

Rylie also made place cards for each person.

Easter dinner!!

After lunch there was hours of swimming!

 The next day we went to the Mesa Riverview Park and the kids played for hours climbing 

on the play structures and then heading to the splash pad!

 More swimming later that afternoon!

 To end up the super fun weekend of fun, we made slime!

Derek and Rylie were very sad to see their cousins leave. They cannot wait until the summer when we head out to Boston to hang out with Jack, Max and Josh again.