Kaylyn rides a horse

I have not been posting much on this blog this year and I apologize for those who are trying to keep up with our family. My goal is to get us caught up, while at the same time posting current events.

Today, Kaylyn's friend Rylie had her 6th birthday party at a local stable. Kaylyn was a bit nervous beforehand about riding a horse.

First, Kaylyn got a tour of the property. The hay barn ("ewww - it smells" said Kaylyn - but it just smelled like hay). Then the boarding stalls. The tack room, where we got to see and smell the 3 different feeds/minerals ("ewww - it smells" said Kaylyn for the first two but the alfalfa one which was green was "oh, pretty").


Then we returned to the indoor arena where Kaylyn got to groom a horse. She used 3 different grooming tools. She was barely touching the horse, who got to endure enjoy 10 different kids do this.








Next, it was Kaylyn's turn to ride.


She wanted on the itty bitty horse but someone else claimed it first. I thought at that point, we'd have an issue. She was a little nervous already. But she was happy when the other girl chose the large horse and Kaylyn got the pony - Sweet Pea. Her instructor showed her how to hold the reins and then how to go, turn and stop. And then she was off. I was so amazed because we didn't get any of the clinging to Mommy that she often does in new environments.

Kaylyn did a great job and loved it! After several trips walking slowly, she got to do one length at a faster rate (but still probably technically walking).

Here she is after riding the pony.

After Kaylyn's turn, everyone had had a turn. There was still some time left so each kid was offered a second turn. When I asked Kaylyn, she jumped at the chance. This time she got on Frank, the large horse. Again, she had a blast. She now wants to have her next birthday party here!

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Adam's Resume

In case you're wondering what's happened to us, we've been laid off. So our focus has been job hunting. And since Kaylyn got out of school just a few days before, it's also been summer break with 2 kids at home, plus a husband. So I'm much busier than normal. Although I am working to get some of my "projects" done in addition to cleaning out parts of our home.

So this means... we are officially job hunting. Please feel free to share Adam's resume with those you know... Here's a link to it. We are willing to move (but not to California, sorry Matt and Norene).

First piano lesson

Kaylyn started off February with dropping gymnastics in order to add piano lessons. Here she is at her very first piano lesson (this will become an invaluable picture when she's a famous pianist). Her teacher, Zach, will be leaving for his mission in mid-July. Kaylyn is already sad because she'll miss him.

Kaylyn turned 6 - celebration at school

Finally we got back to school. So we took our traditional birthday treats in for Kaylyn's class - ice cream sandwiches. I still get comments from the kids in her class about how much they loved her treats! The tradition in her class is you get to wear a crown for your birthday. Kaylyn loved being the special kid.
I don't know which was her favorite part - getting to hand out the ice cream or eating it :)

Kaylyn turned 6 in January - friend party

Kaylyn's family party was over the weekend before her birthday. And then an ice storm hit. We had planned a fun birthday party for her friends on her actual birthday right after school. When the storm hit, we had to adjust plans. Several friends couldn't come due to bad roads. Others said they HAD to get out of the house and were coming over no matter what. Here's what we ended up with...

First, I covered the kitchen table with paper for coloring. Here's Sydney showing off her artistic talents.
And Rylie with her's (you can see Morgan and Keegan-Rylie's brother in the background).Another butterfly cake. This time Kaylyn really wanted it to be purple. So thanks to a friend at Church who does cake decorating, I made purple icing.
Somehow I missed pictures of everyone during the cake. So here's a picture with Max. I always thought Kaylyn's friend David had the potential of being her first date. But Max and his family stole the show by taking Kaylyn on her first date to the movies with Max to see Madagascar 2.

And Max always makes his own cards, which Kaylyn loves. Sitting beside Kaylyn is another friend I missed in the pictures - Carsey.

Kaylyn had a great time and was excited to get to have everyone over in the middle of the break from school (we were out 3 days).

Kaylyn turned 6 in January - Family Party

Kaylyn turned 6 in January and my side of the family all gathered together to celebrate. Kaylyn requested a butterfly cake. So my sister pointed me in the right direction for instructions. I think it turned out very pretty. Most importantly, Kaylyn liked it.

Ian enjoying himself while waiting for cake and ice cream.Here's my sister Robin. The hair growing out the side of her chin is my niece, Regan.

Kaylyn really enjoyed all her presents. Some of the faces she made were incredible. But I chose a happy face for her Wall-E dish set. She is a BIG Wall-E fan.Here's Joseph and Morgan having fun while Kaylyn opened her presents.

Sunday's Princess

So on Sundays my girls usually get a bath in the morning so they are clean for church. This works great for doing hair because it's easier to do a "do" with damp hair (at least for me).

So having read Jasmine's blog post about Evelyn and Julia's hair-do's, I started on Morgan. Here's the result....

I asked Morgan to smile for the front view. Normally she has a very sweet smile but this one turned out funny.

Here's the back view.

Kaylyn refused to even have her hair brushed - but got that much done anyway. Then she put it into a regular ponytail during sacrament meeting.