Incredible Ike!

Isaac has had a very busy life as of late. Actually, he has had a very busy year. He recently turned 9, which is unbelievable to me. I think that I remember Isaac's early years better than the other kids. Mostly because they were a bit traumatic for me. The first 3 years of Isaac's life were pretty difficult on all of us. He sure had a rough beginning, but you would never guess that to look at him now! He has far exceeded all of our expectations and we are so very proud of him and all that he has accomplished in his short little life!

Lego birthday cake...is there any other kind of cake? Legos all the way for this kid!

Legos ALWAYS bring a smile.

Isaac is a straight "A" student, reading and spelling far above his grade level. He is extremely social and has lots of friends. He can get a long with anyone and especially loves little kids. He adores babies and is the greatest big brother--very patient and tolerant. He LOVES playing with legos and his friends. He wishes cub scouts was everyday, not just once a week. And he enjoys Tae Kwon Do, piano, and pretty much every sport.

Pinewood Derby...1st place in his den, 2nd place overall.

Finally earning his Wolf badge--a gold arrow and 3 silver arrows.

Isaac's christmas recital...(sorry, I didn't get to record his spring festival performance--but it was awesome).

Isaac as student of the month.

Isaac's most recent accomplishment was getting his black belt in Tae Kwon Do--2 days before his 9th birthday. This test was pretty intense (2 days of testing)! There was a physical endurance test on Friday night which lasted an hour. The kids did not stop moving--they ran for 30 minutes straight, did squats, push-ups, sit-ups, etc. Isaac was so tired, his face so red, but still smiling right through it all. :) Saturday he tested on his forms, kicks, attack and defense, board breaking, and my favorite, sparring. Sparring is actually Isaac's least favorite part of Tae Kwon Do. (He worries about getting hurt and/or hurting someone else). For this test, he had to spar other black belts. He even had to spar 2-on-1. Him, against two other black belts. He was way nervous about this, but he did great! Isaac also had to write an essay on what becoming a black belt means to him. He did the whole thing by himself and even had to read it aloud on test day in front of all the parents and family that were there. It was a great essay. We are so proud of him! Congratulations Ike! We love you!

Sabrina's Birthday

Easter weekend was also Sabrina's birthday. I can't believe that she is already 3 years old! She is growing up so quickly. All Sabrina wanted for her birthday was a 'Barbie Princess Cake'. I was feeling a little ambitious and decided that I could make that birthday wish come true all by myself. After all, how hard could it be to make a barbie cake? Wow! Harder than I thought! Thankfully it turned out alright (thanks to Jason's help), and Sabrina loved it. I have to admit that even though it was very time consuming and a little bit stressful, I actually enjoyed making Sabrina's cake for her. The smile on her face was worth it all! Happy Birthday little princess! We love you so much and are so glad you are a part of our family.

Sabrina's birthday trip to Build-A-Bear...(the day before her birthday).

Birthday morning...after the ward easter egg hunt, we had breakfast and opened presents...

Later that night....while the men went to the priesthood session, the girls and kids hung out at mom's. When the guys got back, we sang to Sabrina and had cake and ice cream.

My parents got Sabrina her own little umbrella for her birthday. She couldn't wait to use it as you can see! It was up in the car the whole ride home. I think she was secretly wishing for rain...(Jason was secretly wishing his eyes didn't get poked out while he was driving)--too funny!

All partied out...we got home pretty late that night and sent the kids off to bed while we unloaded the car...I guess Sabrina couldn't quite make it to her room. She partied a little too hard. Good night birthday girl!

Easter

Well, I'm am behind in my blogging....nothing new I suppose. Easter was a lot of fun. We started off with the ward easter egg hunt on Saturday morning. It was FREEZING!!! Thank goodness it only lasted about 5 minutes. The kids had fun though--what's not to love about more candy?!?

My favorite part of Easter this year was that it was over Conference weekend. What better way to celebrate the resurrection of our Savior than watching/listening to His chosen prophets. It was such a nice weekend. And, as a bonus, Jason got to spend all Sunday with us! That was a treat--since we rarely see him on Sundays.