Dutch Wonderland

While my family was here we headed north to Lancaster County to the wonderful little amusement park they have up there called Dutch Wonderland. We had a blast!

The log ride was a little less than exciting for me but terrifying for Ashlyn; she thought that alligator on the grassy slope was going to get us, poor little thing. She quickly moved to the back of the log.

Noah and I rode on the sky lift thing that takes you from one part of the park to the other. For someone afraid of heights like I am this ride was probably NOT the smartest thing to get on. It was one scary moment for me when the ride stopped for what seemed like an eternity right at the highest point. I had a death grip on Noah who I was convinced was going to slide right under the bar and fall to his death.

The highlight for the kids was the roller coasters. Grandpa took Noah on the little one a few times and then we headed over to the big one. Noah was just tall enough this year to ride with the rest of the big kids - he was so excited.

This year we made sure to watch the diving show and we're so glad we did because it was pretty fun to watch. It was the Princess and the Frog and of course the villain of the story just had to find McKenna.

The kids insisted on sitting in the splash zone so the rest of us sat a few seats up hoping that we could avoid getting wet. No such luck! I was sitting next to my dad who happened to look over at McKenna just at the moment when the big splash came our way; I ducked behind him and was able to avoid most of the soaking. Others were not so lucky, including Kellan who couldn't figure out why all of a sudden he was all wet.

The bumper cars were a TON of fun...


and the kids enjoyed all the different rides.


I regretted immensely getting on this twister ride. I just had to cover my eyes and pray for it to be over. Then when the ride stopped and they announced that we would now be going backward, I thought my lunch might be making an appearance. Thank goodness it did not. I curse getting older - I just can't stomach these rides anymore.


A special treat to end the day.

We love Dutch Wonderland!

Family Visits are the Best!

Yay! Cousins are finally here!

The mandatory wrestling match with Grandpa.

Noah loves spending time with the "funny" uncle, Uncle Bryan.


A trip to the Washington DC temple.


Father's Day.

What lucky kids to have a dad like David.

And what lucky daughters to have a dad like this one.

Lots of outdoor play.

Kellan likes to say "die" as he waves his light saber at everyone. Too cute! It was definitely fun to have another little guy around the place.

Ahhh! Yummy fraps from Starbucks. Perfect treat for a hot summer evening.

Spring Sports

This spring the boys played T-ball and, even better, were on the same team, the Padres.


Noah had to use the T most of the time but did get a few hits off the pitch during the season.

Xander was really able to improve his hitting this season as well as his fielding the ball.

Yes, the child sitting down on second base would be Noah...I guess running from base to base is extremely taxing!

Ahhh, there he goes!

Unfortunately I was only able to attend two of the boys' games but it was definitely fun to watch them in action. Noah was most excited to receive a trophy, his very first one.


The reason I missed so many of the boys' games was because I was with Savannah at her soccer games. We signed her up for spring soccer with a league we've never played in before and were definitely disappointed. There ended up being only 4 teams in her age group and the teams were coed. Although Savannah says she doesn't want to play soccer next spring, she definitely used this season to better her skills. Plus she ended up with 5 goals for the season!

I love it - she's beating those boys!

She dribbled right around the defender and scored a goal; I was so excited that I didn't take a picture of her actual shot, dang it!

She's a little toughie, fighting off another boy.

The Red Team. Her coach is from Germany so he spoke with a heavy accent. The parents all found ourselves laughing on the sidelines at some of the things he would yell out - there were sisters on the team and since he couldn't tell them apart (even though they weren't twins) he would just yell out "Sister, go get the ball!" "Sister, come out!" He never learned Savannah's name either so he would just call her Honey. He was VERY vocal and my kids love to imitate him. It cracks me up to hear Noah all of a sudden shout out, "Sister, Sister" or "Sheppie, tie your shoe!" with a German accent.

Savannah's Spring

Before I plunge into any more posts about our summer activities, I need to recap Savannah's spring just like I did for Xander and Noah.
Savannah participated in a spring piano recital, playing two of her favorite pieces. Although she struggled a bit through one of them, overall she did a great job. She also had the opportunity to play the prelude music for our church's senior primary as the kids filed into sharing time.
Savannah and her best friend Kaia at the recital.


Savannah and her fabulous piano teacher Kamberlynne.

This spring we had two fun events for Keepers, the first being a Tea Party at our house. Unfortunately the weather did NOT cooperate and we had to turn our Garden Tea Party into an Indoor Tea Party.

We all still had a lot of fun and enjoyed some yummy food that included fruit, cucumber sandwiches, and these fun little ladybug cookies that Savannah did all on her own.

And of course we can't forget the amazing cake that my friend Megan made for this special Keepers occasion! What would a Tea Party be without a cake?

Although we missed out on playing croquet, the girls beaded bracelets

and decorated hats.

Don't they all look so cute?

Our June Keepers meeting was Mosaics taught by the Washburn's artistic Aunt Sally. Savannah chose a turtle as her design; she said it reminded her of the VI, our family's most favorite vacation spot. Tracing the design...

breaking up the tiles...

and piecing it all together.

Voila! A mosaic masterpiece.

Aunt Sally was kind enough to have supplies for all the moms to do this project - such fun!

Savannah has absolutely LOVED third grade and has dreaded seeing it come to an end. Her class celebrated the final days of school with an End of Year picnic which the parents were invited to attend. The celebration started in the classroom where the students put on a talent show. Savannah shared her musical talents on the keyboard.

We then headed outside to enjoy lunch, the beautiful sunshine, and some final fun with friends.

Savannah and her most wonderful teacher Ms. Hill.

Savannah's locker and yes, that's Edward from Twilight.
Savannah not only enjoyed her year of third grade but she was able to achieve so much. Savannah has always loved to write and she did a lot of it this year. One of her research papers was so well done that it was placed in the school library for other students to use as a reference when writing their own papers. She earned straight A's her last quarter of school and she had perfect attendance for the year. Not too shabby! (Yes, I have to do a little bragging.)