Father's Day and Summer Fun!

I'm pretty sure Brandon had a super great Father's Day this year. It started on Friday when he went on a "man trip" with a bunch of his friends. They went to Detroit Lake, and while there, their boat broke down so they couldn't get back! Brandon was supposed to come home Saturday, but I think he was really heart broken that he had to stay an extra day;) When he got home, we gave him our gifts. Brody gave him this book "My Day with Daddy". Hudson gave him some new shoes. I gave him a picture of the boys to put in his office. And Porter gave him a new drill that he loves!

Then we went to visit Grandpa Hoopes. He hasn't been in good health and has been at this Rehabilitation Center for a couple of months. Good news, though! They are going to let him come home on July 4th! Yay!
We love you Grandpa Hoopes!
( I am also excited because my mom and dad are coming up here on Saturday, so we will be able to give him his Father's Day gifts in person this year!)

Yesterday we decided to take advantage of the sunny warm weather, so we went swimming in Grandma's pool. It was a blast! So fun, I think we're going to go back today, even though it's not supposed to be as sunny! We are definitely ready for summer here! Hudson took awhile to warm up to the water, but by the time we left, he was comfortable in the pool and having lots of fun!

Brody hung out in the pool the whole time, just chillin'.

Porter was having so so so much fun!

Swim lessons sure paid off! He is doing really good with actual swimming. I'm just glad he isn't scared of the water like he has been the past two years!

Notice anything missing in this picture?...

The training wheels are off! Good job Porter!

I just had to add these pics of Brody! This is how I caught him sleeping for one of his naps!

Face completely smooshed into the mattress! I had to check and see if he was still breathing! Silly baby:)

5 months

My little guy is 5 months old!

Brody is rolling over a lot, drooling tons which must mean teething, and very close to sitting on his own!

He also got his first taste of rice cereal today. He wasn't sure what to think of it and made some pretty funny faces:)

Sunny California

***I'm finally getting some time to update what we have been up to during the month of May. Here's what has been going on:

I had to add "Sunny" to the title, because we have been having the coldest, rainiest Spring EVER and I am sick of it! So I was going to enjoy every second of the sunny, warm weather in Southern California! Brody & I flew to Los Angeles Memorial weekend to see my cousin, Hanalei, get married. It was such a nice wedding.

Austin and Hanalei Gene:)

Isn't she gorgeous? She designed her dress and my Aunt Rachel made it, as she did with mine. We are so lucky to have such a talented Aunt in our family! My pictures don't do it justice, though.

Brody was the lucky one to come with me, and I had a little break from my oldest two, which was very nice. This is Brody's Great-Grandma, Mary. She has 13 kids, 12 of which were able to come (my Aunt that didn't come just had a baby, so I guess that was a good excuse not to come). I think that's pretty good to have 12 of 13 siblings gather at one time. And on this trip, I found out that my Grandma has 76 grandchildren (that's 75 cousins for me, just on one side of the family)! What a legacy! My dad took pictures of everyone at the wedding and of all my aunts and uncles that came and a lot of other pictures, but he didn't realize my camera had been switched to video, so I don't have a lot of the pictures that were taken:( Oh well.

Brody got spoiled by Grandma and Grandpa Perry, because he had their undivided attention.

The Los Angeles Temple is beautiful. I just didn't remember how huge it is! It is even bigger than the Salt Lake Temple. When you are on the temple grounds and you look up at the temple, it is just massive!

We were all tired from the traveling we had to do to get there, but even though Grandpa was taking a nap, Brody wasn't going to have any of that!

It was a quick trip and most of the weekend was spent doing the wedding activities, but you can't go to SoCal without going to the beach!

And this pretty much sums up our trip! A sun-kissed face and absolutely exhausted!

One Preschool Year Down, A Lot to Go!

I did it! I just finished my first year of teaching preschool! I think back to this last year, and sometimes I don't know how I did it. Planning and making lesson plans each week, taking care of two very busy kids, having a baby in the middle of the school year, keeping up with church callings, keeping up with house work and everything else that comes with being a mom, but I did it! I had soooooo much fun & I am going to miss teaching and miss my kids, but I am ready for Summer Break!

We made homemade ice cream in ziploc bags when we talked about cows during our unit on farm animals.

We tried to catch bugs when we were learning about them. Porter caught a whole bunch and even caught a frog!

Our last day of preschool I threw a party. I realized that I didn't take any pictures of it. Bummer. It was in the evening so the whole family could come. We had a picnic in my backyard on blankets. The kids played on our play structure, and I had bubbles in the sand and water table. I made these super cute butterfly cupcakes in honor of the butterflies we had in our classroom. I ordered caterpillars and we watched them eat and eat and eat, then make chrysallis' and then come out butterflies! It was so interesting to watch that process!

The kids sang a couple of their favorite songs from preschool and then I gave them a book and this pillowcase:

What a fun year! I can't wait for next year!

Swim Lessons

Porter has been going to swim lessons this month and is almost done, just in time for summer! He has done an awesome job. His only complaint would be how cold he gets. He shivers like crazy, but he has been a good sport!

He has been a little fish and has loved the water!

T-Ball

Porter had a fun time playing t-ball again this year. He didn't try to get every ball, only the ones that came to him. That is an improvement over last year!

His cute team. Even though he was one of the oldest, he was still one of the smallest:)

Our cheering section. Hudson can't wait to play next year. I can't believe he will be old enough to play!

Here's a couple clips of him playing. The first is Porter in the outfield. The second is Porter batting. Next year we will work on him running the right way:)                                                          

4 months

Our Brody baby is 4 months old today on Friday the 13th!

*loves to play with toys

*puts EVERYTHING in his mouth

*thinks his brothers are hilarious and laughs at them

*is sooooo ticklish, especially on his tummy and behind his knees

*reaches for everything that is in front of him, including hair

*is still the sweetest baby in the whole world

My Little Missionaries

When we found out that Brody was a boy, Brandon & I thought simultaneously "Missions!" Those are going to be some crazy and rewarding years sending 3 boys on missions one after the other, with some overlapping! I know that they are going to be GREAT missionaries, though, because they have a perfect role model to look up to: their Dad.

Aren't they cute?

Easter Videos

The Easter Bunny Came!

Our Easter

We had a very nice Easter this year (like always!)

It started off with 8:00 church, so all I had time for is taking some pictures before we had to rush to church. Actually, I'm pretty impressed I had time to get myself and three kids ready, take pictures, and make it to church on time!

And I liked going to church first before we did all of the commercial Easter things. I think it helped my boys to understand the real reason why we celebrate Easter. As Hudson says: "Jesus died us." too cute!

The Easter bunny came during nap time and left lots of eggs.

Hudson discovered a chest with dress ups in it and that was the end of the egg hunt for him.

Porter found most of the eggs, but Hudson didn't care because...

"Buzz Lightyear to the Rescue!" "I Fly!"

We headed to Grandma and Grandpa Hoopes' house for yes, another egg hunt, fishing for prizes (Grandma really spoiled them! It was more like Christmas!), and a yummy dinner.

The night ended just the way it should have, with Grandma and grandkids:)

I LOVE MY WIFE!!!

Brandon here:  I always see my wife doing blog stuff.  I love to get on and read all the creative/fun stuff she does.  I love how we have a fun little journal with this.  Well...I have hijacked her blog right now. She doesn't know about this but...I am having fun!  She probably thinks I am on Facebook or some wrestling website.  As you all can see...I AM NOT!!!  HEHEHEHE!!!!  I love doing sneaky things.  This could end up bad for me...but it is totally worth it!  Muahahahaha!!!

All you followers...I want you to know... I LOVE MY WIFE!!!  She is the most amazing mother, wife, friend, daughter, cousin, daughter in law, sister, mommy, sister in law, granddaughter, cook, shopper, coupon-er, wife, shoulder massage receiver, wife, Odyssey van driver, momma, preschool teacher, wife, cleaner, party-er, mom, cheerleader, hard worker, sleeper, snuggle-er, and did I mention... wife and mother.

Hope all goes well when she sees that I sabotaged her project/blog/journal.  Well...I am a part of her life so I guess she gets to deal with that.  If you all don't know yet...I want to be clear...

I LOVE MY WIFE!!!   

I AM A LUCKY MAN!!!

The Life of a 3 Month Old

The life of this 3 month old consists of:

Eating, lots of sleeping,

snuggling, a little crying,

smiling, cooing,

watching my older brothers, tummy time,

being held, discovering,

and loving Mommy, Daddy, Porter, & Hudson.

We love you, too, Brody! It's hard to believe you are 3 months old already!