listen, it's me thomas. and this here is my aunt piggers...she took me out to play some raquetball and during our 1 on 1 she filled me in on the fact that she is now looking for a soul mate. no. not me, someone quite a bit older and maybe not so cute. he just has to have a sweet spirit and lots of wrinkles.

now that i've taken care of that, let's move on to my birthday...it rocked.

 my mom's all class when it comes to wrapping for a 1 year old,

she thinks i didn't notice

 can i just eat it like this?

 what do you mean there are rules to eating a birfday cake...

 that's what i thought

 hmmm, that's dang good

 water break

my twirling toes say it all.

thanks girls for playing tractor with me all day and for singing to me over and over and over again...i loved it everytime!

First Visitor!

Who woulda thunk that Uncle Joey who has 3 little ones of his own would plan a trip to fly out here b/c he was dying for some quality time with my 5 little ones! I know, he's an amazing uncle to fly up on his own dime & devote a week to hanging out with us...well maybe it was just an overnighter & maybe his work paid for it b/c he had some exciting deposition to do but hey...he could have stayed in a hotel but he chose us, he chose us (please say that last part with conviction like Tom Cruise would)

Thanks Joseph for the visit! I could have captured more exciting moments than this at the yogurt shop but I was too entertained with you trying to teach my girls leg wrestling before bed & watching to see if you would hurt yourself while trying to do your traditional tuck ins on the top bunks :) that was funny. Til next time!

little brother

i can't believe

after almost a year

that i still make my sisters

grin from ear to ear

(a little surprised that he doesn't have permanent bite marks from us wanting to eat him all the time)

The time has come...

so we haven't sold our home...yet. But we are finally making the big move & our home will soon be empty of all things & yet it will still hold our memories

We've decided to narrow it down to what we really needed to take with us to Reno...

trees

I should try to cover the fact that these grown men who happen to live on the same street and happen to attend the same church...well they both happen to feel unembarrassed (if not proud) & confident while wearing black socks & tennis shoes.

I will only inform the moving truck driver of the date and time to kidnap  pick up all our friends & throw them in the back of a dark semi trailer, just feel your way around for the couch & soft beds, it should only be a 4 or 5 day drive.

No, they are not running from that huge wave behind them. It was the seaweed that was attacking their ankles

they obviously don't do the boogy board thing very often

doing a little shell trading on the corner

here is the same baby pool I swam in when I didn't worry about walking around in a swimsuit

miss my grandpa and all our memories we had with him at the beach club, really wish he was still here.

A traditional 4th of July with some added sparkle...

We gathered at Suzy's grandma's house in the heart of St. George & made ourselves comfy, cozy on their front porch. (I now want a front porch)

my brother, Joseph, hanging out with his youngest, Grey.

Deb rode in on her bike & wasn't even out of breath (show off)

I always feel like we're starting a new year after the 4th because of all the  screaming & eating.

So we're playing at my Mom & Dads house and my 72 year old Dad likes to show off. Life is sunny here in St. George but the pool is still too cold for me!

"mamadada WHAT?!"
and when we told him, all the color drained from his face.




as the movie Hildalgo put it...

"remember that mile in Missouri...we had 3 days in the lead. Sitting on that ranch looking at nothing but green.
That's it, partner. If there's a heaven on Earth, -- we found it."




well we have to leave our little heaven and move to a different kind of pasture called...Reno, Nevada





feel free to shed some tears with us.

Deep thoughts...

Sometimes it's just easier looking up at the rainbows

rather than looking down to notice all the dirt & crap that needs to be cleaned up.

it's not often you capture a toilet & a rainbow together, the old toilet is longer a part of our lives...our neighbors will miss the classy look.

The Magic School Bus

A week or two ago Amelia was invited by our coolest, sweetest bus driver, Jean,to ride to school with her sisters & then brought her right back home.








so her baby brother patiently waited





and waited some more





until he saw what he was waiting for






It was the funnest 7 minutes of her day!

who ever said a pacifier can mess with your teeth?