Birthdays

Bennett turned 13 on December 6th!

My baby is a teenager!

He wanted to take some of his friends
 to Jamba Juice before school.

Sophie, Wilson, Hunter, Carson and Bennett

Haley turned 18 on December 10th.

We now have more legal adults in the house than children!

We served 9 feet of subsandwiches, chips and scotcheroos

to this fun bunch and not a drop was left!

Tia turned 21 on December 12th.

We have given up on getting a picture of her with her eyes OPEN!

(She swears it is the way my camera flashes)

Her birthday was on a Sunday, so we had the meal of her choice...

pork roast, twice baked potatoes, rolls,
roasted veggies and cheesecake.

I also celebrated my birthday on the 17th.

Curt took me to lunch, I ate left over cheesecake
 and loved the flowers

that were a wonderful surprise from Curt.

No pictures of the old folks!

They're Off!

After two years of planning, fund-raising, and going to meetings...

today was the day that my two handsome Scouts

left for the National Scout Jamboree for 20 days!

It was quite the ordeal to get them packed and ready to go!

This is just half of their stuff.

I hope I remembered to tell them all the important things...

be kind to each other, follow all the rules,

don't leave your backpack unattended,

take your socks off right side out, hang up your wet towels,

say your prayers, wear sunblock, take lots of pictures,

write in your journal and don't miss me!

Did I forget anything?

Bennett and cousin Max

These two will be roommates for the entire trip!

The four Sainted Men who will lead, instruct and love

my boys for the next three weeks!

The Patrol...We love that all these boys are already friends!

Riley, Dallas, Ben, Damon, Max, Dallin, Bennett, Clark

I kept telling my boys that this was good mission prep for them.

I realize it is more of a prep for me...

they were way too excited for the big adventure ahead

to even realize how much I will miss them!

Tonight's stop will be Cleveland...

Saturday... Kirtland Temple, Morley & Johnson Farms,

Hill Cumorah Pageant

Sunday...Palmyra Ward, Sacred Grove,

Smith & Whitmer Farms

and that is just the beginning!

Have a wonderful trip!

So Ready for Summer!

Bennett's end of the year Orchestra Concert
and last performance at Hawthorne.

 

Poston's Award Ceremony

Clark received the 4.0 award
for maintaining A's each quarter this year

and

Outstanding 8th Grade Miler

for breaking a 25 year record at Poston
for the fastest mile by an 8th grade boy...
5:02!

We just can't study anymore!

The Gila Valley Temple Open House

On May 14th, we took a family field trip to Central, Arizona

for the open house of the Gila Valley Temple.

We had so much fun listening to music, laughing and reminiscing

as we made the 2 1/2 hour drive from Mesa.

We missed having Tia with us.

She attended the open house the day before.

Bennett

 

Clark

My two fun girls...Cassidy and Haley

I love my family!

Photo Shoot

Haley spent the first six hours of last Saturday
being a model in a photoshoot.

They had their hair, makeup and wardrobe professionally done,
and she loved being a part of it with so many of her friends.

Go here to see the sneak peek!

http://piedpiperphoto.blogspot.com/search/label/the%20pipers%20marionettes

Can you pick out Haley?

(she is the one in the bottom left)

Last year, Haley's friends had the same photographer capture some cute shots of them all together.

Go here to see that fun photo shoot!

http://piedpiperphoto.blogspot.com/2009/05/high-school-girlfriends.html

We can hardly wait to see the rest of the shots!

Prom

Haley had a blast at Prom last night!

It is so fun to get all glammed up for a night with friends!

For a girl that isn't too frilly, she sure cleans up well!

A huge "thank you" to Kimberly for loaning Haley a dress.

It is quite a chore to find a modest prom dress,
and after several shopping trips,

and a purchase online that didn't fit,

we were saved by the offer to try one of Kimberly's dresses.

It was perfect and Haley loved it!

(I loved her cute ring!)

The big gold bow was adorable...

We loved having all the support as Haley waited to be picked up.

It was a bit of dejavu for these two...

We were so glad to have Kimberly back home

after her first year at BYU.

My three favorite girls!!!!

Cassidy was off with a group of friends to work at Prom.

It was a great initiation into Student Council.

Tia spent the evening with her girlfriends celebrating

BFF McKenzie's

upcoming wedding in two weeks!

We love this girl!

The most awkward part of the night, but we managed to get

the boutonniere to stay on long enough for the pictures!

Alex gave Haley the most beautiful corsage!

The cute couple!

The night's activities included:

A yummy dinner at a friend's house,

tons of pictures,

dancing,

prom royalty announced,

(Haley was nominated for Prom Princess,

but was not the lucky winner...

isn't it just an honor to be nominated?!)

and entertainment by a professional magician.

It was such a great night and Haley had a wonderful time!

National Honor Society

Cassidy and Haley were both inducted into

National Honor Society.

The ceremony lasted exactly 23 minutes. 

It was a beautiful thing!

Cassidy, Haley, Mr. Kleiner, Katie & Taylor

Good job, girls!

Breinholt Cousin Picnic

We have been enjoying this annual cousin picnic for years,

and I think this is the first year I have thought to take pictures.

The first generation cousins have so many

great memories of growing up together

and we often hear of their escapades and memories. 

It is really remarkable that so many

 in this big family live in the valley.

It is a great opportunity for our kids to put names to faces

and to meet their second cousins.

Stay tuned for lots of pictures...

Addison, Heidi, Kenna, Jalee, Cassidy, Aubree, Kade, Aunt Jackie

Davey and Curt

Charlie and C.J.

Carson and Brandt

Brett, Tia, Kyle and Brittney

Stacia and Breckyn

Haley and Grandma Charlene

Deborah, Tiffany, Ava and Jason

Wayne, Addison and Brittney

Haley, Cassidy, Jalee, Corey

Brandt, Clark, Caleb

Bennett, Naaman, Elijah

Eathan, Jacob, Isaac

Grandma Charlene, Brian, Allison holding Zeke, Todd, Carson, Jen

I wish I could have snapped a picture of everyone,
but that would have cut into my visiting time!

Thanks to all who were able to come!

We are already looking forward to next year.

Spring Cleaning

This past Saturday, the calendar was miraculously blank,

so we took full advantage and decided to do some deep cleaning. 

Everyone pitched in and helped

and we were able to get so much done!

(sorry girls, no pictures of your hard work!)

We cleaned all the ceiling fans, light fixtures
and changed out light bulbs...

The boys vacuumed the couch and chair cushions...

We also wiped down all the shutters and window sills,

dusted all the plant shelves,

hosed off the decorative plants,

and cleaned under and behind the refrigerator.

Typing this, it doesn't seem like that much, but it took all day.

We were exhausted, but for some sick reason,
I loved every minute of it!

Christmas in March

For Christmas, Grandpa Clark gave his five grandsons tickets to a Spring Training Game at Hohokam.

The boys looked forward to this for months

and were happy to accomodate the

1:00pm game start time by getting out of school early. 

Bennett went the extra mile and opted to miss school entirely!

They had a great time together and said it was so fun,

even though the game was a blow out...

Los Angeles Angels 9--Chicago Cubs 1

Good Times

We were all so excited when Haley won her election for

Student Body President.

So many friends and family members stopped by, and

called or texted their congratulations.

Flowers and balloons, candy and jamba juice,

heart cookies and notes

made the day so memorable.

Outgoing President, Anika, stopped by to offer her congratulations to Haley.

It was a great day!

Life only got better when Haley was asked to Prom!

She took the teeny, tiny YES rock to the assigned address

to find out that Alex would be her prom date!

She is sooo excited and looking forward to April 24th!

(The NO rock was huge and too heavy to move, so we rolled it into the gravel and made it part of the landscape!)

A Dream Come True

Haley has talked about running for Mountain View's

Student Body President for the past four years. 

After losing the election for Poston's President in 9th grade,

she was determined.

So...after a week of making posters,

practicing and taping her speech,

 introducing herself at lunch to the Sophomore tables,

and wearing her bright neon "Vote for Haley" T-shirt,

she emerged victorious today and her dream came true! 

We are so proud of her hard work and

know she will do a fabulous job next year as President. 

 Also, a huge "good job" to Emma for a hard fought race!

 

And, as if that isn't enough...

Cassidy ran unopposed for Student Body Recording Secretary

(no posters=no pictures)

and Katie ran unopposed for Junior Vice-President!

Girl Power!!!!!

They are going to have a ton of fun next year in Stu Co

as sisters and cousins

and with friends Maddy, Morgan, Nick, Cami, and Emmy!

Go Toros!

Spring Break

We had such a fun time in Flagstaff over Spring Break.

A huge Thank You to the Olson family for their

hospitality and beautiful cabin!

The kids had a blast sledding on the 18th hole

of the snow covered golf course.

Breckyn, Cassidy and Lauren

 Clark was so good to help the little kids

haul their sleds back up to the top.

Bennett and Isaac

Brett and Tia

Love this boy! 

So happy he is willing to have his picture taken with me.

Even Curt and I got in on the action!

We took the kids to Snowbowl to hit the slopes.
Curt, Cassidy and Clark went skiing,
while Haley and Bennett learned to snowboard.
It was the first time for all the kids and they all LOVED it!
Clark can't wait to go again!

Cassidy and Lauren

Curt and Haley
(sorry about the picture rotation)

It was extra fun for the kids to meet up with friends on the slopes.
Reid was a great teacher...he took Haley straight to the top
and then was a total gentleman to help her up when she
had a royal wipeout mid way down!
Thankfully, they are still laughing about it and still best friends!