Rachel, the teenager

Rachel had a fabulous time at girls camp (where she got to celebrate her birthday). So, as a family, we didn't get to celebrate her birthday until she got home. Here she is eyeing the beautiful cake that her Dad picked out for her.


All smiles!


Rachel is a budding artist, and only really wanted some art supplies so that she could draw and practice at home.


She is thumbing through the pencil drawing book that I got her.

She also got a couple of sketchbooks to give her lots of room to practice.

She is also without glasses and enjoying her new contacts! She is a beautiful, smart, talented girl and we couldn't be more proud of her.

David turns 11!

David was very excited for his birthday this year. He was turning 11 on May 11, in the year 2011! He is a fun, creative boy!


He makes the best happy faces when opening presents!


He got money from grandparents and a new video game from us. We tried our hand at making cupcakes again and they were a hit!


Happy Birthday David! We sure are lucky to have you in our family.

Emma had a birthday, shout Hooray!

Emma turned 6 on April 26. She is our sweet little girl who loves to talk and read stories. All she wanted for her birthday was a bicycle, but we got her a few more presents to open.

I think she's happy with it...

Here's a cute dress up outfit (for our little fairy) from Grandma & Grandpa Madsen.

She also got a cute sign from Grandma to hang in her room.

Hmmm, a water bottle and helmet, I wonder what she'll need that for.

Closing her eyes for the reveal (there was no way I was going to wrap a bicycle in wrapping paper).

She's easy to please!


Earlier in the day Emma was shopping with me and we saw this beautiful fruit tart. It looked so yummy and refreshing that we decided to get it for her birthday cake.

Getting ready to blow out the candles!


We love our Emma and are so glad that she is in our family!

Josh's Birthday and Baptism

Our sweet little Josh turned 8 this year. He has been wanting a skateboard since Christmas eve (when he told me that's what he wanted for Christmas). He was very excited when he found out that was what was in the big box.



He's gotten pretty good at it! I'll have to take some pictures of him cruising around the back patio. Even though he wants to ride it to school, I'm not ready for that yet :)

He wanted a Spongebob cake - which was pretty easy because he went and found one of his toys to put on top.



A couple of weeks later he got to get baptized by his Father. I did bring the camera but when I started to take pictures I realized that the battery was still at home in the charger. The cell phone had to do....

Josh and Aaron


The kids


Josh and his Grandparents


The whole family


We are so proud of Josh for making the choice to be baptized!

Rachel's Birthday

Rachel turned 12 on June 9th! I don't know what it is about that number, but it all of a sudden makes me feel very old. But, I couldn't be prouder of my sweet, pretty, smart, oldest girl. She is so responsible and is such a good helper at home. I've gotten quite used to a wonderful live-in babysitter - I don't know what I'm going to do when she starts getting tons of jobs.
Here she is opening the first present.

She got a new wallet and she is just discovering that it's already loaded with cash (that's what I do instead of parties).

What a cute smile.

She also got some fun jewelry.



She also wanted to decorate her own cake - picture is really blurry but you get the idea:)




Happy Birthday Rachel!

David's Birthday

David turned 10 on May 11! He's been looking forward to being double digits for a while. David is so fun on his birthday because he genuinely gets so excited when he opens his presents.

He really wanted a Robin Webkinz


He loves learning how to draw.

Here is one of his drawings:


He also got a bunch of different specimens to look at under his microscope.


He also requested to decorate his own cake - hey, works for me!


He is a great kid and we are so lucky to have him in our family.

Emma's Birthday

My sweet little Emma turned 5 this year. She's still all about babies and stuffed animals. We had a fun family party to celebrate.

She finally got a Webkinz like her older siblings.
Emma drinks everything with a straw (she doesn't like getting her face wet). We go through straws like crazy and thought she would like her very own mug with a washable straw.

Opening another gift.

Emma with her baby and cow (even though she got a brand new baby she still prefers her old, hand-me-down, tattered one).

The princess barbie cake

Happy Birthday Emma!