Time for Cake

The very pale Buzz cake.

Dan was so excited to get a Buzz cake this year, even if it wasn't decorated too well. When it was time to get the candles out I realized we were all out. Such a disappointment. We found a few waterproof matches (they burn longer) and used them instead of candles. He was very impressed with the blaze they made. He also really liked that the fact that he got the entire Buzz head. It's so cool being the birthday kid.

I'm not sure what this face is all about, but I just thought it was so cute.

He was a little unsure about his candles at first.

He was really surprised by the flames and thought it was cool.

Blowing out the candles.

He was so excited to get the entire Buzz head all to himself.

Eating time.

Happy Birthday Dan

Dan with all his presents.

My little man turned 5 in June. Dan has always been such a quite boy who likes to watch, but over the past year he has really come alive. He's become extreemly funny, he loves to tell jokes and to goof around with his siblings. He will play video games all day, everyday if I let him, but as I've forced him to play outside more, he's learned to enjoy being outside as well. He still really, really loves the water and anything out in nature. He's great at giving hugs and kisses and hes just an all around sweet boy.

For Dan's birthday this year he got to go to Build a Bear with grandma and grandpa Gass. He got his shark, named Batman Newbry who plays the theme from Star Wars, and he had to have it with him while he opened the rest of his presents. We threw a little party at home for him with presents and a cake. He loved it and even though he's not going to school this year, he's still very excited to be turning 5.

His favorite present, Dash for the Disney Infinity.

Opening his magnifying glass.

Opening up his circus Lego set.

He was very excited to get the Lego Movie.

Our New Climbing Wall

Kenny has wanted a climbing wall again since we left Virginia 6 years ago. Our house in North Salt Lake had a room with tall ceiling, but it was the front room/TV room and I just didn't think that was a great place for a climbing wall. Luckily our bedroom in this house has tall enough ceilings so in May he finally got the chance to build another wall. We've all enjoyed it (though is makes Kenny and I realize just how out of shape we really are) but we've been surprised at just how good the kids are at climbing. It's fun watching them climb. Gracie, Hannah, and Adam enjoy the wall the most and can often be seen climbing it during the days.

Playing With Baby Tyler

Happiness came to the entire Newbry family in May when Kenny's brother Michael and his boys made the move from Denver to Salt Lake. We are so excited to have them living nearby. Ben is by far the happiest because his favorite cousin Travis is the only boy his age (they're 3 weeks apart) and they've never really been able to live by each other. They moved here for a job and ended up moving about 10 minutes away from us. It's been so much fun having them nearby and getting to meet they're new baby Tyler. They spent the weekend with us in May when they were still looking for a place to live. We played outside, snuggled Tyler, ate tacos, and just enjoyed visiting. 

Hannah loves holding baby Tyler.

Having a baby around is so much fun.

Last Day of School

It's summertime!!!!!! We were so excited for summer this year. Not only were we excited for summer, but we were excited that it came at the end of May instead of in July like the year round schedule we had with the kids old school. The last day of school was on May 30th this year and we couldn't wait for summertime fun.

Last day of 6th grade

Sarah was especially happy because it meant she was officially no longer an elementary school student. Here is a contrast between her first day of Kindergarten and her last day of 6th grade. Crazy!!!

Kindergarten here she comes.

Kindergarten Graduation

She's so excited for 1st grade.

We had one end of elementary graduation follow by the other end the next day. They day after Sarah graduated from 6th grade, Gracie graduated from Kindergarten. She was so excited and couldn't wait for her program and to show me all she has done this year. It was fun to go to her program and here her songs and watch her graduate. Even though she only got to go to school for 2 months here, we really enjoyed Fox Hollow and we're excited for another year at Fox Hollow.

All ready for her Graduation Program.

After getting her 'diploma'

My beautiful Gracie is all done with Kindergarten

Ready for her treat.

Gracie with her Kindergarten teacher Mrs. Skaggs.

6th Grade Graduate

I sure do love her smile.

One day you'll open your eyes and notice that the little baby you once had is now not so little anymore. Everyone knows those days are coming and that those days will come over and over, but they always kind of surprise you when they happen. One of these days happened in May when my oldest had her 6th grade graduation. I can't believe that she is done with elementary school. I'm going to use that annoy phrase, "where has the time gone?" I can't believe how quickly she has gotten big. Graduation was kind of hard for Sarah because she was only at this school for 2 month and never really felt like it was her school. She still wanted to go to the graduation and even though it made her long for her friends at her old school, she was glad she went. I am so proud of her for being such a good student, for being an amazing girl, and for handling a new school so well. Now on to Junior High.

Getting ready for the program.

Waiting for her turn to graduate.

Dance Festival

Fox Hollow has a dance festival every year and the kids practiced and practiced for weeks before the festival. They practiced at school and they came home and practiced at home. They talked about it for weeks and were so excited when the day finally came. I took the boys to the first show, there were 2 because of Kindergarten, and the weather was perfect and the kids were perfect and it was very, very enjoyable.

"Thriller" Zombies

The end of the dance. He did so good.

Splish Splash I Was Taking a Bath

Look at those dancing moves.

Dynamite

Sarah dancing to "Happy". She was not too happy.

Building Castles

Building our castle

Memorial Day found us back at the Museum of Natural Curiosity. We were one of the first ones in the building and we headed right to the building section. We had he room to ourselves for a long time and took advantage of it. We all worked together and built ourselves a huge castle. It was fun to watch the kids work together and we had a lot of fun knocking it down.

The Other Silver Lake

So beautiful

The day after our trip to Cascade Springs we headed back up the canyon after church and took the raft out on the reservoir. It was a nice, relaxing afternoon and the kids had a lot of fun floating around in the raft. After floating we decided to try driving up to Silver Lake again. This time we made it up to the top without getting a flat tire, which was really nice, and we even made it up in the daylight. It was absolutely beautiful. Nature is so amazing and we live in a fantastic place.

Sarah found North America in the snow. Kind of funny.

Cascade Springs

Adam helping me show off the falls.

On the 24th of May we took another trip up the canyon for a cookout. The weather was beautiful, the food was yummy, and the peach cobbler even turned out better (thanks to the butter). Sarah had been away for a youth camp the days before and was very tired, but other than that the kids all had a lot of fun. We decided to head up the canyon after we were done eating. I have been wanted to go to Cascade Springs and so we decided now would be a great time. I love Cascade Springs and the kids had fun running around. We drove around to Heber City and through the Provo Canyon. Our last stop of the evening was Squaw Peak up Provo canyon. The kids really enjoyed seeing all of Utah County from on top the mountain. It was another great and successful evening up in the mountains.

Cascade Springs is so pretty, even before the trees turn green.

Sarah was exhausted, but more than willing to have her picture taken.

A beautiful girl in a beautiful place.

Bye, Bye Bunnies

In May the baby bunnies got old enough that we were able to sell them. Kenny sent me a message one day asking me to take some pictures of the 2 white bunnies, we still weren't ready to get rid of Twitch. I put the boys on the couch and took a few pictures of them Kenny posted them online and within a few days they had both gone to some grandparents for their grandkids. It's nice having less bunnies to feed, but kind of hard to let the babies go.

Rock Concert

Getting ready to sing.

Ben spent the last fore months learning about rocks and minerals. This lead up to his rock concert in May. He was so excited and talked about it for days, no weeks, before. I can't get the video to load so just trust me, it was well done and he even sang the entire time. Good work Ben.

I promise he was happy to be there!