Pinewood Derby #1

Bryant raced in his first pinewood derby last week. He and Nick made an amazing car. Bryant came up with the idea and helped a lot. Nick did all the cutting. I did most of the painting. Bryant signed it (it is a Louisville Slugger), and Bryant named it - "The Bat-mobile."
It wasn't the fastest car in the derby, but it was BY FAR the best one!!
These pictures give you a good look into Bryant's personality - he is so stinkin' cute!!

We are still alive...

It has been so hard to find time to do much extra. With facebook I forget to blog and let other things take over my time. So, here is us in a nutshell for the past several months...

Nick and I are trying to survive parenthood. Sometimes we have our heads above water - so I guess that is a good thing. We have really enjoyed attending many of the BYU basketball games this season. We are also very excited to start watching the Minnesota Twins play baseball. We all were able to be in Idaho for Thanksgiving this year and got a family picture too.

Abby is still taking violin and getting quite good. She is in an accelerated program in school and still involved with the Lehi City Children's Choir. We moved Abby downstairs into a different room. It was fun to paint that and have her in her new, bigger bedroom.

Bryant was just recruited onto a super-league baseball team. We have yet to find out what that really means (besides the amount of money we will be missing from our pockets).

Tyler is LOVING kindergarten. He finally feels like he is a big kid along with the other two. He has 3 loose teeth right now and it looks like the timing will be just off for the famous "All I Want For Christmas is my Two Front Teeth" song to be a reality.

Grayce is as fiesty as ever. She always worries about taking care of Emma and Maggie. She and Emma started Sunbeams in church this year. They are growing so fast.

Emma is still our clingy, teary one. She is a girly-girl and loves to dress up, put on jewelry, and be "pretty." She and Grayce will start into preschool in the fall. Emma potty trained at the first of the year - very quickly. She is helping to get Grayce to be as consistent.

Maggie turned one in December. She is a talker, full of kisses, and just brings so much fun and happiness to our home. She has all of us wrapped around each and every one of her fingers. Maggie went through the RSV issues this past month and recovered fairly quickly!

Here are a few pictures:

Bryant's Baptism

Better late than never, right? And, I mean getting this posted, not Bryant getting baptized.
We had such a great day for Bry's baptism. So many friends and family were able to come and we really enjoyed a sweet program, a great baptism, and a nice afternoon with everyone at a fun woodland area near our home.
We are so proud of Bryant. It is obvious he is a spirit eager to do what's right and to learn. We love him so much and are anxious to see how he impacts the world with his stong personality and giant spirit.

My Grandpa, My Friend

My Grandpa, Wright Capener Hanks, passed away on Monday, May 24, 2010. He was 91 years old.
My Grandpa was such a great man and left a huge legacy in his family. He and my Grandma had 4 daughters, 19 grandchildren, and many great-grandchildren (with more on the way). My Emma is named after his mom. Everyone of his children and grandchildren that are married have been married in the temple and are active in the church. All of his grandsons and two of his granddaughters have served missions.
My Grandpa was such a good person. I am sure I have never once heard him talk badly of anyone. He is a great source of strength to all of us and definately was a great example of how to live a good, righteous life. I am so grateful that he is now reunited with my grandma (after 16 years) and his parents and others. However, for me he will truly be missed...for now!
Love you Grandpa!

The Mud Incident

I finally got a picture so I could document this great story.
It was about a month ago and we were up in Idaho for a short visit. It was the middle of April so it was still a little chilly and wet outside.
The kids were all happy to be outside playing at my mom and dad's house. Nick was at his sister's house working on fixing their computer. My sisters (Diana and Kara) were both at my parent's house too. We were checking on the kids about every 10 minutes or so.
Well, on one of my checks of the kids, this is what I found...



It looks innocent enough, I know. In fact, I was checking on them and almost went back to what I was doing thinking they were okay. Luckily I stayed and watched for a minute. A funny thing happened.... nothing. They didn't move one bit. I watched a little longer.... nothing. My curiosity was peaked now. Then, the tears came and the loud cries for help quickly followed. Then, I realized - they were absolutely stuck in the mud.
Like a good mom, I ran out to help them only to stop at the edge of the mud not wanting to get dirty or stuck. So, I was about 20 feet away and they were in tears and couldn't move one bit! I wasn't quite sure what to do - although thoughts of getting someone else to go after them did go through my mind.
Finally, I decided that the only way they were coming out of the mud was if I went in after them and got them out. So, I handed off the baby and took off my shoes and socks, rolled up my pantlegs, and in I went. They were so stuck that it took quite a lot to get them out.



Finally, after much pulling, out they popped - without their shoes. The shoes had to be fished out afterward. The mud was quick to get cold - very cold. My toes were freezing. There was no way that I was using the hose outside to wash off. So, it was into my mom's poor bathtub for all three of us.
It took a while, but we got clean, the girls got a good bath, my feet were soft and smooth (what a great mud bath).
The takeaway - now everytime we go anywhere with dirt of any kind, one of the girls will say to me - "We don't go in the mud, Mom." So, at least we learned something!!
And, just so we are clear... we love dirt and digging and mud and usually don't mind the outside messes. However, it was so cold (notice the snow in the background), and Nick was gone (not a good combination).

Maggie's First Bite of Food

We started Maggie on solids!
She did great.
It is always fun to get to these milestones!

Mother's Day 2010

What a great day Mother's Day is! We even got an added bonus at our house when the bishop called the night before and cancelled all of Nick's meetings for Sunday. So, I got help getting everyone ready for church. It was great!
I decided that I don't have very many pictures of me with the kids, so our new tradition is to take a picture of me with each of the kids individually as well as one of all of us together every Mother's Day. So, at least once a year there will be evidence that I am the mother. Of course, since I wear a dress once a week - and usually only for 3 hours - I had already changed into my comfy Sunday clothes!!
I was also lucky enough to get these beautiful flowers!!
Happy Mother's Day!!

Maggie

Maggie is already 5 months old. I think that most of the time I am so grateful to know that she is the last baby coming to our family. Maybe because most of the time I am sooooo tired and lose patience too quickly.
However, there are those moments that I find myself holding her just a little longer, cuddling her just a little closer, kissing her just a few more times, listening to her coo and giggle with coos and giggles of my own, and watching her just a little more intently because I know this is it.
She is such a perfect addition to our family - I just love her!!

Hats, hats, and more hats!!

I am starting a new adventure. I have been busy making these cute hats. I am doing my first craft show with them this weekend. So, as part of the display I took some pictures of the girls with them on. I have still to take some of Abby with some on - she was playing with her cousins when I took these pictures.
I am hopeful that they will sell well. It has been fun making them, so the most I lose is a few dollars of yarn and some time! My kids love wearing them and they are so stinkin' cute (the girls and the hats)!
Wish me luck!!

Easter!!

Easter at our house is always fun!
We do our Easter Bunny festivities on Saturday.
We had fun doing our egg coloring.
We took some before pictures...

Look at how nice, neat, and clean the table looks!


Emma
Grayce (Yes, that is a wisk in Grayce's and Emma's hands. We gave them to Grayce and Emma and they put their eggs inside and then dunked the whole wisk into the dye. A much cleaner, easier experience for the young ones! Thank you Rachael Ray for the great idea!)
Tyler
Braynt
Abby
(Maggie was safely sleeping in the other room)

The finished product..


Then, there were the pictures post-egg hunt. The kids each had their own color of eggs to ensure equality and fairness for all (an important part of life in the Ball home).


Of course, the next morning was also full of fun Easter gifts...






There was also much enjoying of the yummy treats! It was such fun for all of us.