Dakota Birthday Weekend

 Dakota turned 12!!  I can't believe we now have 3 priesthood holders in our family.  He also gets to go to mutual with Brax and I every week.  He is turning into a man right before my eyes.  The celebration started at Bella's for our traditional lunch during school.  He is such a handsome, happy boy and Shane even got to come this time, but Dakota refused to spill the beans about who his girlfriend is.

 He chose to go treasure hunting for his birthday.  He loves to treasure hunt with his metal detector and we have been wanting to take out Rhoni (our new Rhino) for quite some time so we made an whole afternoon of it and hit the mountains.  We started at Pine view Dam and ended up on Avon riding with all 5 of us.

 Shane and I gave him a pin pointer which helps find the treasure once the metal detector tells you there is one under the dirt or sand.  We mostly found bottle caps, but did find one piece of jewelry, a nickel, and a wheat penny.  He thought it was pretty great.

One Sunday morning we enjoyed breakfast in bed, which Shane is usually not home for and is not a big fan of, but we all gathered under Dakota's bed and had muffins and yogurt.  After church we ended his weekend full of birthday with Cake and Ice Cream with the grandparents.  What a fun, full weekend of celebrating our special Dakota.

 12 awesome things about Dakota:

1-He is so thoughtful and kind.  He always thinks of others and takes such great care of younger cousins.
2-He is a hard worker.  If you ask him to do something he will get it done, the first time and do it well.  He is my best duster because he moves all the stuff an dusts under it, usually going above and beyond and dusting stuff I don't ever get to.
3-He tries really hard at school on anything he is assigned.  He has a bit of hard time with spelling, but he puts forth his full effort every time.
4-Dakota is really great at math.  The numbers just make sense to him and he can figure things out so quickly and efficiently even the teacher is amazed.
5-Look at that smile.  He is always happy and has a great smile on his face.
6-He takes really great care of anything that belongs to him.  His orthodontist is constantly saying how well he takes care of all his appliances in his mouth, and he values all his possessions and takes great care of them.
7-He loves to give hugs.  He is a snuggler and I love that about him.
8-He used to keep his room very clean and I can see the teenager coming out in him as he throws things all over his side of the room, but he is quick to clean it up if asked.
9-He is a great defender in soccer.  He has also taken up goalie and he is really good at keeping that ball out of the net.
10-He is a great pitcher in baseball.  If the coach doesn't let him pitch he doesn't even get upset, he just comes home and practices more so he can pitch the next game.
11-Dakota is not a complainer.  He just quietly goes about his business if there is something he doesn't love about a situation.  I am sure he complains in his head, but he sees the good in the situation and makes the best of it.
12-He is a great friend.  He has a best friend next door, Gavin, and they are inseparable.  He goes along with all of Gavin's ideas and if he doesn't feel like it anymore he just comes home.  He also plays well with anyone else around the neighborhood, but is always comfortable playing with his best friends his brothers.

Some Spring things

 Braxton had a party at this friends house and they fixed each others hair.  He had a really fun time and got two ponytails.

 The Easter bunny did not disappoint this year.  Cameron loved his scavenger hunt and we had a lovely morning as a family enjoying a wonderful Crepe breakfast and watching the movies LDS.org posted about the Resurrection of our Savior.  I especially loved how there was one to watch and study about each day, I really felt ready for a very spiritual meeting on Easter because of my earlier preparations.  The music in our sacrament meeting was so powerful and the spirit was so strong, I truly felt the spirit of that special event.

 It was the pinewood derby for Cub Scouts.  Cameron hadn't ever done this one before and he had a blast.  All the boys get so excited and they get to bond with their Dads.  We also did the blue and Gold the same night so it was a long, crazy, but fun evening.  Shane was in charge of the brackets.  Cameron tied one round but never won but he was so happy just to play the game.

 Braxton is doing track again this year.  He is not loving it and is only giving about 1/2 the effort required, so it may be the last time but I sure like going to the track meets and watching him run.  He really wanted to be on the long jump team, but he didn't make it so being on the long distance team was the other option and he doesn't have his heart in it.

Spring Break Staycation

We usually go to Moab with Jake and Alayna over spring break but this year it did not work out so Kiley booked us a room at Wolf Creek and we slept over up in the valley and then went on an adventure hiking to the letters in Northern Utah. At the hotel there was racquetball, pool, a giant hot tub, and basketball and tennis courts.  We enjoyed all of the activities and stayed up way too late and got up way too early as usual.
We still have a lot of letters to hike to, but we made it to the M in Morgan, the B in Bountiful, and the V also in Bountiful but further north.  It was a cold windy day, but the kids loved it and didn't even mind the weather.  All six of our kids get along so well, they are truly best buds.

Spring Break Aquarium

We went to the aquarium in the Layton Hills Mall over spring break.  Grandma Julie took all the grand kiddos who could make it. It is a really fun place where the kids can feed the birds, fish and sting rays.  It is really interactive and not just looking at things.  I was really impressed.

It doesn't get any better than those three handsome faces.