Prom 2015 and a couple teenage birthdays...oh and calling 911

Nicole went to Prom this year with a GREAT group of girls!  Love them all!

The theme for Prom was Great Gatsby so you-know-who was a tag-a-long all night.  Oh Leonardo.
What a charmer.

Hellooooo Leooooooo

Prom was on a boat this year so kind of Titanic-ish too so Leonardo is just fitting in all over the place.  Nicole found a coat rack that he fit onto nicely.  Worked well for the slow dances.

Prom hair.

Nathan's 15th birthday

Derek's 13th birthday the next day.  They both got Nike sunglasses and their own toolboxes.
They are men now so they can do man work.

On a side note last weekend our oven was being weird and not cooling down.  I had the Sears repairman come out and he looked it over and said it was fine.  A couple days later I took out the pizza and a fire started in the back of the oven.  I panicked a little but managed to yell to Nicole to call 911.  And she did (check that of the to do list) then I grabbed for the fire extingisher (as the fire was getting bigger) and quickly read the instructions as I don't remember ever using one before.  Pulled the pin and sprayed meanwhile yelling for Lauren to get out of the house and go get Uncle Paul next door.  Totally forgot about Kurt upstairs playing basketball in his room.  Just then Dave came home from work.  hi honey!!!!  The fire truck had to come out anyway and yay I get a new oven for mother's day!

So exciting! 

Molalla Ward Talent Show 2002 clips on youtube

Just found this gem in all the home movies I'm sorting through and thought it was worth it to post it on youtube.  Especially since some very loved faces make an appearance like Paul Puffer with his grandson Christian Parker and Nicole at age 4 doing the ABC's in sign language.  Those were the days!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CkymPJIOXF8&feature=youtu.be

March madness, birthdays and missionaries

Dave took the boys, along with his brother Ryan and his son to see the NCAA tournament that was in Portland for March Madness.  They watched many games and loved every minute of it.

Taking a snooze during game three.

Nicole turned 17 in January.  Always my baby.

And while we're at it...Kurt is always my baby too, even when he decides to turn 7.

All he wanted for his birthday was a Damian Lillard jersey and a clip board to write down plays.

Kurt high fivin' his favorite missionary Elder Kaiser.  We miss you!

Always love having the missionaries over!!!

We made it.

Basketball season is officially done and I for one am ready!  I think Dave and I sat through hundreds of games this season.  So many hours on the bleachers.  So many.  Totally worth it of course but I am really excited to be home at night and on Saturdays together again.   Love these ballers.

I love how Nathan and Derek are looking so determined going after the loose ball.  Kurt has a sweet follow through especially for a 1st grader!  He is all about basketball.  And in case you're wondering, that is a leg sleeve that Kurt is wearing.  Yes it is homemade cut from the sleeve of an old under armour shirt.

Dang it I wish Kurt could have caught some air in this picture.

The last few weeks of the season I started feeling a little like Lauren looks in this picture.  Going a little insane and wondering if I was going to completely lose my marbles.

All five kids played basketball this year!  It has been a crazy 4 months but definitely lots of fun and   making memories.

There she goes...

Nicole got her license in October.  It has been great that she can drive her and Nathan to early morning seminary (starts at 6am every morning at the church)  And it's been very helpful to have another driver during basketball season with all 5 kids playing it's been a lot of driving around all over the place!  It's really fun to see her growing up but really crazy at the same time.

Family pictures

Family pictures taken this summer.  I love these guys!

halloween

This Halloween was a funny one because nobody knew what they were going to be until the day of. .  Except for Lauren.  She made her own costume this year and planned it out a couple days in advance.   There was tons of going through the dress-up clothes this Halloween.  Trying things on and rummaging around some more until it all finally came together.

What's it gonna be?  NBA player or.........

Charlie Chaplin.

At school Lauren and her best friend Molly are called Cookie and Cupcake by their friends.

These girls seriously melt my heart with their sweet friendship.

Michael- who's BAD.

An old man tourist.  Not sure where he came up with this idea, but he is rockin it!  Now if only we could find that fanny pack that I know is around here somewhere, the costume would be complete.

Clark Kent

This was taken at the end of the night when they were finally all back together and very worn out.  Thank goodness Halloween only comes once a year.