Thursday, March 26, 2009

Matthew's big #4, Thomas's Blessing Day and other fun happenings...

My boys on Thomas's special blessing day. These are some seriously proud big brothers and it was such a special day for our little guy. He got the best blessing and we had wonderful family there to support us.
Our sweet little Thomas on his big blessing day. Doesn't he just look so handsome! The boys were "helping him" sit up.

This is a picture of the boys on Matthew's birthday. We were lucky enough to have Sam and Jennifer and their kids here and so for Matthew's birthday we headed off to Jeeper's (we loved it so much last year that we had to do it again), and then we had a BBQ and of course cake and ice cream. I just love my little 4-year old Matthew. Our home wouldn't be complete without this sweet, adorable guy. I can't believe he's already 4. Time goes way way too fast for me.

Here's Susie Sassy chatting with her girlfriends.

The "adults" playing a serious game of Mario Cart WII!

So, Jennifer and I bought these Minnie Mouse shoes for Katie and Maggie at the Disney Store and they were so hilarious! They have a little bit of a heal to them and you should have seen Katie and Maggie stumbling all over the place, but in heaven with their beautiful, sparkly shoes.

The birthday boy and daddy.

This roller coaster couldn't help but bring smiles and laughs every single time.

Me and Katie getting ready to brave the roller coaster.

Me and the birthday boy.

Riding the bug. Fun for them, a day of sickness for mommy and daddy. Why does spinning and rides have to go together I wonder?

Happy Thomas again. His smile takes up his entire face.

The birthday boy bustin' the bumper cars. So fun!

Kyle, Nicholas and Katie zooming down the slide. Nicholas is such a good big brother. He took Katie down without even being asked.

I'm putting in this picture (much to Steve's dismay) for the benefit of Sam (seen in the background), Jennifer and Mom Soter. Downright hilarious!!!

Yet another great slide moment. Jake in heaven, Jennifer in...

There aren't many things happier than a boy and his birthday cake.

My sweet little princess and her fabulous hair.

Matthew wiith probably his top of the list favorite birthday presents. He feels super cool when he wears these sweet shades!

On one of the days our cousins were here we decided to head down to the lake. It definitely wasn't swimming weather for me, but kids seem to be immune to that and they had a blast!

Here's a picture of Steve in one of his happiest places, getting ready to go fishing.

Thomas was supposed to be going to sleep, instead he thought he would just lay there and smile.
Nicholas dancing a jig. Actually his goal was to wash one foot at a time in the lake and then hop back to the chair to dry off. Good idea, too bad it didn't work quite like he had hoped.


So, I know that everyone thinks their own kids are the cutest, but my gosh can I just tell you that this little girl is the most stinkin' cute little thing ever! I could not get enough of her in the little suit that hugs her in all the right places. Ooh! She is just downright pinchy!

Look at these handsome dudes! Notice the marker on Jake and Matthew. They thought they were being awesome by coloring their tummies. Pretty awesome!

What a stud boy!

We visited an old mining town just outside of Mesa while Sam and Jennifer were here and it turned out to be a pretty good time.

Matthew is my "potty holder". He will assume this position and over and over I will ask "Matthew, do you need to potty?" "No, I'm okay". Then all of the sudden it's sheer panic and the boys gotta find a bathroom right now. Who knows why he holds it to the death, but that's our Matthew.

Here is my little monkey boy doing his thing.

Katie and Thomas got a bit of the shaft on this wild west adventure. They didn't get out of the stroller even once. Quite the happy face for such a rip off. Thomas wasn't too fond of the sun in his eyes though, go figure!

Thomas with super cousin Kyle and Aunt Jennifer. Kyle was in heaven feeding Thomas and it was a great break for me.


This is a monumental event. Nicholas caught his first lizard after living in our house for almost 4 years now. Poor old lizard (he was definitely old because he didn't have much give left in him), Nicholas loved that lizard right to death and even beyond. After the fellow finally gave in and died it still took another couple of hours to convince Nicholas that he wasn't just taking a nap.

Thomas doing what Thomas does best...SMILING!!!

Super awesome dudes just chillin' on the bed.

The kids having a mock sleep-over on the trampoline, jammies, blankets and all. Too bad we had to lug everything back in the house for bedtime. They were pretty bummed when I busted their bubble and told them they coudn't sleep outside for reals. What a mean mom!

Matthew hitching a ride at the park with his cute little girly friend Jersi. She is our next door neighbor and best little buddy.

Katie doing what Katie loves best...COLORING! Anyone who has been to our house, specifically in the toyroom, knows just how much she loves to color (our walls are fantastic!)

Smiley Thomas and Grandma Soter

12 comments:

Jenifer said...

You guys have done so many fun things! This really makes me want to go to the lake. Your little kiddos are so cute!

Sam Soter said...

That photo of Steve on the slide is SUH-WEET!! Kyle and I laughed our heads off!

Stan and Jamie said...

Looks like you guys have had lots of fun lately!! Can you believe the boys are 4 now? Kayden just turned 4 and it is CRAZY to me! Katie still is too stinking cute and has fabulous hair...and I'm still jealous!! And Thomas is seriously super cute just like the rest of them!!

ashley b said...

seriously mandi your kids are adorable. i can't believe how big thomas looks in these pictures! it's just not fair how fast they grow. and i about died laughing about matthew and his friend lizard. too funny! you must tell me where that jungle jim's place is because gage would just have a ball. and probably matt too. :) man i miss seeing you guys! it's always way way way too long in between visits. thanks for the update though! and thank you for your sweet comment on my blog. it would seriously be awesome if we lived closer. maybe one day....
i love you too mandi!!!

Kisha Atkin said...

Holy COW! I guess we learned more than we wanted to about those ol cows, eh? Thanks ag science! I just had such a blast from the past when i saw your comments and Im thrilled that you found me. We just moved and finally got our internet back up and running. I cant believe you have kiddos, how wonderful! They are so adorable. I will be hanging onto your blog so i can keep posted. send me an email and we can catch up! kisha.atkin@hotmail.com

Erica Hanks said...

I am laughing so hard at Steve on the slide and the potty dance! HA!!

Erica Hanks said...

Oh....and also the poor lizard! Boys are so funny!

Maggie May said...

Cute, cute children!!!

Brittney Smith said...

Love Thomas's blessing outfit! So cute. Mathew's birthday cake was so cool with all those suckers. That would make any boy happy!!

Fullerton Family said...

Your kids are so darn cute!! We still need to get together, my past few weeks have been crazy!! (if my internet would ever work I could blog about it!) Anyways, give me a call! Love you!

The Allen's said...

Such cuties all your kids are. that picture of matthew in the lake looks like he is a model. lets not be strangers anymore, sheesh. and that picture with steve gave me a good laugh. i like him. love you.

Amy said...

I've been so waiting for a new post! Big Matthew turning 4! I can't believe it. Is there a Katie's Birthday post coming soon?? Dallin's is tomorrow and I REALLY can't believe our "babies" are two. Since I'm prego and we're always prego together, I was surprised remember and jealous to see that you aren't. You look great. So glad for all the fun pics.