Avery Takes A Stand

I know it is all about the journey, and not arriving at the destination. I know it gives her experience and exposes her to learning opportunities and interaction with people, music, culture....





We put Avery in dance class @ 2 1/2 years old AND SHE LOVED IT!! So, we have kept her in because she is so pretty in her costumes and SHE KNOWS EVERY STEP!! Well, it seems when she is on stage and cannot see the audience, she does well, BUT when it comes to the assisted living facilities where everyone is visible...well, you can see.





I have to say though, she has a great talent for standing there, looking pretty!!

Don't worry...we still went out for ice cream!!

Bryan Babes!!

Thank Heaven for little girls!! I completely love mine!!

Boise Zoo And Swimming Too

April 17th, 2010. Jan Taylor, for her 32nd birthday, ran a half marathon, the most difficult half marathon in the area!! I would've done it with her, if I didn't have this trick knee from an old high school, army, extreme waterfall jumping injury. But because of my severe handicap, we (Cameron, Grandpa Butikofer, and Tari)decided to take all the kids to the Boise Zoo.

It was a perfect day!! The kids were awesome. Even the zoo food tasted good. We saw penquins, zebras, tigers, owls, goats, insects, monkeys, snakes, bats, rats, and ring-tailed lemurs. It was a fun zoo. We had a blast!!








We then headed to our hotel for some swimming, pizza, and movie!! This was the only swimming picture IN FOCUS!! Needless to say we had a great time!! Thanks Boise!! Thanks, Taylors!! Thanks to Team Bryan for a pretty good first family trip as a team of six!! I am almost ready for another big trip!!

Adorable From Head to Toe..

Edyn Isabel @ 5 months. We are so smitten!!

Four Corners

We tried to get a really cute shot of ALL the Bryan kids looking into the camera smiling.





Well, we tried.......

The Hunt(s) Are On!!

Oh, the hunts are on!! We were invited to THREE Easter Egg Hunts this year and they were all awesome. Tess (my nail extraordinaire) had hers in the basement, because it was cold and raining outside!! She had filled hundreds and hundreds of plastic eggs. She also had tickets for the kids to purchase toys, bubbles and sidewalk chalks. She had hot chocolate and donuts for everyone. She really went all out. Next was the neighborhood hunt which is always a big smash (no pun intended). The third was the annual Denning Easter Eggstravaganza with a HUGE potluck and the entire family. The eggs are placed in marked areas. The very small children have the first at it. Next the older, and so on until the 30 something year old children are out there hunting for the GOLDEN EGG or the SILVER EGG. The pot this year was about $50 for the golden egg and $25 for the silver one. Even the younger ones had a golden egg and silver egg with $5 and $3 in them.

We had a great day!! We came home with a crazy amount of candy. There were smiles all around, even though you could really only see the backs of their heads. The company was deightful!!


But... it isn't about the eggs. It isn't about the food. It isn't about the candy. All the people we spend Easter with are loved ones to us. We are blessed to have each of them in our lives. Every year we see the children grow. Every year the family gets bigger. That is a blessing. More for us to love.

The best part is not having to hunt for people who love and accept us. They are all around us. It is beautiful to us the hunting is only for the plastic eggs.

All The Pretty Colors

Coloring eggs are, of course, one of the more stressful things I do with the kids. I have a horrible adverse reation to purple fingers and splashing dye. I do it anyway because I know my kids love it and that I will ultimately survive it. It is so fun to watch them mix colors and light up when the eggs are all in a row, ready for the Easter Bunny to hide them.

We did have a few casualties. Many of the eggs were sadly dropped and cracked, but it was a great creative exercise that is now over for another year. My table, kitchen floor, and children are all clean and shiny again. And now we can enjoy Easter and all the pretty colors spring has to offer.

Side By Side

As a mom, I can't help but take LOADS of pictures of my kids!! I was flipping through recently and found a pattern concerning two of my babies!! I seem to be finding Edyn and Drew "side by side".

Drew has really taken a shine to his little sister. He always greets her in the morning with a big smile and kiss and "Hi, Bebe"!! He runs to me when she makes the smallest wimper and yells, "Mommy, Bebe ry".

I can't help but be so happy that my kids find love for each other all by themselves. I can only hope they will all watch out for each other and show love and understanding throughout their lives!! I hope they will find strength in numbers and realize early that they are part of a team, and each member is special and important. We are a family. Let's hope we always find joy in being "Side by Side"!!

Kendal Is SEVEN!!

Look how big Kendal is!! The boy simply refuses to do as I say and STOP GROWING UP!!

He had an awesome birthday!! He began his day with a popular recent tradition: "rainbow pancakes" followed by his first gift: his very own RC TRUCK!! He and Kaleb (his cousin) took it out to the driveway to try it out!! So fun!! He also got to go see "How To Train Your Dragon" in 3D in the theater. We had sloppy joes and strawberry shortcake that night with friends and family. Thank you, everyone who thought of Kendal on his birthday, for the calls and visits and gifts. We had a great day!!

Kendal is just a really great kid!! He is bright and silly and has a beautiful heart!! We are so glad he is part of our family!!

Glad you had a great day, Son!!