Wikki Sticks

My friend Danelle told be about these great little sticks, and I decided to get them for the boys for their birthdays. They came too late for Nicholas' birthday and when they came I couldn't stand waiting until Thomas's birthday, so we opened them in celebration of their inbetween the birthdays birthday :) We LOVE them! They are just little pieces of yarn covered in some kind of wax. They bend and stay whatever way you mold them. They stick to each other, books, paper, walls, windows...you name it. They are as much fun for me as they are for the boys. They are definitely going in our sacrament quiet bag. Thanks Danelle!!

Messy Essie!

I think these pictures pretty much speak for themselves! What a fun meal for her!




My first time braiding her hair myself. I think braiding a crawling, wiggly, curious baby's hair should be an olympic event...as well as changing the same type of baby's diaper :)

HAPPY BIRTHDAY NICHOLAS!!!

My sweet Nicholas is three years old! I can't believe it! He is such a fun person to have around. One thing that continues to please me is how inherintly polite Nicholas is. He says thank you and your welcome with pure sincerity. It is so nice.
Nicholas loves to make people laugh. He often makes up silly songs or funny words to share.
Nicholas loves to cuddle. Every morning between 6 and 7 we can count on waking up to a sweet voice saying, "Can I cuddle with you?" It is wonderful to cuddle with this little guy.
Nicholas has a favorite blankie that my mom made for him. He HAS to sleep with it and regularly wants it if he feels sad or gets hurt in some way. It often comes with us in the car and it is usually tough to find it at nap time and bed time. He has the cutest way of holding it up to his face as he sucks his pointer finger.
Nicholas has a great memory. He can sing many songs word for word. My favorite one that he sings begins, "I see my mother kneeling." He sings the first verse so soft and sweet that it melts my heart and then belts out the second verse with loud accents on certain words and it makes me laugh. He is so fun.
Happy third birthday my sweet Nicholas. I love you to bits!!!!!

More Wedding Pictures

I thought I was done putting wedding pictures on here, but I couldn't resist a few more. This is one of my favorites from the whole weekend...I love the expressions!
I really like this picture...I just wish I had focused on his eyes instead of the gate...oh well.
The wedding was in the evening and Jackson's mom got us all hotel rooms so we wouldn't have to travel late into the night. It was so nice. The next morning we played at a park that was close. It was one of the funnest parks I have ever played on.
Thomas and Newell on the seesaw. This was a great, safe seesaw. It was fun for one alone, with two, or three or four. You could sit on the seats, stand like these boys are, or sit/stand on the middle platform. It was very well designed.
This was great! Jackson and I got in it together. We started it spinning and it didn't take long for both of us to be ready for it to stop...the only problem was we couldn't make it stop! I thought we would be stuck on that thing forever. Finally we worked together and got off. We were sick!

Exiting the Temple

Jazzy's mom brought bubbles for everyone to blow as the newlyweds came out of the temple. It was great...it kept the kids occupied and created a fun atmosphere.
Thomas
Clarissa
Aiden
They are married!!!
Brynne carrying the train.

Wedding Pictures

Here are a few of my favorite pictures from the wedding. They had a photographer, so I didn't get many pictures of the bride and groom, but I got plenty of the nieces and nephews.

Clarissa LOVES Essie!

Newell looking handsome as usual.
Ethan...the bubble theif :)
Beautiful Brynne

More coming soon.

Jazzy and Edmund's Wedding

This past weekend Jackson's little sister Jazzy was married to Edmund Leemhuis in the Manti Temple. It was SO great to be there with them. I have LOTS of pictures. Here are a couple of our little family.

Flying High

My idol Rebekah Westover posted some pictures like this on her website a few weeks ago. I wanted to try it...They didn't turn out as good as hers, but I still love them. This is one of my boys' favorite games!

Where's my Birthday?

Nicholas's birthday is coming up this weekend. I have a wrapped present to Nicholas from my mom in my closet. Nicholas spied it yesterday and you can imagine the excitement that his discovery brought. After a few minutes of Nicholas saying "When is my birthday?" over and over, with me answering "In seven days." every time, he became thoughtful. He looked up at me and said, "WHERE'S my birthday?" I paused to think about how to answer that one. While the wheels in my brain were turning Nicholas got an excited look on his face as if he had figured it out. He grabbed the front of his shirt, stretched it out in front of him and asked, "Is my birthday in my belly?"

The Boys

Here are my three favorite boys. Aren't they handsome? Jackson is a wonderful daddy. The happiest moment of the day is when daddy walks in the door from work. The boys like to hide from him and just giggle with anticipation as he walks around the house saying "Where could my boys be?" It is great.

Domino!

We watched the movie Robots with the kids for the first time this past weekend. Thomas has been excited about Dominoes ever since because of the part where they find Big Weld (for any of you who have seen that movie). We don't have a lot of dominoes, so we use blocks instead. After a few rounds with the plain blocks, Thomas wanted to make things a bit more exciting by adding different things on top of the blocks. We both had a blast doing this together. I actually ripped a hole in my jeans from crawling around so much on the floor setting up different patterns. Thanks for the fun time, Thomas!

Groesbeck Family Reunion

The weekend of the 24th of July is one that I have looked forward to as long as I can remember. I grew up knowing and loving my grandparents, aunts, uncles, and cousins in part because of this annual family reunion. It is so fun to now take my children and husband every year to meet and get to know many of the people I love. These are some of the things we did this year...

Made stepping stones.

Played in the water

Played baseball

Spent time with Grandma and Grandpa Groesbeck (the younger)
Got our hair done (My sister Kara is going to cosmetology school. She was very busy cutting and doing hair while she was there. She is awesome!)
Had a marshmallow gun war (this is my brother Jake)
Played with bubbles

My cousin Brynn also does hair and she couldn't resist giving Essie two adorable french braids.

Ate and ate and ate!!! There is never a shortage of food at a Groesbeck family reunion.
We had such a great time and can't wait for next year. I love you Groesbeck family!!!

And here is...

...one more of my little sister Jamie. Sorry I am so slow Jamie...I still have more to post, but I'm not finished editing them.
This is Jackson's little sis, Jazzy. She is getting married in less than two weeks. She and her parents are leaving tomorrow to drive to Canada...Yes all the way to Canada. They will have a reception there with Edmund's family and friends, then drive to Manti for the wedding. They hired a photographer for the Manti portion of the wedding celebrations, but I begged to do her bridals and the reception in GJ. They consented. Here are a couple of my favorites so far. More to come :)