Birthday Parties

Ava and Owen had a joint birthday celebration with Grandma and Grandpa Clayson, and Aunt Jeanna and a few friends who came over for cake.  We had dinner first with the family where we had Owen's request - ribs!  After dinner everyone came over for cake.  Owen requested an Angry Bird cake, and Ava got a Minnie Mouse cake.  Thank you to everyone who came to help these cute kiddos celebrate.

Happy 2nd Birthday Ava!

My baby is 2!!  I can hardly believe how much she has grown up in the past year.  Her birthday was on Sunday so she got to wear her birthday outfit to church.  Here are a few facts about Ava.

-She has a shoe fetish.  I think the only reason she gets dressed is so she can put shoes on, and she is very opinionated about which shoes she wears.

-She loves to have her fingers and toes painted.  Her favorite color to bring me right now his neon pink.

-She loves to be outside, and will play with her brothers and sister outside for a long time.

-She LOVES babies.  Real babies or baby dolls.  You can find her pushing her babies around everywhere.

-She is getting quite bossy . . . we are working on it.

-She loves to talk, and will repeat almost anything you say.  She can get her point across, and will do it by talking your ear off.

-She is a momma's girl.  Usually by now there is another baby in our house, but that isn't happening right now, so this is a new thing for mom too.

-She likes to do things "all by myself," and is getting quite independent.

-She loves Barney and Minnie Mouse, but doesn't sit still long enough to watch a full episode of anything.

-She is such a good sleeper, and will often sleep in until 9 or 10 in the morning.

We love you Miss Ava, and are so glad you came into our family.

All About Owen

I cannot believe how fast my kids are growing up!!  Owen is such a blessing to have on our home, and we are grateful for his helpful attitude every day!  Here are a few facts about Owen

-Owen LOVES video games . . . a little to much, but I think we have come to a mutual understanding.

-He is such a good helper, and usually jumps up to help me out.

- He loves money, and will do almost anything to earn some more (he is saving up for a Batman Lego set).

-He is a great big brother.

-He loves sports, and  is VERY competitive.

-He is becoming a good little reader, and works very hard on all the school tasks that he is given.

-His favorite show is The Power Rangers

-His favorite food are ribs and noodles

-His favorite color is blue

-At school he is called Owen C. because there is another Owen C. in his class.  He will not write his name without the C at the end.  I think it is so cute!!

We love you Owen!!

Can't Stop the Feet

Claire's clogging recital was actually on Owen's birthday.  Chad had taken the day off to come to the recital, but when he found out about Father's and Son's, I sent him off with the boys.  Chad's parents were so kind to come and support Claire.  I think her Grandpa was a little jealous that he didn't have to sit through it!  Claire danced in 2 numbers, and she did a great job.  She loves clogging and can't wait till next year when she gets the real shoes.  Two of Claire's friends Elise and Maddi wanted to come, so Claire had plenty of support.  After the performance we were all treated to ice cream by grandpa.  We are so proud of you Claire!

Happy 6th Birthday Owen!

Owen informed me that this birthday was not a "real" birthday.  I only let them have a birthday party every other year and this was his off year, so he decided that it wasn't a real birthday.  He also knew that we weren't having cake and ice cream for a few days.  He couldn't decide what he wanted, and at this age it just keeps changing.  I am pretty sure he would have loved legos, but that will have to happen another time.  His birthday was on a Friday and Chad and I hadn't been together at all to go and buy his gift.  After breakfast my friend Jodie agreed to watch the kids so Chad and I could go shopping.  We all attended Claire's talent show at school, and then headed home.  I had a few errands to run, and Owen wanted to open his gifts but he had to wait for Claire to get home from school.  He was actually waiting outside for me when I got home from the store.  So we gathered everyone together, and gave him his present a helmet.  He was happy with it, but he looked at us and said "Is that it?"  He was a good sport when I told him yes, and told him to try it on.  Meanwhile Chad ran downstairs and got his new bike.  He was very excited!!  That evening Chad took Owen and Grant to the Father's and Son's camp out, and the boys were thrilled.  Owen loved that it was on his birthday.  The boys had a great time, and enjoyed spending the rest of Owen's birthday with his friends and camping.

Fishing

Chad took the 3 oldest kids fishing at the local fish pond in Pocatello.  They were all very excited to go.  I wanted to go with them, but I just wansn't feeling that well.  Chad was worried that the kids wouldn't be good for them, but they were gone for about 3 hours, and had blast.  This is the fish they caught on the last cast.  The kids were thrilled!!  Grant enjoyed throwing rocks in the water (which might be why they didn't catch that many fish), more than fishing but everyone had a great time.

Law Day 5K

I finally decided that it was time to run again.  My goal was to start at a 5K, and hopefully by the end of the summer at least a 10K.  It is hard getting all my running in with Chad gone all the time, and running on the treadmill is not the same as running outside.  Of course I hadn't been sick all year, until the week of the race.  I got a wonderful head cold.  I still ran, and had to stop twice to blow my nose.  That day it moved to my chest, but I was so grateful that I finished.  My friend Emma also ran, and this was her 5K.  It was a lot of fun.  I finished in 34:54, which isn't great, but I wasn't sad.  There are 4 more races this summer so hopefully I will improve my time.

If the shoe fits . . .

Chad left his shoes out after church one evening, and the kids found them before bed.  This is what happens . . .

Easter 2012

The kids had a wonderful Easter.  The Easter Bunny found them and brought them some fun treats.  The kids couldn't be happier.  After breakfast we all got into our Easter best for church.  We hope you all had a wonderful Easter.

Clayson Family Easter Fun

After our ward Easter Egg Hunt we headed to Firth for the Clayson Family Easter party.  The kids finally got to dye eggs.  Ava discovered the magic of dying eggs, and she couldn't get to them fast enough.  The kids loved that they got to do that with their cousins.  Once the eggs were done, the Bunny hid them while the kids played on grandpa's swing.  The kids were excited to find eggs, and had a lot of fun spending time together. 

Church Easter Egg Hunt

Every year our ward has an Easter Egg hunt.  The past couple of years it has been canceled because the weather has been so bad.  This year, it was great.  They had plenty of eggs, and the kids had a blast.  I got there late because I was running in a race (just for fun).   Chad was left home to get the kids ready, and when I got to the church I just laughed.  I had just got out a box of clothes for Ava and hadn't finished putting them in her drawer.  Ava was wearing pajama pants with a shirt.  It did match, and all Chad said was that he thought it was springy!  It was cute.  I can't complain at least he tried, but I did go home and change her after we got home. 

Chad's 27th Birthday

Chad's birthday was on a Monday so we celebrated it on Sunday after church.  I realized at church that I had worried so much about Claire's baptism that I hadn't even thought about making Chad a cake.  I asked him at church what kind of cake he wanted and he told me a Lightning Cake as a joke.  So I was now on a mission.  We had leftover cake from Claire's baptism, so after church while Chad was doing the tithing, my mom and I created Mater.  I think he turned out pretty well considering we cut up the Costco cake and used only the extra frosting from it.  Chad got some new scriptures, some church shirts, and a gift certificate for his favorite Texas Roadhouse.  We love you Chad and hope you had a wonderful birthday!!

Farmer Kid Fun!

After the baptism, we had to keep the Farmer kids busy.  We decided that since we never get to spend Easter together we would have and Easter Egg hunt for the kids.  Mom, Amber and I filled eggs for an hour.  The kids were thrilled to see that there were quarters in some of the eggs.  After the egg hunt we headed to Brooklyn's Playground to play for awhile, and then ice cream at Farrs.  The kids had so much fun spending time together.

Claire's Baptism

Claire was very lucky to be baptised by her father on March 24, 2012.  She was very excited to get baptised, and thrilled that everyone was able to come.  We are so grateful for everyone that came.  My brother Roy, his wife Cody and 6 of there kids came, along with my sister Heather and her family, my parents, Amber and all of Chad's immediate family.  We had a great weekend.  I didn't get pictures of the Clayson family after the baptism.  There was so much going on that I just couldn't get everyone together, but they were all there!!  It was so nice to watch Claire get baptised and to see the smile on her face.  I know that she is doing the right thing, and we are so proud of her.  She was the only one from our ward so she had a nice program after the baptism with a talk by her Grandma Clayson about the Holy Ghost.  She is truly blessed to have so many people who support her, and know that she is making the right decision. 

After the baptism we had a luncheon at our house, and celebrated her decision.  We are so proud of you Claire and hope that you remember this feeling of happiness.

All About Claire

Claire is growing up way to fast for her mom.  She is full of energy and is constantly keeping me on my toes.  To say that we go "toe to toe" often would be accurate.  I think she is just like her mom - stubborn so sometimes she can be a challenge.

*Claire started piano this year, and doesn't enjoy it as much as I thought.  She fights me to practice, but we are going to keep working on it.  It is something that will help her in the future

*Claire also started clogging this year, and she LOVES it!  She hasn't missed a class, or a day of school yet, and loves to dance.

*Claire's favorite food is steak and noodles. 

*Claire's best friends are Cassidy Buck, Elise Michealson, and Cossette Wood.

*Claire's favorite color is pink, and her favorite toys are still barbies.

*Claire loves art, and is very creative.  She is also turning into quite the writer with a great imagination.

*Claire's favorite subject at school is reading, her least favorite is math (see told you just like her mother).

*Claire's favorite sport is still skiing.

*Claire is becoming a good helper, and will usually help me with Ava.  She does have to be in the right mood, but she is getting much better

*Claire wants to grow her hair long (opposite of cutting it off last year).  She however does not like to get it done, so it is a constant battle.  She wants Rupunzel hair

We love you Claire and are so happy that you are in our family!! 

Happy 8th Birthday Claire!

Claire had a very low key birthday this year.  We wanted to make a much bigger deal of her baptism than her birthday.  She was so excited that Grandma Farmer was here to visit.  It was also such a beautiful day that we got to eat outside.  She was treated to a shopping trip with grandma where she got some new clothes.  She also got a new mermaid barbie, and some clothes from mom and dad.  Her birthday usually falls on spring break, but she was thrilled that it was on a school day this year.  She requested doughnuts for her class.  She had a great day, and is looking forward to her baptism in 2 days!!

Happy St. Patrick's Day!

The kids were thrilled to see that once again that "tricky leprechaun" found it's way to our house.  This year he left his favorite cereal Lucky Charms and a whole bunch of his gold.  He also turned our milk green and our toilet water green.  The kids enjoyed their disgusting looking green breakfast of pancakes and eggs.  We hope you had a Happy St. Patrick's day!!

Disney on Ice

I have been going every March to Disney on Ice with Claire for the past 4 years.  It started when the had the Princesses on Ice come, and we loved it so much that we go every year.  I have tried to get Chad to go, but he usually can't make it, or doesn't want to go.  This year it was Toy Story 3 on ice, and I wanted everyone to go.  We had a lot of fun.  We loaded up the car (a little full) with our good friend Anjie and her daughter McKinlee, and headed to Utah.  Our first stop was IKEA.  We had brought lunch so we sat in the IKEA parking lot and ate.  I was pretty sure we didn't need that much stuff and could just fit it in the car.  That was not the case.  After checking out, and spending some time tying it on top of the car we were off back to Salt Lake.  We made it to the arena just in time.  Grant had been telling me for weeks that he "did not want to go to Disney on Ice."  I don't really think he knew what to expect.  As soon as the lights went down and Mickey and Minnie came out he was hooked.  Ava was asleep at the beginning, but it didn't take her long to enjoy the show either.  The kids had a great time, and loved their Buzz hats that their dad bought them.  It was geared a little more to boys so Claire was a little bummed with the choice of souvenirs, so we opted to go to Wal-Mart that week and get her a new coloring book. 

After the show we walked to the Salt Lake Temple and visited the grounds for a little while.  It was nice to be able to go there and talk with Claire since her baptism is right around the corner.  We left Salt Lake ready for a great dinner at Red Robin only to find every restaurant around packed.  Apparently it was prom and Red Robin or Applebees is the place to go.  We ended up finding this little 50's type diner in Ogden.  The kids loved it, and got to play a pinball machine for free.  We were all exhausted by the time we left, and needless to say the car was much quieter on the way home.

Little Miss Ava Jean

Can I just say isn't she so cute!!  Ava has been so much fun lately.  She will carry a baby anywhere, and obviously loves to have pretties in her hair.  She loves to be with the kids, and is so good about playing outside by herself.  We love you Miss Ava!!