Happy Birthday to "The Dad"

David loves being called "the Dad" or "Sir" or "Captain"....just kidding.  David is not one who has to be "on top" or Number 1.  He takes his role as head of the household seriously, but not in "I'm-better-than-you" attitude.  Besides his occasional splurge (buying a new thermometer for the grill), he doesn't make a decision on something until we've discussed it and looked at all sides.  He somehow manages my craziness and doesn't judge.  He always looks beyond my imperfections and focuses on the good.

The kids adore their father!  Whether it's tickling, wrestling, playing games, snuggling or teasing, they know that Dad always brings a good time.  Because of how he connects with them, they respect him.  He doesn't get excited or stressed out when their emotions run high, but he is patient and firm.

Even though he doesn't like to celebrate his birthday (crazy, I know!), we always try to make it special with multiple phone calls, emails, decorations, cards and presents.  David is certainly one who deserves to be celebrated!  We love you!

 

He did find out, however, that getting older means it's harder to blow out the candles in one shot.

Spring to Summer

 We have certainly enjoyed watching everything changes colors. 

  It was all I could do to keep the kids from picking these tulips.  They settled on smelling them.

 Popcorn popping on apricot trees all around us!

Now everything has changed to green.  And the grass here is worthy of a photo (though I haven't taken one yet)!  I could lay in it all day long!  It's not scratchy, but soft and light.  Definitely unlike Florida grass.

Who's Going to Help Me Grind the Wheat?

Me!  Me!  Me!

Our church doesn't start until 12:30, so we have plenty of time to do things as a family Sunday morning.  Grinding wheat to our family is not considered work, but fun.  The kids love to help Daddy load the wheat in and watch it grind.  David is very particular and runs the wheat through 3 or 4 times to get it evenly ground into flour.  We made bread and he brought it to work the next day to make a sandwich for his lunch.  He told one of the other builders that he ground the wheat, of course, the guy didn't believe him and really didn't even know what grinding the wheat meant.  I am so grateful for these seemingly insignificant tasks that we have been taught to do in an effort to be more self-reliant.

Riding in the Cul-de-sac

 In an effort to get Kylie excited to move to North Carolina, we told her we would be living in a cul-de-sac and could practice riding bikes without training wheels.  She was super excited about this and has reminded us of this almost everyday since we arrived.  One beautiful weekend morning (there have been a lot of those days!), we gave it a shot. 

She did okay, but decided that she really didn't want to learn quite yet:).  So she sat down in the cul-de-sac and David took the bike for a ride.  I'm working with some parents in the neighborhood whose little girls don't care about learning 'right now' to get together and have "learn how to ride a bike" party.  We're hoping it doesn't become a crying fest, but a rally to get them going.  We'll see about that.

Visiting Daddy at Work

They have been dying to visit Daddy at work especially once they found out that there was a playground and pool there.  Kylie wanted to know if we could bring our swimsuits.  Maybe one day, it's still too cold here!

 All the types of houses they are building.  It's amazing how many different styles can be created from one base plan plus color selection and upgrades inside and out.  Though the houses look similar, they are very different from one another.  This has been a huge change for David in Raleigh.  In Jacksonville, he built mostly mulit-family homes - one or two different plans and not too much to change from one house to another.  Single-family homes have been a bit of a challenge - up to 8 or 9 building plans, basements, crawl spaces and many options.  Needless to say, he's not bored at work and works 11 or 12 hour days, but we are very blessed with work.

Standing outside what is known as the "Taj Mahal" of construction trailers (should have taken a straight-on shot).

 Supervising, managing and scheduling.

He doesn't get bored, just sleepy (Spencer really was out).

So proud of Daddy!

Best Buddies

I love watching our children grow up together.  They teach each other, snuggle each other, scold each other, laugh, play, imagine, work, are silly with each other.  I love catching these moments (don't mind Spencer's outfits - that's another thing they do together:)).

Conference Weekend

Besides listening to the prophet and leaders of the Church, the best thing about General Conference weekend is just being together as a family.  I really have to hand it to my parents for getting us all ready and watching it at the church building growing up.  We are super spoiled to be able to watch it in our home via the internet or cable.  We soak up all the time we can be together.

(Well, Spencer soaks up all the snacks we make for conference weekend.)