Island Park Reunion

Our Lyman Family Reunion was in Island Park, ID this year. We had a full week together and had a blast!

We hung out at the cabin...

and did our family talent shows,

rode the RZR and 4-wheelers,

had wiffle ball competitions,

and got eaten alive by bugs!

We went to Yellowstone,

saw Old Faithful,

Spotted wildlife like bison, bald eagles, long horn sheep, elk, this grizzly bear and one was even lucky enough to see a grey wolf:)

In West Yellowstone we went to the Grizzly and Wolf Discovery Center and got to see grizzlies and wolves up close.

We spent some time in the car driving to our destinations.














Mesa Falls was a family favorite!

Also, Big Springs at Macks Inn,

and the hot springs at Yellowstone.

The kids were always most happy when we would stop for a break!

It was sad to say goodbye after a week of fun, but we can't wait for our next reunion in 2013! Disneyland, here we come!

School is Out!

Wow! School is out! I can't believe how fast this school year went! The girls had a great year in school and they were lucky to have such great teachers! It was sad to say goodbye but now we are looking forward to slowing things down and a summer full of fun!

This is Ava on her first day of preschool, September 2010...
And here she is on her last day of school with her teacher, Mrs. Clark.

This is BK on her first day of school, August 2010...

And here she is on her last day of school with her teacher, Mrs. Clark. (The girls thought it was pretty cool that both of their teachers were named Mrs. Clark)

I took some pictures of Brooklyn on field day. I used to look forward to field day all year. I think it is so much fun:) Brooklyn had a lot of fun and she qualified to run on the relay team to represent her class in the 1st grade relay. They really wanted to win because Mrs. Clark's girl's team had never won and...



They did! They were so excited!

The girls also beat the boys in a tug-of war:) They had Mrs Clark on their team and the boys had a TA. They are SO strong!

I also wanted to post some pics of my kids being cute. So here are a few. Cros loves to help Dad mow the lawn, so this is what they do every time.











I love that Brooklyn is such a great reader! I walked out from getting ready this morning and saw this:) Brooklyn, reading a stack of books to the other kids. I know, so cute!

Update

I have not been a good blogger lately. So I wanted to do a little update to let you all know how we're doing. Ava Mava is getting ready to graduate from preschool! She had Kindergarten registration and can't wait to ride the bus. She loves gymnastics but says her favorite sport is soccer. Spring soccer started in April. It has been fun but COLD! And she is an awesome little soccer player! I'll just brag a little and let you all know she scored 16 goals in her game:)

Cros is a busy, energetic boy! He loves playing with all the neighborhood kids. He asks to go 4-wheeling constantly and can't wait to go with Dad to the Father and Son's campout. He loves super heroes, especially Iron Man and Spiderman. He is such a big helper too. He insists on taking care of the garbage and anything that Dad needs help with:).

Brooklyn is staying super busy. She likes to do everything! She does really well in school and placed 2nd in the Spelling Bee. She is playing soccer and starts her first year of coach pitch in a few weeks. She is taking piano lessons now and wakes up early every morning so she can practice! Her teacher can't believe how quick she is learning and says she's a great student!

So the kids are definitely keeping us busy but we also stay busy ourselves. Denim's job is good, he's also treasurer of our HOA, and joined a men's AND co-ed softball league. I have been volunteering at the school and with the KICKS soccer board. I am playing softball as well and still feel the soreness of our first game 4 days later:)

We are looking forward to summer! Warm weather, 4 wheeling, hiking, camping, swimming, break from school, family vacations...mmm can't wait!

Good Job Brooklyn!

Brooklyn took 1st place at her school science fair last week! She worked really hard on it, especially on her presentation, and did great. Now she gets to go on to the District fair in a few more weeks. Good job BK!

Glasses!

Brooklyn was having a hard time seeing things far away so we took her in for an eye exam and she came out with glasses! The doctor said that it's actually very common in kids and that she will most likely outgrow this as her eyes develop more. I don't think we will be able to peel them away from her though. She was so excited when the Doc said she should have some glasses and when we went out to try some on she said "I think I'm dreaming!" with a big smile on her face. She already had her outfit and hairstyle planned to wear on her first day with glasses by the time we got home:) I think she looks adorable! AND if any of those kids at school make fun of her...

Crosby is 3!

My little man turned 3! I can't believe it! He is getting so big and doesn't he just make you smile? He was lucky enough to have his Da and Papa here to take him out to lunch. He wanted to go to "Old MacDonald" for lunch but with a little persuasion he finally decided Mexican food was the better choice:) They also gave him a new suitcase, a new outfit, and some games that we have already played numerous times! That night we had a little party with the family and Cros opened his presents. He got a mini basketball, a scooter, and some legos.
This kid has been such a joy! He is so sweet and lovable. I kind of want to go wake him up right now and give a big squeeze! We love our Cros!

I haven't been a very good blogger lately but stay tuned for a few more posts like; Brooklyn getting glasses and my birthday celebrations:)

Ava Lou's Birthday

School was officially out and our plan was to leave 5 days later for our much anticipated Christmas Break at the Crosby household. We couldn't stand it though and left the next day! We attended a few family christmas parties then Denim headed back home for a few days of work while me and the kids spent some quality time with Da(grandma), playing, shopping, and catching up. A few days later I noticed the "first" wave of sickness coming in, hitting Crosby and my little bro Kellen:( By christmas all of our kids were "hit" with a fever and it was all downhill from there. This sickness hit EVERYONE, no one was spared. Some had fever, some had coughs, some threw up, some were stuffed up and some had it ALL. It stayed this way until the day we left (10 days later). The worst was seeing our little niece Claire, only 17 months, suffer through and her poor parents. Luckily we were all good sports and still found ways to have fun. We played a lot of games, had some "girl time" shopping and eating lunch, watched movies and some home videos, brought in the New Year, and celebrated Ava's 5th birthday!
We planned to go bowling, but couldn't muster up the energy, luckily the sickness was leaving the kids and hadn't quite gotten my mom so she took them to see Tangled. When they came home we had pork tacos and Tangled cupcakes and icecream, followed by the presents!

My sister Callie once called Ava a "pixie" and if you know our "Lewski" you would totally agree. She can be sweet and she can be a little fire ball. We love this girl!

Here's Ava modeling some of her presents.

This is what we got Ava...a Pinkalicious bike. She loves the Pinkalicious books so this was a hit. Before we gave it to her Denim had to hurry and get the training wheels off. She learned to ride without them this summer and she somehow thinks that means that you no longer call it a bike, you call it a bicycle and since she asked for a bicycle for her birthday the training wheels needed to come off:)