He loves blocks.
Chad and Jason were using this big contraption to dig holes for the posts, and when April and I saw them and all their rippling muscles doing manual labor, we thought it was pretty hot and had to get out our cameras.
But what's hotter than our 2 hubbies sweatin and working in the sun?
When they can't get the thing out of the ground and ask for this tough chica's help. 
Beauty and Brawn-the whole package!
I hope we can still be friends after she see's this post-hee hee! Love ya April!
I think it just makes their gorgeous blues eyes just POP in these pictures (thanks Chad-I married you so that you could pass those beautiful eye genes on) . 
Seriously. 
...and the visiting birds.
This is not a story about them though, this is a sappy story and life lesson I learned that I don't want to forget.
The other day, Bekah wanted to have me come outside and see the surprise she found in our backyard. I was busy doing something, but she didn't let me forget about it all day-so when I finally had a chance to go out...
....she took off on a dead run towards the back of the yard where one of the apple trees is. She started twirling all around and said, "Isn't it beautiful!?! It's like our own flower garden!" There were dandelions everywhere. She knows that they are weeds and she was quick to point that out, but she said "it looks like a flower garden, right?"
Of course it did, and it made me want to be more child like and instead of griping about the overabundance of dandelions and other weeds in our yard to see the absolute and pure beauty in things the way she does. 
This sweet boy got another tooth in today, and has a couple more in the works-he has not been a happy camper or napper for that reason.
SO when he fell asleep in the swing today, it took all I had to not just leave him there and let him sleep. Christopher kept messing with the swing though so I had to move him, and sure enough-he woke up as soon as I unbuckled him. He is doing better tonight, so I might bring him to book club... where we will be eating this...
I couldn't just forget how un-pretty that last cake looked, so I had to make it again. Much better.
It's warm enough again to handwash the car-Chad's and the kids most favorite thing to do. Porter and I stayed dry just kickin it in the backyard while everyone else got soaked.
Good times. 
Pictured here: Me, the birthday boy and a couple of the Appah boys-Jason and Parker. Tyler had just announced in his best King Julian impersonation-"Look at me, I'm a lady-which of you is attracted to me?" We were his response.
And this is for my mom-since she wasn't here to see him blow out his candles...Happy Birthday Tyler!
Note: On that pile of glob that is supposed to be his cake...don't knock it till you try it! It was probably the most delicious cake the world has ever known-even if it did turn out ugly!
It was a 3 layer german chocolate cake (that the sides were crumbly because of wax paper) with coconut and toffee frosting (he didn't want pecans-oh it was good! But it was pretty thin, so it didn't solve the crumbly side problem and just ran off the cake into a puddle around it) and a chocolate and sweetened condensed milk topping (which on top of the already drooping cake just made it look like a molten cake or something-whatev, it was divine!.
Coming downstairs in this dress-up dress (obviously quite huge)...
Dying the eggs the night before mandatory photo's.
The mandatory cute kids taking a look at what mischief that Easter Bunny had been up to-hiding eggs and toys all over the house-the funny thing is in the pictures of the 2 older ones, they had no idea all those eggs were behind them, they didn't even notice when they walked down the stairs. Sneaky Rabbit!
Porter opened his after church since he was still asleep when the older kids woke up-he was super excited about everything, especially after he found out what was in the bag of animal crackers!
The kids each got a personalized chocolate egg from their Grandma Mona in the mail-they love getting mail, especially when it tastes this good!
And seriously so sad- Chad has been working so hard this weekend, with no sleep that today when he came home, he was too tired to start getting ready for church and too tired to even watch the kids find their Easter surprises (he was at work when the Easter bunny came too). This is where I found him a few minutes after he got home. Curled up and passed out in front of the heater vent in the hall. Poor guy!
It was lots better than going to any of the town hunts, less mayhem and less yucky jelly beans!
We had a good turnout of probably between 20 and 30 kids-we will definately have to make this a yearly tradition!
Christopher had Oreo's before the hunt and then ate most of the candy he collected, I'm assuming he will have a mouth full of cavities-and you can rightly assume that he has not stopped climbing the walls since!
I took these pictures a couple days ago-this kid is now 9 months old-all over the place crazy; crawling, cruising along furniture, getting into cupboards, drawers and anything else, he's clapping and today he said his first word. 
He is a stink pot! It is very obvious that he prefers me to anyone and anything in this world. Ask anyone who knows him they'll tell you how it is! He follows me wherever I go like a little puppy, cries when I leave the room, lights up and goes crazy when I walk into a room. I mean this kid worships me right?
So today we are sitting around the table eating Easter dinner and he starts babbling, I try to persuade him to turn the babbles into mama, and then dad pipes in. He looks at his dad and says, "dadadadada", then he makes a face somewhat like this at me...
I swear the kid knows what he is doing! He looks at his dad again and says it again! DRAT! My other 2 kids said mama first, I was hoping for a clean sweep on that one! He hasn't stopped saying it now, and I tell him to stop it, but he just laughs at me. I can't believe he is in cahoots with his old man. Chad of course is loving it, and gloating about it-guess who is on stinky butt duty tonight for the baby? Just ask Porter he'll tell you-"Who do you want to change your bum?" "Dadadadada!"
She is constantly in front of the mirror looking this way and that way at her 'beautiful ballerina' self.
She has changed her clothes umpteen times to see how her 'beautiful butterfly'-(oh excuse me! I just asked Bekah what her tutu was called again and she said in her most duh mom, matter of fact voice-"ummm-butterfly beauty." make sure when you read that-you say it with all the attitude you can muster), tutu looks with different things. 
I don't blame her it is pretty dang adorable!
Then I had him stand by the fence-he was willing to smile and laugh-just not while looking at me...
Out of nearly 100 pictures-this was the closest thing I got to what I was looking for, and it is not what I wanted at all-he was just not willing today. 
...Because the other 97 or so pictures looked more like this!
Then, Bekah wanted me to take one of her as well.
Such a difference in personality these two-I guess that's why they get along so well.
Scriptures! I made this set for Bekah-it's just the little pocket size one-she always wants to bring some to church, but a nice set is so expensive, and I think 5 might be a little young to get her a nice set anyway. Still, I wanted her to enjoy her set, and now she can! I loved them so much that....I made a set for Topher, and 2 of my nephews while I was in Utah. How cute huh?
I realized after I had made 2 of them that I could add a handle to them-Bekah has a scripture bag-so no biggie, but now Topher can carry them by the handle-love it!
They have ribbon bookmarks and magnetic closure.
