Preschool Days

John and Kelsey are having a blast in their preschool classes. Kelsey goes once a week and John gets to go four days of the week. John can't wait to tell us everything he's learned and all of the friends he's made. It's fun seeing him get up in the morning excited for school.

Kelsey loves going to her class and always wants Mommy to play with her. I get to go with her and see her interacting with other kids her age. She does a really good job even though she's kinda shy...nothing like outgoing John. But that's alright, most of the other kids in her class are the same way. Is it just a three year old thing?

I don't have any pics of John at class (he doesn't want me to come to his class... :-P). So, enjoy what we've got of Kelsey playing in the sand!

Pretty As A Princess

Kelsey is our pretty princess girl. She's loved dressing up for the longest time in anything that resembles "princess." That means it has to be shiny, a necklace, or something with a Disney princess already printed on it. Her favorite princess is Aurora...go figure. That's everyone's, right?

Thanks to Aunt Cecelia for the new princess dresses! Kelsey tried to get Bekah to dress up in something pretty, but Bekah's a little less...delicate? I think Bekah would rather be the princess who arm wrestles her handsome prince. But they are good girls and we love them!

Three Months Old

Okay, let's see if you all see what I see...

Yes, those are happy babies...but who's who?

If you guessed Bekah's the one on the left and Jack's the one on the right, you're correct! If you're like Bekah, (she guessed the one on the left was our neighbor boy who's borrowing our jammies) then you get as confused as I do sometimes with my kids. Silly, Mommy.

Anyway, thought I'd update you all on how Jack's doing and how fast he's growing. He's smiling, starting to coo, and holding himself up better than ever. He's on reflux meds but that means he's a happier baby now! Looking back, I probably should have had all my kids (sans Bekah) on the medicine; but we all survived.

Jack's almost fifteen pounds and sleeping longer through the night. He's been so much fun lately. Hope you all enjoy the dimples like I do!

Havin' Some Fun

Ever wonder what you can do all day with four kids under the age of four and a half? Well, here's some ideas for you. Some of the pictures are a few months old (sorry 'bout that) but it's been fun trying to find educational and entertaining things for the kiddies to do.

One of the places we HAVE to stop whenever we go to a hardware store or Wal-Mart is the motorcycle section. My kids think they are ready for the bigger bikes!

These actually should have been with the Hill Air Force Base air show back in June. But I just found them on my phone. So, the entry has stuff about Daddy and John but not what the girls did. Here they are! The boys went off and looked and shiny airplanes that fired guns or dropped bombs while the girls went off to see a big plane that offered shade and a place to sit down.

I've got a monkey by the tail! He's escaped from his cage! Quick! Get the zoo keepers! Oh wait, that's just John John Man! Zoo days are fun ways to spend the afternoon. I just wish they put benches or something so the kids can see the animals over the fences or bushes.

Kelsey and John trying out the neighbor's outdoor equipment. John's not doing too bad for his first time on skates. Watch your toes, Kelsey. Those are just some of the things we did this past summer to have fun! What did you do?

A Month of Firsts

We've just had our first snowfall of the season! Doesn't Mt. Timpanogos look beautiful? It was cold, windy and rainy down in the valley all day. When the clouds broke apart for a few minutes, I knew I had to get the camera quick...this wasn't going to last long. I was right. By the time I'd run down to the basement and back upstairs, the perfect photo moment had passed. Luckily, the clouds parted just enough to let some more sunlight hit the mountain. Not quite as good as the first time I noticed it, but enough to give some definition to the hills, valleys, and snowy peaks. So pretty!

Another first for us this month has been the "first day" of preschool for two of my kids. John and Kelsey started HeadStart on the 15th of this month. Kelsey goes once a week and John goes four days out of five. Both of them are so excited to be going to a school. They are both getting so big and learning so much! I'm so proud of them! Aren't they cute!?

Addition and Subtraction

We gained and lost a member of the family this month. After ten years of faithful service, Shawn's Malibu moved on to a new home. We cleaned him up and made him look nice. Then, for his last photo op, Shawn shot pretty professional looking pictures. The car was fun to drive and comfy inside...and all the kids loved going in Daddy's car. But we decided after taking the van to the fix-it shop that we needed another vehicle that would fit the whole family.

So, we started SUV hunting and found someone willing to trade straight across. They wanted something that would get better gas mileage and we needed something that seated nine. What we found, was a Sean in need of a Malibu and a Shawn in need of an Expedition. After meeting up in Spanish Fork, we got keys for a big "manly" truck and Sean drove off in the Malibu he was looking for. Crazy!? Maybe we should do this when we want a house?

Anyway, the kids love riding in Daddy's "truck." It has a V8 engine and Shawn loves the "Varoooom!" that the truck gives every time it starts up. We can certainly tell when Daddy's coming home! We can hear him coming! It's the greatest people mover we have...no offense to the minivan...but it doesn't seat nine.

Cuz pics!

A few weeks ago, we got some pictures taken of the cousins that were in Utah together. Thought I'd share some of those and declare, "Skittles can't make Bekah smile when she's tired and hungry...and not much works for those two week old babies." Ah well...the older kids had fun and look good.

Thanks, Macher, for taking us to Wal-mart and giving us all an experience to remember. Hope you enjoy the pics.

Aren't they cute when you get them to listen and smile? Dunno what Jack Jack's doing...being a baby, I guess. But at least his eyes are open. I think we drove the poor photographer to insanity with 11 kids. We were there when she opened and she went to lunch just after we left. Crazy.

Enter...Jack Jack!

After waiting for months and months, James Alexander Colloton has finally arrived! He was scheduled to come via c-section on the 23rd of July, but he had other plans. Monday night, Mom's water broke and we hurried to the hospital to see if we'd have to have an emergency c-section done. Low and behold, he'd finally listened to Dad and turned head down.

No c-section for Mom!! About 12 hours after arriving at the hospital, Jack made his entrance...dark hair and all! Everyone's doing great...a little tired...but that's to be expected and will probably continue for awhile. We're all VERY happy Mom didn't have to be cut open again. She's already up and around...and missing the family.

Jack ended up 8 lbs 4 oz and was 21 inches long. He has lots of dark hair...except for a huge bald patch at the front, which the nurses tried to hide with his first comb-over. Didn't work so well...but he is not completely bald like John and Bekah were. Hah!

We'll post more pics after we get them off of the camera. For now, this is what we've got from Shawn's cell phone. Oh the beauties of technology!

edit:

After a run home, and change of clothes (including a shower...I know you are shocked) I got the camera and was able to snap the following for your viewing pleasure.

Plus these three contributed by Aunt Johanna:

One Great Fishing Season

This past saturday John, Cousin Adam, and I woke up before the sun to hit Vivan Park Pond and terrorize some fish. Well the sun didn't make it over the mountain as fast as I thought it would, and the only thing that got terrorized were some Water Skeeters. The kids did get a kick out of a dog that was roaming the park. He had found a box of almost full velveta cheese by one of the trees and decided to make a snack of it while the kids watched and giggled.

John and Adam had a great time though, casting in the water, and both had a great time seeing who could pull out the biggest "green" or, as Adam called them, "spinach" fish. The pond was full of weeds and gunk. Eventually I had both boys, after Adam tried just about every other lure I had, casting small Rapalas. Adam didn't get but maybe a nibble or two. John got one great bite, but didn't set his hook in time. A bit later John brought in the first fish of the day, a pretty little 10" Rainbow trout that he was so proud of. He's turning into a great little angler.

I think we'll have to go out again with cousin Adam and see what we can terrorize before he leaves for Okinawa with his family.

Happy Independence Day!

We had a great time with Alex's in-laws from Florida this past week! Wow! The kids already are asking when Aunt Michelle will be coming back to visit them. John's also been asking when we can go get more fireworks from the firework tents. We aren't planning on doing anymore this year (due to Jack Jack's due date being so close to the 24th of July).

The kids really enjoyed all the fireworks they got to see...well, everyone except Bekah. She didn't get to experience the excitement of the ward party. She and Mommy went home early...both girls were cranky and ready for bed. So, when she got to see the family fireworks with the Jensen's, she was more than willing to stay behind everyone else.

Can you see her? Thanks to Heather for this picture! Hope you all had a great 4th of July!

Kelsey's 3rd Happy Tu-Tu

June 18th Marked Kelsey's third birthday. For some of us there were days where we didn't think she would make it this long. But lets face it, she's our princess and the whole thought of "I brought you into this world, I can take you out of it" is illegal.

First I have to tell you that Kelsey was the most excited about her "horsey" cake. She had found this in Linda's cake book and for 2 to 3 months prior to her birthday would sneek a glimps of "her cake" at every available opportunity, and when friends would come to visit she was sure to go in to the house, get her book, and show everyone around "her horsey cake". Linda really did a great job on the cake given the difficulty she was having with the materials.

Kelsey wanted a swimming party. Luckily for us we happen to have a swimming pool readily available to us. Sorry, no shots of the swimming. I was in the water and the camera mysteriously doesn't work when I'm in frame....go figure.

The pinacle of the evening, as it is with almost every birthday celebration, was the presents. Kelsey was in love with each and every present she received. *note: if your particular gift is not pictured it is more than likely the fault of our beloved digital camera....or the camera operator.

The next day she couldn't wait to get dressed up in her new princess clothes. I have to prefface this by saying this picture makes me shake my head every time. John, in his infinite wisdom as brother, decided that he too....would play with Kelsey's birthday presents......ugh. Oh well...... can we say "BLACKMAIL?"

2009 Hill AFB Air Show

This past Saturday we went up to Hill AFB for their annual air show.  We have been in years past and, minus a little sun sickness and sun burns, have had a wonderful time.  This year was no exception.  So much so that we neglected to take pictures of most of what we did.  

 

John and I had a great time walking around the static displays.  He wanted to see anything that he could either get into or was shiny.  We walked through a few large cargo planes, checked out the bomb bays of a B2 bomber, and even got up close and personal with an AWACS.  

Kelsey and Bekah both had a great time.  I don't think Kelsey was as impressed with the goings on toward the end of the day when heat and sleepyness started taking their toll, but Bekah was gung ho to the end stating a "wow.." after every loud jet blasted by the crowd.

  

The highlight of this years show were the USAF Thunderbirds.  I have seen the Thunderbirds perform in past years and have to honestly say that I prefer seeing the Blue Angels.  However, this year I might have to change that.  Ok maybe not but it was the best show I've seen them do thus far: great tight formations, respectful and whimsical when needed, one spectacular show.