Getting Older

 The older I get, the more I dread birthdays. This year I turned 46 and it wasn't any easier but thankfully I have the best family that always makes me feel special!

I woke up to 46 reasons why Breah loves me going down the stairs. Teenagers tend to be a little snippy sometimes so it was nice to know I am still loved and appreciated. ;)

Nathan let me order my very own little pizza from Papa Johns without cheese and with my favorite toppings. I don't like cheese or pepperoni so when the family gets pizza I usually just pull all the toppings off. It was exta special to get to eat my very own pizza with the toppings I like. Pineapple, Canadian bacon, and olives! Mmmm!

We finished it off with a family walk up the fitness trail which is one of my favorite places to walk. I don't get to walk up there as aften as I'd like because it makes my foot hurt, but for my birthday, I made an exception!

Nathan and the boys also did a whole lot of work to give me a new flower bed along the driveway. I have a flower bed in front of the house but our tree is too big now and so the flowers don't get enough sunlight. I love flowers and it so fun to see actual prospering flowers in my yard for a change!

I still don't like getting older but every year with my precious family makes it all worth it!

Breah's Sweet 16

 

On April 6th, Breah turned 16! She and Teddy were so excited to have their birthdays. Teddy gets lots of birthdays because every time someone has a birthday, she thinks it's her birthday too.

The kids are always happy to let Teddy "open" an already opened present by sneakily putting her treat bag in there and letting her find it. She's so spoiled.

Alright, back to the actual birthday girl. The one with an actual birthday. Breah was so spoiled and got lots of many fun things, including a guitar so she can finally learn how to play!

Later Breah and I went to lunch at Mod Pizza to contine the celebration.

We had a lot of fun as you can plainly see.

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Breah's church leaders are always so good to help the girls feel loved!

A couple of weeks later Breah got to have a Sweet Sixteen party with all of her favorite friends. They ate yummy snacks, watched Pride and Prejudice, and played games. She had the best time!

And... Breah got her driver's license! She was so excited about this and is going to be a great driver!

Happy Birthday, Breah! May all your sweet 16 birthday wishes come true!

Girls' Day at the Mall!

 Every Martin Luther King Jr. Day the boys go to the car show and the girls and I go to the mall.

We've been doing it for quite some time as you can see from the pictures. :)

We love going in all the stores and having tasty treats. But most of all, it's just fun to have uninterrupted time with my girls. 

And while we've all gotten older...

The fun hasn't stopped!

Oh yeah, I hear the boys had a good time too at the Car Show. ;)

Snow... Finally!

 This year has been the year with barely any snow. Barely any winter actually. The temperature has been mild and while it's been nice to be able to be outside more often, we of course need snow in the mountains to keep us from being in a drought, having wild fires, etc. We finally got some snow in January.

It was a beautiful sight to wake up to!

The kids all went sledding and Breah and Aftyn made a very tiny solemn snowman.

While sledding, Brody and our cute neighbor Aria found a duck snow mold and set about filling the tree with snow ducks.

They are so cute!

I think it's safe to say they have all their ducks in a row! Ha ha!

Silly Kids

 

My kids are silly. They make me smile and laugh each and every day. :)

Capital Reef

We've had going to Capitol Reef  on our bucket list for a few years but it gets really hot there in the summer and the past few springs have been too snowy. Enter the driest year on record and we were finally able to make it happen on a random day off from school in March!

The girls didn't want to come so it was was just the boys. We had a great time exploring!

It had so many beautiful rocks and crevices to climb into!

And because we were there in the spring we got to see blossoms and wildflowers. So pretty!

We saw a cool old mill from the road. I'm always amazed when these old wooden buildings survive!

We stopped and saw petroglyphs from the Fremont Native Americans. Petroglyphs are always so interesting to look at!

This rock is called Chimney Rock. I can totally see it!

Here's a lovely large lizard boy for your viewing pleasure.

And a rock that we thought looked like a spaceship.

There were so many colors to see and pinetrees which I was not expecting.

We found a hike that was supposed to be family friendly that had all these carved sandstone steps. It was only a mile and it wasn't that hot but we quickly got warm and regretted not bringing our water and shorts with us. It was also a tad difficult for my foot but I managed.

We decided an ancient river must've run this part of the hike. There was so much soft sand!

This was what all of it was for! Hickman Bridge was a beautiful site to see!

It was definitely worth it!

The cliffs were amazingly beautiful!

We had a picnic lunch by this quaint little bridge. The red rocks behind it made for a beautiful picture.

We also stopped to see the Fruita schoolhouse that children attended a long time ago. Also not pictured was our stop at Gifford House that is an old homestead that has been turned into a little pie store that has the yummiest pie I have ever tasted! I would go back to Capitol Reef just for that pie again!

It was such a fun day trip with some of my absolute favorite people!

Story Con for Brody

At the end of February Brody got the opportunity to attend Story Con with the middle school. Breah attended it last year and had such a great time that Brody wanted to try it too. 

At Story Con lots of authors come and give classes on how to become a writer like them. Breah loved the classes. Brody, however, spent most of his time collecting autographs from his most favorite authors.

He got to meet Bradon Mull author of Dragonwatch, Brandon Sanderson, author of Alcatraz and the Evil Librarians, Frank L. Cole, author of Potion Masters, and Jennifer A. Nielsen, author of False Prince. He even waited in line to get an autograph for me from Sarah M. Eden, my absolute favorite author. He earned major brownie points on that one!

I'm so glad the kids get opportunities like this with our school. I would've loved something like that when I was in middle school!

Alone on Valentine's Day

 

Aftyn made this meme of Teddy on Valentine's Day. It's so funny! She wasn't actually alone on Valentine's Day though no matter how depressed she looks. This dog has the best life ever. :O)

The Last Teenager

 When you're the baby of the family you get to experience everything last.

The last to join the family, obviously.

The last to learn to walk and he was so excited!

The last to potty-train. Boy am I glad that's over with!

The last to learn to ride a bike. Such a useful skill!

The last to be baptized. During a pandemic even!

The last to start orthodontia. Trust me, it was needed!

And now we have another last for the last Lockard...

Brody became the official last teenager at our house! I know, I know. I don't know how this happened either. Where oh where did the time go??

Brody has assured me that while his age officially says "teenager" he does not plan on changing. He still got all the "kid" things that he's always loved for his birthday like vanilla Tootsie rolls, a Gravitrax set, and a Luigi's mansion shirt. He also got some things that show he's growing up too, like new wireless headphones to use with his phone and a paperwhite Kindle.

A couple of days before his birthday Brody invited a couple of friends, Aria and Nate, to go to Hang Time with him. Brody used to ask to go to Hang Time all the time for his birthday. This time after they got done, I asked Brody how they liked it and he said, "Everything is much smaller than I remember it being." I guess that means he's outgrown that place! 

Later that evening Boston came over to join in the fun and they all played video games which Brody definitely has not outgrown. Brody is so blessed to have such good friends!

The next day Grandpa and Grandma came up to spend the afternoon with us. Brody is so lucky to have such loving grandparents in his life!

While they were here we took them on a hike up to Pride Rock since the the weather was unseasonably and very weirdly warm for early February. My dad showed us all how he can do pull-ups at the pull-up bar that's at the base of the trail. Pretty impressive for 70 years old!

Brody almost always wants donuts for his birthday which is fine with me. Donuts are delicious! 

Even though Brody is my last teenager he will forever be my last baby as well. I plan to hold onto that fact for as long as I can! Happy 13th birthday, Brody! We love you so much!!