Brooklyn's baptism video

Here's a little (or not so little) video I put together for Brooklyn's baptism. I was sleep deprived all week trying to get this ready. Sooooo, if you so desire, you can watch all 23+ minutes of it...or fast forward and get the condensed version...

Brooklyn's Baptism

On Saturday, March 28th, Brooklyn was baptized. It was a wonderful day! She was sooooo excited! She had been talking about her baptism for months and had been counting down the days. A couple days before her baptism, we got her some new scriptures with her name engraved on them. She thinks they are the best thing ever! She has carried them around with her everywhere.

Well, on the morning of her baptism, I took her over to the church to get dressed and ready in her baptismal clothing. She looked so sweet. It was so nice to be there to help her get ready, but I was teary-eyed all morning. She looked like an angel and it was sad for me to realize how grown up she was getting.

Kevin was able to baptize and confirm her and a lot of our family and friends were able to be there. It was a very special day for Brooklyn. It was also sweet because after she was baptized and confirmed, she just started crying. I gave her a big hug and just about broke down myself. She was just glowing all day long...she was so so so happy.

We had lunch at our home afterward and Brooklyn sang "If the Savior Stood Beside Me" for everyone. She did such a great job and I was so proud of her. I actually accompanied her on the piano, which was very scary because I'm not a pianist. I did my best though and somehow got through it.

The Bishop recognized Brooklyn in Sacrament Meeting the next day and Brooklyn bore her testimony. She did a great job and I was so proud of her!

Brooklyn with her grandparents (my parents)

Brooklyn with her grandparents (Kev's parents)

Me and my friend, Ali, with our kids Benjamin and Ava

Some of the guys who helped to confirm Brooklyn (we're missing my brother Dave and our bishop)
Luis, Kev's dad, my brother Thomas, Kev, Brooklyn, and my dad

Brooklyn with her new scriptures

Tyler's Pinewood Derby

Last week, Tyler had his last Pinewood Derby! It was so much fun! Kevin and Ty had a lot of fun making his car together. I even helped a little. A couple of days before the derby, I was helping Tyler put the finishing touches on his car. He wanted it to have a nice finish, but we didn't have any gloss paint. However, I came up with a great idea! I used my clear nail polish to paint the final topcoat on his car. Then I used my hair dryer to dry it. Tyler said, "Wow, I've never used fingernail polish and a hair dryer on my Pinewood Derby car before." I said, "That's because your mom's helping you!" It actually turned out pretty awesome and I think both Kev and Ty were quite surprised!

Tyler's car did pretty well. He took 1st in his first heat and 2nd in his second and third heat. He also won the "Most Colorful" award. It was a fun night.

At the "weigh in"

Check out that glossy finish!!!

All the scouts...Tyler is in the top left corner

Ben and his cousin, Will

Benjamin LOVES his little cousin Will (my sister, Holly's baby). Will is 4 months old and is absolutely adorable! Benjamin gets so excited to see him, but is a little aggressive. We took their pictures together the other day. My parents went on a cruise last month and brought matching outfits home for Benjamin and William. Too cute!

As you can see, Ben LOVES his cousin Will!

He loves to "give loves"

But, like I said, he's a little aggressive

Happy Birthday Benjamin!

On March 17th, our little Benjamin turned 1! I can't believe it! He is getting so big! Sadly, I had strep throat on his birthday and was pretty out of it.

Brooklyn wanted to make Ben's birthday cake, which I was happy about because I was sick. Poor little Brooklyn worked so hard and did a great job, but just as she was putting the cake in the oven, she let go too early and the cake went tumbling and fell face down on the bottom of the preheated oven. It was one of those slow motion moments where I heard myself slowly say, "Nooooooo". It was tough to watch--I was trying to be sympathetic to her, but also trying not to freak out at the same time. She felt really bad. I had to wait for the oven to cool down and then scrape all the cake out of the oven and out of the oven drawer that it dripped down into. It was a MESS!

However, we were able to start over and make a new cake and it turned out great! Brooklyn even frosted and decorated it too! I wrote "Happy 1st Birthday Benjamin" on it and then she did the rest. Derek helped a little too. They got a little carried away, but had a great time! It's a good thing that Ben is only 1 and didn't realize his cake was a little ...er...uh.... scary.

"Happy...what!??"

Ben looks a little concerned about his cake.

We let Ben "enjoy" his 1st birthday cake...he didn't quite know what to do with it.

He figured it out pretty quickly though...it's in the genes...

Since he's almost ready to walk, we got him a little music walker thingy.

Happy Birthday Brooklyn!

On March 14th, Brooklyn turned 8 years old! She had a fun little birthday party with 15 of her friends. It was a great day. We had pizza, a pinata, cake and ice cream, and watched High School Musical 3 (her favorite...and her mom's favorite!)

Having Pizza!

Great friends!

Ya know, I had high hopes for this cake, but I ran out of time. I really enjoy making and decorating cakes, but I'm not good at it! I think homemade cakes (or cake mix cakes!) taste way better than store bought though!

Getting ready to blow out the candles!

Brooklyn's Junior American Citizen Contest

In February, Brooklyn's 2nd grade class entered the "Junior American Citizen Contest". The theme was, "America, Land of Opportunity". They had a poster contest, a stamp contest (designing a postage stamp), and a poem contest. Each of these things needed to be created with the theme in mind. Anyway, we went to a little award ceremony and Brooklyn won 1st place for her stamp and 2nd place for her poster. We were very proud of her. She won $5.00, which she was thrilled about! It was a very small contest, but it was a very fun opportunity for her.

Brooklyn with her poster

Brooklyn with her teacher, Miss Peterson (on the right) and the lady in charge of the Junior American Citizen Contest (on the left)

Kev and I with Brooklyn and her poster, stamp, and $5.00.

I will be updating soon!

I just want to mention that I have been a lame blogger this month--March has been insane, so I'm looking forward to April! Anyway, I have a ton of things and pictures to post on here and I will do it soon...so check in soon!

Okay, I came up with a new blog name!

Okay guys, I've been thinking about what to switch our blog name to. Most of the good names are gone, but this is what I came up with....

www.Melvinandthekids.blogspot.com

Okay...why you ask??! Kev and I have always joked that we should have named one of our kids Melvin (Melanie and Kevin mixed). So, we are technically Mel(anie), (Ke)vin and the kids!

Cheesy, I know, but it was available and it works!!!! So, this is our new blog address! Sadly, when I changed our name, all my "blogs I love to read" addresses were deleted, so I'm going to have to track them all down again! Soooooo....if you have a blog, please let me know your address (even if you think I have it) and I will put you on my "blogs I love to read" list. I really love to keep up with all your lives!

I think I may change our blog address

Hey everyone...I am thinking that in the near future I may change our blog address. I love blogging--it's very fun, but sadly there are some weirdos out in cyberspace and I've worried about it. I don't want to make my blog private (yet), but I think for now I may just take our last name out of everything.

So, I haven't come up with a name yet, but when I do, I will let you all know. Any good ideas???