Paxton is 6!

Paxton is 6 years old!  I know I say this with every birthday, but seriously, how has this happened!?  Paxton is still just a little sweetheart.  He is very caring and gets along with anyone.  He listens and is obedient, and loves to make gifts and draw pictures for other people. 

He is so patient with his little sister and always is looking out for her.  He is also a great big brother for Colton and they are the best of friends.  Every morning they are up before the sun, but we have a rule that they have to stay in their room until mom and dad wake up.  So every morning we wake up to squeals of laughter and the sound of play swords and superheroes, as they play with each other until we are out of bed.  

Paxton is starting to write notes to us {almost every day} and he is just so sweet.  Without a doubt you will find the word LOVE somewhere on your note, and he always makes the o into a heart! 

Paxton at six years old:

Your favorite color is: Red.

Your favorite toy is: Your dinosaur that transforms into a raptor

Your favorite fruit is: Cherries, apples, and peaches.

Your favorite show is: Phineas and Ferb and Kung Fu Panda

Your favorite thing to eat for lunch is: Ramen Noodles

Your favorite outfit is: silver shorts and batman shirt

Your favorite game is: Hide and seek outside and tag

Your favorite snack is: Shark dummies

Your favorite song is: I am a Child of God

Your favorite animal is: A tiger, lion, and leopard

Your best friend is: Briggs, Hudson, Braxton, and Akeyas

Your favorite cereal is: Apple Jacks

Your favorite thing to do outside is: climb trees

Your favorite holiday is: Christmas, your own birthday, summer, and Halloween

Your favorite thing to sleep with is: Wolfie

Your favorite breakfast is: Eggs, bacon, hash browns and a little bit of grapes

Your favorite place to eat is: Taco Bell

When you grow up you want to be: Just like your dad

{what does your dad do?----He works at Simplot and he is raising a family} < I told you he is so sweet!

We are so proud of the good boy, the hard worker, and the great example Paxton is.  He is such a special part of our family and we love him so much!

Fall

Fall was pretty exciting this year, as we had two little boys who would be starting school!  Paxton started Kindergarten at Connor Academy.  He goes every afternoon and he absolutely loves it.  He has made so many new friends and has learned so much.  He adores his teacher Mrs. Eddie, and her assistant Mrs. Harris.  Although, he had a hard time with their names for the first couple of weeks {He called them Mrs. Yeti and Mrs. Hairy}.  We're all glad he got that figured out!

Colton started his first year of preschool at Munchkin University with Ms. Kara.  He was already so excited because he watched Paxton go to her all last year, and it only took our cautious Colt about two days to decided it really was fun.  He has made lots of friends and is learning so much.

Paxton lost his very first tooth this fall!  It is crazy how things like this make you suddenly realize that your babies really are growing up and won't be little forever.  He had heard from somewhere {school maybe?} that the tooth fairy brings real gold coins.....so our tooth fairy had to figure out how to get some Sacagawea gold dollars by that evening!

Fall also marked our last trip of the season to Lagoon.  We went for Frightmares and it was so much fun!  Our season passes were well used and our kids are always asking when we will be able to go to Lagoon again.

We celebrated Halloween throughout the whole month of October.  Lexington was a bee and she LOVED her costume and requested to wear it every day.  Luckily it was still in one piece by Halloween night!  She was also a big fan of the candy.

Paxton was Spiderman this year, and was in character at all times that the costume was on.  He could have trick-or-treated the entire night, but the little kids {and parents} only last so long.

Colton was Captain America again this year.  Halloween may be his most favorite of holidays due to his undying love for anything made of sugar.

We also celebrated our Sweet Boy #1 turning 6 years old! He requested a batman cake.......but this is what he got!  He was sure happy with it though!

We spent a lot of time outside this fall enjoying the nice weather and beautiful colors!

Summer

I really feel like we made the most of this summer! My parents gave Brandon and me Lagoon season passes for Christmas, so of course we had to get them for the kids!  I think that we were able to go to Lagoon 5 different times this summer!

It was so fun to watch our kids experience Lagoon and love the rides there!

We also were able to go boating quite a few times throughout the summer and had so much fun!  

I spent some time at Girl's Camp this year, and it was a blast.  I got exactly 0 pictures from it however!

The day after I got back from Girl's Camp, we took a little trip unto Washington so we could pick up our new puppy!  Ace is also a catahoula, and is truly the very best thing we have ever done for Lucy.  They are the best of friends and help to keep each other out of a lot of trouble!

At the end of the summer, we had our First Annual Thunderbeast Ranch Cousin Campout.  Everyone who wasn't working came and set up a tent in our backyard for the night.  We had tin foil dinners {which may or may not have been followed up by a quick run to Little Caesars for some pizza},  a giant bounce house for the kids to play in, and a late night outdoor viewing of Star Wars.  It was so much fun, and my boys talked about it for weeks afterward.  Next year I think we might actually try camping in the wilderness....we will see!

We also had our first successful litter of baby bunnies towards the end of the summer!  They were adorable and meant to be our dinner, but I sold most of them before that happened {although we do have one we are fattening up}.

It felt like a crazy busy summer, but we had so much fun!

Spring

Spring was actually pretty busy for us!  Paxton graduated from Munchkin University, with Miss Kara as his teacher.  He did so good and loved every second of preschool!

We also got bees in the early spring!  We have two hives, and it has been so fun to watch them work and grow.  Brandon is the only person who has been stung so far, although it may have been many times!  We haven't had a honey harvest yet, but we're hoping for a big one next fall! 

We also added another rabbit to the Ranch last spring.  This is Rabbit Boy {named by Colton}.  We got him from our friends the Carvers back in Middleton to breed with our two girls, Ana and Mr. Raptor {named by Paxton}. 

We celebrated Easter at our home again, and once again....couldn't get everyone to look and smile at the camera! Maybe next year!

We haven't been fishing nearly as much as we had hoped this year, and really only went in the spring. We may not have gone much, but Paxton and Colton both were able to catch the biggest fish of their lives! {so far}. 

The boys also played spring t-ball this year, and did great! But apparently when I am not doing the blog.....I don't take many pictures....so no pictures of Paxton playing!

We took a day trip to Yellowstone with my grandpa, and on our way home we almost ran over a TURTLE! On the HIGHWAY!  So of course we had to stop and save him {I feel like I need to clarify that this did not happen inside the park}.  We may or may not have taken him home, and he may or may not have escaped at some point during the summer.  {seriously....how have we lost not one, but TWO turtles since living here in Pocatello?}

And of course, what would springtime be like at Thunderbeast Ranch if Colton and Paxton didn't take it upon themselves to pick every single flower in our yard?  At least they are super cute when they say "I picked you a beautiful flower mom!"

The Ruby Princess

The last week of June, we were lucky enough to be able to go on a cruise to Alaska.  My grandpa had wanted to go for his whole life, and he decided to take family with him!  My parents, siblings and spouses, aunt and uncle, and my cousin and her new husband were all able to go.  

It was our first trip without kids, which was so weird.  I kept on thinking we were forgetting something, and that it was way too easy to get places.

We spent an evening in Seattle before we left on the ship, made 3 stops in Alaska, and one stop in Canada.

Every place we stopped was absolutely gorgeous!  We did a boat wildlife tour where we saw tons of seals, bald eagles, and deer.  We also did a glacier tour and some whale watching.  Our most favorite excursion probably was a zip line course!

The ship {The Ruby Princess} was amazing.  We had fun eating, watching shows, eating, competing in trivia games, eating, taking a dance class, eating, shopping, eating, swimming, and of course eating.  Pretty sure that between Brandon and I, we gained about 20 lbs! 

It was a perfect trip {minus the one night of 11ft waves} and will always be one of our favorites.  

Back to Blogging

Well it has been a solid 7 months since I last blogged, and I guess now I'm going to try to get back into it since I love using it to keep a record of our little family.  So much has happened since my last blog that I'm not sure where to start, so I think I will do some quick catch up posts!  These pictures are of my kids half a year ago, and I think they have already changed so much!  Hopefully I'll keep up from now on!