8 months....already!

fgjdkj vgmk b (Brody's contribution to the blog entry)

Brody is already 8 months!!! He is growing so fast now. He scoots his little self where ever he wants to go and is rocking back and forth on his elbows and knees. He started saying "da da da da" on his 8 month birthday. We were eating dinner and all of a sudden I heard him join in the conversation. Jerry was not with us so we had to call him and he was so excited. It is a great early father's day present. (am I off the hook) Today was so cute. We have been trying to teach him sign language. He almost has milk down as a sign. Sometimes it is difficult to know if he is really doing it or just moving his fingers but today when he was saying da da da he made the sign for Dad at the same time. I had witnesses to see it! Now if I could only get a "mama" then life would be complete. I'm sure once he starts I will be hearing a lot of it! I'll want to teach him some other new words. We are having so much fun with him. He has been swimming in the pool and enjoying learning new things. We are so thankful for this little bundle of life in our family!!!

Rock Star Party

Maycee had a birthday bash before we left for Indiana. Her birthday is June 23rd and we are usually gone so we had an early party. This year she chose 5 of her closest friends (only 4 could come) and has a rock star party at a store called Justice. It is a store just for girls. The girls each got their hair done and a LITTLE make up. These girls are so much fun. Maycee has a fun group of girl friends and we had fun celebrating with them. They each put so much thought into their gifts and Maycee felt very loved. 10 is a great age! We love you Dolly and thanks for all you do for us!

Seattle

Seattle was a ton of fun. We visited all the top sights and played at all the best museums. In these pictures the kids are playing different instruments at a place called the Experience Music Project or locally called the "EMP". It was a great place that allowed the kids to experience all the different parts of a band. We even got to create our own band and play a song. Can you guess the band name?....Yep...Hahnery Bunch. Jerry was lead vocalist, Tyler on the guitar, Clay on the drums and Maycee on the keyboard. We have a picture to capture the memory but it does not scan very well. It will have to go in the scrapbook.
We also visited a place called Tillicum Village that is when this picture of Maycee, Sheena and Virgie was taken. We had to take a water taxi ride out to the island where we had a yummy authentic tribal lunch of fresh salmon and rice. Then we watched a play about the rituals of tribes. It was a fun experience.
The other fun event while we were up there was a familiy get together with Jerry's side of the family. Sheena and Grandma have a lot of family that live in the seattle area. There were some that came up from CA also. The highlight of the get together was the bagpipe player who was hired by one of the cousins. Grandma was so thrilled. The family is originally from Scotland and she loves the bagpipes. He played while we enjoyed lunch and the kids were all taken by the instrument.
All in all we had a great time in Seattle. Tyler kept in touch with his friends with his texting and by the end of the trip was glad that he came. Everyone had a different best experience: Tyler-EMP & Duck ride, Maycee-, Laynee- going out to dinner as a family and getting her giant crystal (she was VERY particular about where she spent her souvenir money), Clay-bagpipes, Jerry-family reunion, Natalee-clam chowder at Dukes!
We are so appreciative of Geeda for taking us on this family trip. We made some great memories and had fun experiences! The kids will always remember the fun places but more importantly the relationships strengthened by being in this fun town together. Thanks Geeda!

Big and Small Promotions

Lately the only time to update our blog is after everyone has gone to bed and I am left in the quiet of the night. We have been so busy that by the time we get to quiet hours my eyes are almost closed. We have been doing a lot of partying and traveling.
The picture above is Laynee and her best friend Alex. They live down the street from each other and are in the same grade at school. This was taken at Laynee's Kindergarten graduation performance. The girls are so cute together. It will be fun to watch them grow up together.


This is a shot of Tyler and a couple of his best friends at 8th grade promotion. The one in the middle is like a brother to him. He is often raiding our pantry and frig. Promotion was a lot of fun and it is hard to believe Tyler will be going into High School. We are looking forward to and and cringing at the same time. He has a group of friends that are really good kids and they keep each other out of trouble. We had a party for him and his friends at our house and below are pics of them arriving. All the parents pitched in and rented a limo to pick them up from the promotion dance. It was a surprise and they were soooo excited! We had chance to meet some of the parents and it was a great time! Here we come Queen Creek High.