Lauren is three!

Lauren turned three years old on Sunday the 27th of January, and she was so excited! She told everyone at church that day that it was her birthday and that she was going to have a "Punzel" (Rapunzel) cake. Both Brandon and I had meetings after church for our callings, and then I had to finish preparing to speak at a youth fireside that night, so we kept things pretty simple and the older kids all helped Brandon decorate the cake after I baked it. I think they all had a blast! Lauren got some wonderful books, an iron and ironing board (she has been wanting this to go with her kitchen), a fun Rapunzel doll whose hair you can brush and fix, food for her new kitchen, and a painting book (she loves to paint right now).

She also got a personalized birthday sign from her sister, Lindsey, who absolutely adores drawing, and a "boots" toy from her brother, Zach's personal toy collection. They were as excited to give her these things as she was to get them.

We surely are grateful to have Lauren in our family! She is such a sweet little girl and has hugs and loves for everyone. She is very sure she needs to have a hug and a kiss from each member of her family at the beginning and end of the day and before anyone goes anywhere. She makes us laugh with her cute little, raspy voice and her dancing and singing. One of her new things is to tell different people at different times that they are "her favorite." She calls cupcakes "pupcakes," makes up stories as she looks at her books, loves to play with her "babies," likes to tease and wants to do everything her older siblings do. She is a joy! 

Halloween 2012

We had a very busy Halloween and unfortunately never got a picture of all of the kids together because the oldest ones had to hurry to get off to trick or treat with friends. Brandon and I even dressed up this year to go along with the oldest two children's "Hunger Game" theme. Josh is Peeta, Kara is Katniss, Brandon the Gamemaker, and I am Effie Trinket. It was hard trying to find things exactly like one of the outfits she wore, so I settled on something that she "would" have worn. (We also didn't dress up on Halloween night, but beforehand for a costume party our friends do every year).
Zach was so excited to be a character from "Cars 2," his favorite movie right now, until he found out his best friend was going to be a pirate and wanted to be that too. Oh well, he still had a great time and keeps wearing the hat around anyway. Lauren absolutely adores the movie "Tangled" so naturally she wanted to be "Punzel," as she calls her. Lindsey is a vampire and won for the scariest costume at our ward Trunk or Treat.
It was a beautiful evening, so different from the freezing cold Halloweens I remember growing up in Utah. We had pizza for dinner (I was going to make soup, but ran out of time). Then we had donuts with hot apple cider that night after we got back from trick or treating (so healthy, but we don't usually splurge on eating things like donuts so it was a fun treat).

 

 

 

We enjoyed carving pumpkins for the family night before Halloween.

 

Josh was having a great time pretending to be a crazy carver.

 

 

Hope you all had a happy Halloween too!

 

 

Amy's birthday

 

I had a great birthday this year! One of my favorite things about birthdays or special events, are the sweet notes and cards my kids make me. Brandon also did a good job finding me a new red purse that I really like. And my sisters sent me some beautiful flowers this year which really made my day.

Brandon's birthday

 

 

We were blessed to be able to spend Brandon's birthday with his family this year. We even got to have Grandma and Grandpa Backman with us, which is always a treat. We think our Dad (Brandon) is the best!! He is such a wonderful, caring father and husband. We love you!

Back to School

 

I am finally getting a chance to post some pictures of the kids going back to school this year. The older three are all at a new charter school this year (thus the uniforms). These were a hard sell this summer, but actually haven't been bad at all (especially for me). Zach is in  a transitional kindergarten program this year and Lauren has a once a week, parent-lead, playgroup/preschool. Zach is especially excited about his new school backpack that he got for his birthday. He is enamored of all things having to do with "Cars 2" right now.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Puppy Party

 It has been a long while since I have been able to blog, but I still wanted to include a few things from the last few months. One of those things is the Josh, Kara, and Lindsey's combined puppy party. They each invited a couple of friends and then combined the money that we budget for birthday parties to be able to afford this party. We got to go a couple of days before the party to the petstore and pick out which five puppies we wanted to have come and play for the party. The kids chose a German shepherd, a Havenese, a Wheaten Terrier, a Maltese, and a Morkie. They sure were cute and the kids had a great time!

Josh's 12th birthday!!

More from Camp

A few more from camp. Here are the outside of our cabins which were actually pretty comfortable. Kara getting ready to do the zip-line and on it. (She even convinced me to do it, but unfortunately I have no photographic evidence. It was fun, though I was also a bit nervous to do it.
Besides all of the entertaining activities, they had all kinds of classes on earth science, orienteering, and animals. It was really enjoyable for me to get to spend some quality time with Kara and her cute friends! It was also great to get to interact with some of the wonderful parents and educators in our community. I came home really appreciative of the goodness of the community in which we live.
The guy with the snake is one of the counselors who is trying to decide whether or not to go back and finish medical school, or to make a career change and become a coach, teacher, counselor like he feels he has a real passion for. After his first year of medical school, he had to take a leave of absence when they found out he had a cancerous tumor. He recently finished the operation to remove the tumor and the radiation therapy and now has to make some tough decisions about what he really wants to be and do with his life. A great young man with a real gift with the kids.

Fifth Grade Camp!

I had such a fun opportunity to go to 5th grade camp with Kara last week. We got to go to a beautiful facility in East Texas and we were so pleased with the counselors and the programs offered for the kids. Even the food was yummy. This first photo is Kara with one of her friends getting ready to canoe. The second picture shows how the parents and teachers greeted the kids as they came in to eat in the cafeteria. They played fun music and we all stood on our chairs and cheered them on as they came in. I was very impressed at how the counselors made time to learn all of the kid's names and to try and really help them feel important. The third photo is our cabin "family" at dinner. The other chaperone was actually a lady from my ward so that was really fun! Fourth picture is canoeing on the picturesque lake.

Our office

Brandon is an orthodontist with his own practice here in Frisco, TX. We have been open now since the middle of April and things are going well. We are growing even though it is definitely a process, and we are learning tons! Here is one of the pictures of the office that the contractor took for their website. And here is a link to our website: pricefamilyortho.com

Other cute kids from our smores night