Summer Happenings

Some recent Scrapping... more of Kendal than Talen. She is more fun to scrapbook than he is because there are more girly digital scrapbook supplies. I like my boys pages to be very boy and those are hard to come by, so if you know of any good ones send them my way.

Happy Father's Day Jared

This was so much to make and so meaningful. May become a new hobby of mine... Enjoy!

Just click on image and below and video will load into picasa, you can then double click on the video in picasa and will go to full screen. It's just a little tribute to Jared.

Talen's 5th Birthday Party

Talen's Birthday Invitation

Scrapbook page 1

Scrapbook page 2

Before Reading, I recommend clicking on song track 2

"Crazy for you" to enhance you reading experience....

We celebrated Talen's 5th Birthday on Saturday the 11th at Chuck E Cheese's! We were debating what to do this year for his birthday and the weather has been so unpredictable in Michigan that we didn't want to risk an outside party! It also seemed like turning 5 should be done with a bit more pizazz then a birthday at home so we finally decided on Chuck E Cheese's and it did not disappoint, besides the fact that 3 of the friends he invited possessed a deep fear of Chucke. About 7 of his closest friends came and I didn't have to do a thing but show up with my camera. They even cut the cake, lit the candles, passed out pizza and filled up drinks, etc. It was AWESOME. Talen received some wonderful gifts from everyone and got to go home just to open more presents. In the evening we took him to see Kung Fu Panda 2, which was surprisingly entertaining for a sequel. He loved it! We really wish we lived closer to family to share special moments like this with all of you. You were all truly missed.

Anyway, he had a busy fun-filled day and we are so proud of our sweet 5 year old. I still can't believe I'm the mother of a 5 year old! I know I sound like a broken record but time is going by too fast. I still look at him and think he's permanently a 3 year old, one day he's going to be driving and I'm going to be really confused. It's been a bit emotional for me to think of him going to kindergarten and starting the next chapter of his little life. I know it's just kindergarten, but he's my first and I'm going to have a hard time letting him out from under my wing. It's a good thing I have 2 more years with Kendal before she starts kindergarten or I might be having an early life crisis.

Talen at 5:

Favorites:

Favorite color: Green

Favorite foods: waffles, pizza, pot stickers, mango's, plums, cantaloupe, lasagna, turkey sandwhiches

Least favorite foods: mushrooms, onions, peppers, soup, salad

Favorite TV shows: Spongebob Squarepants, Wild Krats, The Magic School Bus, The Super Hero Squad, Go Diego Go

Favorite Primary Song: Scripture Power

Least Favorite chore: taking out the trash

Favorite chore: unloading the dishwasher and folding clothes

Best friends: Spencer, Bronson, Nicholas, and of course his sister

Favorite dessert: Brownies and icecream

What he wants to be when he grows up: A policeman

Favorite family activity: playing games

Favorite Book Series: Captain Underpants!

Favorite Scripture Hero: Nephi because he chooses the right, obeys the Lord, and prays a lot.

Favorite Past times: playing with friends, playing xbox and the kinect (on occasion, he only get's to play video games about once a week), writing letters and drawing pictures for friends, painting, playing at the park, riding his bike (just took training wheels off and he is doing great) and his scooter, swimming, watching cartoons, playing with toys, doing anything with his dad (helping him cook, foraging with him, going to the store with him, watching cooking shows with him etc.) and doing learning time with mom - he's already reading and doing basic math!

Stats:

Height: I have no idea (tall for his age)

Weight: I have no idea (average, still has some baby fat)

Eyes: He passed his vision screening for kindergarten so must be great

Overall Health: Looks good

Things he can do all by himself:

write his full name

get himself a snack and drink

go to the bathroom (although he hates going number 2 because he doesn't like wiping)

getting himself dressed (although he'd prefer that mom or dad pick out his outfit because "he doesn't know what matches")

brushing his teeth

getting himself and his sister a bowl of cereal

bathing himself in the shower

turning on the DVD player, XBOX, and TV (not sure I like this one)

he can get the dogs ready for their walk by putting their leashes on

get the mail

Things we are working on:

tying shoes

zipping up coat

memorizing address and phone numbers

swimming

cleaning up his room without help

not interrupting

memorizing articles of faith and gaining more knowledge of the scriptures (he loves reading scriptures)

saying more meaningful prayers

Overall:

Such a special, adorable boy. He worships his dad and talks about him all day long, draws him pictures and puts them on his pillow or in the mailbox before he gets home. Loves to be with friends all the time. He is so excited for kindergarten and wants to be independent. He is a HUGE helper with the daycare; he's always watching to make sure everyone is following the rules, and cleans up the table after each meal and snack. Always helps me get rid of the stinky diapers and loves to help prepare meals. He is easily motivated by rewards and aims to please. Can be very sensitive at times and needs to be reassured that he is loved. He is very affectionate and loves to kiss and hug. He's also a bit mischievous and very silly and loses focus easily if there are distractions around him. He is a very good communicator and demands to be heard if he has been falsely accused of something.

Oh we just love him like crazy and can't wait to see what the next year will bring! Happy Birthday Handsome!

Some recent scrapping...

It's been too long

HELLO! How is EVERYONE? I Miss Keeping in touch with everyone and I'm hoping to be better.

I can't believe it has taken me this long to update my blog, better late than never right? I thought I would post some pictures from the past year to catch you all up to speed on our first year in Michigan. It has been a crazy one full of fun activities, growth, and success.

I finally opened a little home daycare in October of last year. I have about 7 children that I care for on a regular basis in addition to Talen and Kendal. I'm certified to care for 6 children at a time and the business has been running great. It's definitely challenging at times, but so worth it! The kids love having friends come to play everyday and I love the extra income! The most challenging aspect of the daycare is the lack of time I have to spend doing things I love like sewing, scrapbooking, spending one on one time with Talen and Kendal, reading, and of course BLOGGING. Time is definitely much more valuable when you have a full time job. We know it is a temporary job to help us recover from our year of unemployment and I know that a little later down the road I will be able to enjoy the life of being a "stay at home mom" again and bring a couple more little Davis's into our home, but for now I own a daycare, and it's a huge blessing for our family.

You can view my website if your interested by clicking here : www.auburnhillsdaycare.com

Jared's having a lot of success in his advertising career and has begun producing commercials for Jeep and Walmart. He's excited to do some traveling in June to California for his first shoot. It should be a great experience for him.

Kendal and Talen are doing awesome, but are growing too quickly for me to keep up. They have adapted to living in Michigan with flying colors. Talen still talks about Virginia and Missouri, Utah and Colorado, but he's made some wonderful friends here and is getting ready to start Kindergarten in September. I can't talk about it too much or I'll get emotional. He's my baby and I'm really going to miss him more than he'll ever know, but he's so ready and so excited. He's been doing preschool with me at home since he was 2 1/2 and he's a great student and eager to learn more. Right now we are working on a reading program together and he's already reading! We've also just started reading the "Captain Underpants" series together and he loves it! Also this summer we are going to enroll him in swimming, karate, and a couple of summer camps. So our little 5 year old is getting busy.

Kendal doesn't remember much about Colorado or Utah, but does remember living with her adorable cousin Kashton, and her amazing Aunt Bethany and Uncle Cameron who shared a quaint 3 bedroom house with our family for 3 months! She often reminisces about playing in their backyard and playing with Kashton. She has started preschool at home with me and is doing great. She is already writing her name, drawing very detailed pictures (we call her our little artist) and learning all about animals, math, and shapes. She's been enrolled in dance since October of last year and has loved it! Her first recital is coming up at the end of June and it will be a very special day for her. She's starting to show an interest in doing crafts with mommy, which I'm so excited about, and she will also be enrolling in swimming this summer followed by gymnastics in the fall. So she too is also getting busy!

Anyway check the next post for all the pictures of our first year here so far....There are A LOT of photos so grab a soda and a chocolate bar....

JUNE

Henry Ford Museum (trip with Jared's Mom "Grandma Cindy")

Trip to Greenfield Village (Historical outdoor museum) We are riding in a model T
Visit to Mackinac Island between the upper and lower peninsula (The Grand Hotel)







Lake Michigan and Lake Huron (nice pose Grandma)










On the boat on the way to the Island



The Detroit Zoo
The Polar Bear exhibit is my favorite

The Outback Adventure is fun too, there are no barriers, you get to roam free with the Kangaroos!


Greenfield Village again riding model T



Henry Ford Museum

I wanted to show these two photos below because they are the last sewing projects I did almost a year ago.. boo hooo hooo : ( They were for a combo baby shower, one boy and one girl. I'm hoping to do a few sewing projects this summer.

JULY

Lexington Beach, Michigan, family trip to the beach. It was plenty hot outside but the water was a tad cold



Talen and Daddy love to go crawdad hunting. It's not my thing but I love that my brave boy is holding this creepy crawly thing
This is at Cranbrook Gardens. We went here with my Mom (Grandma Lainy, when she and my dad came to visit last July)
Cranbrook House



AUGUST

We took a family trip to Cedar Point and stayed in a hotel with an indoor water park called Castaway Bay! It was a lot of fun and we're hoping to go back and do it again this year!




This photo has a silly logo on it that I was playing with. I'm not a photographer, but I hope to do it someday professionally. So disregard the silly logo...We are on the Ferris Wheel.






SEPTEMBER

Kendal's first trip to the Dentist. She was cavity free and did a great job.


Woodward Dream Cruise. Michigan celebrates CARS a lot. Understandably so. Cars are a livelihood here. Well I guess every year they have this festival type thing where this long street called Woodward Ave closes down and people drive their fancy cars up and down the street for all to see. There are food vendors and music, and you get to walk around and look at all the cars. It was interesting to go once, but I don't think we'd ever go again. Talen loved it!




Playing at our pool in our complex. We played at the pool a lot last year. It was so nice to have access to one to the brief, but hot summer months.


Playing outside on our front patio. I love this picture.

Zoo trip with my best friend and next door neighbor. Her children are close in age to mine and they play beautifully together. I love having them so close by. She keeps me sane.


This place is Bizarre. It's called the Heidelberg Project and is a artistic statement in downtown Detroit. It's been around for years and years and represents urban art made from trash the artist finds around the city. I found it to be hard to stomach, but it was worth the experience. Google it for more info.
Kendal and Melayna (other neighbor just a few doors down)




A Daycare photo for you, doing Rock star ABC's.
OCTOBER

carving pumpkins

Church Halloween Celebration. Trick or Treating from classroom to classroom.


Visit to the pumpkin patch








NOVEMBER

Combined Thanksgiving Dinner at church with a few families. After dinner we played Kinect on the XBOX on a projection screen, the men played basketball and the kids ran around the church playing. It was a wonderful Thanksgiving. Jared made the Turkey and was mouth watering. He marinated the Turkey for 3 days and it was sooooooo moist. Way to go honey!



NOVEMBER

Fall photo shoot at another nearby mansion called Meadowbrook Hall



DECEMBER

Christmas card photo shoot in the sprinkling snow... it was so cold.


Kendal's 3rd Birthday! We did a day spa celebration with makeup, nails, and facials.
I made Kendal a Rapunzel cake. It is the first cake I have really ever seriously made, and it caused me great anxiety, but she loved it and I thought it turned out beautifully. We went and saw the movie together as a family after her party!



Christmas! Modeling the blankets mommy made them for Christmas (barely finished them the night before)
In this picture we are a friends Christmas Party and they're 10 year old daughter wrote a Christmas play and asked Jared and I to be Mary and Joseph. We had to provide our own costumes and well here we are.



JANUARY

sledding in our complex on a snow day where the entire city shut down, including the daycare.







FEBRUARY

I caught Kendal coloring one morning and the light coming in from the window was so beautiful that I took the opportunity to photograph her and I loved capturing her because she loves to draw so much.


You can see from the window the reason why they are busy coloring inside.
We were privileged to receive a visit from my brother Cameron and his wife Bethany and their son Kashton. It was so much to have them for a few days and I hope they had as much fun as we did. We miss them a lot. I love this photo of Kendal and her little cousin drawing together. In this picture they are both 3 years old together. LOVE IT!




Downtown Detroit
I don't think I've been to anywhere more ghetto than this, taken from the People Mover.
Inside the GM Renaissance Center


At the "fist bump", a monument honoring some boxer guy who knocked out Hitler's best boxer, in the 30's or something....


We went to visit a lighthouse with my brother and his family. It was really pretty but cold and the snow was deep.
Inside a beautiful church downtown Detroit...


Cameron, Bethany, and Kashton



MARCH

Just some cute pictures in March. March and April have been so weird with weather, cold and warm, cold and warm, over and over again. Very annoying. I've put the coats away and re-brought them out at least 20 times.


She picked out her outfit on this day and I've decided that I'm done fighting that battle with her. She has become very independent and very picky about what she wears, I have to admit she looks quite adorable...
Kendal's dance class photos...






One of the beautiful days in late March, blowing bubbles together.

APRIL

Dying Easter Eggs

Easter Photo Shoot on bridge near our house




I love her pretty legs...
Talen chose the blue socks.... not me :)




For Easter Talen got a new movie, a pillow pet, chocolate, and a new bike...
Kendal got Tangled, a pillow pet, chocolate, and a new bike..... too spoiled
Easter egg hunt at friends house from church...


Mother's Day

Bracelets the kids made for me for Mother's Day.... I love them.

MAY

We just took a weekend trip to the Tulip Festival in Holland Michigan, and to the Morel Festival in Northern Michigan. A Morel is type of mushroom that is a delicacy here in Michigan and I guess it doesn't grow in very many places. Jared's been on the hunt for them since last Spring, and he was finally able to find some this year and cook them for us. At the Morel festival we were able to participate in the an event called "Taste of Morels" put on by many chefs from the area who create gourmet dishes made with morels. It was such a fun experience! The following photos are from both the Tulip Festival and Morel festival.

Jared told her to pose like a Mermaid...

THE END

Now your caught up on the past year and stay tuned for more fun posts to come. I'll be posting some scrapbook pages soon and some fun videos.