Xander is 6!

Our brown-eyed baby boy turned six years old yesterday. He was proud to announce that he is the first kid to turn 6 in his kindergarten class.

Between the 3 boys, we are halfway through our second decade of Star Wars obsession in the Bouton household. All Xander asked for for his bday was the Star Wars dual action light saber. Just what I wanted was another weapon in the house but it looks like he wasn't disappointed.

Opening some more gifts-For years, Xander has been the little one into everyone else's birthday business. Now, Meili has taken over the role quite nicely. :)

The Birthday Boy with his cupcake tower.

The candles were supposed to look like light sabers but they were a little droopy.

Xander had a simple little Star Wars party (leftovers from Noah's party 5 months ago) with three of his best buddies. Here they are 'feeding Jabba.'

...and posing for the camera

Happy Birthday, Xanderbonie! We love you!!!

Florida

This past weekend, we hauled all 5 kids to Florida for a househunting trip. We spent Friday evening viewing homes including the one we've had an offer on since the beginning of the month (short sale-isn't everything?). Even though it's a bit rough (dead frogs in the master, etc.) and needs some work (yard is a jungle, pool is a swamp and the carpet is shot) we feel like it's where we are meant to be. The floor plan is awesome-3290 square feet, 5 bedrooms, 4 full baths, office and bonus room- and the neighborhood and schools are wonderful. It was built in 2005 and we're convinced there is an amazing house underneath all the dirt and vegetation! Ultimately, everything that is wrong with it can be changed and we aren't afraid of a little work. It's just going to take some time.

When we weren't stressed out about finding a home we took the kids to the aquarium. Meili LOVED it so we bought an annual membership. The next day we drove out to the beach and took a walk along the water (no pics, sorry). On Sunday our flight home was canceled so we spent our extra day driving out to Orlando to see how far we would be from the temple and D-World. Not too bad! I think we'll be up for hosting our travel group reunion by next July!

Taylor's An Eagle!

Taylor with his Scout Master (L) and his Eagle Board

after receiving the good news that he passed!

I've been bombarded with requests for updates on The Empress and they are coming soon-promise! But first, I have to brag a bit about my oldest. Taylor has completed his Eagle Project and passed his Board of Review! He will have his Eagle Court of Honor at the end of this month with his best buddy, Kyle. Matt earned his Eagle at age 14 and Taylor has had a goal to beat him since he was a cub scout and he did it, completing his project and turning in his write up on his 14th birthday!

For his project, he oversaw the building and painting of 9 Blue Book Houses for Make Way For Books, an organization that promotes early childhood literacy in our community. These bookshelves are placed where families with children wait in social service settings. Children are encouraged to select a book and take it home with them. I've noticed one at the Juvenile Court building when I'm there doing adoption finalizations. He also organized a book drive and collected 825 books to fill the shelves. Taylor couldn't have done it without the tons of help he received from friends, neighbors and our church community. MWFB was so grateful for Taylor's contribution. You can see their write up about it on this website. Click on 'News' and then click on 'Fall 2009 Newsletter.'

Here's a pick of the completed project.

And a pic of the painting crew...

An Eagle and his proud momma...

San Diego-Beach Day

Meili's first trip to the beach...and no one yelled at me for wearing my 'trousers.'

Xander LOVES boogie boarding! He did a pretty good job with Daddy's help.

We hear there isn't much in the way of waves on the Gulf Coast of FL. Don't tell Xander-He's hooked!

Shell collecting.

Just love that face!

Had to stick her feet in the Pacific Ocean while we still had a chance-she wasn't a fan. We'll see what she thinks of the Gulf of Mexico in a couple of weeks...

Beach Nap

Our Forever Family Day

First Pigtails

We Knew We Loved You...

We've had Meili Grace home for just under a month and one of the staples of our day has become putting on a CD and dancing around the family room with her like a bunch of idiots. 'Our song' is I Knew I Loved You by Savage Garden. I thought the song was pretty sappy before but now for us, it sums up how we feel about our little girl. We loved the idea of her and the anticipation of her long before she was born but the reality of her is SO much better!

Here she is with Daddy-

He definitely does the best dips!
Sadly, the only pic of Mommy and Meili having some dancetime cuddles
includes Xander in his whitey tighties...

Taking a turn with big brother Noah.

Whenever she wears this bib, cute Noah says, 'She's gonna be rich!'