Hunsaker Family Reunion 2017 in Branson, Missouri

We had a blast at the Hunsaker Family reunion in Branson, Missouri. I am so grateful to my parents for planning this large gathering- I know it was a lot of work. I didn't take very many pictures, but here are few fun ones. Kyle and I had fun designing the t-shirts for everyone to wear. We loved going to Silver Dollar City two times and to the water park. Mostly we loved hanging out with cousins. We also helped celebrate my dad's retirement. The last day of our trip we got to spend a day at Matt and Natalie's house in Kansas. It was fun to see where they live.

 Levi enjoying some snacks

 Jason and Heidi

 Retiring Doctor Grandpa

 Dolly Parton Stampede

 Carter and Noah

Liberty Jail

Jason Turns 8

We celebrated Jason's birthday by going bowling and playing laser tag with friends.

Dear Jason,

I am so excited that you turned 8 years old. What an awesome age. You are planning on being baptized, which I think is wonderful and important. I want to take a moment to record a few things about you that will be fun to remember later in life.

You continue to have a fun imagination. You love to make up games, especially games that involved Pokemon. Noah has fun imagining things with you. We all wish Levi would stop wrecking whatever fun things you create.

We are switching elementary schools so that you can be a part of the advanced learners class, but luckily you already know 4 kids in the class, so you feel ok about the switch, even if you weren't thrilled about it initially.

Your favorite sports are swimming and baseball. You love riding your bike around the neighborhood. You are doing awesome on piano, thanks to your mom who helps you practice every day :).

I love you and I am grateful to have you as my son.

love,

mom

Preschool Graduation, Piano Recital, Batman

Noah graduates from preschool. He can't wait for Kindergarten because he is looking forward to going to the same school as Jason.

Jason's first piano recital

Batman Levi

Kyle's Old Shirt

The pants don't match the shirt, but I am including this picture because Levi is wearing the shirt that Kyle wore when he was a toddler.

California Trip

I did something daring, fun, and adventurous in March 2017. I flew with my three kids to California so we could visit my dear friend, Rachel Jergensen, and her three boys while our husbands were both away. It was the first airplane ride for all three of my boys. They were so exited that they stayed incredibly well behaved on the flight there. Once we arrived in California, we rode around with the Jergensens since all 8 of us could fit in their Honda Pilot. We also stayed with them at their beautiful new house. It was deluxe. 

One of our favorite days was visiting San Francisco. Kyle was able to join us on the last day of the trip. He flew home with us, which was very fortunate because the boys were exhausted and not as well behaved on the return flight home.

We were thrilled to have a brief reunion with the Jergensen boys when they came to Utah in April. Hopefully we can keep these back and forth visits up. We're so grateful for such awesome friends!

Easter 2017

Levi Turns 2

We had beautiful weather on Levi's birthday, so we chose to start off the birthday celebrations at the park. We purposely went to the park where my water broke with Levi 2 years ago. Levi's birthday was over spring break, so I invited other families in the neighborhood to join us at the park for cupcakes. He was so excited for the cupcakes, and he had no idea that all the fuss and singing was for him. It was pretty cute.

After the park we went to McDonald's for lunch with Grandma Linda and got happy meals with toys!

Grandma and Grandpa Hunsaker joined us for a pizza dinner and  more cupcakes in the evening. What a great day!

Dear Levi,

It is so exciting that you are two years old. Already you are proving to be your own person, and not just miniature versions of your brothers. We are constantly amazed at how advanced your gross motor skills are--probably a result of trying to keep up with the big boys. At 22 months you decided to take over Noah's 3-wheeled scooter and taught yourself how to ride it. At 24 months you decided to move on and take over Jason's 2-wheeled scooter. It is hard to keep up with you.

Your advanced gross motor skills come at the expense of your expressive language skills. That is to say, you are quite behind on your speech. We had you evaluated, and you qualified for help with a speech therapist. The speech therapist comes to our house twice a month, and you love those visits. Since I have yet to record your first words, I will mention that now. Your first words were "woof" and "uh-oh".

You love to follow your brothers around. It breaks your heart when you get left behind. Mostly you love daddy. You have been a daddy's boy for quite some time.

People always comment on how smiley you are. You really are a happy kid, except for when we make you come inside. I think you would live outdoors if you could. I think another good reason for your happy face is that you are sleeping well at night and for naps. May you keep sleeping well for another year at least!

I love you so much!

love,

mom