five years old.

Maren had a great birthday!  We went to Storyland/Playland.  Kids had a t-ball game first.  Maren got a little too excited in Storyland and ran ahead of us and got lost for about five minutes.  That was awful for both Maren and I.  Other than that one incident, we all had a great time.  

She even got the pinata that she really wanted this year.

summer swim lessons

The kids are swimming well.  Maren learned to swim at the very end of lessons this year.  I should have put Benson in because he tried to tag along with his older siblings the whole time anyway.  Taylor learned to dive off the diving board.

so cal beach trip

In June we took a trip to New Port Beach for the weekend.  Brent is coming home from his mission and needs a vehicle.  When we found one in Southern Cali, we jumped on it.  We wanted to take a family vacation down there anyway. 

 We stayed in a hotel!  That hardly happens.  The kids loved it.   Maren loved the hotel pool and hot tub.  That was her favorite part of the whole trip!

The beach was great.  Spencer and I appreciated the temperature of the water!  We also appreciated the price that we paid for our home while looking at the real estate.  

We had the opportunity to see the New Port Beach Temple, visit an aquarium, and eat lunch with a most hospitable cousin. :D

  Our trip was fantastic. 

I have another thumb sucker!!  I actually love it.  It is so convenient and natural.  I just hope she can naturally ween  herself at a healthy age.  I love how she can just fall asleep wherever.  Great baby!  

There's one handsome guy with half of his girls!

end of the year ceremonies

McKay had a great first grade year.  We love Mrs. J.  He did well academically.  He has a great group of school friends.

neighbors

It's a lot of fun to have G and J right down the street!  We get together about once a week with these friends.  

netherton relays

Our elementary schools have a big track meet at the end of every year.  You have to try out to participate. Mckay made the first grade boys team last year!  It was a lot of fun to watch him run the relay with his school buddies. Go McKay!

bffs

These two little girls have so much fun together.  Tea parties and dress up is the name of their game!  We love Shelby!

up high!

McKay can really climb that rope at gym!

somebody loves to take pictures

Maren got hold of my phone and started snapping shots of everything in sight.  Welcome to the Hyer backyard!

san fran trip

I love visiting San Francisco!  On this trip we went to the Children's Discovery Center, which was AWESOME!  I recommend it.  Once a month they have a free day.  We also took a LONG walk down fisherman's wharf.  We happened to pass by free Ben and Jerry's ice cream cones on this trip, yum!  Lucky us! Sorry for the major lack of pictures on this trip.  

 Char and the cousins came with us!  Char, do you have more pictures of the trip?  I didn't take hardly any! I must have been having too much fun or something! Thanks for coming with us!

hannah growing

 (sorry about putting this one in, it's just so hannah!!)

Hannah has been pure joy and sweetness to be with.  I am so grateful to have her in our family. She is a keeper.  A friend of mine has a baby the same age as Hannah and can't believe how "advanced" Hannah is.  I've thought about that and it's because she hardly ever cries, so she spends a lot of time on the floor, discovering how to use her body to get around. She was up on her knees at four months, sitting at five months, completely crawling at six months, and is almost walking at 7 1/2 months.  It's crazy.
She is also my tallest baby by far.  She is off the growth charts in height. Doctor predicts she will be at least 5'10".  Hm.  We'll see.
God has really made it do-able for me to have five children and I thank Him so much for it.  Motherhood is such a gift.  I cherish these children and the time I have with them.