Gennie's Belated Cake

Gennie was disappointed that I was out of town for her birthday this year and so I couldn't bake her a cake.  I told her I'd make it up to her later.  Well, later finally came!  I baked this cake for Easter and told her it was also her special belated birthday cake.  I thought it turned out cute, however it was kinda dry.  Bummer, I'll get it right one of these times.

Easter

Happy Easter from the Pratt Family

Lulu Spring Soccer

Once again our little soccer player is out there doing it again.  She started out the season really strong, scoring 6 goals in the first game.  She had a lot of growth this year and showed some real improvement.  I think this one is going to be pretty passionate about soccer.

Mother Bird

This very dedicated mother bird had been devoted to sitting on her eggs for almost a week now.  She selected the underside of our deck to make her nest and bring her little chicks into this world.  I feel so privileged that she would chose our backyard.  Chewy has been SO interested in the mother bird and her eggs.  He likes to stand above them on our deck and sniff about.  Luckily there is no way for him to get to the eggs, I'm sure he'd be all over them if he could.  We can't wait for the eggs to hatch and hopefully see the little birdies.

Family Pictures

Charlie and the kids HATE getting family pictures taken.  There is a lot of murmuring and complaining going on when I start talking about family pictures.  Luckily they were all good sports for the most part and we were able to get some decent shots.  These were taken by Tasha Hadley, a friend of mine that was in our ward but has since moved to Utah.

Pratt Family May 2015
Charlie: 37
Raenie: 34
Dallin: 9
Kenzie: 8
Alayna: 4
Geneil: 2
Sadie: 7 months

Dallin Soccer

We enjoyed watching Dallin play soccer once again this spring.  His team was really good, going undefeated all season.  They won or tied all of their games.  They played on a bigger field this year with eight boys on the field.  I think at age 8/9 they are starting to really understand the concept of the game.

Lulu Plays Soccer

Alayna has been looking forward to this day for many many months.  She has been watching her older brother play soccer since she was born and now the day finally came for her to play on a team of her own.  She was so excited to get out there and play and have a real coach!  Although it was just a skills and drills camp, she didn't care.  It was still soccer and she was having a great time.  At the end of each session, they had a short scrimmage and that's when Lulu's competitive edge came out.  She got right down serious and attacked the ball scoring pretty much ALL the goals.  If she can control her emotions she'll go far in this sport she loves!

Easter

Easter went down with the usual festivities this year...egg hunt, cousin time, yummy food, and the bunny cake.  I hadn't made the bunny cake for a few years so that was fun.  The kids got loads of candy and we also threw in the spiritual side of things when I read them a book about the true meaning of Easter.  We are blessed with a Savior who atoned for our sins and made it possible for us to return back to our Father in Heaven.  Happy Easter!!

Spring Break

We decided to have a stay-cation this year for spring break.  Charlie and I decided to plan one activity each day and stick to the plan.  It worked out really good, however, I'm not sure it's any less tiring.  Each evening we'd come home and we were all totally pooped.  Here's what we did:

Day 1: Castlewood Canyon State Park hiking

Day 2: Downtown Library and 16th Street Mall

Day 3: Denver Museum of Nature and Science

Day 4: Lunch at Culver's and sleep-over at Grandma's

Day 5: (not pictured) swimming at the rec center and Xbox time

The whole week was pretty non-stop with a lot of fun times but one incident is worth mentioning specifically.  On the day we went to the 16th Street Mall we decided that Charlie and I would try out this little deli for lunch and the kids would eat at McDonald's.  So we split up, Charlie took the kids to McD's while I stayed and got lunch for us at the deli.  We planned to meet back up at McD's.  The deli took longer than expected and so once I FINALLY got our food I quickly walked as fast as I could down to the McD's.  When I got there my family was nowhere to be seen.  Mind you, all I had on me was a debit card...that was it.  No cell phone or anything (why did I have to wear a stupid skirt with no pockets?).  I thought maybe they decided to take a joy ride on the bus and it took longer than expected.  I decided to sit across the street from the McD's where I would have a good view of the people getting on and off the bus.  I waited and waited...nothing!  I started to get a little worried, but I didn't have a way of contacting Charlie.  I headed back to the McD's thinking maybe I missed them.  But honestly, how could you miss a redhead with five kids and a huge stroller?  Finally, I decided to ask the first person I saw if I could use a phone.  It happened to be a rather large woman who kept her cell phone inside her bra...yuck!  I almost said never mind when I saw her reaching for it.  But that would be rude and I was desperate.  I quickly called Charlie and luckily he answered.  Come to find out...they decided to eat at Subway instead and Charlie had assigned Dallin and Kenzie to stare out the window to watch for me as I walked by.  Somehow they missed me and so I was lost!  Many lessons were learned that day: always keep a cell phone on you, don't change the plans after they've been made, don't assign two flaky kids with an important duty, and remember what your mom looks like otherwise she might get lost in a big city with strange people and no way to get in contact with her!