Summer Fun!

Before Summer officially started Michael graduated from High School with his High School Diploma from Pleasant Grove High and his Associates in Science degree from Utah Valley University....Yeah!!!!! Jenae also graduated from 6th grade.

Summer fun has started.  Vitaliy is working on reaching the rank of Eagle Scout so our amazing Scoutmaster is having Vitaliy work with him as much as possible.  Vitaliy went with Sasha's group on an overnight backpacking trip.  The first words out of Vitaliy's mouth when he got home were, "That was awesome!".  They both had an amazing time and we are so glad.  We talked with our Scoutmaster and he said how helpful Vitaliy was for all the boys and how he is a good leader.  I was happy to hear that.  I think it is great that he is having this opportunity.  He really loves the outdoors and there is nothing better than Scouting for that!  He is currently on track to be able to earn his Eagle before he turns 18.  We are proud of his determination.

Sasha turned twelve at the end of May and passed the Sacrament with the Deacons today for the first time.  He did an awesome job.  I was proud of him for taking it so seriously and doing his best.

 This is Vitaliy and Sasha when they were getting ready to leave on their camp out.

 Andy and the boys!

 This is them walking down the street to meet their troop.  Sasha was struggling a bit on the hike so Vitaliy ended up taking Sasha's portion of the tent and carried it for him.

 This is when they got home.

 Jenae graduated from 6th grade.

This is Michael and his girlfriend, Maggie, on their graduation day.

We are all looking forward to all of the camps, (girls camp, scout camp, varsity camp, venture camp, timberline) this summer.  It ought to be busy!

I had to share this one.  Our puppy, Lizzy is getting big and we all love having her so much.  She is a great dog!

Why is that raisin moving?!?!?!

Yesterday Sasha came home from school and ran upstairs to find me.  No big deal, he always does that.  Then he handed me a little container with dry oatmeal in it.  No big deal again.  I was on the phone so I was just looking at this oatmeal and Sasha's happy face wondering why is he giving me oatmeal.  When he gets excited he doesn't speak really clearly so, oh well, I smiled and kept talking.  As I was looking at the oatmeal, I wondered why the big raisin in the oatmeal was moving.  That's when I realized that he had handed me a little container of oatmeal with a very big live beetle in it! I really hate bugs!  I handed it back and asked "why do you have a big beetle?"  He said (all smiles) my teacher gave it to me.  Was she trying to get back at me for giving her a difficult year!  Why did she send him home with a big beetle?  I don't get it.  Needless to say, he released his beetle into the wild and that was that.  But, I have to say, he was pretty happy about that bug!

Just a quick update on everything else....

Andy and Vitaliy both celebrated their birthdays on the same day in May.  Vitaliy turned 16 and Andy turned 40!  Both big birthdays.  Vitaliy got a new bike - a far cry from a car but he loves, loves, loves it.  He got a few others things along with an Addidas jacket and pants.  They are black and he wore them for several days in a row when I finally said to him "It is going to be hot today, you are wearing long sleeves and all black.....and.... you are now an official cartoon character so it is time to change your clothes."  He finally did but he has worn them a couple more times since.  In Ukraine the Addidas brand is "all that!" But here it is just another sports brand.  He really hasn't figured that out yet...but I am glad he really likes it.

Tiffany took Michael and Tyler to Lagoon and they were modeling their new glasses.  They had an amazing time.  It is funny how you can look at your almost grown children and picture them still really little.  I am so glad they all get along so well now that they are older....for the most part anyway.

Mother's Day was fabulous.  My favorite gift was given to me by my 15 year old, Jason.  He secretly videotaped everyone in the family and asked them what they love about me.

Jackson - loves me and I make good food

Cali - loves me, I make good food and I am nice (I am glad the times when I am not don't stand out), oh and I pray with her

Dustin - I make good food again - go figure, I help a lot - he loves me too

Sasha - loves me, says I am nice and he is so happy that I got him from Ukraine (my heart melted)

Jenae - had a long list but loves it when we go out together and I buy her candy and pop-tarts, she said she loves that I always exercise in the morning because she would rather die than do that

Jason - was very sweet and told me how he thought I was great and if he ever yells at me the way Michael       does I am supposed to show him the video so he will stop doing it

Vitaliy - said I am awesome and he is glad I am always trying to fix him (I loved that part because when we are having the mother/child conversations I tell him that I don't have many years with him and I am just trying to help him be better - maybe he is getting it after all)

Tyler - He said that he loves me and that he loves that I just lay it out on the line, no beating around the bush...I say it like it is...weird...he likes that!

Michael - loves me cause I make good food and clean up...but also because I am there when he needs me (oooh!)

Tiffany - she made me cry when she talked about how I am a great example to her and how she wants to be like me some day - she doesn't seem to realize that she is soooooo much better than me and she is an example to me!

Andy - He said beautiful things that a husband should say and I love him right back!



So - I had a great mother's day and I love my family - what more could you ask for!

Okay....so I have spent way too much time on the blog....back to homework....until next time!

Well, I haven't posted in FOREVER!!!!!  This is our family this last week at Tiffany's college graduation (all except Michael who couldn't make it because of a soccer game).  

Tiffany graduated from UVU with her third degree, this time a bachelors in Nursing.  She is doing amazing!  She has been officially single for a while now and doing fantastic.  She currently has a boyfriend and is very active with friends and fun.  She is an accomplished ballroom dancer and loves to go country dancing with her good friends.  We are proud of all of her accomplishments...she has been through a lot in her 23 years but she always comes out on top!

Michael also just graduated from UVU with his Associates in Science while at the same time completing his senior year in High School.  Yup, you heard me right.  He is the second in our family to get his Associates while still in high school and Tyler will do the same next year.  Michael is currently very busy with school and soccer.  He is the keeper for the varsity team at school.  This year he was also awarded first place at the Regional Science Fair for his project on Nitrogen Fixation.  He also received some honors and scholarships for his project.

Tyler has been working hard with school and at his job at a local hardware store (which he totally loves).  He is still amazing at juggling and will be in his school's talent show this year.  He has also taken a huge liking to the rubiks cube in all it's many, many varieties.  He can solve a 2x2, 3x3, 5x5 and a 7x7.  He is currently making his own custom cube.  He is amazingly creative.  

Vitaliy is currently on a soccer team of his own and plays midfield.  He is doing great in school and his English is awesome.  He still loves to ride his bike and is currently working on his scouting.  We informed him that he needed his Eagle before he can get his driver's license.  He wasn't too thrilled about that but he enjoys scouting.  He will be spending a lot of time this summer working in scouting.  

I had to throw this one in.  This is typical Vitaliy and Jason.  They can be the best of friends and the worst of enemies.  Makes life really fun.

Jason earned his Eagle Scout in December.  He is also doing very well in school and will follow in his brothers and sister's footsteps next year as his school schedule will be filled with college classes.  Jason is still a complete clown and adds a lot of fun to the house.  I'd say that one of his favorite pass times, though, is as a "student" in parenting as he loves to get on all the younger kids and keep them in line.

Beautiful Jenae...still an amazing gymnast and doing fabulous in school.  She is so outgoing and happy all the time.  Well, almost, she is a preteen now and the mood swings have begun.  Jenae has really enjoyed spending extra time with her sister, Tiffany, these days.  Jenae loves to babysit but her favorite place in the world to be is at the gym.  She turned 12 in January and is now in Young Women's which she loves, loves, loves.

Sasha is learning to read!!!! We are so excited for him.  We have been working on his enunciation lately because he tends to get lazy when speaking.  He still understands Russian but can't speak it.  He loves going to school and has a knack for coming home with things that don't belong to him.  He doesn't steal them....he is great at bartering for things.  We just have to be careful of the things that he is trading away.  He is still very happy and loves to be loved.  He is full of "I love you mom".  He also loves, loves, loves scouting!  

Dusty is as happy as he looks.  Dusty also loves scouting.  He is doing good in school and loves to play with his friends.  He loves to walk to school regardless of bad weather.  It would have to be sleeting and hailing for him not to walk to school.  Dusty got a bike for his birthday and loves to ride it whenever he can.  He is an active, outdoor kind of guy!

Cali Ann....she would love to be a scout if she could.  She is such a sweet heart and loads of spunk to go along with that.  Cali is doing well in first grade and loves her teacher.  She loves to play with friends and her, Sasha and Jackson always have fun playing together.  This is a girl that doesn't mind getting dirty.  She is loads of fun and then some!

My sweet Jackson!!!  He is so cute.  he is going to start school in the fall and mom is so, so sad about it.  Jackson is still the most fun loving kid!  He loves to play with his best friends, Sadie and Jake.  He also loves to follow me around and talk with me.  He always has the cutest things to say.  He tells me he loves me at 30,000 times a day and I love to hear it!

This is the newest member of our family.  This is Lizzy.  She was born on November 17, 2011 and we got her in February of this year.  She is a cute little boxer and we love her soooooooooooooo much!  She is so spoiled.  Our other dog, Oreo, died of cancer this year and everyone was sad without him.  So here comes Lizzy and she is such a great dog!  (like we really needed another mouth to feed....I know.... but she is great)

This is the most recent pic of Andy and I, just taken on Friday at Tiffany's graduation.  How are we???? Well, I think we are a bit tired most of the time.  Life is crazy busy.  

For Andy, work is finally picking up.  It has been a challenging five years with the troubled economy but he has hung in there all along.  Work is busier and we hope and pray it gets better and better.  As usual, Andy is very busy with scouting as the Varsity Scout Coach and he loves all those boys.  The boys in our troop are his second family and he is great with them.  Andy's work creativity gets better and better with each year.  You should just see the amazing finish carpentry he does for people.  He is a very talented man!  I might add that he is a great father and the world's greatest husband (and best friend)!

As for me....I just completed my first semester in pre-nursing with all A's.  I was sooooo excited about that. I have spent the majority of my time since January doing homework...especially math.  I love school and if all goes well I will be applying for the nursing program in the Spring of 2013.  The rest of my time is spent keeping things in order and taking people here and there.

It has been an amazing year since we adopted our boys.  Oh how the time has flown by.  It has been a year of adjustment and association.  Yes there has been downs but the ups outweigh the downs.  Everyone is settling in and things are going as good as they can.  I am glad the first year is behind us.  Looking back, I would do it all over again....in a heartbeat!  (not saying I would do it again, but we wouldn't change a thing!)