Maren Turns 3

Back in January Maren turned 3. She is such a wonderful girl. She is so full of energy. She never stops going. And that can cause some problems because she is really mischievous. She is always getting into things! My mom started this joke that when Maren comes into a room the first thing she does is scan the room to see what she can get into and cause trouble. Now when we see her looking around we joke that oh there she goes scanning. She loves princesses and everything girly. She loves me to paint her nails and put lipstick on her. But she is also the first to jump in a wrestling match with her dad and brother. She is actually really brave and pretty good at wrestling. She will just charge Cody straight on and try and beat him up while Broc circles trying to find an opening. Her favorite foods are: gummy/fruit snacks, bananas, cereal(every night when we put her to sleep she asks if after her nap she can eat cereal), raisins(she actually asks for raisins for her treat). We love our little Maren. She isn't that little anymore. She is still very tall for her age. She is in the 80 percentile for her age in height and weight. She is very close to Broc's height and I often get asked if they are twins. Maren had a Rapunzel party. She loves all the princesses but was on a Rapunzel kick at the time. I made her a Rapunzel hair piece which she wears constantly. She is a lot of work but is a joy to have in our family. Happy Birthday Maren!

Before opening presents. 

Rapunzel Cake

Rapunzel dress cupcakes.

Christmas

We had a great Christmas. We spent it at home and had Grandma, Grandpa, and Aunt Heidi came visit. We loved having them here. And missed all the other family we couldn't see it. We got to show off our new stomping grounds. One fun part about living here is Solvang. It is a town that looks like a Danish town. They have Danish Bakeries and they have the most delicious Danish treats. We also went to the beach and did a puzzle and played a lot! I just love Christmas. It is such a wonderful time of year. And it didn't hurt that was in the 60's. I love living in California. 26 years of winter was enough for me. To bad I only get one winter off. Did I mention I love living in California. Anyways Christmas was great and the special reason for the season, Jesus Christ, made it even better. Because of Him I can keep all these wonderful people in my life forever. It is so special to me and impacts every part of my life. Hallelujah! He is born!

Solvang

Classic Robinson Christmas breakfast. Cinnamon rolls in the shape of a Christmas tree.  

We did a puzzle.

Right before they went out to see their presents.

The kids reaction to their presents. 

Henry Turns 1

Back in December Henry turned 1! I don't know what it is with the last two kids but they have both been really sick on their first birthdays. So it was a little sad and he didn't enjoy it as much as he could have. But we tried to make the best of it. Henry is a wonderful baby. He is the most attached baby I have had. He loves to be with mom, all day, everyday. He is also the most concerned with my welfare. He will come find me every few minuets throughout the day just to say hi and give me a hug and hang around me for a few seconds. He is such a goof/comedian. He is always trying to make his older brother and sister laugh by doing goofy little things. We have learned we have to put Henry to bed first because if we don't he walks back into the older kids room and puts on a little stand up show. We love our little chunka monk Heno.

I choose the theme for his party this year because about a week after Henry's birthday we got our family Christmas present early and went to DISNEYLAND! It was so fun. I love Disneyland. It was the best time ever. Cody very much dislikes Disneyland, the millions of people, dirt and germs which makes for sick kids, waiting in lines with restless/sick kids is not really his cup of tea. But he is such a good Dad for going cheerfully because he knew his kids would have the time of their lives. The kids and I cannot wait to go back.

Broc fighting the sith at Jedi Training

Out little jedi

Maren meeting her idols Elsa and Ana

Tea Cups while the Big Boys were on a big ride.

More little kid exploring while the big boys are on rides.

More little kid exploring while the big boys are on rides.

Happy Birthday Jacob!

Happy Birthday Jacob! How fitting the last birthday post is the baby of the family. He is in Korea right now serving a mission. But he had a birthday in the middle of August. Here is the last installment of the birthday posts. It has been a fun year. And I hope you have enjoyed getting to know my amazing family as much as I have enjoyed bragging about them.
Jacob is the baby of the family and he is our little miracle. He had some health problems with his lungs while my mom was pregnant with him. There were so many shouldn'ts(that is not really a word but go with it), like he shouldn't have survived at all but he did, then he shouldn't have been able to live a full life but he did, he shouldn't have had full function of his lungs and be able to be physically active but he did. All that is left of his medical problems is a scar on his ribs. Our family was blessed with so many miracles and we are so grateful the Lord allowed that last Robinson, our little brother to make it to earth safely and be health and enjoy a full life.
He is a genius. He is so incredibly smart just like my dad. I mean he wants to study the brain. But even with all those brains he is still easy going and so pleasant to be around.
Jacob just does what he is suppose to. You can always count on him. He is helpful, and never complains. No wonder he is my mom's favorite!
In this point in my life my kids are everything. They occupy 99.9% of my thoughts through out the day. Everything I do is with, for or about my kids. So I feel loved/connected when people show interest in my children. And Jacob does that. He is such a good uncle. He is so good with kids. And it shows, all the nieces and nephews love uncle Jacob.
You are an amazing guy Jacob. Any girl will be lucky to have you. But she better be pretty amazing herself, or else I don't think I will be able to give up my baby brother to her. Happy Birthday Jacob and I love you.

Happy Birthday Ryan!

Happy birthday Ryan! My older brother Ryan had a birthday in the beginning of July. Here is my birthday post to him.

Ryan is my sibling just older than me. We didn't always get along growing up. We fought...a lot. I was the annoying freshman little sister when he was a senior. He liked to pretend we were not related. But we have moved past that stage in our lives and now we are good friends! We grew up together so I have lots of memories of Ryan back when I lived at home. But my favorite memories of Ryan are the summer before my sophomore year at BYU. We worked together all summer at the station and then we drove my car across the country from New York to Utah. I had so much fun. It is when I first felt like we actually had a strong friendship. I will always look back on that summer fondly and it will always be a special time for me.

Ryan is the funny one. He has brought our family so many weird, funny, goofy things over the years. Like the "M" Language, the backwards "M" language, backwards names, and chin scoops to name a few. He is the life of the party, he is loud, and has a booming contagious laugh. My dad always says the house is just different when Ryan is home. Ryan fills the house with life and happiness. And it is true.

Ryan is very personable and friendly. He can talk to anybody and make them feel comfortable and like a friend.

Ryan is dedicated to his family. He has a beautiful wife Mishon and daughter Brooklyn and soon to arrive baby girl. He works hard to support them. He is a great dad to Brooklyn.

Ryan is a great brother to have because he is fun, caring and always willing to help you out. Happy Birthday Ryan. I love you. 

I mean you just have to know Ryan to appreciate this picture

Happy Birthday Dad

Happy Birthday Daddy! My Dad's birthday was at the end of June. I didn't get to spend it with him because he left for his assignment as a Mission President on his birthday. But it was fitting because he couldn't have received a greater gift then that. He loves missionary work and going back to Mexico to work with missionaries is his dream. But let me tell you a little about my dad. I learned a lot about him from all the years of watching him, sitting on buckets and talking while he worked on cars, listening to oldies on the way home from stake dances and all the talks on the way home from basketball games(he still is the only one who can make me feel better after a loss in a basketball game.)

My dad is absolutely amazing. He is hard working, generous, kind, devoted to his family and very smart. My dad is the top person in his field and can fix anything. He knows everything about everything. He is so smart, it amazes me every time I am with him.

He is so generous. He is generous with his time, talents, money and possessions. He is almost generous to a fault. He is willing to give anything to anyone to help them out. He gives money, cars, expertise, food, time, labor and the shirt off his back. I think of him every time I hear the hymn "A Poor Wayfaring Man of Grief" because he is that type of person, to help anyone and every one. 

Christ is the center of my dad's life. He is a true disciple and has tried to teach me to be the same. He is such a great example of a follower of Christ. I am so proud of him for leaving his life to spread the wonderful message of the redeeming love of Jesus Christ. He is steadfast and consistent. He tries to bring everything in life back to the gospel of Jesus Christ. I am so grateful for his constant guiding and teaching of Christ.

Perhaps, the most amazing part of all of this is that even though my dad is so wonderful he is so humble. He has received so many awards and accolades in his career but you would never know. He could run circles around you but he makes you feel smart. He doesn't like it when we brag about him and he doesn't even tell his own family about half of the honors he gets because he is so humble. Luckily my mom tells me or else I would never know!

My dad loves my mom. He treats her like a queen and she treats him like a king. They are such a great example of how a marriage should be. My dad taught me how I should be treated by how he treated my mom. He loves my mom and thinks she is the best and most beautiful woman and never misses a chance to tell me.

All of these things are amazing things about my dad but the thing I love the most about him is he sees the best in me. He is the best dad a girl could ask for. He has always told me I could do anything, I could be anything, like I could be the CEO of any company, be the leader of any country but the most important thing I could do is be a mother. Even though he is so smart he makes me feel smart. He asks for my opinion and asks me what I think about things. He always tells me I am a "deep thinker". He tells me he looks to me for an example. Even though he is the greatest example. I am not really that great but the fact that he sees it in me makes me want to be better. If every girl had a dad like him, no one would have low self esteem, every one would know they are a daughter of God and deserve to be treated as such. 

I could go on all day about my dad. We have always been close. My mom use to tease that I had my dad wrapped around my little finger, but that he also had me wrapped around his. I just love to spend time with my dad and I miss him so much, but am so proud of him for serving as a mission president. Happy Birthday dad! I love you. 

Happy Birthday Broc

Broc had his 4th birthday back in June...opps. This is really late but its here none the less. Broc had a Star wars birthday and it was a blast. We did a few things.
1. Dress up. I bought some cheap fabric that looked kinda like the Jedi robes and cut them for the kids. They look kinda dorky and didn't work out that great because the pattern I used ended up not being wonderful and I could have fixed them if I was on the ball and did it before the night before/morning off at 1am. But oh well the kids didn't care. It just hurt my mommy pride that they didn't look great. I also made cut outs of Yoda years and lea buns but nobody really wanted to do those but that is OK.

 2. Popsicle light saber holders. I didn't get any great pictures of these but maybe you can see it behind Broc's hand.
3. Foam light sabers. I cut pool foam noodles in half and then put duct tape on the bottom to make it look like a light saber. It was by far the favorite thing at the party. The kids could beat each other as long and hard as they wanted and no one got hurt! It was amazing especially with a son like mine who likes to fight and loves that kind of stuff.

 3. Pin the light saber on Yoda. I have an amazing husband who stayed up late into the night drawing Yoda for the kids. He is very talented. He did this all free hand! But somehow I did not get a picture.
4. Free Han Solo from carbonite. I printed a picture of Han Solo and frozen in the freezer in blue colored water. They the kids tried to break him out with spoons. I didn't get a picture... sorry.
5. Pinata. Homemade as I am sure you can tell. These picture make it look really crappy and it kinda was but not this crappy looking. But it did its job and no kid complained it didn't look good enough so once again only my mommy pride was hurt a little.

 No kid could break it. I guess I make pinatas of steel (really just cardboard and duct tape). So we had to unleash the craken.... aka Luke. Thanks Luke for letting us get all the candy and using your awesome skills.

6. The Cake....I don't want to talk about it. This is probably the worst one I have ever done. Please don't look too close. I just ran out of time and PLEASE ignore the fact that I forgot a certain letter...opps!

Of course Grandpa holding the babies! 

Now to the good stuff... how much we love Broc. Broc is such a joy to have in our family. He has the funnest personality and is always in search for having fun with family and friends. He is just so full of life. He makes the most of every moment. The simplest things in life make him happy and he always gives us great reminders of finding happiness in life's most simple things. It is always great to see how much he cares for his younger siblings. He may be rough with them sometimes, but if anyone other than him is rough with them, he will not hesitate to stand up for them. He also loves to learn. He wants to go to school so bad. So we have "school" at home sometimes. He likes to learn his letters and numbers. He loves to practice writing his numbers and letter. He can count to 12 and knows 20 letters. We love Broc so much and are so blessed to have him in our family. He truly is a son of God. And we are so excited what his life has in store and all the wonderful things he will accomplish.