Friday Night at the Park

LOTS of pictures from our Friday Night at the park!

JUMPS

Liv even threw in a few dance moves

Then, the sprinklers came on

Can you tell how excited Liv was?

I liked this picture below because it is Liv throwing sand on her brothers.  They weren't happy about it and chased her, but I am sure someday this picture will come in handy.

and a picture of me and liv just because..

Still Packing

Packing all these boxes is EXHAUSTING!!

Field Trip Day

Can you guess where we went on a Field Trip today???

The siren was REALLY loud.

We got to practice STOP, DROP, & ROLL

Cole was a terror with the hose.  Dug up some bushes and did a little landscaping with the firehose.

Mothers Day

Happy Mothers Day to all you wonderful mothers out there.  Wishing I could be in Utah to spend time with my wonderful mom who tirelessly serves her five children every day (even though three of them don't live there).  She is the rock of the family and is what keeps us all going strong.  Love you mom!!  And, to my most wonderful mother-in-law, who raised an amazing son.  Thank you for all your love and support.

I still remember the day I became a mother.  I was clueless at what I was getting into, and sometime I still am, but I'm loving every minute.  Being a mom is hard, with lots of patience testing and slow breaths counting to ten, but there is nothing as rewarding.  I have been blessed with three healthy, strong, and beautiful children.  I have been given a beautiful gift to be a mother and am grateful every day for this blessing.

Initially, I told Shawn that I wanted a nice photo shoot with me and the kids for mothers day, but by the end of the day we just didn't get around to it.  But this picture below is definitely more accurate to my life as a mother.  Everyone is filthy, covered with food on their face or clothes, hair is a mess, and totally wild, but that is pretty much how things go around here.  So I guess my nice fancy mothers day picture will have to wait another few years until my kids learn how to keep their food in their mouth and not on their face and clothes :)

Ethan

Happy Birthday Ethan!

Seven years ago today I spent my very first mother's day coming home from the hospital with my first baby, a healthy baby boy weighing 7lbs. 3 oz.

Last night Ethan could hardly stay in bed, he was so excited about his birthday.  He's only been talking about if for the last 4 four months.  He kept coming in my room asking random questions like "why does Anakin turn evil?", "How can I find the secret codes to Club Penguin?", and my favorite "I need $500, can I do some jobs to earn it?" In the end we ended up watching youtube videos on how to make the best paper airplane.  Shawn was working last night so Ethan and I spend the next  hour up making paper airplanes.  When he finally fell asleep I found him like this.  He falls asleep almost every night with an open book on his chest.

This morning E could hardly wait to open his presents and didn't understand why he had to go to school on his birthday.  But it was PJ day at school, so that made it fun.

 He got a DSi, some games, and a case.  He also got a new church shirt, which he needed badly, and it makes him look so grown up.  This morning for breakfast he wanted to have chips, and I let him because it's his birthday and he is the KING for the day.  He kept saying, "Wow, these chips are great.  Each time I take a bite I get all this wonderful flavor in my mouth." He cracks me up!  When I dropped Ethan off at school he said he wanted to bring donuts for his class, so off to the store we went.  When I came back at lunch time to drop of the donuts Ethan was outside playing tag with a bunch of girls.  Such a ladies man!!

I'm so proud of you Ethan.  You are such a great kid, and are so friendly to others.  We love you!  Happy Birhtday!!

Random Pics

Just enjoying some nice summertime weather before it gets too hot.

Shawn just got his first pair of glasses and I got some new ones so I thought we'd show them off a bit.  I think they make Shawn look way smart, and I'm just trying to pull off the sexy librarian look :)

Cole and Liv are the best of friends and the worse of friends.  One minute they are playing so good and then next beating each other up.

First Fondant Cake

Today Liv and I made Ethan's birthday cake.  He wanted a Star Wars cake with Boba Fett, but of course I couldn't find one anywhere.  I've always wanted to try making a cake with Fondant frosting, so I decided to give it a try.  Making homemade fondant is really easy and decorating was rather fun.  I think I just might do it again.  It's definetly not perfect and this cake was very simple compared to many, but not too bad for a first time.  I have a Boba Fett character that will go on the top that I think will make this just perfect for E's birthday tomorrow.

Liv was such a good little helper.  She had her own roll of fondant and make her own shapes.  I love how she sticks out her tongue when she concentrates :)

More of Ethan's birthday celebrations coming this weekend!

Las Vegas Sign

I've wanted to get our pictures taken infront of the Las Vegas sign for a while, but we never manage to make it over there (and my husband refuses to stand in line waiting to get his picture taken).  For some reason tonight everyone agreed to try it, but it didn't really go as planned (everyone was cranky, Elvis was pushy, and Cole kept tring to run across Las Vegas Blvd.).  So, these pictures are the best we could get.  Please ignore the fact that my children look like homeless children with messy hair and clothes.  This is what we usually look like the end of the day :)

ps.  I packed 5 boxes today.  I know, not much, but it was all my scrapbooks and pictures and I had to stop and look at each one and reminisce a bit.    I think I am going to pack all my cookbooks and recipes tomorrow, that way I don't have to cook for the next 6 weeks :)

50 days

That is how many days until we pack our little family in the van and drive for 1837 miles to our new home.  Aren't you jealous!

I should be doing this....

But, instead we are doing this...

The weather has been so nice, and really I'm just procrastinating packing.  I've only done it about nine times in the past ten years.  You would think I would be a pro packer by now.  I've gathered boxes and they are sitting in my garage.  Shawn made me promise to start packing this week.  Wish me luck!