The end of the school year

My how time flies when you have children... The end of the school year has already come & gone... and SUMMER is officially here!

Derek graduated from his first year of pre-school, and thoroughly enjoyed himself each & every day he went! The graduation was adorable, they had a great program w/ songs and mini-speeches.

Here's the graduate!

The graduate & his proud Mama!
Derek & Miss Carrie, his wonderful teacher who we LOVE! Thanks Carrie for a great year!!

After their program they all threw their hats up -- it was exciting for them! :)

Here is Hailey at her field-day, a few days before school got out. I had fun coming to help out! She's here w/ one of her best friends Ashlynn. They are good friends, and even get to share the same birthday! How fun!! :) Goodbye to 4th grade... on to bigger & better things (after summer of course!)

We took the kids up American Fork canyon on Friday after Hailey got out of school (at 9:30!), and enjoyed a mini-hike & a picnic. It was a GORGEOUS day to be up in the mountains.

Jenna had a ball being toted along -- I on the other hand got an added workout! :D

Even the naughty puppy Mandy got to tag along. I might add -- she is NOT a fun passenger on car trips, as she has the WORST gas any creature should! Ugh!!

Derek & Hailey peeking through the trees. Derek was SOOOO excited because he found an "acorn" which we commonly refer to as a pinecone! It was a fun day!!

Date with Derek

I've been lagging on getting my posts done, but so goes life. Last weekend I decided to take Derek on a surprise date with mom (and Jenna). He had no idea where we were going, and was VERY EXCITED when we pulled into the zoo. We hit the zoo up early -- right after it opened in the morning, and it was PERFECT! No crowds yet! We got to see their new Madagascar exhibit, which was small, but cool!

I don't know what it is about these water things, but kids LOVE them!!

The bears!! Derek loves that they have a "bath" (aka pool area).

The play area was a huge hit. We probably spent at least an hour here. He LOVED the slides, play area etc!

Derek & Jenna on the train -- he was SO thrilled to be on the train!

I KNOW Derek is my little monkey, and he's working on being as big as a gorilla!

Did you know they have a carousel at the zoo now?? I rode on a otter, and Derek rode on the hippo.

There were tons of exhibits out in the park, and Derek got up close and personal with a PYTHON!!!!
After our jaunt through the zoo, I took Derek to one more surprise place -- The Blue Plate Diner. If you have not been here, it is a hidden treasure in Sugarhouse - on 2100S & 2100E. It is the cutest diner, and they have the BIGGEST banana splits you have EVER seen!

I love that I captured this shot -- he was so excited!!!

Here it is...

Going, going,

GONE!

I love spending time one-on-one with the kids from time to time. Derek had a great day, and I had a great date with my little man!

When you love someone...

You know that Bryan Adams song?? (I love that song -- it's on my page if you wait and listen long enough...) Well, this post is a shout-out to my sweetie! He's been gone the past couple nights. Usually, when he's gone, I jump into tough, survival mode. But last night, it was dark, and windy, and then I got door-bell ditched. All of those thing started giving me the spooks. Yes, I know I'm a grown woman, but sometimes it happens anyway.

I had all the kids sleeping soundly, but when I finally went to bed, I couldn't. I kept hearing things (imagine door creaking open, and the floor crackling). So - it was late and I decided to call Dave. He was en route, driving from Vegas to a little town outside Phoenix where he was going to crash for the night. He totally humored me by listening to me talk until I wasn't so "scared" and could go to sleep.

Thanks honey -- for being the one I love, and being the one who loves me, and for being my listening ear when it's dark and windy and scary. :)

Perspective from a 3 year old

Derek constantly is cracking us up with the things he says & does. So, I thought I'd do an official blogspot interview with him, so I can always remember.

Q: What do you want to be when you grow up.
A: A space ranger

Q: What does mom do all day for work?
A: Exercise

Q: What does Dad do for work?
A: Work on his computer.

Q: What does Hailey do at school?
A: Get out of the bus and go into the school.

Q: Who in our family lives the farthest away?
A: Grandma.

Q: Where does she live?
A: In Arizona

Q: When you are grown, what will you eat?
A: Probably Mac & Cheese, and sometimes Pizza

Q: Will you eat any vegetables?
A: No.

Q: Who will take care of you when you grow up?
A: My kids

Q: How many kids will you have?
A: 1,2,3,4,5,6,7,8,9,10,11,12,13,..16,17,18,19,20. I'm going to have 20 kids.

Q: What will their names be?
A: Um, Twinkie, Starwer, 626 (Stitch much?), Easter egg hunt, Ereidik (he just spelled this on out to me), Easter-star, Backyardigans, Banana (as he looks at one on the counter), Cambrie, Releuca (he said, that's buster crab's son). other names to be determined.

Q: What will your kids do for chores?
A: I'm going to have 'em clean up the toy room, clean up the kitchen, clean up the toys, clean up their piggy banks and guitars.

Q: What will you do with your kids for fun?
A: Play games with them, eat food, go to the park, go upstairs and play.

Q: Who will you marry?
A: My kid's mom.

Q: What will your wife be like?
A: like a flower.

Q: Who will be your favorite person when you grow up?
A: My kids, my kids mom.

A successful attempt

A couple weeks ago I was in Broadbents in Lehi, and this girl there was talking about these "super easy" baby/toddler/little girl skirts she had been making. I had been wanting to attempt making one, although I have no pattern. Anyway -- Here it is!! It's slightly long for Jenna, but we'll just call it super modest -- you can't start to early, right??

Anyway, here it is!!! If you want to try, let me know & I'll share how I did it!!

Isn't it DARLING??!

The Joy of being a mother!

...Long Post Advisory...

This has been a pretty great week of being a mother!

Thursday was a Stake activity for all girls 8-12 & their mothers. They had a wonderful spa theme. When we arrived at the church, the gym had been transformed into a very "soothing" room. It was filled with scents of lavender, cherry almond, pomegranate and fresh linen. There were little water fountains and small lamps providing a lovely glow. We broke out into groups after a great slide show they put on.

First Hailey & I got to choose our bath salt (the above scents). She chose pomegranate and I chose lavendar. We decided that they smelled really nicely put together, and so we're going to share 50/50! The next station was for the girls to create a time-capsule for when they go to the temple. Each girl got a special letter from the bishop and their primary president, as well as a sheet for the mom to fill in, and a sheet to put their own testimony on. There was a lovely white hankie in there with a paper pinned to it about being able to take that to the temple one day. It was a wonderful idea!

Afterward they had a banana split bar, but after waiting for 20 minutes and not moving, one of our friends Brenda & her daughter Ashlynn came over & suggested we hit up Artic Circle instead. So - we did (I don't think I could have waited any longer for a treat, and neither could Hailey). We had a nice visit with friends while we ate our shakes (oreo for Hailey & brownie cheesecake for me -- I recommend either!).

Here is a shot of my gorgeous Hailey displaying our bath salts -- I can't wait to use mine!

This weekend we hit up the Discovery gardens at Thanksgiving Point. It was a BEAUTIFUL day, and we got to see most of the tulips still in bloom.

Here's Dave, Jenna & Derek...
Jenna observing the beauty

It was tricky getting Derek in this position -- he stepped on & almost squished several blossoms -- OOPS!

I had to include this one of me for my Momma -- Love you Mom!

Here's my Mother's Day loot shots, but first a recap of the day.

This morning I awoke to Dave getting up at 6:50 with the baby - YAY!! At around 7:20 he came in with Banana pancakes & OJ for my breakfast! Tasty!! I love breakfast in bed!! I got to open my fun special gifts from the kiddos & eat!

At church the kids sang in Sacrament meeting, which is always so touching & cute. I was happy to watch Hailey & Derek up there!

Anyway - Hailey gave me a lovely bookmark, 6 hug coupons (which I told her I was going to wait to use until she was really mad at me & then cash them in :D, she didn't think that was too funny), a lovely card & a cute silver sunflower necklace. Thanks HAY!!

My necklace that Dave tricked me about not getting!! Thanks honey!! Love it!

My special card from Derek

-- there was a mid fold that said "and grows"... and the full open part...

And, the kisses necklace he made for me at Preschool. I got to wear it proudly at church today, and Derek thought that was fantastic!

Despite challenging ages & stages, I love love LOVE being a mother! The silly, sweet & quirky things my kids do really shape my life to be so great! And, thanks to my sweetie husband for making today so special, and letting me say "but it's mother's day" about a million times to shirk all my responsibilities. He spoiled me with my great banana pancakes & a yummy dinner of grilled chicken, alfredo pasta & salad! Thanks babe!

Thanks to all of you women out there that have helped shape me into a better woman and mother!! I have been blessed with wonderful examples all around me.

Most of all - to my own Mother who has endured more with patience, love, understanding an forgiveness than any other woman I know could. Momma - you are my ultimate hero - thanks for continuing the legacy of amazing women in our family history -- I hope to be half the woman and mother you are!

Hope all you mom's had a great mothers day!!

Sharing my skeletons in the closet... actually in the pantry

When we originally built our home all those 3 years ago... I was MOST thrilled about the size of our Pantry. I thought it would be a great storage/organization space, in addition to housing our food items. Well, over time, it has become my most EMBARRASSING space! It gets SO cluttered with all sorts of crap. Baskets, toys, misc etc etc.

So - today I with you my embarrassment (knowing that you won't judge me), also known as - The Pantry

Now - to the untrained eye, you would just expect to open the door and see some shelves with food items.

But, in actuality - this is what really lies behind the door.

SCARY!!

Shot 1...

Shots 2 & 3...

...and AFTER. TA-DA!!

It's so REFRESHING to have a place for everything & everything in it's place.

p.s. My final thought is - what the heck was I thinking when I went through my "couponing" phase in buying a bunch of cereal I knew we would never eat. I threw away abou 9 boxes of expired cereal, 4 boxes of expired muffins, 4 boxes of expired brownies (don't ask me how those didn't get used), and myriad other canned items. ...sheesh...

My favorite meal of the day...

In an attempt to spruce up my breakfast eating, I've found my FAVORITE meal!!

Breakfast & I have always been fond friends, as I adore a good waffle with homemade buttermilk syrup, or crepes, or muffins, or oven pancakes etc etc.

But, in my love of breakfast, I find that I'm not very good at getting a more balanced meal. So -- I share with you my ULTIMATE breakfast!!

A 3-eggwhite omelet with a pinch of mozzerella and freshly ground pepper,

half an avacado w/ some variety of fresh fruit (papaya is my favorite).

Can I just say - eating this meal brings me JOY because it's SOO tasty & it's much more balanced than the "carbs w/ a side of sugary carbs" (don't get me wrong --- I still love it!)

So - if you're in a rut w/ your breakfast -- try it out! I promise, you'll like it!!

Bon appetit~