End of the school year already?

The boys both had end of the year performances these last couple of weeks.

Trey made us promise we wouldn't take pictures of him in his chick costume. He was too cute, we couldn't help it! At one point in his performance he simply disappeared. All the kids were standing there and singing and Trey was no where to be found. I started to panic - Lars even got a little worried. I was convinced he had fainted. I mentally began to chart a path on to the stage to find out if my little boy was ok. Then about a song later he popped up. After the performance we asked where he went and he said he got tired of standing there so he sat down for awhile - can't argue with that.
Toby, on the other hand, was eager to shine. His class began there last song and Toby and another boy brought the house down. At one point he was singing so loud (determined to out-sing the other loud boy) that I thought he would pass out from straining so hard. People were in tears they were laughing so hard. A very proud moment if you ask me...And can you believe our luck - Grandma was here for many end of the year activities! The kids loved having her here - can you tell?

Mothers Day 2010

I know in my heart of hearts that I am a good mom - but I believe this mostly because of him. It's because of him that on days like today when Toby tells me that JK has put a sock in the toilet (the same toilet he just pooped in), I just have to tell myself that the above guy will soon walk through the door and all will be right. The kids will run and squeal and I will breathe a little bit calmer.

So on this Mothers Day, I am grateful for my husband who supports me and helps me each day be the mom I am trying to be. I am grateful for the kids that bring me joy and happiness each and every day just by being them. I'm grateful for a mom who did it on her own for so many years and is still the best example I could ever ask for.

Happy Mothers Day to you all!

Bacon

JK got tubes in her ears today - here's to no more ear infections!

Tonight Toby said to me, "you can stop your whining now"
His daddy told him that was a good way to get a spankin
To which he replied: "Did someone say bacon? Mmmm yummy bacon, I like bacon!"

Here's to kids learning to rhyme!

Just another day in paradise!

My new shopping buddy!

The other day JK and I were in Target and I saw a cute jean jacket - Okay I had seen it before with a friend but I knew I didn't need it. On this particular day I tried it on and decided I would just put it in the cart to think about it. The thing is, Lars is very money conscious - not tight, just very conscious.

An example of his thoughts on money: One time when I was shopping with him I said that something was too expensive and that I didn't need it, to which he replied "I've never been so turned on!" - Nice huh?

Anyways, I try, really I do, to be more like him - I'm looking at clothes at Target aren't I? (I love target clothes by the way). But on this particular day I realized for the first time the joy that shopping with my little girl is going to bring me for the rest of my life. It's like she knew how badly I wanted that jacket when she spilled her chocolate milk all over herself and that glorious jacket. Sure there were tears and wet clothes to take care of and yes maybe a security guard came to talk to me when I stripped her down and put new clothes from the little girl section on her - but if you ask me it was the beginning of a beautiful shopping relationship between my daughter and I - I owe you JK!

Happy Easter

Easter egg hunts at school and church are always a great start to our Easter celebrations.And when Pa comes to town there is always more reason to celebrate!
And then there is always the fun of the easter bunny - even if the egg dying smells!


FYI: Toby is still terrified of the idea of anything sneaking into the house at night - he insisted on sleeping with us in the "back room" if the bunny would be coming in through the front door - Poor kid still prays each night that none of his teeth will fall out because there is no way he is letting the tooth fairy near his head and pillow!

So here's to another Happy Easter - and since our church had its semi-annual conference this last weekend which meant a relaxing Sunday at home listening to services, I couldn't resist putting JK in this little get-up on Easter morning!

Good Things Easter Style

How cute are these cupcakes? A friend of mine made these for her boys Easter party at school - she is the type that turns everything she touches into gold - she did tell me that all she did to make the "grass" was to add a Tbsp of milk to the coconut and then green food dye and stir it up. Add jelly beans and pipe cleaners and you are good to go. Cute and easy is right up my ally!


And aren't these darling! Clear icing bags, cheese puffs and green ribbon is all you need for these. We gave ones like these out at our Easter primary party after each kid did the "egg walk" (think cake walk) once their number was called they got one of these instead of a cake. Again - fun and easy and the kids LOVE them!

And remember these:
Just google ressurection eggs and you will get a few different ideas of how you want to fill your eggs to teach your little ones about the days leading up to Christs death and ressurection.

And if you need a GREAT spring cupcake recipe:

Cupcake:
1 White cake mix
4 Eggs
3/4 C Oil
3/4 C Milk
1 3oz pkg Strawberry jello
1 C chopped strawberries (I use frozen that are completely thawed)

Mix all and fill cupcake tins 3/4 full. Bake at 350 for 20 Min.

Frosting:
1 8oz pkg cream cheese (room temp)
4Tbs butter (room temp)
3-4 C powdered sugar
1/2 C chopped fresh strawberries

Cream the cream cheese and butter then add sugar and strawberries. My frosting is always more like a glaze so it works great as a cake as well.

Happy Eastering!

Spring Break

Our spring break week started with a great party for our friend Amber's 30th! Can you tell she was born in the year 1980?




We had so much fun, a night away from the kids was a great way to start a full week of energy filled days that were coming our way.

My cousins Kerry and Hannah came to visit all the way from Kanab Utah during our week off! So far I have had 2 of my cousins come and see me here in Alabama from Kanab, how lucky are we that they have had trips that happen to bring them to the South and then they are willing to drive and see us! We had so much fun just visiting. Thanks for coming to see us guys - the boys miss you!

Then as always it was time for a little of this:

Which mad Lars HAPPY! Especially when BYU won their first game on his birthday.

Then we were off to Atlanta to celebrate birthdays with a trip to the Auto Show. The boys loved it, and I will admit it was quite fun even for me.

So even with the cold weather our spring break was a success full of birthdays, pump it up play days, visitors, a short trip and even a corned beef cook off to finish out the week. Hope your spring break is fun and warmer than ours was!