I am a cool mom!

I was outside with Emily and she said, "You are a cool mom!"
I asked, "You think I'm a cool mom?"
She looked at me like I was retarded and said,
"YES, are you stupid or something?"
What do you say to that?
The funniest part is that she wasn't even joking. She was dead serious. I will take it as a compliment considering some of the lovely things she says when she's mad.
What a sweet girl.

Baby Birds

Emily found a nest full of baby birds in one of our trees. Emily named them of course. She stands on a bucket and watches them for long periods of time only to run in and give us a report. We saw the momma bring worms and we got to watch the babies eat them. She had like three worms in her mouth at once. The blue stuff on the nest is....can you guess?? SILLY STRING!! Ten year old boys are so retarded!!! Joseph "accidently" squirted the nest. I have tried to get it off, but momma doesn't want me too close so, I really hope they don't try to eat it and get sick. What a fun little part of nature we have in our willow tree!!

Tallulah, Percy, Jeffrey, & Harry

Mamma Bird

Primary Class Luau

So, I am Joseph's Primary teacher. Every year I have 2 parties for my kids. Last night we had a luau. I let Emily bring Samantha. I decorated my backyard with tiki torches and other "Hawaiian" decorations. They all loved the jacuzzi. We played games and had a great time!!

Emily & Samantha

This is Joseph and his 3 best friends. I call them all gang members. They are like a pack of wild dogs. They do everything together. They are in Primary together, Scouts together, they do sports together, they go to the same school, and they play together pretty much everyday. They are crazy!!!

How many kids can you fit into a jacuzzi? Well, we had nine, but I'm sure we could have fit a few more!

We roasted hot dogs for dinner and had s'mores for dessert.

Joseph was a little off.

I don't know if she cheated, but Emily won the "Pin the monkey on the palm tree" game.

We made sure Emily got at least one hit on our pineapple pinata.

Joseph hits way hard!

Summertime

So, it's here. School is out and the long days of Summer have begun. Emily has decided to prepare for the summer with a nice facial. I am not that excited about this time of the year, but if I plan well and keep busy, we usually have a pretty great time. We look forward to seeing some of you during trips and such. I look forward to library days, park days etc. with friends here (okay, my one friend here). I mostly look forward to laughter and memories shared with my children. Chris has just started his first job as a dishwasher/bus boy at a local restaurant. Time goes by fast. Enjoy every minute with your little ones. They are only little for a little while!

Most Improved

I am proud to report that Emily won an award for "Most Improved" in her award assembly! I am so proud of her. Her reading has become so good and also her favorite pastime. I got her an ice cream cake from Cold Stone's to celebrate and she was very excited. She ate most of it all up with her friend, Samantha. Anyone who would like to congratulate her would be greatly appreciated. She needs all confidence building experiences possible! She has done so great this year!!!! Yeah Emily!

Boondocks

On Mother's Day weekend, my brother came out to Utah to visit his mother-in-law with his wife. We were able to spend the Saturday before with him. We all went to Boondocks. It is a fun place my kids love to visit. We get passes and they include unlimited, laser tag, miniature golf, bumperboats, go karts, and slick track. It also comes with a bunch of arcade tokens. We all had a lot of fun. The boys even did some batting cages for a while. It was good to hang out with Uncle Josh. Aunt breanne was at a wedding so we just got to see Josh. A very fun day!!!

Uncle Josh miniature golfing with us

Christopher miniature golfing

Joseph miniature golfing Emily and Christopher on the bumper boats

Lake Tahoe

Dennis and I were able to go on a four day vacation alone. That doesn't happen too often so it was quite a treat. We flew into Reno and drove to Lake Tahoe, where we stayed in a nice hotel with a lake view. The room was HUGE. It even had his/hers bathrooms. I loved having my own bathroom. The bathrooms even had a T.V. and phone in each one. The bed had a down comforter. It was the most comfortable bed I have ever slept in. We relaxed, shopped, enjoyed the sights, etc. We had such a nice time together. We need to do that more often. Vacationing without the kids is always a treat.

To remember our wonderful trip to Lake Tahoe, Dennis bought me this gorgeous emerald ring, because I told him I wanted it, but also to celebrate our wonderful time at Emerald Bay. Isn't he so nice???? I truly am a very lucky woman to have a kind husband. He is very thrifty, but for me can be so very generous! It's nice to be loved so much. I love my dorky husband!!!

We went on a wonderful boat cruise intoEmerald Bay. It was such a beautiful day. The most breathtaking part of the lake is always Emerald Bay. I love the old castle on the shore. You can hike down to it and go through it.

While in Tahoe, we visited an old gold mining town, Virginia city. The original buildings and artifacts were quite interesting. It was fun to look around and get a taste of history. It made for a fun afternoon.

Mother's Day

I had a very nice Mother's Day. My kids got me a new Webkinz. She is a cute monkey. They were sick of me on their website, so now I have my own. My wonderful husband bought me this beautiful Lladro figurine holding the baby. It is titled, "Unconditional Love". I love it!! I was also surprised by a beautiful ballerina Lladro from my step kids or I "my bigger kids'' as I like to refer to them! Emily had a little melt down, but other than that it was a very nice day.

Hope of America

Every year the chorus at the little kid's school participates in a county wide program held at the BYU Marriott Center. It is a celebration of our country through the years. It is awesome! Emily did an American Indian number last year. This year, Joseph was in the choir. He is one of the white stripes making up the flag. The place is so big and it is filled to capacity. It is an awesome patriotic experience!