Family Night Out

Mike had a goal at the dealership.  When he reached it we had a special family night out.  We went to Del Taco for dinner, Chuck E Cheese for fun, and then stopped at Baskin on our way home for a treat. We don't see Mike alot, so it was a fun to have him along for one of our adventures.

This is the only ride Spencer liked.  It was the first and it went downhill from there.  He cried for the rest of it and every other ride after that.  

No matter what we tried, he was not a fan.  

I love when we get to spend time together!!!!!!

The last Day of School

The last day of school was such a fun day.  Our neighborhood does an end of year party at our neighborhood park and pool where the kids get off the buss.  Everyone brings water balloons to ambush the kids as they come off the bus and then there's lots of treats to share. 

Michael and Spencer helped me fill up water balloons in the morning and we had some early balloon fun.

It was super fun party for everyone but Isabelle.  She was NOT a fan of the water balloons.  She ran away and hid.  She cried.  I told her it was a fun surprise.  I got a very snappy response, "Water balloons are NOT a fun surprise!  They are only fun if you know about them!" Haha! Not to self, don't ever surprise Isabelle with water balloon. :) 

She happied up with lots of cupcakes and treats. 

Then we all went swimming for hours. The mom win of the day...I did an excellent job with the sunscreen and none of my kids got sunburned. :) Personal fail of the day, apparently, I didn't get any of that sunscreen. I got burned worse than I have in YEARS! 

We came home and had more fun with water balloons. 

We had art time 

The kids made clay creations 

And had a dance party.  From the looks of it, we spent the entire day in swim suits.  I'm sure there was more water play at some point.

This was the beginning of what has so far been a really great summer. This is the first summer I haven't been moving or pregnant since 2008.  I have been determined to make it a fun summer for my kids (I feel like they have gotten the short end of the stick on previous summers).  I have been able to give my kids lots of attention and a pleasant attitude. We have done lots of art time, science experiments, fun read aloud stories, and fun adventures.  I've taken some pictures, but not as many as usual.  We have just been having fun. 

Family Time

The beauty of summer is getting to spend lots of time with family. This particular day, with Sharon and Joe's family and Mike's mom, we went to Chick fil a for lunch, Baskin for ice cream, and then played at a park.  It was a perfect day.  We missed Mike while he was working, but we still had lots of fun anyway. 

They had a fun pick up soccer game.  Sharon's big boys are always so nice with my littles. They include them and my kids just love it.

These two crack me up! They are both definitely pesky toddlers and it's the funniest thing to watch them interact.  I just so happen to catch Josh picking on Spencer and Spencer tattling on him and Josh feeling not so sorry. They love each other and get so excited to see each other.  

Preschool Graduation

Michael had his preschool graduation. I really liked the preschool he went to.  It's just up the street and taught by two ladies here in the neighborhood.  Their personalities are perfect for Michael's. He loved them.  They did a great job keeping him challenged in a non challenging environment. He teared up when he was saying goodbye to his teachers.  It was so sweet. (Even though he sees one of them every week).

When they passed out their "Diploma" they announced their name and what they wanted to be when they grow up.  All the other kids were your basic, fireman, police man, ballet dancer etc.  Michael's was "a car salesman."  I busted up! He's excited about dad's other business too.  More so than I realized. 

Mrs. Stoner

Mrs. Skidmore

Happy Birthday to Me!

The good news about being laid up and not blogging, is I might have been laid up not blogging, but I was also laid up not doing much.  I'm getting caught up quick! 

My birthday was a pretty perfect day! I got to phone calls, messages, and texts from lots of special people. I felt super loved.  Then I went to lunch with Mike's two sisters and did a little shopping with them.  There really is nothing like having something other than pb&j on your bday, no matter how you go about it. I've had a couple special lunches on my bday, and I think it's one of my favorite ways to celebrate. Mike brought me flowers (aren't they purdy?!) and a neighbor made me dinner.  Mike finished up the evening by making me some pudding for my birthday treat. It was a perfect day getting spoiled. :) 

A funny from Luke a couple days after my birthday, 

L: Is today Mother's day?

M: No

L: Is today your birthday?"

M: Nope.  Just a regular day.

L: Oh so we can be mean to you again?!

Whaaaaaat?!?! I guess it shows he tried being nice to me for two days in the same week. haha

I had to add this to cuten up this post. :)  

Payson Temple Open House

When we went to the Layton temple open house, we went to a 7:30pm session.  Big mistake!  It was a total disaster.  It was crowded and the kids were tired.  So this time around, I picked a 9:30 am session.  Isabelle was going to miss a little school, but for a good reason.  It was SO much better!  Mike couldn't come with us, but we had a good time anyway.  Michael tried to walk as loudly as possible and had to feel all the fabrics.  He was somewhat challenging, but it was still a good experience. It is such a beautiful temple! SO colorful!  The fringe on the couches even have crystals in it. I love to see the temple.  I love to show my kids. 

Why even bother trying to get a good picture?  The faces....oh the faces! So here we have "out takes."

Play Set #2

We have some neighbors that have some older kids (10 and 12).  Every time I drove by their house, I noticed their well ignored playset and finally asked them about it.  I offered to pay them for it, but they just wanted to get rid of it. Playset for FREE...YES PLEASE!!!!!!!! It needed a coat of paint, but other than that, it's perfect! We rounded up a bunch of neighborhood men and moved it with minimal disassembly. (After the week project from the first playset, that was a huge plus to Mike. haha!)  It's been a huge hit!  This one has monkey bars and a rope with rock wall and a steering wheel, slide, swings, and a fort above and below.  We've gotten it half painted since, but I'm finding I don't have a picture of the finished project. My kids have lived outside since we got it. Kids belong outside. Everyone is happier when kids can be outside. 

I love the view from my kitchen sink while I cook dinner. Mike comes every day from work and goes out with all the boys to swing and throw the ball for Jake.  All my boys are happy. :)  

Outside

My pictures aren't organized right now.  These should have been in the last post.  My kids live outside now.  In hanging out in the fort, my kids have realized we have "Over the fence" neighbors.  They have 3 girls and 4 baby chickens. The fence has also become a new fun place to hang out. I love this stream of pictures I took.  This was a happy night, Mike mowed so everyone's feet are green.  Some of our best friends, Aaron and Star with their kids Brooke and Tyler came over.  These pictures just make me smile. 

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This was actually the picture for my view out my kitchen window.  Half painted.  I love the color! Can't wait til we finish it up, but it's been super rainy.  

The Baby

(I just realized this title could be misleading.  This is not an announcement. haha!) Ok, I'm obsessed with this kid.  He is just cute and funny and makes me smile and giggle all day long. We call him "The Baby."  He gets my phone and asks for "the baby." He likes to look at pictures of himself (and there are TONS on my phone. haha).  He helps clean up and unload the dishwasher and loves to help me sweep (he especially likes to pick through the pile for treasures and then spread it all out again.  Super helpful like that).  He  turned 18 months at the end of March and started nursery.  He loves it (after the initial 3 second "you're leaving me!!!" cry). He is talking up a storm and always says "Thank you."

He's obesessed with trains.  Here he is wearing his train shirt playing trains.  He calls them "Choo Choos." He will sit and play trains in the playroom by himself forever. 

He loves to swing. "Wee! Wee! Wee!"  He cries all day to swing.  With my knee, I have been out of commission for unstable surfaces and a sloped yard with holes and knee high grass definitely qualifies for "unstable." So he has to wait until Mike gets home to swing (unless I can talk a kid into doing it for me.)  He's discovered pockets in his pants and it's pretty much the cutest thing when he walks around with his hands in his pockets or puts rocks or cars in them. 

He seems to have outgrown his dairy difficulties. I still limit how much a day I give him, and make sure he doesn't have dairy at all 3 meals, but his skin and comfort level are looking good.  He LOVES cheese! He bangs on the fridge, "Eese! Eese!" Over and over again until I give him some. He still won't drink anything other than water, but at his last check up he went from the 3-4% to the 14-15%.  He seems to be growing just fine without it.  

Oh he just makes me happy! I'm sure he will get another post of his own sooner than later simply because I'm pretty obsessed. Loving this baby of mine!