Sprinkler!!!

The kids have been begging me the last few days to let them put the sprinkler under the trampoline so they could jump in it. Finally, yesterday, I decided that it would be a good day to do that. So, while Avery was napping, this is what fun Easton and Paisley had...







I love their sheer innocence and joy. They just thought that jumping on the trampoline and getting wet was the best thing ever. Not a care in the world...oh to be that young again!

SCHOOL'S OUT!! Hip hip Hurray!!

Summer is officially here! School ended yesterday for Easton and two days ago for Paisley. We start summer busy right away with T-ball starting Monday. But, I am soooo looking forward to not having to get the kids up for school, or stress about getting them to bed on time at night, or just the whole routine of school days. I am excited to have free days to do with whatever we want/need.

The kids had mixed feelings about school ending. Paisley was really sad to leave her teachers. She wants to try to visit them this summer. Luckily, one of her teacher's families owns an ice cream parlor and she works there on the side. So, we will definitely be in to see her. :) Easton was really sad to leave his best friend from school. I assured him that he would see him when school started again, but he was still pretty upset. I felt bad for him.

Easton and Paisley did well on their report cards for the end of the year. Granted, they don't get letter grades yet, but they got as good as they each could with the grading systems. And, Easton got an award from the principal for 100% attendance. So, that was pretty exciting for him.

On Wednesday, I was able to go help with the 1st grade Field Day. They divided all the kids up into groups and we would go around to stations for about 10 minutes each. It was fun. The kids had a great time. It was pretty hot out that afternoon and the kids drank a lot of water. Afterwards they had root beer floats which they all thought was a GREAT treat!

I took some pictures of Easton at the Field Day festivities...



Dripping with bubble solution at the bubble startion!


Our group




My crazy kid who can't take a picture without a crazy pose!



Look out, summer, here we come! We are READY!!

Memorial Weekend

We had a great weekend Memorial weekend. Friday night, Easton spent the night at my parents' house so he could go fishing with them at 4 a.m. the next morning. My parents are not real big on fishing, but my brother, Jarom, is. So, it is kind of a standing tradition that my dad and brothers go fishing on opening day in my dad's boat. Easton couldn't wait to go fishing. He loves it. He had a great time and got a few fish all by himself!

So, to make it up to Paisley that she couldn't spend the night at her grandparents', we let her have a little sleep over. She had our good friends' little girl spend the night, and a neighborhood girl join in the Friday night festivities. We took them to eat dinner and play and then rented a Bratz movie for them to watch. I let Paisley pick out ANY 3 snacks she wanted for the movie...this is what she picked:





Can you blame her?? I mean, if she is allowed to pick ANYTHING, I think she did a good job! :) Don't worry, they didn't totally go crazy. I gave them a plate with a Hershey bar, a few chips, and 2 oreos. More than the usual, but not too bad.

So, they went to bed pretty well. But, Paisley came in my room a little before 6 a.m., and she already had dress up clothes on. So, who knows how long they had been up! They let us sleep a while longer and then I made pancakes.

Paisley had a soccer game that afternoon, and it was pretty hot. She did a great job. Saturday evening we had some friends, Brook and Nathan, over for a BBQ. Dave and Nathan played baseball with the kids. I think it was more of Dave and Nathan playing baseball, with a side note of children. :) They all had a great time while Brook and I talked. Paisley fell asleep in her room a little after 6 that night and slept all night. I'm not surprised she was tired for as early as they got up!

Sunday was church and then we went to my parents for smores which I already posted about.

Monday, we didn't have a lot going on during the day. So, we went up to the cemetery. When I was in 4th grade, my dad's younger brother died in a motorcycle accident. When I was in 5th grade, my mom's younger brother died in a car accident. It was a rough couple of years in our family. I definitely have a different perspective and understanding now as an adult. My parents were about our age when they went through all that. I can't imagine. But, I do remember both of my uncles and have vivid memories of each. So, we took the kids to the cemetery to visit their graves. Along with those graves, I have several grandparents buried in the same cemetery. We told the kids about each of the family member's graves we would be visiting. We also told them to try to be reverent there. They did pretty well. We just happened to run into my parents there. That was nice, so we visited with them as we walked.

I took a few pictures of the kids while we were there.



They had found a bush with a bunch of ladybugs on it, kept them busy for quite a while!

Sharing their ladybugs with Avery, who we found out inherited my fear of bugs! :)


That evening we went to Dave's brother's house for a BBQ. It is always good to visit with his family. I took my camera...but didn't take one picture!!! :( But, it was a good time, anyway!

So, that was our weekend. Dave also had Tuesday off and so we did yard work that day. I planted another row of onions and the tomatoes and peppers. (That is a story for another post!) Great to spend so much time with family and friends! Loved it!

Too scary...

I just wanted to write a little post about how very much my children mean to me. I take for granted sometimes that they are healthy, smart, beautiful, happy, giggly, crazy, rambunctious, silly, sweet, and innocent. I don't ever want to take that for granted, but it is kind of easy to do when things are going well.

Tonight we went to Easton's soccer game. As soon as we got there Easton got out and ran over to his team. I was parked right up against the school and couldn't see cars coming from the opposite direction. Easton needed me to tie his shoes so I called him to have him come back to the car. He started running to me. All of a sudden a big truck drove right in front of me. I had not been able to see it until it was right there. It was like slow motion...I could see Easton coming and because of parked cars, he couldn't see the truck either. But, I could see him coming and the truck and knew that the timing was exact. He was going to be hit by that truck and there was nothing I could do. I was totally helpless. All I could do was scream. He did run right out in front of that truck. I do not know how it happened, it was a total and complete miracle, but somehow that truck stopped. With not a millisecond to spare. When it stopped, Easton was right in front of it, looking right at the driver. I am so sure that there were angels protecting him tonight. He wasn't meant to be hurt. It was truly a miracle.

I am so thankful that someone was protecting my son tonight. It was probably the absolute most scary moment of my entire life. I am so thankful that the driver of that truck was paying attention and hadn't looked away for a split second. Afterwards, I calmed him down, and just held him for a few minutes. He then ran back to his team. I had to just sit there for about 5 minutes and pull myself together. I was shaking so badly and could hardly think. It was awful.

Tonight I went down to tuck Easton into bed. We talked again about what had happened. I asked him if he thought that we should pray to Heavenly Father to thank Him for protecting him tonight. He thought that was a good idea and asked me to say the prayer. It was a really neat experience kneeling with Easton and thanking the Lord for preserving him. I don't often pray one-on-one with my children. But, I think it is something that I should do. It was so spiritual. Afterwards he gave me the biggest, longest hug. I hope to remember that experience forever.

I pray that I will not take for granted my children and their childhood. I got a glimpse tonight of how quickly that can be taken away from me. I hope to never ever ever experience that, but I am almost grateful that I had this experience to knock some sense back in to me. I needed a bit of a reminder of how very blessed I am and how temporary it can be.

Aren't they sweet?

Our first bean sprout

Here are our first little sprouts in our garden!


Our first onion sprouts

Our first pea sprouts

Aren't they cute? I feel like a proud mom showing off her brand new sweet little baby! :) I know I am going a bit overboard, but we have put so much work into the garden this year that I am ecstatic that we are actually getting sprouts finally!!! Yea for us!

SMORES!!

We got together with my parents, my brother, Jarom, and his family, and my sister-in-law Stephanie, for Smores Sunday night. (We missed you, Andrew!!!) We just did a little fire pit in my parents' backyard. It was a great time. We did get a little scared every time one of the little ones got near the fire. But, we had no injuries, thankfully, and just enjoyed each other's company.




Grandma and Paisley


Paisley, grandpa, and Jarom


Easton, Paisley, and grandpa


Aunt Stephanie, Easton, Avery, and Dillon



Braylon, aka "Dimples"


Jarom and Jackie


Dave trying to stay out of the smoke! :)

Once we figured that we were smokey enough, we moved the party inside where we just visited, joked, and told embarrassing stories about each other. (At least Jarom and I did!) :) Great times! Grandpa watched Madagascar 2 downstairs with the kids which they enjoyed. We have to get together again soon. That was lots of fun! Thanks everyone!!

5th new phone...hurray!

So, as my husband will agree, I am not good with cell phones. About a year and a half ago I had a nice pink phone. I loved it! Small enough to carry in my pocket. Loved the features. And, since it did fit so conveniently in my pocket, I forgot to take it out and it went through the wash. I was so sad, and a little worried to tell Dave. But, he was nice about it. We ordered me a new one just like it...but a little pricier now. Well, about 6 weeks later, IT HAPPENED AGAIN!!! This time I was super worried to tell Dave. He wasn't as understanding this time. (He still took it better than I probably would have if roles were reversed.) So, I think I ended up with an old phone of ours that was not very nice.

Then, a while later we got a good deal on a new phone for me. It was really nice...purple even! So, that was a great phone. I was very careful with it. I used it for several months. Until...one day I was wearing pajama pants when I took the kids to school. I put the phone in the pocket. Then, I did laundry that day. I always check my pants pockets, but did not think to check my PAJAMA PANTS pockets. Yep, a third phone through the wash. Okay, Dave...not very happy! So, I went without a phone for a couple weeks. Then, my sweet mom found a really old phone she had and I was able to use that. It got me by just fine. I was thankful for it!

So, Thursday morning I had Avery in the bath. I was in there doing my hair and I had my cell on the counter. My home phone rang and I talked for a few minutes. A lot of times while on the phone, I pace around. So, I was out of the bathroom. I did not see my "sweet" little 2 year old get out of the tub, grab my cell phone, and get back in the tub. When I came back to the bathroom, she was standing there yelling for me to look at her. I look over and in her hand is my cell phone...DRIPPING wet!! Oh, Avery!! So, I hurried and took out the battery and tried to dry it all out with my blow dryer. It never turned on again!!!

Can you imagine how much I DIDN'T want to call Dave??? But, this time it wasn't my fault! It was Avery's!! You would think I could leave a phone sitting around, NOPE! Not with my tornado girl. So, he laughed about it. He said, "What else can I do but laugh?"

We went to the Verizon store and they said they would let us buy one at the one-year contract price. Great! But, there wasn't a phone at that price for less than $175!

Luckily we knew a guy who was selling a phone. I was worried about what condition it would be in. But, at this point, I couldn't be too picky! So, Dave went and got it and paid him the $50. He got it home and I love it!! It is a really cool phone in really good condition! I was pretty excited. It is the ENV2 and looks like this:



So, I hope to have this phone for a long time. I am going to be careful to keep it away from the 2 most dangerous things a cell phone can come across in this house.

This:



and this:

"This is why we had kids..." :)

Dave has come up with a fun new game for him and the kids. They play "hunting." Easton has a pretty nice nerf gun that shoots the little nerf darts. So, it doesn't hurt. But, the kids pretend they are animals, which they think is so fun, and Dave shoots them. The kids laugh and laugh and think it is so fun. And, Dave laughs and laughs and thinks it is so fun. It is funny to watch Dave. He just has a little TOO much fun shooting the kids! :) Last night as they were playing it, he said, "This is why we had kids!" :)

I got this video of them playing. But, I should have started taping earlier in the game. It was more funny earlier on. They are getting a bit rough and crazy at this point. In the video, Easton is trying to "protect" Avery, but she is not having that at all! Enjoy watching our Sunday evening entertainment!!

My little girl is growing up...

So, preschool is coming to an end for my little Paisley. She isn't so little anymore, she is 5 1/2, but I have a hard time believing it. She is actually a boy-crazy 16 year old in my 5 year old's body, but I am trying to hold onto my 5 year old preschooler with all my might!! It kind of makes me sad that her preschool days are almost behind her...

Tuesday was her end of the year program for her preschool. They had a magic show theme.



Paisley doing a flower pot magic trick...sorry for the horrible quality!

It was kind of different. In all honesty, Dave and I were a bit disappointed in the program. They only sang one song and the rest of the time the teacher did cute little magic tricks. Oddly enough, after the show, you could purchase all the tricks that she "demo'd". The kids took turns "helping" with the tricks. It was kind of sad. When Easton was in that preschool, they sang all kinds of cute songs at the program. It was great. Now it is like a way for the teacher to make a little extra dough! But, I truly do love this preschool teacher. She is really good and has taught my kids very well. But...that program needs some tweaking! :)

Paisley was very cute in it though. She was quite a ham. During the one song they sang, we were trying to get a few pictures. Every time my dad would take a picture she would stop and put her shoulder up and look over it in a cute little pose.



My dad was laughing and saying what a "Poser" she was. :)

One of the tricks she was able to help with involved a rubber chicken at the end.



She got to hold it and was the center of attention and she ATE THAT UP...the attention I mean! :) She doesn't have a shy bone in her body.

Afterwards we went out to ice cream which was very fun. I am sure proud of her!

Wednesday morning we went on her end of the year field trip for that preschool to the zoo and funland. This was Avery's first time being on rides. I don't think she quite knew what to think.




When we put her on the first ride, the airplane ride, she just sat there looking fairly confused. The ride started and she didn't really smile at all, until she saw me and then she smiled and waved. But, then it was back to serious.

They got to ride the carousel and the trains also.




She enjoyed both. She did try to climb out of the train as it was going and the lady had to grab her, but other than that she did well.



Paisley, of course, loved riding the rides and could have done it all day! Then we had a little picnic and off to the zoo.



The zoo was fun. The girls enjoyed it. It was fun to see it especially through Avery's eyes. She loved seeing the lions, monkeys, and tigers. They were both very good and it was a great time!

I am so thankful for times spent having fun with my children. It is fun to see them get excited about doing something fun.

Last night I got to attend a class for Enrichment that was about couponing. This is something I am very interested in, but kind of overwhelmed by. I have done a bit here and there. I got a lot of good info out of this class. Couponing is like a learned sport! Seriously. You have to learn it and master it and practice it. It is actually a lot of work. Luckily for people like me, there are a lot of women who blog about their couponing and share the good deals. So, it makes it easier. Thanks Christy for putting SO much time into the class. I learned a lot. I appreciate you saying that you will have times where it didn't work and you are frustrated. I went to Albertsons a couple days ago and didn't get near as good of deals as I had expected. I was pretty frustrated. So, now I can forget that...start fresh...and get couponing again! :)

Graduation time!

Saturday morning Easton and I had a great opportunity. We got to go down and watch my dad and my sister-in-law graduate from college. My dad graduated with his master's degree, and Jackie with her bachelor's degree in finance.

Paisley had a soccer game and there was NO way we were going to fight Avery through the whole ceremony. So, just Easton and I went, which I really enjoyed. It is really nice to be able to spend time with my children one on one sometimes. He was really good the whole time. I enjoy that he is still my little boy, but old enough to take somewhere and have him be good.

The ceremony was long, of course. But so great to watch my dad and Jackie walk across the stage. These have not been easy school years for them. They have each had their challenges through the time. But, they both persevered and made it through. I am so proud of them both.


Easton and my dad right after the ceremony

My dad graduated with his bachelor's degree when I was in high school. He had been working towards his degree for many years. Slowly, class by class, while raising a young family, he made it. Then about 4 1/2 years ago he decided to earn his Master's degree. At the time and up until about a year ago, he was the bishop in his ward. He also worked full time.


My dad's parents, my grandparents, and my mom and dad

I am very proud of him. He has never let his circumstances stop him from reaching his education goals.

Jackie has 2 little boys and is pregnant with her third baby. Through all her pregnancies she has continued to go to school. She never took a semester off. I don't know how she did it. She is so smart and strong. I am so proud of her.


My brother, Jarom, Jackie, Dillon, and Braylon

When I consider going back to school, I always figure it will be when my kids are all in school because I couldn't possibly do it now. After watching Jackie, I know that it is possible now, I just have to want it and work for it. Jackie...you truly have inspired me! Congratulations!!

And of course, I had to get in one picture of my super handsome little man! :)



He wanted his picture taken, that doesn't happen often! I love this boy!

Congrats again dad and Jackie! I am so glad that we could be there to celebrate this moment with you guys! You worked so hard and I thank you for being an example to me!