Which princess are you??

You Are Cinderella!

Dignified and hard working. With a gentle and soft-spoken manner you have something many people don't. Patience. Even through the moments of heartbreak you're still able to hold onto all of your hopes and dreams. Bide your time; your dream will come true.

Which Disney Princess Are You?

I got this quiz off of my friend Tuesdee's blog. Thanks Tuesdee you always have the cutest ideas on your blog. :-)

Memorial Day activities

Today we went swimming, swimming, and swimming again. Oh so fun!! After swimming at our neighborhood pool all day we headed over to the Richard's for a fun barbecue, swimming, and a little action on their new sports court. :-)

On this end of the pool everyone was playing hard...

this end of the pool was used strictly for relaxation...

By the end of the night there were some pretty serious games going on

Brandon, racing to the other end ...

Thankfully, by the end of the night these three were still getting along and NOT causing any mischief. :-)

Easy as Pie

I waited three months to post this entry just to make sure this really was real...and yes, it really is real. We were out to lunch in Utah with our friends the Wilson's explaining that Kai had no desire to potty train when he suddenly walked up and said, "I need to go potty on the toilet really bad." Brandon and I looked at each other, and then our friends in complete shock. Ever since that day even on the flight home he has been potty trained. There was one day two weeks into it where he was sick and had three accidents that day. Other than that he is 100% potty trained during wake time, 100% potty trained during naps, and 100% potty trained through the night with no effort on my part whatsoever...all at the age of 2 1/2.
Now, I will say that I did not get off so easy in this so called potty training "stuff". Jace was a complete different story...even to the point that I can say up to this point in parenting the hardest part has been potty training Jace. It was even a reason to post-pone child #3 because I did not want to be potty training a toddler with a baby like I did when I was potty training Jace. I think Heavenly Father knew my limits and what I could handle and figured I needed potty training with Kai to be "Easy as Pie." :-)

Mother's Day Brunch

This past Thursday I had the opportunity to attend a Mother's Day Brunch with Jace at his school. It was so much fun and I absolutely loved the one on one time I got to spend with him. After the brunch we went back to his classroom for a story and to open our Mother's Day gifts. I love the pillow he made...I think it is so sweet. After all of us mom's opened our gifts, we headed out to the garden to take pics. with our kids. It was such a treat to spend the morning with Jace...thanks buddy I love you. :-)

They made cute placemats for the brunch. :)

The cute pillow Jace made!!

Jace, Averie, Emma, Lauren, Cami

Mother's Day

This Mother's Day has been so wonderful. First off, I was so shocked to pull up my blog and find the poem that Brandon had written and posted all by himself late Saturday night. They also made me breakfast in bed which is a task in itself considering we have 8:00am church.

Kai, made this beautiful tile in nursery for Mother's Day. I am so grateful for his wonderful teachers (thanks Sis. Jenkins, Sis. Fields, and Sis. Bachrach...you guys are the best!!)

It reads,"My dirty little handprint, I've left on every wall

And on the drawers and tabletop, I've really marked them all

But here is one that won't rub off, I'm giving it to you

Because I am so thankful for a mother just like you!

Happy Mother's Day Mom! I love you. Love, Kai

The sweet pillow Jace made for me at school.

My mother-in-law Susan, sent me this wonderful book by President Hinckley. I am so excited to start reading it!!

The least sentimental, but still a favorite were my new cycling shoes.

For those of you that don't know, I took up cycling this past year. I know...I don't know how many times my trainer in high school and college told me runners don't cycle, and what do I do??? I took up cycling during a knee injury this past year and have loved it ever since (sorry Coach "O"). I still love running, but am a little embarrassed to say that I am currently riding a lot more than running.
Anyways, for Mother's Day I got my first "real" pair of cycling shoes. I love them, but had no idea how expensive of a shoe this could be. Lets just say they range anywhere from two to six times the price of my running shoes. All I can hope for the pocket books sake is that I don't ride through these in a four month time-span like my running shoes. :-)

Thanks boys for the best Mother's Day ever...I love you. :)

The Mother of our lives...

As seasons change and life unfolds,
What joy and pain we know.
We catch a breath and look to thee,
To know which way to go.

When all around the earth at war,
With famine, death and pain.
Whilst in your arms, both safe and sure,
Thou doest softly sing my name.

What sacrifice, both mind and body,
To bring my heavenly soul,
To meet thee here within this realm,
To help, teach, watch and grow.

Selfishness, greed, and anger,
Have no grasp upon thy heart.
Only patience, guidance, hope and faith,
Are where thy mornings start.

And when the world will have me not,
My hopes and dreams to shun.
To thy thoughtful eyes and open arms,
With all my strength, I’ll run.

What more can be said of me,
But to thee my life I owe.
My grateful heart doth beat for thee,
Mother, in heaven, it was thee I chose.

We celebrate you today and love you with all our hearts!

JACE, KAI & DADDY

What was once there is now gone...

A little over a year ago Brandon started reading the Eragon books to Jace every night. Jace was immediately drawn to this story. One day he happened to see the DVD cover and noticed Eragon had slightly longer hair. From that day on Jace decided he REALLY wanted to grow his hair out, so we let him.

A couple of weeks ago Jace came to me and said that he had decided it was too hot outside to have long hair anymore and he REALLY wanted to get a short haircut. Without vocalizing or showing my sadness I told him if that's REALLY what he wanted we could call Nee Nee (his hairstylist) and get him an appointment to get a REALLY short haircut.

Needless to say, I do really miss his wavy locks, but he REALLY seems happy with his new look so...I guess that's all that really matters (this is one battle I refuse to fight). Lets just hope he finds a new role model with semi long hair, or it gets really cold outside. :-)

Before...

and after...

We'll see if this is true in TEN years??

You Will Be a Cool Parent

You seem to naturally know a lot about parenting, and you know what kids need. You can tell when it's time to let kids off the hook, and when it's time to lay down the law. While your parenting is modern and hip, it's not over the top. You know that there's nothing cool about a parent who acts like a teenager... or a drill sergeant!

Would You Be a Cool Parent?

Sensory Day

Jace's preschool class along with three other classes had Sensory Day this past week. Kai and I were on the set-up committee and boy did we have fun. Each parent was asked to bring one gallon of jello so we could have a little swimming pool full of jello for the kids to jump in. We had a pool of ice, pool of shaving cream, spray bottles, paint brushes and buckets of water, and a flower water spout that sprayed water everywhere.

It was interesting to see neither one of my boys wanting to get into the pool of jello (it does look kind of yucky, but I think it would have been a blast.) It's not very often that you get to jump into a pool of jello.

Jace got a hold of the shaving cream and that was the end of that:)

My little OCD Kai wanted nothing to do with Sensory Day. He can't stand anything messy (he uses about twenty napkins at each meal.) Even before the kids started to come out of the school he asked if we could put the jello and shaving cream away and turn off the spraying flower. He is crying in this pic. because Jace happened to rub shaving cream on his arm.

Kai finally found his knack. Painting the playground with CLEAN water!!

We then ended the day with Popsicles:-)

Poppy turned 55

Happy Birthday Dad!!