Miniature Golf With Nina

One of the kids favorite things to do with Nina is Miniature golf. This is a tradition that goes way back to when Andrew was 3 years old. When Cali was born and Nina came to help...she would take Andrew miniature golfing every day. Til this day they love to go and when anyone gets a hole in one we all sing...Shake your boody, shake, shake your boody. It is so fun. My mom came out to help with my Thyroid scan and since it was a clean scan and I was cleared I got to go have some fun with My mom and the kids. What a relief. Thanks for always coming and having fun with us Nina! We love you!

Cali Graduates Preschool

Cali Had the opportunity to go to a neighborhood preschool with her twin cousins this year. They are the best of friends and had such a fun year together. This teacher is named Teacher Kathy and the girls love her. She has taught my two kids and my brother and sister in laws kids. She is retiring after this year so we were happy to get all our kids through before that happend. It is bitter sweet because now Cali has graduated and will be going into Kindergarden. I will have two kids in school now. We are so proud and so excited for her. My little girl is growing up fast. The kids put on a graduation show which consisted of song, nursery rhyms, days of the week and months of the year. Cali sort of stole the show with how LOUD she was. The other kids had a little more shyness than her. It was cracking me up it was so loud. Here are some pictures from her special day....

Sorry this is so delayed. Things have been more than crazy around here. More to come...

I Promise

I have been telling myself for weeks to do a new post. I have lots of summer activities to update. Between swim lessons and camping and swim team for andrew, 4th of Juky etc... we have just been running around and staying busy. i was going to start working on it but on thursday my mother in law got very ill and she has been in the hospital for a couple days.We thought it was a stroke in the beginning but We are extremely concerned and dont know exactly what is going on. We do know that she has had a brain absess and has bacteria in her spinal fluid. Right now she is not aware of whats happend to her. She is aware that she is in the hospital but she came in with severe pain. Today she is feeling better pain wise but not fully coherent. She is on heavy antibiotics and steroid to reduce swelling in her brain. They are running many tests and everything is just a guess at this point. We are all very worried about her and we know she needs all the prayers she can get. She will need to stay at the hosital for several more days. We are all very worried and hope we can get her better soon. The doctors think they are on the right track now but we just dont know anything for sure.

Zions National Park

We spent this years memorial weekend in Zions national park. Craigs family invited us to all go and stay at the lodge in the park. It was a great trip. We did some hiking, horseback riding, exploring,eating, Ice cream, etc. We also celebrated Alans birthday when we were down there. I was so amazed at how much fun it is and how convenient it is to stay in the actual park. It was awesome. The kids did major hiking. Especially the boys. Andrew and Jacob did Angels Landing (scary hike) with their dads. They took it like a couple of champs. When they got back all they wanted was ice cream. They really desearved it after that adventure. Here are some of the pictures from the trip.

The narrows Hike (cali and I just walked to the water part) The boys did the whole hike.

here is Andrew flexing at the top of Angels Landing. Holy moly that kid is strong!

One of the things you can do for the kids is buy these jr. ranger booklets for a dollar. The kids have to fill out information about the park and help pick up trash etc. When they have finished they say a pledge and get jr. Ranger badges. The boys were thrilled to accomplish this. They are so cute!

Great to Be a Mom

Well most of the time anyway. I had a great Mothers day this year. First I had the best gift..finally having Craig Home from being gone for 3 weeks.

My day started off with breakfast in bed. Yum. Then I got flowered with homemade gifts from the kids and flowers from my wonderful husband. Well truth be told Cali didn't wait until Mothers day to give me her surprise. She was just too excited.

Here are some of the gifts i got....

Made by Cali:

Made by Andrew:

The day I became a mother my dreams came true. I had been practicing being a mom my whole life. I used to iron my cabbage patch dolls clothing. The day Andrew was born was truly the most important day of my life. That day I became responsible for someone else. Andrew was the sweetest baby. He did not sleep very well at night but I cherished that time alone I got to spend with him. Thank goodness my Mom was there to help guide me on those first nights. She made me feel that everything was o.k. It was very overwhelming and she made me feel safe. Thank goodness for Mothers. Thank you Andrew for making me a mother. It has truly been a blessing. Andrew was the best first baby I could have asked for. He loved his binky and that made things easier for both of us. This picture is Andrew the day after he was born. He was so skinny his knees were wrinkled. He had the most chappy lips too. Poor worn out baby


Then:

Now:

This was the day I became a mom of my baby girl. What a special day that was. It is so vivid in my mind I can remember it like it was yesterday. I was thrilled to be a mom once again. I was a lot less nervous. I felt more confident in my abilities to ake care of a newborn. Plus I got to play dress up with her everyday. Cali you mean the worl to me. I couldn't have asked for a better daughter. You are my sweetheart and I am so glad I got my baby girl.

Then:

Now:

Being a mom is so rewarding and so frustrating and wonderful and hard. I am constantly learning as I go. I certainly had and have a lot of wonderful role models. I have 3 wonderful mothers and an aunt (paula) who have shown me the way to be a mother. I know i am not perfect but I am growing as I go. I just hope one day my children will look back and say they had the most wonderful childhood and most wonderful mom they could have had. I am thankful each and evryday for this role I get to have. i love you Andrew and Cali. thank you for giving me the opportunity to be your Mother.

Update for May

Sorry again for not posting for a while. Craig has been at training for his new job for Three weeks. He is home now but let me fill you in on what has been going on in his absence.

Every time Craig leaves town I usually tackle some painting project that needs to be done.i LOVE to surprise him. This time I thought I would just maybe do some deep cleaning or get ready for bulky trash. On the way to Andrews baseball game My mother in Law suggested we get Craigs den done in the basement while he is away. I was very apprehensive because that was the only room that wasn"t completed with framing and electrical work. But then a miracle happend...My dad (who is a very talented builder) and My uncles came to work on a project in Salt Lake and they wanted to stay with me. Well anyone who wants to stay with me ends up earning their keep it seems. By some small miracle I got my dad to finish the electrical, my uncle mike to fix a plumbing issue, my plumber to move a heating vent and my framer to come finish the job all in one week. i hired a guy to do the drywall, texture and finish work. My sweet Mother in Law helped me paint the room and ceiling. I painted baseboards, casing for the door and the door all by my self. I also found an super bargain on remnant carpet. I truly got it all done with one day to spare for laundry catch up and cleaning bathrooms. Yes I know I am crazy for agreeing to do it while I was home with my two kids but with help from my family I accomplished a lot. I even had time to squeeze in some girls nights. It was a daunting task and caused me A LOT of stress but I got it done and Craig was absolutley shocked and GREATFUL.


BEFORE:

AFTER:

Well that is why I havn't been blogging. I have been busy with something else! How does it look?

Now all my house guests will not have to share the room with an office.Yay! High Five for me.LOL.