The Birthday that Never Ends

 Josh turned six! Over and over and over again. It felt that way anyway. It started on Thursday. Because Boondocks gives the birthday child a free unlimited pass I convinced Josh to have his party with his friends the next day so he and his brother could enjoy it.  Man was that a good idea! He has been begging to go for months and now he is truly in love. I paid for Matthew to go because I knew he couldn't drive the go-karts and let's face it, they are the best part. We got there early so they had the track to themselves



. It was fun to watch them start off slow and then go faster and faster as they got more comfortable.

 Then they did the bumper boats. Much slower but Josh got to drive his own and squirt Matthew.

 I had a free bowling coupon for Matt from school so they did that too. As you can see it was pretty exciting when Josh got a strike.  I love when these two boys are buddies. This summer they really have had a great time together-most of the time anyway.  The day ended with presents and the dinner he picked.

 The next day was the friend birthday party. I recommend Classic Skating. Occupied everyone and except the fact that they go  home smelling like sweating little boys (or little puppies) it is perfect. And cheap if you use the two for one coupon like I did.I don't know how but this is pretty much the only picture I have that was at all worth looking at.

 Sunday was the family party. See, I told you this birthday went on forever. The family party is when I usually make the big birthday cake.  So I started creating that afternoon. It was going to be a mountain with a monster truck climbing to the top. This is what it looked like an hour and a half before the party. Earthquake! Stress! Just ask my kids how freaked out I was. I stood there thinking, "You have to have a birthday cake for the birthday party!". I took a deep breath, and scooped half the cake into the garbage.

 Luckily I had some of the frosting left and managed to try and salvage the thing.

In the end the kid was happy and the is the important thing right? Whew, that birthday is over! Now for Brittany's this week...

Last Day of School- Two Weeks Ago!

Okay so we are two weeks into the summer and I never blogged about the last day. And it was awesome! This is Matthew minutes before I took him home for the summer. They had a water fight as their last activity of the year, thus his wet look. Although his teacher looks so young to me-I think this means I am old-she was amazing. I am hoping they convince her to move to fifth grade so we can have her again. Good bye Fourth grade!

This picture is really the reason I had to do this post. See that lovely lady in yellow? That is Mrs. Graham and she taught me when I was twelve and a beehive at church. I have to say as much as she taught me she was even more amazing as Josh's kindergarten teacher. It was such a great year! I love her so much I actually got in this picture voluntarily. Which I almost never do. Goodbye Kindergarten, it sure was great!

Cutest Kindergartner Ever!

Josh's Kindergarten graduation has come and gone and I still haven't blogged it. But when I was gettting the pictures off my camera I found this particular video which I can't stop watching over and over because it is so darn cute. I know his teacher probably told the kids to find their parents and point right at them but it melts my heart every time. And that cute face he makes with one eye half closed! 

Soccer 2012

The soccer season is over, well has been for a couple of weeks. Better get it recorded on the ole blog before we move on to the next sport. Look! Josh is making contact with the ball! Oh wait, he is just practicing with Dad and Matthew. Honestly he has made a lot of progress this year and gets how the game is supposed to be played. Sometimes he just prefers to dance.

Getting the all important medal after the last game.

Josh and his buddy Gage. One of Josh's favorite things about soccer.

Treats, his second favorite. Can you tell it was Oreo;s and blue Gatorade?

Matthew takes things much more seriously. Happily the last team they played wasn't quite as good as they were and he and his team had a great time seeing how many goals they could make. Matt made five. Fun for us, probably not for the other team. It was a great way to go out. Who knew Matthew could play offense?

Part of the team, they were excited to slap hands with the other team and get their medals too.This season seems to have hooked us permanently on soccer. The last week has been spent trying to find Matthew a competition team he can play with next year. I'm not sure I am ready for this step but the choices seem to be comp or nothing for his age. Wish me luck!

Friends

 These are my friends that I meet with every Wednesday for a lovely afternoon and lunch. This week it was at my friend Tiffany's home. She is an artist so we are used to being surrounded by loveliness at her house but this week was really something else! She decided she wanted to have a Kentucky Derby party. So she made us each our own fascinator hat and decorated accordingly. Here are the girls in their darling hats. Notice the glittered horses hanging from the chandelier? There were tiny horses on the table. A darling bunting is in the window along with tissue pom poms but they didn't make it into the picture somehow. There were red roses, M&M's, and darling cupcakes.  As excited as I am for summer to come I am going to miss these lunches so much!

When Brittany came home she spotted the fascinator and asked if she could use it for her solo in the orchestra concert that night. They were to act as if they were playing on a corner with a hat for folks to put money in. It was a fundraiser so the orchestra teacher can buy new music and maybe an instrument or two next year. Brittany was the cutest one!

Batter Up!

 A few years ago we tried baseball. It was fun but Matthew didn't love it so that was the end of that. However, we seem to have our own version of the game. Our version involves plastic cups.

Here is Mathew a few years ago after he had created the game. 

Joshua recreated it himself this week. Look how proud he is.

Ready, aim, fire! Something so satisfying about whacking those old cups!

Spring Wreath

Of course I needed a new Spring wreath. I was watching Studio 5  a few weeks ago. They had this fun idea so my friend Mandi and I got to work while the kids were at school one day. We used swim noodles from the dollar store for the forms, one of my new favorite tricks. Then we wrapped strips of fabric around and glued them in place. It is colorful and bright and fun, just what I am looking for in Spring!

Happy Mother's Day

Well, it is almost over. One of the most celebrated and sometimes dreaded holidays of the year. This year mine was really, really good. I have had my share that weren't this good. There were a few when I was just sad to not be a mom. Sometimes I haven't prepped my family about what my hopes for Mother's Day were so they fell short and I felt unappreciated and grumpy. This year I told the kids that I just really wanted to feel like they thought I was doing a good job because for me that is what it comes down to. Less than stellar Mother's Day? I must be doing a crappy job and these poor little souls I am trying to raise are in big trouble. Guess what? They all came through, right down to the big guy! There were pictures and cards and notes which included comments from Josh that he loved me because I am cute and Matthews that I "give him more than he needs". Even this poem from Brittany which I love.

M is for the many cookies she bakes

O is for her open arms

T is for the time she sacrifices

H is for the hugs she gives

E is for our everlasting family

R is for her radiant smile

A poem for me! Now let's not forget the I said to her "Hey Brittany I would love a poem for Mother's Day". But she did it and I love it. In full disclosure the above picture was taken by me for the Grandmothers but I am still keeping it for me cause they must love me too-after all they suffered through taking the picture!  So I guess the lesson I have learned is that I am in charge of teaching these kids everything. Including how to handle Mother's Day and this year we all got it right. So now the day is almost done and I am so grateful for this day. So grateful that I get to be a mom to these particular kids. They are great, their dad is great and I am so lucky!

Happy Anniversary!

It has been two weeks now and I really have to mention the fabulous anniversary we had.   Nineteen years. I cannot believe it. Well, thanks to our good friend the Scheullers  and my parents I was able to surprise William with a night away.  The Scheullers have beautiful condo in Park City they let us use. So William came home, I told him he had 15 minutes to pack and off we went. Well first we took this picture because we rarely take one of the two of us and nineteen years seemed picture-worthy. 

I knew it was going to be a success when we walked into the condo and discovered that the Scheullers are the proud owners of a Thomas Moser rocking chair. Moser is one of William's favorite woodworkers so he was pretty excited. It was a great start to a lot of relaxing, vegging without kids to bug us and eating of yummy food.

See? Look how relaxed he looks! It was fun to remember that we have a lot of fun together, especially when the kids aren't demanding attention. Thanks Scheullers, we owe you more than one. And thanks to the grandparents who stayed with the kids and made it all happen.
Now what shall we do for the big twenty next year?

Easter 2012

Just found these for abandoned photos in my files. Now that I have figured out the new blogger I thought I would get them on here. This was our Easter Sunday morning. I have to take a picture of how cute the kids look every

Love these two brothers! Aren't they handsome?
Hope you had a great Easter-you know last month.

Dinosaur Park 2012

 I spent the day yesterday with three terrific boys. Matthew's fourth grade class went to the Dinosaur Park. I have been to more field trips there than I can count but this one really was fun. I couldn't get over what great boys these three are. It helped that they are all best friends and know me. They weren't obnoxious or naughty, just a lot of fun. And they tolerated my crazy picture taking. Actually I think they sort of liked it, it gave them an excuse to act silly.

 Watch Out! That T-Rex will eat you!

 Ride 'em Cowboy!

I think they are racing this guy.

Watch out for the erupting volcano!
It was a lot of fun to hang out with these guys. I hope they are all friends for a really long time!

Champions!

Okay so after this post I have to post this one. Matthew had his championship Junior Jazz game a couple of weeks ago. Thank heaven it wasn't quite the nail-biter the previous one was and I didn't spend it thinking I was going to have a heart attack. Great boys. Great coach. Great season!

The Final Hikes

One our last day of our Spring Break vacation we headed down to Dead Horse Point. Talk about an amazing view! Again Matthew was not too jazzed about the height but he was getting braver about it by now. Just don't expect him to do any crazy hike out to any ledges here. And honestly I am fine with that.

Hey look! An actual picture with me in it! Again, Josh striking another original pose.

Then we drove to Goblin Valley because William's brother Joseph recommended it. I have to admit after about an hour I was wondering if it would be worth it. It was. The kids loved it. Especially because you start off in the valley and can then climb around. I think the name the guy who first discovered it, Mushroom Valley was more appropriate though.

You have to love any place that gets brothers and sisters climbing together.

Goodbye Goblin Valley. Goodbye Moab trip. Sure was fun!

What Josh Learned During Spring Break

After we came home from Moab Matthew convinced Josh that he should get rid of his beloved training wheels. This is another area I fail to encourage my kids. Brittany was almost eight before she learned. I think Matthew was at least 6-6 1/2. Maybe it is because the moment always seems to come when Dad is at work and I am the one running behind the kid hanging on. Well this time Dad was home and all I had to do was take pictures.

The kid was a natural! This was only after a couple of tries. Look how excited his brother was for him.

Now he can go on bike rides with the boys. My last baby riding a bike without training wheels. Sniff. Sniff.

The Hike Goes On

So after Delicate Arch my kids decided they like hiking. Although Josh was concerned that all the hiking would be as difficult. Luckily I convinced him it wouldn't. We did all the hikes on the f Arches map. I was not as adventurous as the rest of the gang.

I have really bad ankles that turn if you look at them wrong so I took a lot of pictures.

I swear they aren't up as high as it looks!

Matthew and his Dad.

Josh at Double Windows. Josh can pose with style in any setting.

Brittany is quite the daredevil. She would follow her dad just about anywhere he was climbing and some places he didn't. I decided hiking was a good example of the ways William and I differ in our parenting. He didn't coddle or ask if they were okay, keep looking around to make sure they could do it. He just assumed they could and they did. I kept thinking about this while we were hiking and I am going to try and be more like that. I think it probably builds their self-esteem more his way.

Look! Delicate Arch in Matthew's hand!

Spring Break: Delicate Arch

Spring Break. It's over. We are finding our groove again. I love my groove. I love kids in school, dishwasher humming, laundry in the machines and actually accomplishing something. But man did we have a memorable Spring Break. We went down to Moab to hike Arches. I have to admit I wasn't the most enthusiastic about this plan but I figured that William had gone along with plans I have hatched that he was probably not too jazzed about so it was my turn to be a good sport. I have to admit it was fun and a trip I think the kids will remember for a long time. The first day we got there we decided to tackle hiking Delicate Arch. I am still not sure if this was the best idea, I think Josh was nervous all the hikes would be this difficult. It was the most spectacular too, sort of like having the finale first. My lunch friends had warned me that it was not an easy hike, contrary to what William tried to tell me. So I was prepared.

I was really proud of Josh, he kept up with everyone the whole trip. It was cloudy and windy that day so that added to the excitement.

When we finally got to the top it was really windy, can you tell by Joshua's face? We also rediscovered Matthew's dislike of heights. Can you tell by his body language he is really uncomfortable. Brittany, on the other hand found her inner daredevil.

William decided he was going to hike out to where the arch is. No way were the boys and I going over our protected ledge into the wind that felt like it was going to blow you away. William is the dot in the picture with the black jacket. The figure in the levi jacket holding on to the wall? That would be Brittany. This is the point I discovered she was following her dad. I decided there wasn't anything I could do about it so I would take pictures.

William is the black dot leaning on the arch. Brittany is the figure on the left in khaki pants.

There goes William, Brittany following.

This was a little arch on the way down. Crazy father and daughter. Guess this counts as bonding right? It was a great hike to start us off on a fun trip.