Memorial Weekend

We decided to spend the weekend in Las Vegas visiting my brother Chris and sister-in-law Lindsay and new nephew/cousin Hudson. My sister Erica and her husband Ryan also came so it was a fun family affair. I'm so glad we decided to go - we almost wussed out what with the traffic and all. Thank goodness traffic cooperated since the weather didn't! On Saturday, we went downtown to the Mandalay Bay to visit the Shark Reef Aquarium. Erica and Ryan met us there (they were staying with friends) and we got to witness the teeny tiny belly bump firsthand. So cute!Hudson, Jake, Dylan and Carter getting ready to go in the the Aquarium. What?! We couldn't leave him out of the hat-wearing fun just because he's a baby!!

Do you like my hat? I do, I like that Shark Reef hat! Jake and Dylan in the aquarium - I think they're checking out the yellow crocodile from Thailand. He was creepy and cool.

Uncle Ryan and Carter looking at the big "bish".

Me and Patrick with sharks behind us! I did a bad job of getting any pictures of Chris and Lindsay this weekend. My camera didn't cooperate once it got dark in the aquarium (still learning how to use it) and we were having too much fun the rest of the weekend to take many others. Let's just let it be known, however, that Lindsay looks amazing! No one would believe she had a baby in her belly just 4 short weeks ago!!Dylan and Hudson. Dylan was so sweet to him and Hudson is just the sweetest baby! Such a pleasant temperment and it's cute to see Chris and Lindsay being parents. Very relaxed and enjoying every minute.
The cold weather can't stop these guys! Their pool heats up so it was fairly comfortable. The weather was very unMemorial Weekend-like but for people from Arizona and people from Vegas, any time that it's not scorching hot already is very welcome! So they swam in here a lot and Uncle Chris even got Jake to jump off the roof into the pool with him the first night we were there! Crazy boys - must run in the family. On Sunday, we had a chance to see our good friends the Pettingill's, who moved to Las Vegas from Anthem about 2 years ago. It was so good to see them - their kids have gotten so big and both Melissa and Chad look great. It was awesome to catch up. We have always had so much fun with them and being together made it all the worse that we never see them anymore. We miss you guys! Thanks for having us over!

Our Crew

Jaxon, Kenady, Tanner, Jake, Landon

Carter, Dylan

Monday shaped up to have some nice weather (of course!) so we pushed our departure time back a few hours. We enjoyed getting some sun and having a nice BBQ. Chris and Lindsay are amazing hosts - their home is gorgeous and they have a way of making anyone who comes over feel welcome. We had such a nice time and the boys were sooo good. We loved getting the chance to spend a long weekend with family! Love you guys!

Goodbye to Second Grade and Dylan's Lemonade Stand

Only one half of a day of second grade left. Can you believe it?! This year has flown by and I know they're only going to go faster as this little boy continues to get older.

This is Jake in his desk during his end of the year class party that Carter and I went to today. I took one of him here the first day of school too and boy, he looks older!
Jake and his awesome teacher, Mrs. Downey. He enjoyed her so much and she told me the feeling was mutual. He's learned a lot of really great things from her this year and he is more than ready for the big 3rd grade.
Mrs. Downey and her Downtown Downey Doers. They all gave her one stem of flowers while she sat and held the vase. She loves flowers and was touched, even though one of the boys blurted out the surprise. They also gave her a wall hanging that had a sweet saying about teachers on the front and the kids had all signed the back.

We are so proud of Jake and all his hard work - especially the great example he is to his friends and to his little brothers. Hard to believe we'll have another kindergartener at Anthem School come August and thanks to Jake, he is nothing but excited about school. Now Jake's headed for the big-time - letter grades and all!

Yesterday, Dylan the business man decided he wanted to do a lemonade stand. He got the idea early in the morning but I convinced him that we should wait until after school so we could have more customers. Here he is waiting patiently for school to get out.

Ugh, it's a little hot out. But it is worth it!! On top of the cooler, we had a sign that said "Lemonade 25 cents" and inside is the pitcher of lemonade, ice and plastic cups. He dutifully asked everyone who walked by, "Hi there! Would you like to buy some lemonade?"

Carter sampling the goods and proclaiming it tasty!

Dylan made a not-too-shabby $2.75 but promptly spent $1 of it when the ice cream truck came down our street. I'm sorry, Dyl but I think you inherited your inability to save from me.

Fun moments from this week...

This week was Spirit Week at Anthem Elementary School and Jake has had a ton of fun dressing up. I didn't get a picture of pajama day or mix-n-match day (wear crazy clothes that don't match - Jake looked so funny!) but I took some pictures of the other days. Jake and Connor had the same shirts for Twin Day (one was Connor's brother's) and looked super cute.Jake and Crazy Hair Day! This is at the end of the day and it actually stayed pretty good. This was accomplished with gel, pomade, the blow-dryer AND hairspray.
This is Sports and Hat Day, which is fun for the kids since they can't usually wear hats in class. Jake decided to break out of the mold and dress as a golfer, not a baseball or basketball player like his other friends. Carter was confused all morning and wanted to know when they were going to play golf.
Patrick is in Seattle this weekend visiting his family so we were on our own yesterday. It was gorgeous out last night so we decided to take a walk/bike ride. Look at this beautiful Arizona sky!
Here are my munchkins, each on his vehicle of choice.

Dylan decided to ride his old bike - I think he is still adjusting to his bigger bike and when we ride far, he likes the comfort of the little one. Jake is adjusting well to his new bike. Carter rides his Hot Wheel trike, aided by me and the stroller. He picks his feet up while I push the back of the trike with the stroller. It's a good little system (I have to give Patrick the credit here since it was his invention) and usually Carter steers really well. Last night was a major exception, however. He was all over the place! We enjoyed being outside - the breeze felt wonderful and all the spring smells were heavenly. We even got to see a roadrunner. We miss you Dad, but we're keeping busy and having fun too! Give everyone hugs for us!

Happy Mother's Day!

I hope all you awesome mothers out there had a great day! Mom's are truly awesome (I know because I have the very best one) and I hope you know how much I appreciate all that you do - you all are great examples to me! My kids were so cute to me that I wanted to share and mostly journal about it so I wouldn't forget. My day started on Friday when Dylan brought his gift home from school. They had painted flowerpots and put ladybug thumbprints all over them. The finishing touch was some darling yellow flowers.

Dylan and Mom - sorry if the picture looks weird, I took it myself.
Dylan and his flowers - he was so proud!

But my favorite part of my gift from Dylan was that his teacher, Miss Mechelle, asked them questions about their moms and wrote down their answers.

What's your mom's name? Nikki

What does she do? Yoga

How old is she? 33

How does daddy call mom? Honey

What is her favorite color? Red

What is her favorite food? Strawberries

What is her favorite movie? Hannah Montana

How many brothers and sisters does she have? Five brothers and five sisters

Where does she like to take you for fun? The park, Sport Chalet, Walmart

What message do you want to send her for Mother's Day? I love you!
I got a kick out of his answers - some for their accuracy (yes, I am 33) and some because they weren't (I think Hannah Montana is the only "girly" movie he could think of and I don't have quite that many siblings). I love you too Dylan!

Sunday morning was great - mostly for the sleeping in until 8 am and that breakfast was french toast with strawberries on top. Yummy! The kids woke me up with Mother's Day wishes and cute homemade cards.

Here's me and Jake with the stuff he made me at school. In the middle is a bouquet of his hands which have coupons in them for things he wants to help me do. The blue book is kind of a poem book with some different things about mothers. Here are some highlights:

Dear Mom,

I love you. I like when you cook dinner. You are the best mom in the world. I do not want another mom.

Love, Jake

Some things I love about my mom:

1. Loves
2. Cares
3. Cooks
4. Helps
5. Keeps me safe
6. Has fun
7. Gave me my name
8. Cleans up the house

But the best thing about my mom is she encourages me.
I love you too, Jake!

Here's me and silly Carter who was almost too busy to sit still. He ran around all day saying, "Happy Mother's Day!" every time he saw me. Adorableness. I so appreciate the joy he brings to my life with all his happiness and I can't wait to hear what he would say about me!

Thanks to my great hubby I had a very relaxing day and went out with a girlfriend on Saturday night while he shopped with the boys for Sunday dinner (which he pretty much prepared all by himself).

Most of all, I am so glad I get to be a mother and despite the tedious, messy, and frazzled times, there is absolutely nothing else I would rather do. Thanks for tolerating me, guys - because I'm happiest when I'm with you! I love you!

Cinco de Mayo!

Here's an inside look at our Cinco de Mayo family night we had on Monday. Patrick had the fun idea that we could have a fiesta night for FHE and I'm always up for Mexican food. So, I made Dandelion Mama's sour cream enchiladas, Peg's tomato guacamole, black beans and pina colada smoothies. Yummy! The enchiladas were fabulous - kind of a mix of my usual sour cream enchiladas and red sauce enchiladas. We put meat in ours (the recipe called for black beans) but I think they would be awesome vegetarian style too.


Carter and his smoothie. He actually ended up not liking it and asked for juice. What?! Anyone who knows me knows that I looove pina colada smoothies and I spend entire vacations by the pool consuming them. Ah, good Hawaii memories. Oh well, more for me!
Dylan and his dinnerJake and his tasty smoothie The boys getting ready to have a toast!
Ay caramba! Of course, no evening would be complete without a major wrestling match with Dad! Yep, Carter has on a pillowcase cape. He's Xander, the green Power Ranger! FYI, we've had a much better week. We have the old Carter back, I think. At least until the next phase rolls through...
Oh my, how I love these four boys! Thanks for a fun night.

Jake the Snake and other Scout stuff

I'll just pause for a minute and allow the full effect of this picture to sink in. This would be my very worst nightmare - you would have to pay me sooo much money to sit in a tub and put snakes on me. But Jake the Snake loved this, even though his face looks a little concerned. The Cub Scouts were able to have a fun "Fear Factor" type party by Deb's Dragons and Other Misunderstood Creatures. They got to have a tarantula sit on their head, scorpions crawl up their arms, and do a relay race with Madagascar hissing cockroaches. The kids had a blast - we have the best Scout leaders! Not all of the kids in our family are such animal lovers though. When we went to pick Jake up, I brought Carter in with me. Brittany Roberts (one of my Beehives) came up to say hi while holding a snake and Carter ran away and hid behind me as fast as he could!! I can't blame him though. I had pretty much the same reaction and told Brittany she couldn't come close to me with that snake! Sorry Brittany, I'm a total wuss - but I'll take a "snakeless" hug any day!This is Jake getting his Bobcat at our last pack meeting. I think we're doing the cheer that he chose - which would explain the awesome faces we both have.
Getting my first of many pins - Dylan's getting a good look!
Jake doing a magic trick with Brother Sheppard, our Cub Master.

Our Pack Meetings are so cute - the theme this time was a magic show. Each boy that received an award got to go up and do a magic trick with Brother Sheppard. Jake is loving Scouts! Thanks for the pictures, Michelle!