Last week

Lots going on around here as we wind down the school year. Here's a little of last week.

 I decided the "kids" needed some Cold Stone, so we had to take a pit stop after school one day. I don't think Carter ate more than a bite or two, but he sure was happy to have his own.

Brandon likes to sneak into our bed at night. Usually some time between 12 and 1 am. Most of the time I don't even hear him come in. Probably because he suctions to Paul like a little leach and I continue to sleep the night away in bliss. Love our king size bed.

Open house was Thursday night.

Ashlyn's fourth grade mission project. Her and Paul worked on this together. I love how Paul is so good at helping, but really lets the kids make it their own. While I think a lot of other projects in her class were really well done, there is honestly NO way a lot of those kids did them by themselves. Not that Ashlyn did either, but I like a nice balance of it looking good without looking like an adult did it all. 

Here's Ashlyn with her teacher Mrs. Smith. Can't say I LOVE this teacher any more than her last fourth grade teacher. She literally made Ashlyn cry over a science page that was colored wrong.  But Ashlyn has definitely enjoyed her second half of fourth grade more than the first. So over all I still think moving her out of the split class was a good decision. She's learned a lot and done really well and doesn't actually dread school everyday. So that's progress. Hoping and praying for a good fifth grade teacher. She deserves one.

Leah with Mrs. Hawkins. She's been an excellent teacher for Leah. Leah has really learned a ton this year and done so well. She loves school and can't wait for second grade. 

I snapped a photo of Becky sneaking into Tina's yard last Friday morning to surprise her for her big 30th birthday. Sometimes it's fun being sneaky.

Becky made this amazing sign for Tina too. I don't think mine would have looked even half as good, so Becky is now dubbed the poster creator. Lucky girl!

Brandon got to go on Father/Son's campout with his Dad AND his Pop Pop last Friday night. He had a blast and came back pretty nasty dirty. I'm glad he got to go. Good memories for sure. And Pop Pop is an expert camper, so I know Paul was MORE than excited to have him here visiting to go with them. 

Next year, Carter's going too! Yahoo...then me and the girls will have a true GIRLS night!

Wow what a day

The kids were out of school yesterday for a State Budget cut day. I had just gotten on antibiotics for an ear infection the day before, but I wasn't going to let that stop me from having a fun day with my kiddos. After much debate in trying to decide WHAT to do (we wanted to go to the beach but it just wasn't warm enough), we ended up heading out to Underwood Family Farm for the morning. We left at 11 am and stopped at McDonald's on the way out for lunch. It was a beautiful day and the weather there was great. We went with a couple of friends and really had such a nice time. The kids ran around and played together, we fed some animals and let the kids play on a moon bounce for a while. We wanted to go on a wagon ride, but apparently that is only opened on the weekends. We got home about 3:45 pm and sat down for a few minutes to relax. At about 4:10 pm another friend of mine texted me to see if I wanted to meet her at the park. Well, of course I would rather spend time at the park then do what I should have done, which was to clean the house, so off we headed. The kids continued their fun playing with their friends and I got to chat with mine while enjoying the awesome weather we had yesterday. At about 6:15pm, we left the park and zipped over to Little Caesers Pizza and then home for dinner. Got home at 6:45pm, fed the kids, tried to pick up a little bit and then as soon as Paul got home at 7:15pm, left again for a Stake Mother/Daughter Activity. The theme was "I can be a missionary now" and they had two fun and highly energetic speakers. Then they taught us some zumba moves and finished the evening with a cute necklace craft and dessert. By the time the event was over and we got home it was almost 10pm. Wow.....I was beat! But it was such a fun day. 

Brandon and Elijah

Ashlyn and Grace. Ashlyn couldn't be more happy to have Grace at church and church activities with her lately. The primary president was at the activity and commented on how cute it was to see Ashlyn happy and running around with someone. She's been the only girl in her class the entire time we've been in this ward and I don't think many people know the "real" Ashlyn because she's so quiet and keeps to herself at church.

I have the funniest, silliest friends. 

Brooke with her daughter Darby who will be 8 this next Friday. yahoo!

Ashlyn, Darby and Ashlynn

Most of the time when I'm not home to put Carter to bed, he insists on texting me before he will go to sleep. He can be pretty persistent, so Paul has just learned to go with it. Here's a screen shot of him saying goodnight to me. I think it's SO cute! 

Oh and because I know you are all on pins and needles, our moths finally died. The boy died on Tuesday night and so on Wednesday I put the girl one outside on a leaf thinking I would give it some freedom and fresh air on her last few days. But the next day we went to check on her and apparently a bird or something had gotten to her and tore her to bits. I know...gross and sad.  Brandon was the one to find her with her head a few inches away from her body and her wings a foot from that. I know...I know...TMI.

The eggs went in the trash. No more moths for us!

Mother's Day and then some.....

I had a GREAT Mother's Day on Sunday. Like maybe one of my favorites. Paul went above and beyond to try and make it nice for me. He let me sleep in until 9:30am (thanks to late church and NO meetings for him), and then brought me yummy breakfast in bed. The kids gave me beautiful handmade cards they made at school. I don't think I rolled out of bed until after 10. Showered in peace and then had a very nice day at church. Great talks about womanhood and Mothers and just how important our "calling" is. Even got homemade cinnamon rolls in Relief Society that were SO good (thanks Laurie). Made me even more grateful that I have four beautiful children to love and snuggle with, even if I'm not perfect (and I most definitely am not). Got LOTS of wonderful texts and emails. It's my new favorite day to tell all my friends and family how amazing they are and how lucky I am to have them in my life. Really and truly, I'm greatly blessed. Paul even made me dinner, which (and I know he won't want me to say this) might be a FIRST in the 12 years we have been married. Ashlyn might have been a little shocked. Haha... So what if it was spaghetti and meatballs. It was fantastic because I didn't have to cook it. And I could tell he was trying hard, even after his very busy church day and taking the lions share of watching the kids all day. Ate some See's chocolates and went to bed happy and relaxed.

Then Monday came and reality hit me in the face. Carter threw up in the car for no particular reason. Then I let the kids play in the backyard with the kiddie pool and water table. Carter took his diaper off and pooped on the back patio all while I was rushing to get dinner made for a friend who just had back surgery. Went to put dinner in the oven and realized I had NO foil, so I had to throw the wet kids in the car and run to my friend Brooke's house, who bailed me out and kept me from having to haul the kids into Target. Got dinner to my friend a little late, which I hate being late for things, but couldn't help it this time. Went to bed grouchy and exhausted. 

SO....life isn't always peaches and cream. But you know what...that's okay. I slept it off and hit the refresh button. Today is a new day and it's been going well. Got to go to a pilates class this morning and then took the boys to the pool with some friends. Carter got a good nap before having to get the girls from early release day and my afternoon is pretty chill for a Tuesday. Leah has jazz this afternoon and I'm hoping to finally get a look at her recital costume. 

Life is still good! 

And incase you are wondering, our moths are STILL alive!

Silk Worms???

Brandon brought TWO moths home from preschool last week. One on Wednesday and one on Friday. WELL, lucky us he happened to pick one boy and one girl, because those little moths got busy and the next day we had EGGS all over our little box. I'm hoping and praying they don't really hatch and I'm wondering when the heck these little moths are going to die (I was told they didn't live very long). I do not want a bunch of silk worms. Nor do I want to explain why the moths were stuck together for so long. Oh boy!

Look at that face though, which is why I can't bring myself to throw the box away. 

That little guy of mine is SO handsome. I sure love him!

Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Granola Bars

4 Cups Rolled Oats

1/2 cup sucanat (you can use brown sugar)

1 cup wheat germ

1 1/2 tsp cinnamon

2 cups whole wheat flour

1 1/2 tsp salt

1/2 cup flax seed meal

1 cup chocolate chips

Mix dry ingredients together and set aside.

3/4 cup peanut butter

2 eggs, beaten

1 cup olive oil

1/2 cup honey

1 TBSP vanilla

(Tip: Use the same measuring cup for the oil and honey. Measure the oil first and then the honey will slide right out of the cup.)

Mix wet ingredients. Then add dry ingredients and mix together.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease a large jelly roll pan (cookie sheet with sides). Press the mixture evenly into the pan. Bake for 20-30 minutes (check often. Mine took 20 min) until the bars begin to turn golden at the edges. Cool for 5 minutes and then cut the bars while still warm. Then cool completely. 

They freeze well too!

Homemade granola bars

I wouldn't consider myself someone to cook unhealthy but I'm not a huge health nut either. So I was quite proud of myself for making these very delicious and nutritious granola bars. Full of wheat germ, flax seed meal, whole wheat flour and honey.

Does that mean I get to eat twice as many?

Swimming

Pool season is coming back and I just love a good impromptu swim play date after school. The kids had a blast and didn't want it to end. There were three college guys at the pool when we got there. They were real nice and let the boys squirt them with water guns, but they didn't last too long after my friends showed up. Lol. Good thing I can only invite 10 guests at a time. Or I'd have that pool run over with kids every time.

Hair

Leah's babysitter often French braids Leah's hair so it'll be curly the next day. I have such a hard time doing it because Leah's hair is so fine. But Leah begged me to try again a few days after Callie had done it. So I did. Leah went to look at it in the mirror and comes back to say "ehhh".

Paul got upset with her for being rude, so she back stepped and said, "It's ok Mom. You tried your best". Oh well. I guess I need to practice more. Here's a picture of it all curly and hair sprayed the next day. I told her she would fit in perfect in Texas. She likes poofy hair!

Jazz class

Leah is still loving jazz. Her and Ashlynn are having a blast taking together. They are in full swing getting ready for their recital next month and have been taught more than half of their song. Still haven't seen the outfits. Hoping they are modest! They are dancing to Taylor Swifts song "We are never getting back together". Or whatever it's called.

The girls have even been teaching their moves to friends at school during recess, which I think is cute. But I had to have a talk with Leah to put a stop to the "dance contests" they were having. Only one person wins when Leah's BFF is the judge (eye roll).

They were just being silly together before class started. This move is not part of their routine. LOL