Off to the BIG APPLE!!

I am leaving in 8 hours on a red eye flight with ONE of my BFF's. Until then I need to finish packing and attend my cousins wedding. I am leaving behind this cute guy who is silently playing legos right now.  

 

This girl who frankly I could use a little break from  

 

                                                  

 

I am headed to my FAVORITE city to take some  pics for my other BFF and her family. 

My amazing husband is hanging out with the kids and spending our anniversary alone or possibly at the movies, but most likely at work thinking about me.

I will be thinking of him while walking around the city. 

Emmas dream come true.........

Having 12 animals contained in a little area where they could not run away from her as she tried to hold them all. I'm pretty positive that you weren't supposed to hold all these baby animals like this but Emma is never one to follow rules and apparently I  just wanted a cute picture. She was in heaven and would get down on all fours pretending she was a sheep trying to get the animals to come over to her. This did not work.  

 

 

 

 

My sis in laws work was having a company party at a park close to where we were that day so we headed over there and took advantage of the animals, free face painting, balloon animals and Hunter and I pretty much beat everyone at the egg toss game. It was a fun afternoon spent with Aunt Katie. Thanks for the invite Kate!

Ben could not get his face painted because as they were picking out what they wanted on their faces the lady saw him sneeze and apparently that is against her policy to contaminate her brushes. I'm pretty sure her brushes were already well contaminated touching dirty faces all day but Ben was pretty disappointed to miss out. 

Also the last pic is of my cute baby niece Ava that I pretty much delivered. She only smiles at me and I have yet to see her smile for anyone else. I don't blame her though. 

 

 

 

 

Ben's last day of school!!

Every time I would volunteer in his class this year I notice he would always gravitate towards the all girls table and one of his best friends was a girls so this only made sense.  During the class party after he had gotten his ice cream he headed straight over to the table full of girls and took his seat there with no second thought.  

This is complete opposite of his brother who thought it was torture to talk to girls at this age. He's getting a little better but I'm pretty sure I know who we are going to have to keep an eye on.  

Teaching your kids to swim is like on of the major hurdles here in AZ right up there with potty training. Since we apparently have no skills in the whole potty training I figured we might be successfull in the Swimming portion of parenting. I think i was right.   

Last year I couldn't bring myself to put Emma in swim lessons because the type of lessons were like like torture for her (and she was adorable and innocent and I really didn't like to hear her cry) but this year I figured not only did she need to learn to swim because we go everyday, but she kind of deserves it. The teacher is perfect for this type of swim lessons, plus shes 8 months prego with twins posssibly so that gives her very little patience with the kids that whine. Emma did great and she actually loved going. It helped that the pool owners have this nasty dog that Emma is in love with. She wakes up every morning wanting to go and did much better than I expected. Maybe her teacher really does know what shes doing?? 

 

 

 

 

 

 

  

I remember quite a while ago how Emma was a little on the old side to be bathing in the sink. The combination of her being our most mischievous child and our busiest made me rethink the minutes of play while being contained and getting CLEAN all at once. This is quite the opposite of her usual adventures. I think this will be a new fav. play spot from now on. Of hers and mine. 

***** I think I may give her all of our veggies and lettuce to wash while shes in there. 

 

 

 

 

As I was packing up after church my husband informed me that we were going up north for the day with a family in the ward that is less active.  Always trying to find ways to help out this little fam.  I  agreed and we were headed up to Prescott to a nearby lake in the mountains to spend the day relaxing. It was nice to get away from the heat and take a nice little hike around the lake and let the kids skip rocks and look for gross things in the lake.  

In other exciting news, Ben has pretty much dropped out of kindergarten and has missed 3 out of the 5 days this week because of his asthma and this was after I told them on Monday that he was not staying home one more day until school gets out next week.  Hopefully he can go on to 1st grade.  He is better just in time to go to the father and sons camp out tonight so I will be relaxing with Emma if their ever was such a thing as relaxing when I am with her. I am hoping 4 will be the magic number for her. 3 definitely is not. 

So  my lesson has been learned to never check my gmail at my friends house because that signed me right into my blog leaving it open for her to make up good qualities about herself and post them for all to see.  I'm just glad that  she is now fair game for any fun little joke I feel like playing in the future. 

This pic below is of my little angel and her best friend and partner in destroying my house one area at a time. 

I had them stand in front of the "small" area Emma finger painted a while back that is still unpainted.  Here's the quick story behind their black hands and legs. 

I was pretty much on my death bed trying to recover from the swine flu that I still have, and somehow ended up with an extra kid that day.  I had pretty much hovered over them like a hawk the entire day but I had to scrub my bathroom thus leaving them alone for 15 minutes in the family room.  I came out to check on them and found them both underneath my table, both with very large knives in their hands stabbing at a box that had a beach ball sprinkler in it.  They were surrounded by 12 other knives of various sizes but most were my big heavy cooking knives. Emma had the second biggest one that she was stabbing into using it to 'try and open" this toy that they wanted. They also had found my lone black stamp pad in the cupboard and decided to cover their bodies in that just to try and distract me from the whole knife situation.  In the end they got the bubble bath that they had wanted originally in the day and the water turned a dark bluish color from all the ink.  The worst part is was when I was getting mad at them, Hadyn started to pretend to cry and actually look like she felt bad and my little angel girl got this serious look on her face and just starts yelling at me " mommy we are not in trouble, no trouble mom ".  It was  pretty angelic.                                                                                                                           

                                                                                            This morning as soon as Emma got up she wanted to go to this super lame aerobics class that I used to go to and she wanted to be a cat. Since I am still suffering from the S.F.  I opted to just make her a cat and while I was making the boys lunches she opted to give herself whiskers in places cats don't have whiskers. She did end up going to aerobics like this and many other public places looking like this. 

 

 

                                                         Since our other computer got another 35viruses Sunday night we were forced to go get an early mothers day gift for me and now I am the proud owner of a new computer that I love. Plus you can't very well be the R.S. secretary and not have a computer so I am definitely turning in the receipt at our next meeting. 

My BFF

 I keep thinking about all of the blessings in my life, but there is one blessing that shines above them all................my BFF. 

You know those days when you just feel like you can't make it to the evening, without fail my best friend, Tara, will show up at my door and take all of my kids so that I can take a nice long nap.  For the dinner club, she ALWAYS brings me a little something extra, just because she knows I am usually still hungry after everyone elses meals.  She has showed up at my door and cleaned my house, fed and bathed my kids, and made sure everyones homework was done, while I lay in a bubble bath relaxing.  She is seriously the most spiritual friend I have, and she ALWAYS know exactly what to say to me.  Don't even get me started on how awesome her aerobics classes are.  On the days that she comes over and gets me out of bed to go to them, I most definitely sweat and feel pain that shouldn't be felt be a human being.  She even teaches dance to my little Emma.  She is so incredible, I sometimes wonder why she is even friends with me, I mean, what do I have to offer her???

So, I would just like to publicly tell Tara how much she means to me.

You are seriously my best friend in the whole world.  I don't know what I would do without you in my life.  Thank you for being SO AWESOME!!!

When I say "BFF's" I mean it from the bottom of my heart.

You're the best!

 

New Years Resolutions

Most people make new years resolutions in January and usually forget about them around February. I always think there is such a sense of fulfillment when I achieve one of these goals and am able to check it off my list. I set 12 goals this last year and I have to say my lay up probably got the most attention and most nights I can see an improvement except when a freakishly strong college track girl is guarding me. The goal to read to my kids more is being fulfilled by there dad every night and they are nearing the end of "On the Banks of Plum Creek".
I guess you could say I am psychic or just super in tune but I didn't think I would fulfill # 12 on my list so soon. Today I am able to check that off my list. Most likely come new years , I will be a little more careful in choosing my goals.

** I know you all assumed I would be pres.(as did I) but I think the secretary is the perfect fit for me.