What time is it.....summertime!

My kids have sung the song from High School Musical II today. It's summertime and they have already been fighting mercilessly. Oh, it might be a long summer. Thank goodness for the outdoor pool that we love to go to. Now we just need the weather to warm up enough so we can actually go! Here are a few pics of the past week. Emma holding our new baby cousin, Logan.
Daniel wearing his Kindergarten graduation coffee filter hat.
I can't believe I have a child old enough to mow the lawn...and do a darn good job! He did the back last night and the front today- completely by himself!
Behold my ball of curious workmanship. It is the Liahona I made for our primary activity next Saturday.
I finally made pillows to go on the couches! I've bought the curtains, but can't put them up until I paint and I don't know when that will happen!

Just call me Giselle!

This morning I was at the sink washing breakfast dishes while the boys were looking out the back door and saw a robin.
"Look at this robin on the grass, mom!"
Then they started whistling to try and "call" it closer somehow.
"I have an idea!" I said....then I proceeded to put my hands to my mouth and sing like Giselle from Enchanted when she beckons the little creatures for help. "A-a-a-a-a, a-a-a-a-a, a-a-a-a-a-a-a!!" And almost immediately Daniel shouted, "It worked mom!" There was a beautiful, bright yellow bird that flew right into our yard, the likes of whom we have never seen before. It was hilarious!

Summer is almost here.....really?

Poor Landon was so sad today because his field trip got cancelled because of this crazy weather. They were supposed to walk from the school to the fire station. I hope they did something else fun, because he was very disappointed and I felt so bad for him. Darn this weather!
Looking at our calendar for the next few weeks is quite crazy. I think once you have kids in school and other activities you really have to start planning. We are definately there, but it is really a fun time. I actually quite enjoy all the ceremonies and programs and graduations and concerts. I truly love watching my kids participate in things and be happy doing it. I love to see a sense of pride on their face for their accomplishments (even if it is something very small). I love catching their eye and having them smile, or wave, or give me a thumbs up and know that it means so much to them to see me there cheering them on. I'm excited to post pictures of my kids doing all these little things that take up so much time and planning but mean so much to them and to me.

My life in numbers....and a funny

I got this idea from Heidi, so feel free to do it too if you want!:)

1. Number of babies in my tummy (thank goodness!)

2. Time of the morning I always wake up to go potty.

3. Number of times I typically go somewhere in my car on an average day.

4. Number of siblings I have- 3 brothers and 1 sister.

5. Months to go until the baby is here!

6. Come November, the number of people in our family- wow!

7. My lucky number. (My birthday is 7-7-77)

8. Time I get up in the morning....pathetic, I know.

9. Number of years Richard and I have been married.

10. Number of pounds I've gained since getting pregnant. No wait....that was before I got pregnant......dang it!

OK, and completely unrelated, a funny from Daniel.
He found a dead mouse in the garage that had been killed by a trap but managed to get out of it somehow. He wanted to pick it up and squish it. I told him he could pick it up with something besides his bare hands and throw it in the garbage for me. "What should I use?" he said. I told him to give me a minute and I'd find something. A minute later he came downstairs with a pair of tweezers from my make-up bag.
"No way!" I said, "I use those on my face!!"
"Well then.....where are the salad tongs?"
Oh, my goodness.
I gave him a pair of pliers and he took care of the job!

Mothers Day

Richard and I celebrated our 9th Anniversary this weekend (it's actually on the 15th) and stayed at the Little America. Dave and Michelle took our kids (thanks, you guys) and we had a great time just being together and laughing and eating way too much food! Saturday night we had a Mothers Day get together at my parents. My cute Dad and brothers did everything. They would'nt let the women step foot in the kitchen! My dad BBQ'd chicken and my brothers made salads and pork and beans and did a mighty fine job. On Sunday Richard spoke in sacrament mtg. and did a wonderful job. We went to Mt. Pleasant to visit his family that night and had a great time. My kids gave me lots of hugs, kisses and "I love you's", which is just what I wanted. Richard gave me a new blender, which is also just what I wanted!

I am truly grateful for the honor and privelege I have to be a mother. It is such a miracle to feel another life growing inside of me and to see my sweet children grow each day. I adore my little family and am so thankful that I am a mother. I am so thankful for all the mothers in my life, especially friends and family who are such great examples of what good mothers are. I am most thankful for my own mother and for the amazing person she is and for all the things she has taught me and continues to teach me each day. I am so thankful she is still here with us. Happy Mothers Day! Richard with his mom and sister, Lori.
My darling kiddies!
Me and my cute Grandma Hague
My wonderful, ever amazing mother
My dad and his mother

Behold the couches

A while back I asked my mom to help me chose a color and style of slipcover for my out dated, 15 year old, hand me down, striped couches. She replied, "Oh, I can do way better than that!" D'ya think? I'm so thrilled about them. She did an amazing job (just like she does everything) and I just don't even know how to thank her for all her hard work! Now I just have to paint my living room and make pillows and window treatments to tie it all together!

Teach your children well

I was finishing up sharing time in senior primary on Sunday and getting to the quiet, bear my testimony time, trying to get the kids settled down from our lightning round of scripture story trivia. One of the stories we covered was Noah and the ark (keep in mind this is Senior primary, that means 8 and older) and just as I started my concluding remarks, one of the 8 year olds blurted out the following. (He didn't really come to church much when he was younger so I really don't think he know the stories as well as maybe some of the other kids do.)

"Wait a second......if it rained for 40 days and 40 nights.......the whole earth would have been flooded!!"

A few little giggles (mostly from the teachers) happened and all I could say was. "Yep, that's exactly right!"

Family Reunion

The boys and Richard went down to Fairview early on Saturday morning to help Grandpa McAllister with a fence project at the lambing shed. They were good workers and had a good time. They had to hurry back to make it to the Stevens Family Reunion for the rest of the day. Our kids had so much fun playing with all the cousins there and it was great to visit with everybody. They are all wonderful families. Richards Aunt Portia and Uncle Jerry are leaving to be mission presidents in Nigeria, Africa (this will be their third mission) and Aunt Beverly and Uncle Doug are headed to Perth, Australia(their 2nd mission). We probably wont have another reunion until they get back, but it was a fun day and we all had a great time.



Daniel was very proud of this lovely sheep bone he found. I wasn't too happy to find it in my bed last night. Its now displayed on his bookcase.
The boys and grandpa with cousins Caden and McKenna helping put in fence posts. Richard said they worked really hard!
They were happy to be spending the morning helping Grandpa and getting dirty.

This is how it all began- The three sisters and their husbands. Portia and Jerry Boggess, Beverly and Doug Jensen and Joan and Jack McAllister.
This is the whole clan that was there yesterday- WOW! The kids behaved better for this picture than the adults. We are actually missing three families (17 more people) that live out of state.
The kids spent some time coloring in coloring books that Joan and I put together that told facts and stories about the kids great-grandparents, Arnold and Claris Stevens.
This was really a fun way to learn about them and the kids all really enjoyed it!

Ooops! This picture got stuck here at the bottom. The boys loved the power of sitting in the Cat.

Take a deep breath and count to 10

I'm kind of embarrassed to admit that I've eaten fast food more than twice this week. Mostly because I really don't feel like cooking and also because out of the clear blue sky the only thing that might sound remotely good to me is something like Pizza Hut's breadsticks with marinara sauce. Anyways, tonight Landon and I got Gandolfo's...yum. And while I was out getting it he took a shower and put all his laundry away. He's such a good boy. I got Daniel and Emma Happy Meals and as we were pulling up to the drive thru speaker, here's how the conversation went (Emma's ordering was quick and precise):
"Daniel, what kind of Happy Meal do you want? Nuggets or a hamburger?"

"Um....I want fries."

"OK, but do you want nuggets or a hamburger with it?

"Um.....I want apples."

"You can have apples OR fries, not both."

"But I really want both."

"OK, fine I'll let you have both. Do you want nuggets or a hamburger?"

"Can I have fries and apples?"

(now my tone is mucho irritated and very loud) "Daniel, you get apples and fries AND you get either nuggets or a hamburger. WHAT DO YOU WANT?"

"Um....nuggets."

"What to drink?"

"Powerade."

I literally had to take a deep breath and count to 10 before ordering because I was so wound up over trying to pull it out of him. (I think it actually went a few more rounds than I recounted.) Honestly, how many times have we been through the drive thru? Enough to understand how the Happy Meal thing works!