summer slip slidding fun!

Ever wonder how we survive the heat here in Arizona?

Easy....

set up the birthday slip n slide from Aunt Carrie and Aunt Lar (thanks guys)

add dawn dish soap for extra slippery fun....

throw in some good friends

and of course don't forget the otter pops.

Lots and LOTS of otter pops!

New pet

Anyone who knows me knows I am not a big pet person AT.ALL. My kids all want a pet. Kyle has been begging for a dog going on 3 years now. I just don't have the patience for it. Anyway. I also am NOT a fan of cats at all. They freak me out and I just don't like them. Well....When I laid eyes on this adorable tiny little kitten I was in love, and decided this was the one cat I would ever allow into my home. :)

June 4th is Becca's first ever dance recital and Saturday she got to wear her costume and have a real dress rehearsal. She was darling and is just such a cute dainty dancer. I can't wait for the real thing. It's going to be adorable.

Last day of Preschool

Becca has officially started her summer vacation. They did a fun water party for the last day of school. Becca was SOOOO excited. She has loved going to preschool and I am excited she will get to go back next year and do the Pre-K curriculum at the preschool patch. :)

It was fun to get to do Becca's first end of the year interview. Here is what she had to say.

What is our teachers name? Ms. Staciiiiiiiiii :)
What do you like about Ms. Staci? She smiles everytime
What did you learn at preschool this year? different stuff um.....animals, camera's, letters um.....what else....B, K, C, T, U and S.
What is something Ms. Staci always says to you? Remember not to scribble.
What do you like best about preschool? show and tell. oh AND the treasure box. AND my friends.
What was the hardest thing you did at preschool? homework (she never had homework)
What is your favorite color? Pink and purple
If you could buy Ms. Staci anything what would you give her? A blankie for her new baby and animal crackers
Do you want to go back to Preschool Patch next year? No actually I just want to go to school at Parkers house. (that IS preschool patch) haha.

I wanted to give something cute for an end of the year thank you gift. I ran out of time and didn't get to make the card the way I had planned but I did print something up on the computer and had Becca draw a picture on it. Then I put scrabook paper on this box I found at Target.

Inside we put smores, chocolate and graham cracers to help Ms. Staci get started on her summer vacation. The little letter said "the world needs Smore teachers like you"

I can't believe how fast this year flew by. I am so excited to have my kiddos all to my self and hope to make lots of fun memories together.

13 Years

It crazy to think it's already been 13 years since Ryan and I got married. Where does the time go. We have had our ups and downs and there is no one I'd rather have them with than Ryan. He is my very best friend and I am so glad we will be together through out the Eternities.

Our sweet children (all on there own) decided to surprize us with a nice warm breakfast early (and I mean EARLY) Sunday morning. They came into our room and said they had a surprize for us. And to hurry, before it gets cold. Ry and I were so tired, as you can see below, but they were soooooo excited. I honestly thought they had made us toast. I was wrong. As we were walking into the kitchen they jumped out and helled "SURPRIZE" then Becca said "Happy ANNI-BLUR-SARY" haha so cute!

Jaden got some of these individual fruit punch mixes and made them in a water bottle and then poured them into a glass. He did them all individually and it was just too cute. (and clever)

Kyle made us all some Eggo waffles and Becca set the table. I was so impressed with their teamwork and how well they did. I DID not even hear anything either.

It was a great way to start the day. I went to church feeling extra blessed and grateful for my sweet little family and the life Ryan and I have built together.

After our yummy breakfast Ryan went back to bed and I wrote him a candybar note with all of his favorite candies. We are going to go out to celebrate alone this weekend. I am in charge of planning it. Any fun inexpensive ideas????

I can still remember the feelings I had the very first time I laid eyes on Ryan. I don't know that it was LOVE at that point, but I sure did like him. A LOT!!!! The more time I spent with him it was clear to me he was the one for me. He is so patient and very good at making sure I have what I need and when practical what I want. :) I still get butterflies when he takes me out on dates. I still get excited when I see his number show up on my phone. My heart always skips a beat when he walks thru the front door. Thank you Ryan for making all my dreams come true.

Happy Anniversary, Hun!

A to Z catch up.

Man, I've missed blogging. We've had computer issues. (still having them actually) but at least now I can upload pictures. I could have blogged without pictures but where is the fun in that. :) We have been quite busy and just enjoying life. I decided in efforts to play catch up that it was time for an A-Z post from me. So here it goes.

Arts and Academic night. We got to tour the boys class rooms and see the different essay's, reports and art work they have done. It was a lot of fun, and boy was I ever proud of my good little students. As always Becca was their biggest fan and loved getting to go to the big kids school.

Basketball. Kyle LOVES Basketball. He played year round this year. It has been fun to watch his skills improve and see something he is so passionate about.

Count down. We are heading to Disneyland with our best friends in two weeks. We are ALL just so excited. We wanted to give the kids the opportunity to earn their own money for souvenirs. To find out more click here to read about it on our craft blog.

Doctor office visits. Sweet little Kyle goes to the doctor all.the.time. He takes meds 3x's a day and has just started needing Lupron shots every 28 days (that I have to give him, ugggghhh) Although he HATES all the shots and constant blood work he is very brave and I actually enjoy the one on one we have while in the waiting room together. He is such a witty funny kid. Love him!

E ggs. We had fun dyeing our Easter Eggs and we were sure to dye only the hard boiled eggs this time. We still laugh when we think about the year we colored the raw eggs. Good times!

Field trips. The school asked for parent volunteers in both the boys classes for their field trips. It just so happened they were both on Ryan's day off. Both boys wanted Ryan to be the parent to come along. I am glad it worked out, it was fun for them to have him there. Since I didn't go there are no pictures (haha) but they had a good time. Kyle's class went to the state capitol and Jaden's to the Phoenix Museum.

General Conference was amazing and spoke straight to my heart. I love the spirit that filled our home and was completely uplifted after listening to all the sessions. It was especially exciting to hear of Uncle Steve Allen's new call from the pulpit. The McGhan's brought us cinnamon rolls and boy were they yummy!

Hunting for Easter Eggs. After the kids found their loot from the Easter Bunny they enjoyed a small little egg hunt in the back yard...in their jammies. :)

Inspiration. The Lord has been talking to me frequently and clearly through the Spirit these last few weeks. I have received guidance on many ways I need to improve, have had clear impressions about how to help my children, and thought much about the future. Kyle has been having a tuff time lately and I feel like I have known how to help him through some of it by being prompted to know what to say to him. I know that is is form the Lord. Although it is heart breaking to see your child suffer it has been nice to see his true character pull through and I am so proud of the hard decisions he has made. Especially when it comes to letting go of friendships of people who tear him down and require him to be rude to others in order to be their friend. He is very true to who he is and wants no part of it. I'm praying really hard for him to find someone just as kind to be a friend to him at school.

Junk. We spent a day cleaning up the yard and we are still working on the garage. We took a truck load of stuff to goodwill too. It feels so nice to get rid of Junk.

Kitchen. Becca LOVES to play with her little Kitchen. This day she moved it out into the hall and we all got to play drive thru with her. She also is very helpful in the real kitchen.

Learning. I have really been trying to focus on my photography and learn more. I took a two week photography class and absolutely LOVED it. I am always looking for people/groups to practice on and improve. I was so excited when my dear friend Janell asked me to do her son Dallin's graduation pics and announcement. I designed it in photoshop. Here is how it turned out.

M others Day. I was kind of bummed to know that Ryan would have to work on Mother's Day, but he and the kids managed to still make it special. They spoiled me with a yummy breakfast and Ryan had bought a roast from the YM fundraiser that was already cooked and ready to go. I got the sweetest heartfelt gifts and it was great. I think my favorite part of the day was looking at each of the kids scrapbook with them and talking about all the good memories we've shared and letting them know how much I LOVE being their mom.

N ew ward calling. I was put in as the Activity Day's leader. On this day we got to go and plant flowers at the temple. I did this in my last ward with my YW and it was a blast so when I was at the temple the other day I just asked if there was any chance my activity day girls could come and they said it just so happens we are replanting this week. (they replant twice a year). hurray!!! It was so much fun and the girls loved it.

Organization. I have been trying to declutter and get rid of things. As well as reorganizing everything. It has been a lot of fun finding a place for every thing. Our entertainment center is huge and has deep cupboards so I decided that was the perfect spot for some scrapbook supplies and I can shut the door and you don't even see it. To the right is all ribbon (I know....I have an addiction to that stuff) and the left is scraps, punches, embellishments, cardstock books, stamps and my scrap tote.

Pizza at the Pageant. My Uncle Steve Allen was in town for the Easter Pageant and since he is the man in charge he got us amazing seats. We ordered Pizza and went with our friends the Madsen's. It was amazing as always and the perfect way to begin our Easter Celebrations.

Quinoa; pronounced Keen-Wa. In efforts to be more healthy I got some of this and I am trying to sneak it in to our food. So far so good. My friend had a recipe for pizza dough on her blog and it is wonderful. I'm all for taking a favorite and making it more nutritious. It is the most healthy grain in her opinion (and mine too). It is a complete protein. No other grain can make that claim. It also adds a nutty flavor to your foods.

Report. Kyle had to do an Arizona report and beings how he has an obsession with basketball the Phoenix Suns seems like the obvious choice. My good friend Staci was a life saver and let us borrow a whole bunch of her husbands Suns stuff. It was the perfect touch for his report. Kyle did a great job and got an A.

Scriptures. The primary theme this year is "I Know The Scripture Are True" Ryan and I have decided we want to be sure the kids really know there scripture stories so we started a scripture wall. We kicked it off with a story of how the Book Of Mormon came to be. Starting with Mormon, Moroni and how Joseph got the Brass plates. Then we gave the kids their own brass plate to engrave on. I was soooo impressed with how much they all LOVED this project. I told them to write/draw there favorite scripture story. Kyles was The Army of Helaman. Jaden's was angel Moroni and a temple with him on it, and Becca's was baby Jesus and the Tomb (of course) from when he was Resurrected.

The Tuesday after Easter Becca was sitting outside of dance class by the shoe basket
putting on her shoes. All of the sudden she got really REALLY excited and said "OH WOW, LOOK MOMMY" and pointed over to the corner of the backyard.
Me:"what do you see"?
Becca: "Look, Miss Wendy has a tone"
ME: "a tone???"
Becca: "yes see, she has a tone....right there"
I didn't understand what she was talking about. Then she walked
closer to the fireplace in the corner and said "See....she has a tone like they put Jesus in and then he came Resurrected for EASTER!"
Me: "oh....you mean the Tomb"?
Becca: "YES....She has a Tomb to remember about Jesus came back life...(short pause, BIG smile) Miss Wendy LOVES Jesus too!!!" :)

Utah. We are going the end of June til the middle of July and I can not wait. Oh how I love and miss my Utah friends and family.

V isiting Teachers. I haven't had any in a Loooong time and I just love my new ladies. They are really neat inspiring women that I look up to and admire very much.

Weather. It has been cool and breezy, and I LOVE it. I am soaking it up because the hot Arizona summer is just around the corner.

X ercise. I am loving my DoTerra essential oils. I have been on a regular exercise schedule again and it feels great. Instead of the if I have time rut I was in, it is a priority and I make the time for it now. The oils and vitamins are amazing and I feel so much better. I only had one headache in the last two weeks and that is huge for me. I was getting them everyday. I am trying to focus more on the process of getting healthier than on any visible end results....although I am looking forward to those too.

Y um...Every summer I do a home summer school with my kids. I found these books at the library and thought it would be fun to incorporate them into our school. It will be a great way to get them to have fun eating healthier, work on math and reading comprehension by following directions. It's been a lot of fun working on the lesson plans. I can't not believe this school year is almost over already.

Zzzz....Well there you have it. If you made it this far then hopefully I didn't bore you to sleep like this girl!

On to the next stage of life.

I have been SOOO emotional this week. It has hit me lately that my baby is not such a baby anymore. I'm having issues being ok with that. Ryan and I have exhausted all medical resources we can think of. We've done fertility treatment, tests, drugs, anything and everything the doctors have suggested and of course prayer. I told my self a year ago that if I was not pregnant by the time Becca was 4 then I would accept it and move on. Well....she turned 4, 2 months ago so yesterday I took the last of the baby stuff to goodwill. It was going along great and I thought I was fine, but then I pulled into my driveway and it hit me, I just started bawling. I've had many people tell me once you give your stuff away you'll get pregnant. I think deep down I still secretly hope that happens. I feel guilty for having such heart ache over not having 4 kids as Ry and I ALWAYS said we wanted. I have 3 wonderful beautiful kids and I cherish them. I definately don't want to be one of those people who dwells on what they don't have and be sure to soak up as much of my kids as I can. I do honestly want to be ok with not having another baby, I'm just not there yet. My head is, but not my heart. . I am working on having greater faith that there is something else that I am supposed to be doing right now and move on. It is fun that our family is growing up. Yesterday we all went on a long bike ride. We went quite far and there was no whining or complaining and it was just so fun. Also going to the movie theater is actually fun now. They all sit thru it and we can all enjoy it. I love seeing the little personalities more and I think it is so fun to get to joke around with the kids and have them tell some jokes too. Life is good and I am blessed beyound measure.

Put'n on pretties!

I absolutely love when I am able to capture pictures of my kids without them knowing it.

The other day Becca brought her princess vanity desk and chair into the family room while I was doing dishes and I was able to snap a few picture before she saw me.

She definately knows what she is doing.

it is so fun to watch her be so girly.

She is definately beautiful inside and out!