have a rad summer! stay cool!

B&P with their teachers- they both had really great teachers this year.

Braden received the Presidential

Physical Fitness Award this year. Good job B!

B finished up the spring basketball season. He loved it and had an awesome season. He's improved so much over the last year...I got all teary-eyed watching him play on Saturday, he tore it up!

Braden's 4th grade class on the last day of school. These kids were so wired and bouncing off the walls. When the bell rang, they started screaming and jumping around. I don't blame them, we were all like that on the last day, right? Heston isn't too sure about all this...

Hes doesn't know what to do with all this attention from the ladies...he likes to play hard to get.

We left on Thursday after school for a camping trip. We headed north just past Payson. The weather was nice and cool but it rained the whole time. We did manage to get in a little hike but we decided to come home early.
Paige lost one of her front teeth yesterday!

Summer is officially here!

last week of school

Mother’s Day was awesome! The kids and Aaron spoiled me and I enjoyed my day of doing a lot of relaxing.
I got to talk to Grandma this week, I was so happy to hear her voice! I’ve been writing her letters but it’s just not the same. She’s getting some strength back and is enjoying her new friends at the care center. We can’t wait to see her.

We went and saw Brian Regan with Ray, EmmaLee, Jordan and Karin last night. It was a lot of fun and so nice to go to dinner and laugh your guts out with friends.
It’s officially swim season and we’ve been taking advantage of that. The heat is miserable, I’m not going to lie to you. Being able to swim kind of makes up for it though. The kids have 3 ½ days left of school. They are excited to have a break, it’ll be a fun summer.

Happy Mother's Day!!!

Happy Mother's Day to all you mothers out there! I wanted to let my Mom know how much I love and appreciate her. Instead of a card this year, I made this scrapbook page instead.

I love you Mommaseetaburrita!

I hope everyone has a great day and you all get so totally pampered and spoiled by your families!

Monday...again?!

It's Monday again already?! 13 days of school left. I'm looking forward to a break from school as much as the kids. Speaking of school, I signed up to be on FPAC. (our school's PTA) I help out here and there anyway, I figure I might as well jump in with both feet. I have to admit, I got more excited when I found out Melanie decided to do it too.
Here are a few pics from this past month:

Hes hanging out on our camping trip. I just love his little dimple :)

"Decade Day" at school. B&P wanted to dress 50s.

This is Braden's favorite hat

The kids after the "Spring Sing". (Horrible shadows, please forgive me)

> Enjoy your week!<

Sunday

There's nothing better on a Sunday than doing some scrapbooking while the house is getting destroyed. (Mondays are for putting things back together, I try to ignore the mess) I did a page today using a scanned picture of our little family back in 2000. The page of Paige I did a couple of weeks ago.

May is just around the corner, I can't believe that! Is it just me or does it feel like May is just one crazy, jam-packed month?

Monday

I made this blog banner using items from this FREE kit by Shabby Princess. I love the rainbow...it reminds me of growing up in the 80s :)

Thursday stuff

These are just a few pictures of the boys being silly the other day. Braden was pulling faces and Heston was trying to copy him.

We went camping last weekend a few miles north of Tucson. We stayed at the Catalina State Park and one of the perks of this camping excursion was the shopping center and movie theatre right across the street from us! Nothing like taking a little hike and then enjoying a movie! (We went and saw Monsters and Aliens, fun movie)

On Sunday, B&P planned an Easter party for the family. The activities included:

A feast of leftover rigatoni

Party favors

Paper airplane instruction and dancing

It was a fun weekend spending time with each other

Go Nate!!!

We just wanted to give a shout out to Nate and wish him the best of luck when he runs next Sunday in the Boston Marathon! We'll be watching for you!

Usery Mountain

We had a great time with Mom and Dad during their visit. We went up to Usery Mountain (north Mesa) on Saturday for an overnight campout. It was really fun and we had a great time going on hikes and just hanging out. Food just tastes better when you're camping!

Family Proclamation book

I stumbled across this book template when I was looking for some things for Primary. I just love it! You can create a scrapbook that centers around the Family Proclamation. You can purchase the template here for a $1, can you believe that?! One dollar!! Wouldn't these make great gifts?

Mom and Dad got here last night so we are looking forward to spending the weekend them. They are so glad to be somewhere warm. We have an overnight camping trip planned, that should be fun!

Pinewood derby and basketball

Last Thursday night was the good ol’ Pinewood Derby. It’s probably my favorite part of scouting. The boys get so excited! Aaron and I were talking about how high-tech the Pinewood derby has become. Remember the days of the wooden track with the blankets at the end? Those days are long gone. Everything is computerized now and they take the averages of all the races to determine the winner. (it cuts down on the arguments between some of the dads and the judges) “The Lego Devil” was awarded the most comedic car.
Braden also had his first basketball game of the season on Saturday. There was a scheduling conflict with the gym so they played their game on the outdoor courts. It was nice to enjoy the sunshine before summer sets in. It’ll be a fun season…

at the zoo with the girls

Monday was the 1st grade Field trip to the Phoenix Zoo and Paige's teacher Miss Thomas asked me to be one of the chaperones. Kim and I had a group of 5 girls. They were good and pretty obedient. There were a few “drama queen” moments with one of the girls however the kids really enjoyed themselves. The weather was awesome and Paige was so happy I came…I love watching my kids interact with their classmates.

bear famly

Not only do kids say funny things, they write them too. During Spring Break this week, I spent a lot of time "putting out fires" between the kids. Braden hurt Paige's feelings so she locked herself in her room and slid a note under the door. My scanner is not working but this is what she wrote:


bear famly
frume paige to famly
When you here this mesig you will be a masd at what I say
Ocay here we go I will not be having binner tonigh and tomaro I will not be havving bimer and lunch or brechfist to and that is all I am going to say
the end

Here's the translation:

Dear Family
From Paige to Family
When you hear this message you will be amazed at what I say Okay here we go
I will not be having dinner tonight and tomorrow I will not be having dinner and lunch or breakfast too and that is all I am going to say
The end

The kids enjoyed their Spring Break and as much as I love them, I'm happy to see them return to that glorious, wonderful place called school :)

wish blossoms

As we were driving home the other day, Paige said, "Mom! Look at all those wish blossoms!" When I looked over and saw it was a nice thick patch of dandelions, I couldn’t help but smile. It got me thinking of all the funny and cute things kids say. I take a lot of pictures and I keep a journal but sometimes I forget to record these cute, everyday things they say.
I found a journal on clearance at Target a while back (I love Target! I could go there everyday and never get sick of that place) and put it in my purse to record these little things the kids say so I don’t forget.
Kids grow up so fast…I just don’t want to miss anything! :)

(picture courtesy of Flickr, isn't it cool?!)

some current pages

These are a few digital pages I’ve been working on lately. I’ve mentioned before how much I love templates and all things Ali Edwards. I got this template of hers a while ago and used it on these 2 pages that I’ve been working on this week. It's fun to take the templates and switch them up.

The page of Braden I finished a couple of weeks ago. Karin showed me a cool trick on how to recolor the stitches but I already flattened my layers and saved it! I’ll try it on my next project, she may have to walk me through it again. :)

I really love this little hobby of mine. Some days it's the only way I can keep my sanity.

Ian's baptism

We spent the weekend in California for Ian's baptism. We were glad to be there for him and our kids loved spending time with their cousins, aunts, uncle, Grandma and Grandpa. On Sunday, we went to Oceanside to play at the beach before we headed home. Yes, Heston is sporting a pink jacket. I couldn't find his and it was either wear pink or freeze! :)

We had some success!!

After I posted my frustrations on that last post, we kept going with the potty training. I couldn't get Heston to sit on the potty to save my life. Aaron stepped in and 2 minutes later, Heston was sitting on the potty. (I should have had him helping me earlier!) Later that night, he peed in the potty! We kept up the routine on Saturday and he peed again. Yesterday we didn't have any success going on the potty but I have hope. Rebecca reminded me of our mom-in-law Martha. She potty trained 8 kids and ran a day care for 30 years so I need to stop complaining and keep going. Every kid is different and what worked for one kid may not work for the other. Wish me luck...it's going to be a long week! :)