Spring Break

We had quite a week! And lucky you...you get to read all the details!


Day one (Monday): Bribed my kids to clean the house with a trip to the store to spend their allowances. I think the clean house lasted about 10 seconds after we got home from the store =)


Day two: Hmmm....can't remember. Must have been really, really great....


Day three: Our week finally gets fun! We all went to the park for the morning.

Then, Jonathan proved he can be nice to a friend his own age when Sareny came over to play. Silly, but I had to document this so I don't forget when does his usual thing and prefers to play with Brendon's friends over his own. He was pretty nice to two friends again today...maybe he's growing up a little =)





Suzanna got to go hang out at her friends house for a fun girl day after the park, and Brendon played at one friends house and then went to another friend's house for his first sleepover of the week. When she got home, Anna was pretty disappointed her fun was over and Brendon's was only beginning, so we made a gourmet dinner.





See, I cut our bean chimmies slanted. That makes them gourmet, right ?!? Anna had fun setting up all the dishes, and even added her own candle for ambiance.


Day four: Picked up Brendon from his 1st sleepover, then we all went swimming at the Y with cousins. Brendon got to go home with them for another sleepover. Suzanna and Jonathan were pretty outraged at the complete injustice of life by this point =)


Day five: My dad called early to let us know my Grandpa Flake passed away peacefully during the night. We're so thankful for all the great times we've had with him, and for the wonderful life he lived. It will be good to be together as a family later this week at his funural

After that, I spent the day giving all the boys haircuts, cleaning, shopping, making strawberry jam and getting ready for Phil's brother Bradley and family to come over to stay the weekend!!


Day six: We all headed to Luke Days. Phil and Bradley went early so they could have LOADS of fun standing in line for over two hours with all the other million people who showed up. The rest of us got stuck in traffic on the way to the park and ride (thanks to my brilliant navigation), so we got frustrated and just decided to park on the side of the road for the show. We had a great view--and we were pretty thankful for the cars to sit in to escape the sun.











After the air show, we came back to our house with Phil's mom, sister Wendy, and both of his brothers and their families and had a great dinner together. Ty and Emily had fun eating outside.






Later that evening we got the word that my brother's wife Ann had her baby boy, Logan!! We're so thankful for his safe arrival after a long, difficult pregnancy. We also received the sad news about my cousins' baby daughter, Lucy, that night. We are praying for them and their family, that they will be comforted and sustained through this difficult time. Sure wish there was more we could do to help.


Day seven: Said goodbye to Bradley, Rachel and kids early, then relaxed while playing a game of Settlers before church. Anna and Brendon are getting pretty good!


So we didn't do anything wild and crazy, or go on a long, exciting trip, but we sure had fun being together! And that's all that counts for us!!

Three weeks!?!

Wow, has it really been that long since my last post?

Here's a little about what I should have posted about in the last three weeks:


(I've been given a time limit of about 5 minutes before my kids mutiny and leave the house without me, so I'll be brief)


1. Potty training. Enough said. But I could have written a great post with a great movie clip that runs through my head every time Ty says "it's working!" That's how he tells me he's ready to head to the bathroom. It's working. More often than not, though, it's not working =)

Can anyone name the movie???


2. I played nurse when Ty hit his head on the very sharp edge of my dresser.




3. Went on another great preschool field trip to Cerreta's Candy Factory. Lots of delicious samples!!


4. Suzanna got a MUCH needed haircut. Here's a before:




Here's an after:



5. Suzanna is also loving the piano right now. I love hearing her play. Other family members are not as supportive. Namely her brothers. Every chance she gets, she plops down and starts practicing. It was fabulous having a guest teacher, a.k.a. Grandma Flake, here last week visiting, and having her spend time with both Brendon and Suzanna at the piano.




6. Got a new calling. I'm sad to be done as the Visiting Teaching Coordinator--I think that's been my favorite calling ever, but I know I'm going to have fun working with the young women. If only I had a fantastic idea for mutual tomorrow night that required no preparation...like those kind of ideas exist!

7. Taught a bread making class for an Enrichment activity. Had so much fun doing it, but I sure wish I knew more than I do. Luckily, I was only team-teaching, and the other teacher is much more experienced than me. I'm also very glad it's over!

8. Suzanna got her ears pierced last Saturday. It was her friend's birthday, so her friend was finally getting her ears pierced, and I totally gave in to the peer pressure. Really, I've been wanting Anna to want to get them done for a long, long time =)




9. Now I'm hoping to make it through Spring Break....

P is for Pet Shop and Picnic

Last Thursday was Jonathan's preschool class field trip to the Pet store and then to the Park for a Picnic.



Notice how Jonathan is like an entire head taller than the other kids in his class =) That kid is going to be huge! They all had fun petting the different animals.



Field trips are fun for little brothers, too. Ty loved all the animals, and had no problem pushing his way to the front of the group to get his turn petting.

We had fun going to the park after to share our snacks beginning with the letter P. We're so original that we brought the same snack as last year: Pringles.

Homegrown

Not everything tastes better homegrown or homemade, but having grown up with huge orange and grapefruit trees in my backyard, it absolutely pains me to buy citrus from the store. They just aren't even close to as good. But my parents moved a few years back and I've had to break down and buy some grapefruit and oranges every once in a while.

But not anymore!!!

After just three years our very own tree is producing nicely--30 whole grapefruit! And we have enjoyed every bite. I think my children are every bit as much in love with them as me. They get pretty excited whenever it's their turn to go out and pick the grapefruit. And they're working on learning how to wait patiently until it's time to eat them. Though it's pretty cute to hear Ty asking if it's "time to eat the grapefruit?" over and over and over....


If only our pitiful orange tree would produce now. It's amazing how trees planted just twenty or so feet apart, and given the same care, can grow so differently.

Cookies for Valentine's

We just returned from a great trip to Thatcher, where we did many fun, unpictured things along with making sugar cookies with Grandma Allred and cousins on Saturday.

So much more fun (for me!) when there's other adults to help bake and clean.

And the winner is...

Not Brendon =(

But he did get second!

It was the pinewood derby for our cub scouts last night. Brendon was hoping for a repeat of last year's win, and things were looking good. He tied for first, which meant a race off just like last year. Only this time his car lost the race off. Brendon was a great sport about it all (of course!) and we were so excited for Patrick to win his first pinewood derby (he's only been a scout for a couple of months!).

Brendon crossing his fingers, hoping his car might win the race off.

Patrick celebrating his win and Brendon realizing he's lost.

A race that Brendon's car actually won (yep, that means his car's in front if you care to identify it).

And here are his adoring fans. Suzanna was way more upset that he lost than he was.

I just knew it...

After such a fun week, we had to have a couple of not so fun ones. We're on week two of sickness around here, but I'm sure it won't be the end since Brendon hasn't caught the cold yet. They've all been taking turns suffering through the never ending runny noses and coughs. Such fun.

The good news is that my two little boys have been best buds through most of the sickness. Ty got sick first, and Jonathan entertained him with wagon rides.

And even tolerated him when he wanted to be RIGHT next to him. Every time Jonathan sat down, Ty plopped down next to him. If Jonathan moved, Ty moved. Even if it was only a few inches away.

Now let's just hope that Ty can be as nice to Jonathan now that Jonathan is sick. Doubtful =)