Happy Birthday Keaton!

Keaton turned 19 today. Only one more year left of being a teenager. Unfortunately he has met the mean adult world and had to work all day. His grandpa took him out last night to dinner and a movie. Today his boss took him to lunch and Mike took him to dinner at Texas Roadhouse. I made cheesecake and we had the grandparents over to celebrate. He has recently moved back from Heber and is making plans to go on a mission. In the last year he has graduated from high school, moved away from home, worked full time in construction, gone through 2 vehicles (crashing into a deer in our truck and totaling it and then being the victim of a crash in a parking lot by someone with no green card, no driver's license, and no insurance. On the way to St. George the van blew up. Now he has no car. Isn't that great!) All that in only one year. We've learned a lot raising him the last 19 years (We hope he's learned some good things too). Happy Birthday Keaton! We love you!

Summer Fun

Remember when you were a kid? It
was always an adventure to sleep

outside whether it was in a tent, on the grass, or on the trampoline. Well, Noah and Maddie talked Mike and I into sleeping on the trampoline the other night. We got everything set up. We had a pillow fight. We looked at the stars and enjoyed the cool air. Then we went to sleep, or at least tried to. I have a hard time sleeping in my own bed so I knew this would be tough, but I had high hopes. Maybe it would be different. Well, I was comfortable enough. I think that Noah has a little restless leg syndrome going on though. Every 5-10 seconds his legs were going crazy. Needless to say, I could not sleep. I ended up going in the house at 2:00am to try to catch a few winks. Mike lasted the night and although I didn't, I hope the kids remember that we had fun before going to bed.

Memorial Day

The first holiday of Summer vacation has come and gone. This Memorial Day we hiked to the lava caves at Snow Canyon. Noah and Maddie are finally getting big and brave enough to go in them. I wouldn't really call it "spelunking", but we had a great time anyway. Kenzie came with us, but her love is running so she ran 4 miles of Snow Canyon. The rest of the day was spent hanging out at home, taking Noah and Maddie to the splash pad at the park, and barbecuing with family and friends.

How Sweet It Is

We have strawberries!!! Well, we've had 3 so far. This week Maddie ate the first fruits of my labors, Kenzie got the 2nd, and today I was able to taste a sweet, yummy, home grown strawberry. Last year my strawberry plants (all 3 of them) produced only 1 strawberry and the plants died quickly. So sad. But this year they seem to be doing much better. I am so excited!

Who's Got Talent?

Maddie participated in her first talent show this week. The first graders were able to show what talents they had. Some danced, showed flexibility moves, did magic tricks, etc. Maddie played the piano. She has been taking lessons for about 6 months now. She played Jingle Bells and did an awesome job! I remember taking part in talent shows. How scary. Kudos to her for getting up there and showing everyone what she can do:)

Happy Mother's Day to my Mom

This is my mom. I wanted to wish her a Happy Mother's Day and tell her "thank you" for all that she does for me and my family. She has set a great example for me. She has been supportive of me and my family. She is a mom, a grandma, great-grandma and my friend. I love her very much!

Scouts

Last night Noah received his Wolf! Now he's on to the Bears. He is the 3rd boy in our family to go through scouts and I still can't keep track. Also, I still can't figure out why the mom gets "pinned". I really didn't do anything. His scout leaders have been great. Mike has also helped him with a lot so I think they should be recognized.
Thanks to all of them for all they do!

How Does Your Garden Grow?

A while back we built garden boxes and planted some seeds and plants in our garden. A few things have been growing. Our first vegetables were the radishes. I ate one and they are hot. I guess I'm the only one who will eat them. Peas should be ready soon. I also have been planting flowers in our flower beds. One of my favorite things to do is to go outside without any kids in tow and water the flowers and see how they're growing. Sometimes the kids find me and want to help. I do let them, but I am a little selfish for "my time" and sneak out when I can. My friend Sheila takes beautiful photos of flowers so I thought I would take some of mine. The kids thought I was crazy for doing so, but they are pretty and yes, sometimes I'm crazy.

Teen Driver

Monday: Kenzie got her license!
Tuesday: Keaton sent a text picture that showed someone smashed into his van while it was parked!
Wednesday: Kenzie drove the Galant to school!
Caution: Teen Driver, Beware!
Disclaimer: Mike took these lovely pictures so I cannot be held responsible for not seeing her face or for them being out of focus:)

Grandpas are Great!

This is my dad. I snapped this during Noah's birthday party. Isn't he cute?! I just have to say how great he is. Since we've moved here, he has come over to watch the kids on the days I work. He is faithfully here on time. He fixes breakfast on occasion and always cleans the kitchen. He even helped pottytrain Maddie and put her hair in a pony tail when I haven't been able to get her hair done. He has picked kids up from school when they've been sick and also taxied them around town to their varioius practices and piano lessons. You can almost always see him in the audience or cheering on the sidelines come rain or shine. And, he's always willing to come help out with a project at our home. I really can't make a list of all he does, but I am thankful for him. I love my dad!:)

Happy Birthday Noah!

Noah turned 9 this past week! I always check the kids out of school for lunch. This year he chose to go to Panda Express. Chuck-a-Rama with his Dad was the pick for dinner. I made a soccer cake and the grandparents came over for cake and ice cream. Afterwards, he chose to go to the new park near our home and fly his kite. We hope you had a great day Noah. We love you and are so happy to have you in our family:)

FHE with the ducks

Last week for FHE we had a little lesson and our activity was
supposed to be hitting balls at the driving range (Mike's choice of course). Unfortunately, the driving range was closed by the time we got there. I had brought bread along to feed the ducks on the way home. So, we spent all of our time with the ducks. The first time we fed the ducks was almost 5 years ago. The ducks weren't afraid of us, but the little kids were afraid of them and had to stand in the back of the truck for fear of being attacked. This year it was better. We had a great time! Activities like this are some of my most favorite memories.