This kid has always been able to fall asleep anytime, anywhere! He always took 3 hour naps when he was little and still seems to need a little cat nap in the car or on the floor. Dale also slept in random places when he was little.  Like Father like Son.  Oh how I love this little boy!

Frightmares at Lagoon! 

The kids loved going to Lagoon with all decorations for Halloween!  They have so many fun things for the kids to do.  They get to go Trick or Treating, go through a corn maze and enjoy all the Lagoon rides.  Addie is little scared this year of the Halloween atmosphere.  She will say "that witch scare me mommy, rarrr scary." It seems to be witches and skeletons. 

J&J Pumpkin Rides

Carter took the longest picking his pumpkin.  He was looking for a really big one.  He settled for one with bumpy looking warts all over it.  Shayla was looking for a perfectly round one.  Addie wanted all of them.  When she settled on one she wanted to carry it, but was frustrated to find she couldn't lift it on her own.  I love this tradition and  hope it carries on for many years to come.

Our Fun UEA Day!

We were thinking of going out of town for UEAbut decided to stay and have a really fun day.  We have talked about doing this before and then we end up staying at home.  We asked the kids what they wanted to to do and they had lots of ideas.  Carter really really wanted to go to Chuck E Cheese! He loves that place. Shayla wanted to go to a movie of SLC.  We started the day off with the movie theatre.  Despicable Me 2.  Other than the 4 potty breaks with Addie I really enjoyed it.  Then we headed off for some lunch at Subway and then to Chuck E Cheese to play the games. Carter loves ski ball, basketball and the bowling game.  Addie loves all the rides and was sad when she ran out of tokens.  Then we took the kids to the park.  It was an amazing family day.   

 

Where did Carter go?

So I didn't cry leaving carter on his first day of kindergarten.  Carter did great too, he gave me a kiss and off he went.  Addie fell apart.  She started crying and repeatedly asking "where did Carter go?".  She broke my heart!  So we are going to the park and having an Addie morning.

First day of School: 2cd Grade

Shayla was a little nervous that 2cd grade might be harder than first but other than that she was thrilled to go.  She has an amazing class that got together every few weeks during the summer.  Unfortunately we weren't able to make it to most of the get togethers.  However she did get some play dates in and she loves seeing her classmates during the summer.
She also got to visit her teacher at Lagoon because she works there and we have season passes.  She would take Shayla back to the security room and show her all the rides.  What a great teacher!

They make the first day so special by rolling out the red carpet.  Addie was dancing to the music they had playing over the loud speakers.  She didn't hesitate as she walked in the school like it was home.  She won the "get to know you" bingo her class played.

First day of School: Kindergarten

Carter had his first day of kindergarten orientation today.  We were a little nervous because he was not going to kindergarten he wanted to go back to preschool.  Then he woke up this morning all excited.  Strutted into his class like he had no issue with coming.  Today they wanted all the parents to stay with there child. At one time they separated us and he waved good bye.  We were really proud of him!  Sometimes he really outshines my expectations.  For me it will feel real when we leave him on Thursday for his 1st official day.   

"Where's my school mommy?"-

Addie was very sad that she did not have a school to go to. She did not want to go home with me she wanted to go find her school "where did it go?".  She is such a curios 2 year old.  How did we answer her question?...Donuts!  You get to have donuts.  This satisfied her for a little while.  She missed her Shayla and was so excited to go pick her up.  Carter even gave her a big hug and said "missed you Shayla."  Even though they were all back to fighting within the hour it was a nice moment.

Last Day of 1st Grade

Teacher: Miss Moulten

Favorite Subject: Math

Lunch: Home lunch consisting of peanut butter and honey sandwich everyday!

Best friends at school: Fay, Taylee, Tatum and Adalyn

Favorite thing about 1st grade: Love my teacher. Staying all day and eating lunch at school and reading.  The librarian was one of her favorite people.

Worst thing about 1st grade:  forgetting to bring home lunch 

(in Shay's words It was the most frustrating!)

Accomplishments:  Memorized a Martin Luther King Speech, Met AR goals, Survived 1st year in PAL program.

 Shay loved 1st grade and is super excited to go back for 2cd grade. She gets her same teacher for 2cd grade so that helps the anxiety of the unknown.  We overcame some fears.  When she would forget school lunch she became very worried she would throw up.  This fear came from the one time she bit into a chicken sandwich and it tasted funny so she almost threw up.  She would call me panicked when she forgot her lunch bag in the car.  Begging me to bring her lunch.  By the end of the year she was able to try school lunch again if she had to.  This year she also found a LOVE for reading.  She would read at least an hour everyday.  She loved finishing her fairy books in one day.  The days she only had time for 20 minutes of reading time she was frustrated.  I can't believe the year is over, but we are excited for summer!

 Happy Birthday Addison!

 Addie turned 2!  She loves Minnie Mouse so we had a Minnie birthday.  We started with a family party on Sunday.  We had my family over for dinner.  She loved opening her presents and was so excited with each one. She was so polite saying "thank you" to everyone.  She loved blowing out her candles.  I made "mini" cupcakes and we had "mini" ice cream cones.

I found this on Etsy. 

 When she woke up the next morning she was so excited to have presents again.  When she opened all of them she looked at me and said "where they go mama?".  She wanted more.  She loves her little play house.  She can ring the door bell and open the door, what more could a 2 year old want.  That night we had Dale's family over to celebrate.  She just smiled when it was time to sing and open more presents!

 Addison's favorite things at 2 are:

Minnie Mouse

Carter

Shayla

cookies 

ice water

"B" (blanket)

Milp (milk)

Lagoon

Watching anything on the disney channel

Cinderella

Saying prayers

She loves to dump out her book shelf one book at a time. She looks at each one until they are all off and on the floor.

Being outside and climbing!

Being 2 can be rough!

Happy Mothers Day!

What a great day!  I am so lucky to be a mom.  Somedays it is hard, but I love it.  This year Shay was so excited for Mothers Day that she woke me up "Mom are you ready to open your present?"  I opened one eye, looked at the clock and said "not yet". I went back to bed.  An hour later "Mom are you ever getting up today?" It was now 7:30. I reminded myself that this was what being a mom was all about.  I sat up and opened her present.  She made me a pinch pot at school. It was the most beautiful pinch pot.  She also got me my favorite gummies and a sweet card that read:
I appreceate when you let us eat outside.  I appreceate when you laugh. I appreceate when I forget my lunch you go get it for me.  I love when you give me a hug.
So sweet!
Carter brougt home a paper he had filled out about me for Mothers day.  
My mother. She is 4 years old.  She is 4 feet tall.  She weighs 4 pounds.  She loves to eat macorni and cheese. She likes to wear pants.  While I'm at school she goes shopping.  She likes to play. She doesn't like to play the wii.  It makes her mad when I don't pick up my toys. It makes her happy when I give her a hug.  I love her because she takes care of me!
At church Carter said to me "Thank you mommy thank you for being my mom, I love you"  I even got a kiss.
I laughed and felt super loved by my children.  I am so happy our home is filled with hugs and kisses.

I have so much gratitude in my heart for my mom and mother-in-law.  They are both wonderful examples of moms and I learned so much from them.  My mom is one of the most selfless people I know.  She is always worrying about others not herself.  She was never pushy or overbearing.  She waited for me to come to her and then she would listen.  She was such a big help to me when I worked.  She watched my kids and loved them as I would have.  I love you Mom!
Dale's mom is no longer with us but her legacy lives on.  I would not know how to cook if it wasn't for her. She was amazing in the kitchen.  She always treated me as her daughter even when I was just dating Dale. When Dale was on his mission she would call me 3-4 times a week to check up on me.  She raised an incredible son.  I will always be grateful to her for all the love she showed me.  I love you Cathy!  Happy Mothers Day!

Lucky Charms!

 I came upstairs after vacuuming the downstairs to find Addie picking out the marshmallows from the lucky charms.  Appereantly she couldn't get them all out so she needed to dump them all out all over my floor! You can see my vacuum lines in the picture just minutes before I had finished the upstairs vacuuming.  I have to admit I wasn't that surprised it's Addison we are talking about.  She doesn't need help with anything she will solve the problem her self.  The joys of being a mom!  I love it!

We have been getting some crazy spring weather.  I don't mind the rain but I don't like the 30 degree temps in the morning and at night.  The kids were really wanting to do a fire and roast marshmallows   The wind was blowing and it was too cold for me.  Dale is a great Daddy and took the kids out. They loved the fire. They could have stayed out all night.  Our yard is all tour up because we are getting ready to pour a bigger cement pad.  Excited to see how this project turns out.

I am not sure if it's the weather or just Addie but she loves to be crazy.  I walked in the office earlier to find her in this position on the computer chair. She is so funny!

OH NO!

Addie new thing is saying oh No!  She will say it if she has spilled, if she is telling on Carter or Shay, or if she gets hurt.  Today she climbed the table to get to the treat bucket and couldn't open the wrapper so she proceded to yell out "oh no mom!" 

 The obsession with Minne Mouse continues.  She found Megans pillow pet that is Minne Mouse and has now taken for herself.  She gives  adirty look to anybody that touches it.  "mine, minnie mouse."  Can you get anymore m words in that phrase.

 April Fools Dinner!
We had a great time with April Fools this year.  Last year the Buelo's invited us over for a silly dinner.  This year we decided to have our own.  I was like the powerful Oz behind my white curtain.We invited the Meldrum's to join us in our fun.  They were great sports.  We had a Fool's Diner.  The menu was disguised so you had no idea what you were ordering.  Poor Shay got a napkin, toothpick and ice cubes with a few carrots her first round. Hunter was always excited to see what was on his plate and by the end he did process of elimination to guess what was coming.  

Easter Sunday

Happy Easter!  I love getting my kids all dressed up for Easter!  They had such a fun morning, finding easter baskets and eggs.  I don't know about the easter Bunny but I am exhausted after the days events. It's amazing how much they love to find eggs. Since Friday my kids have been involved in 4 Easter egg hunts.  Addie would get so excited finding them and had to yell out "egg" when she would put it in her basket.  When the hunt was over she was still looking under things to make sure they had all been found.  Carter was very fast this year.  He was all over getting as many as he could.  Shay was very steady and slow due to her arm.  It would hurt if she moved to fast.  

Easter Morning

Easter Egg Hunts

 As my kids older I notice that they are ready to understand the true meaning of Easter. This year Shayla has asked lots of questions about the easter story. This year Easter has brought sadness and joy as she understands what our savior did.  She realizes that she will see her grandma Cathy again one day.  She is very excited to talk and play with her.  She misses her often as we all do. Easter is a reminder to all of us what our Savior did so that we may see loved ones again.