Bat Caves & 5K

We took 12 kids and 8 adults on a hike up to some bat caves on the North end of the valley. Some of the views. A really beautiful spot.
Picture below is after a 5K 19 cousins (+Mom) ran together.

SUMMER

Natalia

This post is all about Natalia. She has had an eventful month. She had a birthday, graduated from pre-school, split her chin open, face planted on the carpet at the church, lost her first tooth and most recently broke her arm. She's banged up but still smiling.

She always has funny things to say and is very entertaining. The other day she told me she was tired because she had blinked too much that day. We were reading scriptures and I asked her why babies and little kids didn't need to be baptized and she said, "Because they would drown in the water since they can't swim."
She also asked my mom if they had tornado's where President Obama lived and if she thought one could suck him up because he's not a good man.

She has had to sit pretty still the last 3 days until the swelling goes down enough that they can cast her arm and it has been pretty tough on her. She is not used to sitting still, but thankfully she really likes to watch "The Suite Life of Zack and Cody" on Netflix. (There are 5 seasons.) She and Colton were racing from the sidewalk to the tree on Thursday and their feet got tangled up and she fell on her elbow. Unfortunately it is broken in a couple of spots. She will get it X-rayed again on Wednesday to see if the bones have shifted. If it stays put they will not need to put pins in. (Pray that that is the case.) As evidence of her rambunctiousness...she has 4 brothers and is the first one to ever break a bone! Dang girl. What a way to start off summer break. She is a joy and makes life very interesting. Let's hope the month of June is a little less eventful for her.

Ballet recital

This year they did a 'century of dance' for the theme. Natalia's class did the 1940's. They danced to " The Boogie Woogie Bugle Boy of Company B" in sailor outfits. They were pretty darn cute!

Some favorite pictures...

Daffodils and Dandelions

I love how little kids think everything is so wonderful. The other day Natalia and I were driving home and we passed our old house. I said "Look Natalia at our daffodils. Aren't they are pretty?" She tipped her head and said, "You know they aren't ours anymore Mom." Then after thinking for a few seconds she said, "But the bright side is we still have some dandelions." (We have a yard full of dandelions that she picks for me every day.)
I will forever after be more appreciative of dandelions!

Spring, Spring, Spring.

(I have the song from 'Seven Brides for Seven Brothers' in my head now.) It is 58 degrees out today and there is NO wind!!! Amazing. It is officially Spring. The high school kids are playing a baseball game and I drove by our old house and saw my daffodils blooming. I LOVE Spring... especially after a particularly miserable early Spring with lots of wind and snow and more wind.

Pirates...

Natalia thinks quite a bit about what she wants to be when she grows up. Her list is long and changes from day to day. She came and laid down by me this morning and we were chatting. Here is a recap:
Natalia--"Actually, I don't think I'll be a pirate when I grow up."

Mom--"That's probably a good idea because pirates aren't that nice or honest."

Natalia--"Yeah, I know why they are bad, because the king put them in jail and they had to escape and then just like Noah they built a boat and then they start stealing from people"

Mom--"Yes, they usually like to take other people's stuff."

Natalia--"Where do pirates live anyway? In Hawaii?"

Mom--"Umm, mostly off the coast of Africa and over in that area I think."

Natalia--"They have water over there?"

Cody is 4 months.

He is such a happy and pleasant little guy. We are all thoroughly smitten.

Grocery shopping

So, I'm not sure why grocery shopping is such a major ordeal, all I know is that I won't do it with the 3 littlest kids anytime soon...if EVER again.
I decided to make a 'quick' trip to Wal-Mart to get some groceries and the stuff for our Blue & Gold banquet and narrowly escaped having a nervous breakdown.
Because Cody sits in his car seat in the front of the cart and all the groceries go in the basket there is no where for Austin to sit so that leaves him to roam freely which equals disaster. He has to pull things off the shelves, run his hands down the isles knocking stuff all over the place, and pick up whatever he finds on the floor that looks even slightly edible and try to eat it. To make a long story short by the time I'm checking out I'm exhausted and rather frustrated. About the time my nerves are totally shot, Cody starts to cry because he's tired of sitting in the car seat and Austin makes a mad dash to the fruit/vegetable section. Natalia being the very helpful girl she is, goes after him and gets lost too. I finish paying as quickly as possible, and start hunting with a sick feeling inside--Cody is now screaming. After looking for a minute I notice a trail of popcorn chicken heading to the clothing section (thankfully Austin ran off with his chicken in hand), and a lovely worker lady with Natalia in hand. She said "I saw your other little one but couldn't catch him," (the story of the Gingerbread Man comes to mind). Anyway, we found him a little bit later hiding under the clothing rack giggling. I found NOTHING funny about it. Finally, we get to the van...only to realize I can't find the keys. I really have no desire to grocery shop ever again and am wondering just how long we could live on our food storage! ☺