This Month

Josh's birthday

Jeff's birthday

Mother's Day

One giant state report for Jake

One giant country report for Lucy

State Fair at school

Piano recital

Dance festival

Field day

Hours and hours of practice for my own dance recital

Dance pictures

Dance auditions

Lucy's birthday

Scout fundraiser dinner

Teacher appreciation week

Mother/Daughter night

Pool party

Physical for Josh (so he can go to camp)

3 rounds of strep

A doctor visit and meds for poor Lucy's terrible allergies

Camp Committee meetings

Prenatal appointment

10 hour dress rehearsal

On-going yard renovation

Finals week for Josh
Two dance concerts

Lucy's baptism where I will host 40+ guests

All this in the month of May 

Phew!  

Now add to ALL OF THAT a hefty dose of all-day morning sickness and first-trimester exhaustion.

If I'm still alive on June 3rd, tell all your friends.

It will be a big deal!

Week in iPhotos 10

A couple more of Lucy's baptism pictures.

Hulk hands!

A few things I've been craving lately.

And lastly, it's pretty clear what I've NOT been doing around the house lately.

When your kids can write their names in the dust on your furniture it's gotten pretty bad.

Major Yard Renovation

The fairly simple project of putting together a swing set in our backyard has turned into a major yard overhaul.  

But I'm very excited about it.

It's all a mess now but it will look so good when it's all done.

Major thanks to my dad who is helping out, because let's face it...Jeff is not the handiest of guys.  

A genius?  Yes.  Mr. Fix-it man?  No.

Renovations include:

A complete overhaul of the sprinkler system

Fixing the water feature

Planting several trees, bushes, and flowers

Ripping out and relocating the fire pit.

Ripping out several sections of curbing

Re-sodding areas in the grass

Cementing in a new basketball standard

and finally

Building and putting together a large playground area with sand and a swing set

I can't wait to show the finished result!

Week in iPhotos 9

We renewed our pass to Thanksgiving Point and Sam is sooooo excited because that means we can resume our weekly outings to the Dinosaur Museum.

Saturday morning outfit of choice.  

He wore this all day.

The Deacons in our ward had a Mother and Son night.

I cannot believe how fun it was.

We dressed up, had an escort, walked the red carpet where we were interviewed and had our pictures taken by the paparazzi.  

We also had a professional ballroom dancer come instruct us and teach us the Cha-Cha.

We had a dance-off and Josh and I won!!!!

Jake went on his first scout campout (along with Josh) to the Sand Dunes.

They had so much fun and 5 days later I am STILL vacuuming up sand.

Lucy had a dance competition over the weekend.

She dances at the studio where I am the Ballet Director.

I was so proud of our whole school that night because among many other awards, we also won Best Overall Technique.  To me, this is the most important award you can possibly win.  

Here is a preview of Lucy Baptism pictures I had taken about a week ago.

I love her little 8-year-old smile with all the missing teeth.

I also cannot get over how old she looks and how beautiful her hair is.

Oh, to have thick, gorgeous hair like hers!!

She is so beautiful!

Week(s) in iPhotos 8 - A Big Announcement

The weather has been fantastic lately.

I've been going on lots of walks.

Almost everyday.

(I'm determined to stay active this time around, no matter how sick I am.)

I've been trying to finish lots of projects around the house before the sickness hits.

Jeff and I planted about 50 shrubs and trees in our yard.

I have been so hungry lately and have gone absolutely nuts in the kitchen.

Fast food makes me gag now and I want home cooked meals with lots of vegetables.

(I mean, come on!  Look at this meal.  I am so proud of myself.)

Homemade peanut butter granola bars.

I did something I've never, EVER done before:

bought, cut up, and used jicama in a salad.

Be amazed.

More vegetables.

Can't get enough.

Man!  I love this kid.  We spend a LOT of time together while the kids are in school all day.

This is his favorite hat and he wears it everywhere.

He's recently outgrown his afternoon naps and frequently falls asleep in the late afternoon.

In fact, so do I.  I need a nap every afternoon these days.  I'm sooooo tired.

I am dog sitting my sister's dog while she is in Chicago.

Here she is sleeping on my bed.  She's a good little doggy except when I accidentally overfeed her (I had no idea that she won't stop eating even when she's full) and she had diarrhea the whole first night.  

Lesson learned.

I came home from one of my walks to find this.

All the walking,

finishing up projects,

cooking, cravings, and exhaustion because........

I am 6 weeks pregnant!!!!

Morning sickness will hit sometime this week.

It lasts all. day. long.

Last pregnancy it lasted the entire 9 months--and that was the least of my problems.

I am praying and praying that it will be somewhat easier this time around.

We are all very excited at our house, especially Lucy.

Baby will be here in December.

Our Easter Weekend

Saturday Easter egg hunt with the Droubay cousins

Lucy and Maddy

Jake, Josh, and Cooper

 Jeff and I decided a few years ago that, since our kids already get TWO Easter egg hunts with each side of the family, that we would not do Easter baskets, or eggs, or candy.  We would focus more on Christ's atonement, crucifixion, and resurrection.

We have a traditional Passover Seder meal on Saturday night.  The kids honestly love this more than anything.

After the meal, we watch the Ten Commandments on TV.

Sunday Easter egg hunt with the Holland cousins.

I wish I had pictures but one of the highlights of my year

(It may be second only to our Disneyland trip),

is the ADULT EASTER EGG HUNT that my mom does.

Why do kids get all the fun?

This is the one time where we get to run around as fast as we can and shriek at the tops of our lungs just like the kids.

The best part is that my mom puts money and gift cards into some of the eggs.

I hit the jackpot this year with $27.00 in cash and $80.00 in gift cards to the Disney Store and Target.

Nicole found this egg from last year's egg hunt.

If you look closely you can see the mold forming on the chocolate.

P.S.

Jeff pretty much got nuthin'

Hahahahaha!

Green Pants Birthday

So, I'm calling this my green pants birthday because I am in total denial about getting older, so I bought these bright green pants and I don't care if you all think I'm getting too old to wear them.

I'm sure I'll be one of those 75 year old grandmas walking around in pink pants with purple heels and lots of gold necklaces and rings.  Ha!

I forgot to take pictures but my dad took Sam and me to lunch at Cafe Rio.

Can't let a birthday (or a week, for that matter) go by without a trip to the Rio.

 Sam and I did some shopping up at Gardner Village.

Remember my birthday curse?

Well, this year wasn't so bad except for two things:

1 - I woke up from a terrible nightmare at 5:00 a.m. where my kids were drowning in a pool and I couldn't run there fast enough to save them.  I woke up in a terrified sweat and couldn't go back to sleep.

and

2 - Jeff was out of town.

Boo!

He got home late on my birthday and when I woke up the next morning, I found these Mickey and Minnie plates and bowls on the counter.

They made me so happy!

And my mom made me Mickey and Minnie cupcakes for my birthday dinner on Sunday.

Wow!

Here's to 37 years!

Blah.

Sammy Sammers Turns Four

Opening presents

He loves soccer and baseball.

Getting ready for the party.

Sam's favorite food is chocolate so we had a chocolate fountain.

It was a hit with the kids.

We went to lunch with my dad.

Sam loves Grandpa Holland.

I love that they are making the same face in this picture.

I had some time before I needed to pick up the kids from school so Sam and I went to his FAVORITE place in the world:  The Dinosaur Museum

Soooo tired from all the celebrating.

Happy birthday my sweet little Sam.

I may or may not have cried off and on ALL DAY.