It's like riding a bike

It took two days for this guy to figure this out.

He was extremely determined, despite many cuts, bumps, bruises, and falls.

On day two he exclaimed: "Mom, I'm better today than I was yesterday!!"

He got some tips from his bro...

but mostly he just got up every single time he fell down, and tried again.

And then.....

success!!!

When I grow up, I want to be as determined as my Sam. I want to remember to keep trying even if I fall a million and one times, even when I get hurt. So proud, Sam-I-Am. Love you.

Sometimes theres crying on Mother's Day

I'm a little behind in posting. But better late than never. Here, 3 cuties enjoy lunch in the backyard.

Also, we had Mother's Day. It started out fabulous with a yummy breakfast, then there was an unfortunate incident at church we like to call "disaster in the 3rd row." It was all downhill after that. Still, I'm grateful to be a mom, even though sometimes there is crying on mother's day.

We planted the garden. I had lots of awesome help. I do love my garden. And my helpers.

After planting we enjoyed no-bake cookies. We like to call them chocolate meatballs. I think they should be considered a healthy food since they have oatmeal in them. Also, people are more excited about gardening when there are treats involved.

Also, some people let me take their pictures....

and some people don't. But I still love those some people.

Defending the Universe

Cassidy has learned and grown so much as a soccer player. I am so proud of her! She takes her game seriously, is a great team player, and really listens to her coach. She happens to love it, too.

She also really likes the uniform color this year, so much better than the year they were a dull gray, which is NOT in her color palette. 

She also evidently enjoys playing a little air guitar on the field. Just sayin'.

Thumbs up, girlfriend. You're awesome.

Then there's this guy.......

I totally love 8 year old boys. Especially those named Garrett, and those who play baseball (and soccer). He is such a happy part of my life, full of love, curiosity, and good-spirited fun. He is all heart.

Crossing home plate in style.....

and still missing his front teeth. I love it.

As I was putting this cutie to bed a few nights ago, he recites the following to me:

"Meany Meany Miny Mo--

Catch your tigers, BITE it's toe."

Sage advice---catching your tigers and biting their toes!

Also, during Stake Conference last Sunday, about an hour into it he whispers to me "Mom, how many quarters left?" and later almost at the end says "Mom, is it the fourth quarter yet?" Either we have a teenager in the house who LOVES professional basketball or we just spend way too much time watching and playing sports, or both. Either way, we made it through all 4 quarters of stake conference and I didn't have to take him out once!

Bubbles

Milk bubbles and Rice Krispies---the breakfast of champions!

Women's Conference

Enjoying a wonderful day at Women's Conference!!!

It's a Zoo out there

How lucky am I? Sam and I got to go on the second grade fieldtrip to the zoo. It was just so much fun. These two brothers are the best of friends....and amazingly they just wanted to hang out with me the whole time. Favorites included the gorillas, giraffes, and new baby elephants. Garrett is so fascinated by anything sciency he had to read each descriptive animal placard  to find out if they were venemous and what they ate and what their defense mechanisms were. It was FREEEEEEEZING but that didn't stop of us from getting frosties at Wendy's on the way home. How lucky am I to get to be a stay-at-home mom and go on fieldtrips? 

Check out the elephants in the back!

The polar bears were strangely missing, and in their enclosure instead we found this scuba diver. I'm pretty sure the boys found this guy way more interesting than polar bears, especially when he waved to them. (Tank cleaning duties, I think. I'm pretty sure Garrett has found his career choice.)

In other news......

I went to my first Hope of America last Wednesday, and it was awesome! Can you see Cass? She was amazing! Really, I was inspired, and it was actually kind of fun to be there for 14 hours ( I brought my book) and R stayed home with the others so except for the uncomfortable Marriott Center seats it was almost like a time-out-for-Mom! The kids did an amazing job and I'm so glad Cassidy chose to participate. The tap-dancing Grannies were amazing! And Cassidy and I enjoyed a fun "date" beforehand at Cafe Rio. I love that girl.

(Flashlight Finale at HOA)

Unrelated---The poor Star Wars action figures. They never had a chance...

 This beaut was taken while we spent many, many hours at the dentist office....

Sam is an awesome dental patient. 

Sam has awesome friends!

This treasure was taken at story time at Thanksgiving Point. They were technically supposed to be paying attention to the story, but the mirror on the wall was much more entertaining!

And finally...

It's here! Soccer-Soccer-Baseball season! Now if only the weather would start cooperating a little bit more, the games might actually be enjoyable! But hey, all three teams are currently UNDEFEATED so how's that for a stellar beginning? Let's Go CUBS and BLUE FALCONS and ORANGE CRUSH!

Easter and Spring Break

Sometimes when I see pictures like these I think...how many more years will I have of us all being together like this? Special thanks to Ben for agreeing to appear in said photo, even though he declined to actually color an egg. It's O.K.

It's tradition, this bunny cake. Except my mom always always makes the bunny cake, and this year, we really missed her. She died 6 months ago yesterday. I'm so glad we still have traditions and memories connected to her. I hope it makes her smile that we still did the bunny cake. 

Another wonderful Easter tradition is the fabulous egg hunt at Grandma and Grandpa's house. In addition to the egg hunt there is also a scavenger hunt. The kids love love love both of these events.

We also spent time as a family talking about the resurrection, reading the scriptures about Jesus' last days, and watching a few amazing videos on lds.org depicting the life, ministry, death, and resurrection of our Savior. At our sacrament service on Sunday the beauty of it all hit me full force as I sang He is risen! What a wonderful time of the year.

In other news.....

we spent our Spring Break at the dentist office for 5 cleanings, 3 extractions and  3 fillings (with 8 more to come, don't ask). Good times! The above pictures is before 2 of the extractions, and then.....

(P.S., did you know it is now against OSHA policy to let kids take home their own teeth from the dentist? Evidently the toothfairy just collects them from the dentist office!)

We really didn't do anything big for Spring Break, but the little things we did do were fun: a trip to the library just me and the kids, water balloons, ice cream sundaes, a backyard fire with marshmallows, jumping on the tramp in the dark with glow bracelets and playing "Tron", spending time with friends, a trip to Krispy Kreme for free report card donuts,  being lazy, baking and eating white bread (white bread is the elite of elite treats around here), and having bowls of cereal for afternoon snack each day. I liked not having to think about book reports and spelling tests and dance class and carpool ( I still had to worry about laundry and dinner). Definitely looking forward to summer!

P.S. Guess what is right around the corner? Soccer-Soccer-
Baseball! Can't wait!