After flaking out on Ryan's Spring Performance, I figured we'd all head out and join him for his field trip on Thursday.  It really is cute watching Ryan in these settings because it's so different from our first experiences; our experiences with Jackson.  Ryan is much more of an observer and he's so patient and kind.

Today my park date was cancelled because of crappy weather... it was just a few days ago that we enjoyed a gorgeous day at the park.  Go figure.  This weather is really messing with us these days.

*All photos are compliments of my children

Cole got his first busted lip - yep, we're there.  Funny thing is he did it again today.  We are dying for this child to walk.  Tomorrow is will be 14 months which is the age in which Ryan walked.  Yep, Cole will be our latest walker which is so odd because we thought for sure he would be motivated to walk early to play with all the others.  Guess not.

This weekend we received a surprise visit from Papa, Cosmo, dad.  The kids were pretty excited to see him and he seemed pretty excited to see them.  Saturday he, Andrew and Curtis loaded up more of their stuff from the Acton house but that evening we had the chance to all go out to Bucca's despite all the work and stress Richard dealt with this weekend.  We were so glad he was up for going out because it really did work out well for our family although I think Curtis wanted to knock out the obnoxious chick behind him.  No joke, this girl had no inside voice!  This being our second time at Bucca's, we have decided that our favorite is the pizza.

After dinner papa treated everyone to a cookie.  Nestle, Tollhouse... any seen that Friends episode???

Being the 5th Sunday of the month, I didn't have to go to a meeting - wahoo!  This made for a fairly relaxing morning; that was until noon hit and bam, it was like 9am church all over again.

Monday, yes I'm almost done, we actually made it to music class.  Turns out, Andi's really into acting out the songs - Ryan, not so much.  Michalle was in charge of story time and she did an ABC book.  Apparently Andi really enjoyed that one because last night she shared her song with us (mind you, she did it almost perfectly before I whipped out the camera - bit of stage fright I'm afraid).

Way to go Michalle, you taught my daughter her "letters" now!
At school Fran began working on a teacher appreciation gift for Mrs. Evans.  The early stages of this gift resulted in a handsome little picture.

With Monday also came some rearranging - I was so happy to come home and see that Andrew had cleaned the house while we were gone (first time ever maybe) and so I was able to organize and launder.  I moved the kids' desk into Jackson's room and he loved it.  He cleaned him room last night before bed, then cleaned it up this morning before school.  All this kid needs is a bit of a change to get the drive for cleanliness. 

 Today he decided this desk was now his office.  When I first "arrived", it was closed.

When he realized he had company, he decided to "open". 

Yes, when you work in an office you must wear a tie.

When we arrived, Jackson asked us what we would like him to do.  To which Andrew replied, "Draw up some plans for a barn style house."  Jackson's ability to be able to pull this off is 100% from Andrew.

Today while I folded, he made a fish bowl.  Jackson found some stones in my craft cupboard, made some fish and taped them to dangle in the "fish tank".

Upon arriving home from school (thanks, Jen), Jackson wanted to wake up Cole so that he could do his "work".  Once Cole woke up on his own, Jackson went in and began updating his calendar.

Just to make sure his office is not disturbed, Jackson set up another office for Andi and Ryan in THEIR room.

Ok, off to the Scouts Pinewood Derby.

Enduring

Jackson's dentist appointment yesterday.  

Ryan's Preschool Spring Performance today.

What do they have in common?  I flaked on both!  I am that woman, standing in a daze watching her life flash before her eyes.  She struggles to get a grip on life but why?  How did this start and when will it end?  It really is bizarre when you look in the mirror and you truly do not recognize the person staring back at you.  Today I actually told a friend things were looking up.  The tender mercy that occurred Friday had me thinking I would snap back.  I guess it doesn't work that way.  It's a process I suppose.  A roller coaster that I will one day look back up and realize the valuable life lessons were worth all the pain and heartache - right??  It's funny, I realize there could be worse things and I realize I am truly blessed, and yet that logic doesn't transfer over to my emotions.  Truly bizarre.  And annoying.  I mean really, I have supportive family close by.  My parents are here to watch the kids from time to time or to just got out and run errands with us.  My friends know me so well and know the minute something is up.  It takes a matter of a couple minutes with them and they know if I need something or simply need to talk.  And my husband is probably the most supportive I know.  So how is it one can allow themselves to feel alone when they clearly aren't? Working on that!  We're also all working on getting healthy again.  

For the second time this year, sickness has hit us.  Ryan got sick Thursday - yep, that fast.  When he told me his ears hurt I called to get him in that day.  2:15 came and we were in the doctor's office finding out that Ryan had strep throat.  Ears were fine, lungs clear, just strep.  Ha, just strep - we've never had strep before but it was here.  Luckily Andrew had gotten home in time to watch the others and so while Ryan and I waited to get his prescription filled, we went out to eat his favorite.  

He hadn't eaten all day and so to see him smiling, upright and eating was a refreshing sight indeed.  Although it didn't take long for him to crash and ask to go home :)

Friday Jackson had his first field trip.  He was so very excited to take a bus to the farm.  This was one of those moments were I was grateful I wasn't at work and was instead able to join him on the field trip.  Then i was even more grateful I didn't have to bring the other three!

On the way there he asked for a drink and I let him have some from my water bottle.  The water bottle I drank out of after have a granola bar with various nuts.  Within seconds of his first swig, he asked if the water was old because his throat felt funny.  It was tightening up by the second so after checking in with the office, we headed back home to get the kid some Benadryl.  He was out of it from then on out but he didn't want to stay home because he didn't want to miss the trip.  Poor kid - what a way to start the morning.  But thank goodness for Benadryl; the little man got to ride the bus afterall.

After the "classroom" experience, we were all able to take a tractor ride out to the strawberry pickin'.  At this point it was getting pretty hot and the kids were hungry but Jackson was still soaking it all up.

The strawberries were out of this world delicious and so what our empty bellies needed.

Fran was a sweetheart and bought the family some strawberries.  The kids totally recognized the quality and ate half the flat within a couple hours.  The kids kept talking about how Fran was their friend!

Again, it was nice to have something Ryan wanted to eat.  I was so happy Andrew stayed home that day because when I left for the farm, Ryan's temperature was still at 101 (better than 104 which is was before Andrew administered a blessing).  And Andi wouldn't leave his side which was appropriate considering she's obsessed with wearing her nightgown all the time.

Shortly after this picture, I joined them.  At this point, I had started getting sick - I thought it was allergies from the farm but if you talk to me right now, you'd know I was getting sick.  This of course was bad timing because we had been looking forward to a fun night with Curtis, Tristan, Matt and Michalle.  And then to our surprise, another friend from High School was there as well, Sean and his wife Jessica.  It was hilarious and considering I worked out so hard all week and I ate well all week, I enjoyed plenty of pizza, chips and soda.  Seriously, such a great night to wrap up our crazy week.

Saturday morning I slept until 9am which was lovely.  I got out of bed when Andrew returned home with the kids.  It was hot - so hot and Ryan was doing pretty well so we decided to head over to the pool as a family.  We all needed this time for various reasons and we were so grateful to those that made it possible :)

Now tell me, what do I do with this girl?  She will only wear "cute" outfits, she often leaves the house without underwear, and she heads out to the pool without her bathing suit.  Challenging chick I tell ya!  But I have no desire to take this spunk out of her - she'll need it no doubt.

That evening Andrew had two softball games so we had to leave the pool, change at home, and head out for the 4pm game.  The kids had so much fun hanging out with some of their friends.  It's crazy what a difference a year will make - last year these games, wait, even the year before that, these games weren't much fun for me.  In some ways, I love that my kids are getting older.  And I love that Jackson knows it's important to document these great moments.

Sunday was like most others.  I'm pretty sure Andi would have worn her nightgown if we let her.  I mean after all, this chick didn't wear any underwear to church.  Oh boy.

But despite my not feeling well, Sharing Time was a lot of fun and that always makes me happy.

The question is, will I make it to my 5:30am boot camp tomorrow!?!?!?  I don't know the answer to that but I do know that when Jackson asked me if I was going to die, I had to give him a good answer.  Yeah, I look that bad!

Utahers

These days I'm loving how Cole can sense when someone is leaving; he will bolt over to you, demand to be picked up and will then say "bye" and wave to everyone else in the room.  He is on the go, just like the rest.  Which is good because Cole eats more than all three of the others COMBINED.  Usually.  He can polish a couple waffles, sometimes three, he can down a full pb&j, he can scarf half a container of tofu, you name it, he eats it.

I guess it would make sense then that I would find him rummaging through the pantry after his nap. 

 No, he did not get punished after flashing THAT face!

 Lately he stands, A LOT.  Free standing even.  BUT, the kid will not walk for his life.  He will not take steps towards us, he very rarely walks while holding your hand - he's being a total pill.  So apparently we need to get a cart for our house because the kid walked half of Costco while pushing this stinken' flatbed.  That thing was heavy!

 And yes, we're those parents, the ones that let their little ones use big metal forks.

 Oh yes, we do have some others.... Jackson has been reading a lot more lately and it's so exciting.  I think it's adorable that Ryan asks Jackson to read him a story.  It's perfect.  I hope and pray the others have this strong desire to learn.  Jackson earned a "Super Scientist" award (very special) for deciding, on his own, to create a diagram about Orka's.  Random - maybe, but I guess most things in a child's mind would seem random.  

1.  Orca et fish.

2. Orcas liv in The oshin.

3. Orca hav shorp tth. (teeth)

I am so grateful to my mom that she makes it possible for me to work in Jackson's class every Wednesday.  It's great seeing him in that element, seeing the other kids and the influences they have, seeing his teacher in action, seeing him grow.  And yes, I have a sick need to go a grade things and what not.

Friday afternoon Papa, Gramma Nette, Shay and Weston all came for a visit.  The kids were so excited to see Weston because they talk about him all the time - they look at Cole and then wonder what differences Weston may have (ie. quantity of teeth, etc.).  The first matter of business had a little somethin' to do with raw fish - mmmm, Light N Healthy!  It was a bummer so one was available to join Shay, Annette and I, but I think we (Shay - 33 wks prego) ate enough for everyone!  Oh my it was delish and great catching up.

Luckily Andrew came home in time to pick up Jackson because that place is/was so slow.  When we returned, everyone was hanging out and starting to go a bit stir crazy.  We decided to load up the kids and hit up the carousel and BJ's in Valencia.  It was a great night - dinner went smoothly and everyone had fun on the carousel.  For Weston's first time he did exceptionally well... Cole's first time was a bust (yes, a comparison just for the kids!).

But by the time we got home, it was so late and the kids were beyond exhausted.  We paid for it the next day for sure.  In no way were my kids themselves.  Ugh, they were cranky and it made for a long day.  The morning started out pleasant enough - they all got to enjoy and cousin bath which they loved.

That afternoon we took them all to the park and because I went for a run while they were there, I forgot to bring the camera.  What has come of me - running, no camera... I don't even recognize myself.

That night we all said our goodbyes and we put the kids down at about 7:30pm even though they were ready for bed at about 5pm.  They had so much fun but it's times like these where we're reminded they really are still young!  Monday, I cleaned, and cleaned, for what seemed like forever.  Loads and loads of laundry but the kids were well rested and now able to entertain themselves.  All was back to normal - yes, "normal".  Isn't this normal??

I haven't typed of the minutes of the Presidency meeting from Sunday, but I did complete my cards this evening for my card exchange tomorrow night.  How's that for not procrastinating!?!?  :)

*This month is Mother's Day/Feminine so I made a purse with a little insert.  Easiest and quickest card yet - whew!  (Thanks for the goods my friend!)

OK, off to put away more laundry...

Happy Easter

Saturday Morning:

Primary Egg Hunt - It went so well which was a huge relief because I had multiple nightmares about this activity.  I was afraid no one would show up, or too many would and we'd run out of eggs, or food, or space.  I am a wreck whenever I am in charge of anything.  BUT, everyone had fun and Laura gave a great lesson after the hunt to remind the kids of the true meaning of Easter.

This is a "classic" Easter Bunny picture!

Saturday Afternoon

Dad's Birthday - We headed to Acton to celebrate my father's 51st birthday with family, yes that includes Tom, and some yummy carne asada.

This was also a good opportunity for my parent's to give the kids their Easter Buckets.  They were super excited over every item in there so I guess I'll let them enjoy those stuffed animals for a spell (before I toss 'em!).  Andi was of course in heaven with all her lip gloss and she would not take grandpa's "no" for an answer when she asked to put some on him.  Duh, she wins every time.

Saturday Evening

Softball - From the party we arrived, LATE, to Andrew's game.  I was shocked that first he was willing to miss it for my dad's party, and second that when we decided to go, he wasn't freaking out we were late.  Cole was entertained for some time before he realized all the others kids were playing without him.  I so wish this kid would walk!

Saturday Bedtime

The kids had to snuggle of with their new cuddles but Jackson of course had to organize all of his animals together.  That kid cracks me up.  I especially love how he sometimes pulls Cole's bed closer to his own bed so that they can comfort one another.  (Jackson hates it when he goes to bed and Cole's passed out already).

Sunday Morning - EASTER

Buckets - Jackson came into our room in tears because he thought the Easter Bunny had forgotten him.  The fact is, the Easter Bunny wanted to be lazy this year, but luckily decided it wasn't wise.  BUT, the Easter Bunny knew mom and dad weren't going to get up before the kids so the bunny left the goodies in our room so they weren't attacked before we got out of bed.  This is why Jackson missed them and thought he was forgotten.  Once everyone was awake Jackson brought Cole into our room and they went at 'em.  They LOVED checking out all the stuff and seeing what they could share with one another.  I think this is the third year the Easter Bunny has brought them new bathing suits.  They got so excited because they truly love the pool and the beach.  Andi was excited that hers is like Allies!  The kids also got to open their package from Gramma Nette and Papa which just so happened to also have beach attire!  The kids also loved their chapstick.

Jackson's expressions are priceless!

Sunday midmorning

Church - That morning I had a meeting as usual and Andi and I were the only ones ready.  The goal was to get a family picture after church, but in our rush to Riverside, that never happened :(  Church was great though and I am so grateful for how well behaved the Primary children were.  We were able to really discuss Easter and the importance of the Resurrection.  What a relief because again, I had nightmares.  I was also grateful by all the love I was shown at church - I am in a position where I can't please everyone and for my personality, that is quite discouraging.  But so many reached out on Sunday and I even received beautiful flowers.  I love leaving church feeling uplifted and positive.

 Sunday Evening

Rob & Sharon's - We made it to Riverside at about 5pm and went straight for the food.  We were starving at this point and so very grateful for all that was still left.  About half the family didn't make it this year which was a bummer because we rarely get together but despite that, we really enjoyed the relaxing evening we had with everyone that could make it.  It was nice to really be able to chat and catch up.

The kids were so spoiled as they received Easter goodies from Rob, Sharon, Sherry, and the hunt.  I can't even tell you the mess I had to clean up Monday morning.  I think Easter did more damage than last Halloween.

 Sunday Late Evening

It was a long drive home and the kids were cold and cranky (I think the heater is broken in the back).  But we were grateful for the day, grateful for the knowledge of our Savior, thankful that we all made it home safely - especially grandma.  When was the last time she drove???