Me and the Boys

a date which will live in infamy

2009-12-09T15:51:00.007-07:00

Is it easy for me to remember the day Pearl Harbor was attacked because it is my grandma's birthday, or is it easy for me to remember her birthday because it is Pearl Harbor Day? Either way, once again the day has come and gone, only this year was a bit different as this was the first time I thought of the day and remembered my grandma in the past tense. Last year, we celebrated her 90th birthday. This year we celebrated her life when she passed away on August 5th. I was proud to be counted among her children, grandchildren and great grandchildren and to hear all of the wonderful stories about her life and those she had affected. I learned I was more like her than I thought - she, too, had defied her parents as a teenager and she, too, prefered to eat out than to cook. No more excuses - it's in my genes, nothing I can do to change it.I clearly remember my Grandma sharing with me her memories of Dec 7, 1941. By some strange coincidence, once when Russ and I went to visit her, the movie entitled Pearl Harbor with Ben Affleck was just opening. We briefly mentioned that we wanted to go see it and thought that it might be something of interest to her. No. (thinking back, that only makes sense). She said that she had her own memories of that day and didn't need Hollywood to show her what had happened.

She was working as a nurse in the army posted stateside. They got word that the United States had been attacked. She was working in a hospital on the northwest coast and a blackout had been ordered. They worked treating patients and fearing the worst for the entire night. The next day they heard news and realized the war had taken a drastic turn. And of course, it would be the most memorable birthday she would ever have.

I am grateful for the legacy that my grandmother left. I am grateful for her love of this country and for her devotion to God. I am thankful for the family that she raised and for the love that we will share with each into the eternities because she brought us and kept us together.

Finally! . . .Did I tell you?

2009-11-30T20:46:00.005-07:00

Sorry for the graphic nature of this picture. I know some people don't like to see where their food comes from. But yes, my husband is a hunter (sorry to all you animal activists out there), and after several years of nothing - we will finally have meat in our freezer again.

And don't worry, none of it goes to waste! We make sure to throw it out for the animals to gnaw on. ;)

Merry Tossmas

2009-11-27T07:00:00.001-07:00

Just a little something to ponder on Black Friday. . .

(Don't forget to pause the music at the bottom)

Wanna know who supports CHRISTmas and who just wants your "holiday" money? Click here for the American Family Associations's Naughty and Nice list for Christmas Shopping.

12th Day of Thanks&Giving - The Gospel of Jesus Christ

2009-11-25T22:50:00.007-07:00

Ok, so I very rarely post about religion, and although the other Thanks&Giving days may not be in any particular order, but this one may possibly be the one that I am MOST grateful for. First of all, if by some strange chance, someone is reading this and does not know my religious affiliation (because you obviously do not know me) or if you are just curious, you can click here to find out what we believe. Because now is not the time for me to tell you all of what I believe or what guides my life, but WHY I am grateful for the restored gospel of Jesus Christ.

I am grateful to know that

if I lose a loved one, I will see them again and we will be together.
when I pray, my Father in Heaven listens and answers me.
my husband I are married and sealed together for eternity, not just this life.
I have support in teaching my children values and principles that will help them lead a happy and productive life.
I can have comfort and guidance in making it through life's trials.
there is a purpose to this life.
we have modern-day prophets to give us guidance and help answer life's tough questions.
God will not ask me to do anything that is beyond my capabilities.
because of Christ's sacrifice, I can be forgiven and know that the Lord does not expect me to be perfect. Because of His atonement, the areas where I am weak or lacking, he steps in and takes over.

I am grateful to have the Lord's hand in my life. I am grateful for church community and the acceptance that I feel amongst it's members. I am grateful to have experienced this unity in all parts of the world and to see people from all cultures and all walks of life believing and striving for the same thing. I am grateful that there are people who have given up years of their life to share this message and help others be converted unto Christ.

No stories, or links, or pictures to share today. I just hope that tomorrow we will all take the time to REALLY think about what we are MOST grateful for and Who we have to thank for all of those blessings.

Our Annual Bear Lake Trip

2008-07-25T21:26:00.004-06:00

Every year we camp at Bear Lake for 3 or 4 days with Russ' family. I was a little nervous about camping and being on the beach everyday with a two month old, but it turned out just fine. Aside from the hoards of mosquitos, it was great. Corbin and Cody had a ball. It was the first time in two years that all the cousins have been together, so that was cool. As always, I took lots of pictures and I have such a hard time deciding which ones to post, so here ya go . . .

Corbin and Cody swimming with Dallas and Oaklie

Colton liked his play tent for about 10 minutes at a time

Cody could play in the sand and the water all day everyday!

Grandma Sharee and Colton

Oaklie and Corbin were absolutely inseparable

Cody was so excited about his giant ice cream cone

Jace, Riley and Cody riding on Russ

getting buried . . .

Colton was plenty warm at in our tent, too bad I froze my butt off when I had to get up and feed him in the middle of the night!

Good Morning, Corbin!

Real people win radio station contests . .

2009-03-14T18:00:00.001-06:00

So most of you have heard by now of our glorious news yesterday, and even though I had emailed nearly my entire contact list and then some, everyone asked "Did you post it on your blog yet?" So here it is with a little background to make the whole thing more exciting (as if winning a trip needs any more excitement!)

Back in February, there was this "Safe Kids Fair" in Salt Lake and it was free, so I thought that would be a fun activity for the fam and since Russ had the day off, we had to go because if it was just me, I probably would have skipped it. (Managing three little kids in crowded places is not always a rewarding experience.) Anyway, since it was free, I thought what the heck, if it stinks then we just get in the car and go home - no big loss.

It turned out to be quite fun, there were ALL kinds of vendors with all kinds of handouts, treats, games, prizes, etc. They even gave you a little bag as you entered to collect all of your goodies. Russ said he actually thought it was cool. It was at this big convention center and they had a firetruck inside and everything. I was actually going to do a whole post about this, because it was really fun, but obviously I haven't posted in awhile. So here's a few pics from our fun little outing:

Corbin riding in the bike rodeo and learning bike safety

Corbin and Cody trying out the Police bikes

Fighting with a storm trooper (not quite sure what this had to do with safety)

Cody hanging with the talking ambulance (this was really cool, because it was run by a lady that talked through a head-set like 10yards away, but the kids really thought the little robot ambulance was talking to them because it would say their name and stuff)

Trying on firefighter gear is always fun (this one seemed way too clean to have been actually used by a firefighter, but it was still cool)

So on to the real story, one of the booths was this radio station and they had this big table of legos where kids could play and build things. My boys LOVE legos, so of course we had to stop and play for a minute (or twenty). Then we saw that there was a contest to win a trip to Legoland and since Corbin has been wanting to go there forever, he got totally excited. So the deal was you build a lego creation, they take your picture, they posted it on the website and then people could vote for the winner.

The plane in progress (Corbin was very proud that it included a bathroom as well, no details were forgotten):

In the mind of a five year old, he thought "I built my lego creation, now when do I get my trip to Legoland". So when we got home, I spent several days explaining to him the nature of the contest (and basically preparing him to lose, because who really ever wins these things anyway). It took them a few days to post the pictures online and by that point we were preparing for a trip to Seattle (that post will come soon) and just busy, busy, busy. So we got back from Seattle, spent a day recovering and then it hit me! And I was like crap, I think we missed it! So I got online and realized people could still vote and there were only like 231 entries. I thought I better try - for Corbin, because he wanted it so badly and by the time we can afford a trip out to California, he will probably have outgrown the desire to go. Plus, I figured about 10-20% of the people took their pictures at the fair and then totally forgot about it, then there were probably 10-20% who voted and told grandma to vote, but that's it. So somehow I convinced myself that we had do-able odds. Long story short, I sent an email to almost all my contacts - friends, family, high school buddies, colleagues, etc, etc. And apparently a few people passed the word on and people actually voted - because it worked!! In two days we blew everyone else out of the water. Thank you, btw, to all of you who voted and got others to vote - obviously we wouldn't have won without each and every vote. It is nice to know that I have so much support from friends and family when I really need it!

So here's what we won (or you can click here to see Corbin's pic and more details):

Airfare for four to San Diego, California.

Two night stay at Grand Pacific Palisades Resort & Hotel.

Four tickets to LEGOLAND® California.

Delicious dinner for four at Sammy’s Woodfired Pizza

Four passes for the hop on and hop off Old Town Trolley Tour of San Diego.

Wahoo!! We are so excited! Russ and I both had perma-grin yesterday. And when we looked it all up online with the boys, we got even more excited. We can't wait! We pick up the package from the radio station this week and I think we just work with the travel agency to pick when we want to go. So has anyone been? Any suggestions on when we should go? And yes, I think we are going to see if we can add a day or two to spend more time there and do some of the other fun things in San Diego. Ahhh! I'm so excited!

So Corbin's uncle, who was an avid supporter and campaigned tirelessly, requested us to video tape when we told Corbin, so stay tuned for the posting of that. :)

How many does it take?

2009-05-08T19:45:00.004-06:00

Our first day in California was Legoland, of course. That was what the boys were most excited about, so we couldn't wait another day. So I just have to say, if you have already been to Legoland, you may get bored with these pictures, but hopefully you thought it was as cool and fun as we did. If you have not been to Legoland, it was TOTALLY AWESOME. Obviously I loved it because my kids loved it so much. It was perfect for Corbin and Cody's age. Corbin could ride all of the rides and Cody could ride about half. There was so many different things to do and see and no lines, so the boys never got bored or whiny. Russ rode several of the roller coasters with Corbin and actually said they were really cool. So if you are ever in Southern California and have kids between the ages of 2 and 12 - I would DEFINITELY recommend it.

Corbin's favorites were the Dragon, Lego Racers, and the Lost Kingdom of Adventure. You can check out all the rides on this cool interactive map. Cody loved the Cargo Ace planes and Lost Kingdom of Adventure (the Indiana Jones ride where everyone has laser guns and gets to see who gets the most points shooting targets), and of course Cody loved the water stuff. I liked watching the boys try to drive their own cars and thought Miniland was totally cool. All over the park there was stuff made of Legos, all day I thought "I wonder how many Legos and how much time it took to make that". Some very creative people have spent alot of time on some of the attractions and exhibits. It was seriously cool and fun to see such a unique place.

So like I said before, tons of pics, which I realize might not be as fun for you to look at as they are for me, but just realize this is the reduced version and it is so hard to eliminate pictures! Hopefully you can get a good feel for how much fun it was!

Open House

2009-02-27T11:03:00.009-07:00

Russ and I took the boys to the Draper Temple open house on Wednesday and it was a fantastic experience! Obviously Corbin was the most aware of the significance and of what was going on, but Cody was so well behaved and interested and I think he learned a little bit too. If you are unfamiliar with LDS temples and what they are for, click here. If you are LDS and want to go to the cool temple site that my boys love to look at, click here. It's kind of like GoogleEarth, but with temple pics :)

For those who have never been to a temple open house, or have been when they were a kid and don't remember, it was extremely well organized for the number of people that go through there. The logistical operations plan for over 400 people every 20 min. Luckily the day we went there were much, much fewer than that. I think we were quite lucky, the day we went, there were just a couple other people in any of the rooms with us. It was very calm and peaceful. And I can't believe how good my boys were! I was so proud of them. They walked through each room, staying on the little mat walkways, looking at their pamphlets trying to figure which picture was of the room we were currently in. Corbin, of course, kept commenting on how beautiful and amazing everything was and wanted to read all about it. Cody took quick glances, thought a few things were cool and asked what random things were for (like the thermostat and the elevator buttons). So back to what I was saying about the logistics - when you make your reservation, you are assigned to one of three color-coded churches situtated somewhat near the temple. Before you board the charter buses to the temple, you get to watch a little movie about temples and the history of Draper. It was short and sweet, but very well done. It set a nice tone for the event. The boys loved the bus ride. The guy in front of us asked Corbin if it was better than a school bus (which it far surpassed, of course), but Corbin has never been on a school bus! The bus trip definitely added to the fun and coolness of the day.

So you get to see the temple as you are driving up, but then that is about it, because as soon as you pull up, there are long tented walkways, with heat I might add, that lead all the way into the temple and then out again when you are done. The day we went the weather was fairly nice, but I'm sure these came in handy on the days when you were shuffling in slowly with hundreds of others in the blowing snow. Plus I think they are probably a good was to keep everyone from entering the temple all wet and drippy and dirty. So you walk in and are in awe. It is clean and beautiful and you are surrounded by gorgeous artwork and friendly faces. What a wonderful feeling! It was nice that there were not many people so we could go at our own pace and I could explain to Corbin and Cody what things were for, what happens in the temple, and why it is important. They were so receptive. I was elated to be there with my whole family and even more happy that it turned out to be such a good experience. (Don't think that this happens just because it is the temple - I had several friends tell me of their experiences of children screaming the entire time, or running and trying to escape the whole ordeal). But I do think I was blessed with peaceful children, even if it was just for one short hour. I was so grateful! I think the boys were most intrigued by the baptismal font. Cody did say that he wanted to go swimming, but I explained to him what it was for and he didn't say anything - I think he was trying to figure that one out. Both boys liked looking at the murals in the ordinance rooms. They thought the celestial room was gorgeous, which, of course, it was. By the time we got to the sealing room, Colton was done being packed around in the carrier, so Russ stood outside while the boys and I listented to a sweet old couple give a brief synopsis and testimony of the purpose of the temple and being sealed together as a family. Corbin was excited to see where he will bring his bride someday. (He talks about it quite often, and at one point told me that his bride was going to half to choose him, because it was just too hard for him to pick one.) So out we headed through another tent tunnel to the church next door with a very nice reception area set up. If I hadn't already known it was a regular church, I never would have guessed. It looked so nice. We ttok a few minutes looking at the pictures of temples from around the world, then grabbed a few cookies and bottled water and headed out to the heated tent to wait for our bus. I snagged this picture just before we hopped on the bus. I really was there, I promise. Glad I got a picture of all my boys together though. All in all, it was an awesomely incredible trip and I am SO glad that I took all my boys and my hubby and that we could share this experience together.

Highlights of 2008 - the election

2008-12-05T22:29:00.002-07:00

Shhh, don't tell anyone, but I am 30 years old and this is the first time I have voted. I have never really been into politics and I think I felt like many people do, that my vote didn't really matter - especially in such a red state. But I was so intrigued this time - and I have learned so much. I have truly been interested and engaged in those news shows that I used to find totally boring and meaningless. Maybe it is because of the turn in the economy and how it is effecting me and my family. Or maybe I am just maturing and moving beyond just getting my news from Jay Leno and Staurday Night Live. This is an interesting time for our country and I am glad to be a part of it. I don't want this to be a political statement or to get into a debate with anyone, but I am excited about our new president and the change that is coming. I know I have friends and family on both sides of the political arena, but just so you know - I voted for Obama and we won! Yeah! It has been very interesting to see what he has done with his cabinet already and I am very intrigued to see what happens next year. I know there are many of you who have been critical - so here's a link to check out where he stands on the issues. http://www.barackobama.com/issues/. Obviously I don't agree with everything, but it is done and he is our president - come what may. . .

So to make a sort of uncoherent posting brief, this has been a highlight for me this year - following the political debates, learning more about our country's government, and electing a new president that I actually believe in and am excited about.

Colton's blessing

2008-09-15T22:40:00.006-06:00

Colton is alomst four months old and we finally had his baby blessing. It turned out to be a great day and gorgeous weather! We had a brunch before with a few friends and family. Thanks to everyone who came and especially to those who participated in the blessing. I was so happy to have a couple of my cousins there as well - what a pleasant surprise. Thanks Adam and Isaac! Russ did a great job, and of course, I always get all teary eyed. I love my boys!

Garden Surprise

2008-09-11T14:36:00.009-06:00

So I've had these plants growing in my "garden" (aka the multiple flower beds that have yet to be planted), and I'm not quite sure what to make of it. They just started on their own a month or so ago. At first I thought they were weeds, but Russ assured me they were not. He thinks they are pumpkins, I thought they looked like watermelons, but now I'm not so sure of either. So all of you green thumbs, any ideas?

After downloading these pics, I realized you can't really tell how big these things are. They're only about the size of tennis balls and they don't seem to be getting much bigger than that. A few of them randomly have the yellow stripe. Weird, huh?

More Table Talk

2008-08-26T22:44:00.004-06:00

Tonight's question was "what do you want to be when you grow up?"

Corbin: Everything.
Mom: Well, what do you want to be first?
Corbin: a firefighter

Mom: What do you want to be, Cody?
Cody: Ummmm
Corbin: I know Cody, you could be a ninja.
Cody: I wanna be a good guy.

Last Days of Summer . . .

2008-08-23T22:30:00.008-06:00

Although I don't love the heat of summer, I am always sad when it comes to an end. I always feel like there are so many things I wanted to do but never got around to. Some things, like cleaning out the garage, will probably just wait till next year. But there are certain things you HAVE to do every year - camping, boating, pool, etc - at least once! I was pretty much out of commission the month of June, trying to figure how to do anything (like take a shower) with a newborn and a two year old, so we didn't really do much. Then July was filled with holidays and vacations and now August has almost come and gone. What happened to the "lazy days of summer"? So the last week or so I have really been trying to fit in some of the things we love before Corbin starts school. So here ya go.

Russ and I took the boys up to Payson Lakes, which we love. It is close, gorgeous and great for camping or just a day trip. This year we opted for just spending half a day - much less planning and packing. It was a beautiful day and the boys had tons of fun.

We also had to go to the new pool by Grandma's house. We have been talking about it for weeks. We finally went today!

Hopefully we will get to do a couple more "summer activities" even after school has started. I just don't want it to end!!

Homemade Kites - they actually worked!

2008-09-08T14:41:00.008-06:00

On Friday we went to the Spanish Fork Kite Festival. It was close and fun. They had professional kite performers flying kites from the back of jet skis. That was sweet. The boys' favorite part was making their own kites and then trying them out. I was quite skeptical because the wind was irregular and they said you had to make them just so for the weight to be right. But alas! It worked! I think the boys could have done this all afternoon. They loved it!

THE last day of summer break

2008-08-26T22:50:00.007-06:00

Since today was officially the last day before school starts, we had to do something. Russ is still gone hunting, but I am starting to feel more confident about taking three kiddos out on my own, so the boys and I went to the Children's Discovery Garden at Thanksgiving Point. It was a little crowded because it was the last two buck Tuesday (admission is normally $10 bucks for adults!). But we had alot of fun. Everything was in bloom and it was a beautiful day. They have a huge Noah's arc that squirts out water and the kids love to play in it. The also have a cool bear cave that they can crawl through and a kid-sized lighthouse they can climb up and play in. Besides Corbin getting lost in the maze on his way to the bathroom and me trying to figure out how to sit and feed Colton without losing track of Cody, everything turned out quite alright.

cool caterpillar thing the kids can climb in and on and around

trying to climb into the arc with the monkeys

I thought this was very brave considering that little fountain randomly decides to squirt 5 or 6 feet in the air every now and then . . .

Another dead end in the hedge maze! I barely fit my double stroller through here. It's supposed to be for kids, but I was quite glad when we finally found our way out.

I want to be a spider

2008-08-20T23:06:00.004-06:00

Corbin likes to do this thing while we are eating meals called "table talk" (he got it from the kids cup at Red Robin), it's basically just random questions that every person has to answer. Example: what do you want to be when you grow up, what is your favorite color, where do you want to visit, etc, etc. Yesterday it was "What animal would you want to be and why?"

Corbin: I would like to be a spider. [Mom: Why?] Because then I could build webs to protect myself from everything and I could go in everyone's house and they wouldn't see me.

Cody: Ummm, a tiger. [Mom: Why do you want to be a tiger?] Cody: Roarrrrr!

Corbin loves legos!

2008-08-06T11:25:00.001-06:00

Corbin is very proud of the semi-truck he built. He got it for his 5th birthday and spent about a month working on it. When I first saw the instructions, I thought I was going to have to spend alot of time helping him. But he did it completely by himself. I am so proud of him! He is really proud because this is one of the lego sets that is for 7-12 yr olds. He thought that was pretty cool.

Maxwell Family Reunion

2008-07-17T14:02:00.004-06:00

We recently had a super fun reunion with my dad's side of the family. It has been almost 10 years since we were all together. It was great!! My sister did the majority of the planning and what a great job she did. I think everyone had fun. My grandma had four of her children there, 19 grandchildren, and 35 great-grandchildren - when you add in spouses there was a total of 76 people! From the pics you can see that we did alot of fun activites. It was so good to see everyone! I can't wait for the next one!

My family, everyone except my niece Haley.

playing a get to know you game with all the little cousins at "Kids Club" while dads and grandpas played golf

Corbin, Cody, Lexi, Levi and Russ riding the Belleview train just like I did at reunions when I was a kid. We filled up two train-loads!

Colton chilling at Pirate's Cove Water Park

Brinley Fisher, Lexi Lips, and Corbin

The Fishers in the lazy river

Family skits - JJ as "Bigfoot"

Happy 4th of July!!

4th of July picnic at the park

water games and lots of fun!

spitting contest

Colton had so much fun . . .

Family Dance

Corbin & Uncle Mark tearing up the dance floor

Grandpa Dave

Why is there a "V" today?

2009-11-11T16:10:00.004-07:00

This morning Corbin checked his lunch menu as he does everyday to see if he likes what they are having at school, or if he needs to bring lunch from home; then he asked "Why is there a big "V" on today?" I remembered today was Veteran's Day and he said "Oh yeah, we're singing to all the army guys today". I asked him if he knew what Veteran's Day was all about . . . "uh, no, not really". So I gave him the short version. Tonight we will talk more about what it means and why we are so blessed to have people that are willing to serve.

I will tell him about his Grandma, who recently passed away, and his Grandpa who served in World War II.

I will tell him of Colton's namesake, his great-grandpa, who left this earth the day Colton was born, and who also served with pride in the U.S. Army during World War II.

If we were in Denver, I would take my children to Fort Logan Cemetary and show them, along with their family members, all the people who have given their lives in service of this great country.

We will talk about our neighbor who recently returned from Afghanistan, and his friends' dad who is gone to training in preparation for their move overseas. Sometimes I think that I have it hard since my husband is only home a few nights a week, or a few days a month - but then I think about all the military wives who have sacrificed so much more (click here for a great article entitled "Lessons from a Military Wife").

For years I was apathetic and mostly ignorant about those who serve and fight for our country, but as I learn more, read more, and talk with people more about it, I have come to have a different and more sympathetic outlook. I have so much respect and gratitude for those who serve in whatever capacity - policeman, firefighters, military, coast guard, etc. Thank you for your selflessness!

Go Green or Go Irish

2009-03-20T22:10:00.008-06:00

That's my philosophy for St. Patrick's day. Since I do not know of any good Irish restaurants in Utah Valley and I can't cook a beef pasty like it should be, I decided we would just go green for the day. Plus, I think that is funner for the kids anyway. Also, I do not decorate until the actual day because (A) the kids think its cool to wake up to green, clover decorations everywhere and (B) we are not really celebrating a season of St. Patty's - just the day. So here ya go, our St. Patrick's day 2009 . . .

Breakfast was green eggs and hamCorbin wasn't so sure at first, but turns out he really liked it and Russ and I were the ones that were not so sure about green dye in our food.

Dinner was pasta shells with pesto, green jello (the melon kind, not lime) and bread w/ green parsley. It was all a big hit. Turns out I really like the store bought pesto. ;)

So there you have it. Our green holiday of fun. Now bring on Spring!

And now the REAL costumes

2008-11-03T20:46:00.008-07:00

So all of these pictures were actually taken the Saturday before Halloween when we went to this fun trick or treat on Main Street thing. On Halloween, the boys were too excited and busy scoping out the next deliverer of candy to be bothered with a mom following them around with a camera. Also, by the time we were headed out the door to trunk or treat on Halloween, we either forgot or couldn't find several parts of the costumes. Oh well. I still think they were the cutest Hook and Pan. They had fun. Corbin told me several times that this was the best day ever. I think he said it was the best day of his life. We ate pizza and candy and the kids were in bed by 8:30. I'd say it was a success.

Two Thanksgivings

2008-12-01T22:31:00.014-07:00

We had a great Thanksgiving this year. Russ had to work at the fire station, so we did the Jensen family thing and then the fire family thing. It was hectic, but fun. We had Thanksgiving lunch at my in-laws with all the cousins, etc. We played and let the food settle a little and then we headed to Murray (about 45min) for an awesome dinner cooked entirely by the firemen. Several of our friends were there, so it was a good time. The boys always love going to see dad, especially when there are other kids to play with and the adults are pre-occupied with eating and visiting.

Colton's first Thanksgiving! He actually loved his mom's orange jello and the potatoes. (this is a kid who eats maybe 2 bites of food a day) The boys had fun making little turkeys with Grandma and the cousins.

The kids table at the station. They waited so patiently!

Playing in the firetruck is a must.

Laying with their "blankets" (aka white towels use dry the fire truck) watching Charlie Brown's Thanksgiving . . .

until Cody crashed the party!

Happy Thanksgiving!

Jessica, Josh, Cody, Rosemary, Corbin

Last minute Valentine idea

2009-02-12T10:02:00.009-07:00

Cute, eh? Just in case you are still searching for something fun and creative, this is what we did last year. You can also say "You melt my heart".

It's a great way to recycle all those broken crayons you have around the house. I got this heart tin at the craft store, but I also saw that they have cool silicone ones at Wal-mart. For actual instructions, click here. If you have kids and are not familiar with this site, you should be! I love it!

What is this obsession with eggs?

2009-04-19T23:58:00.000-06:00

Last Saturday, we went out in the freezing rain so that each of our kids could collect four plastic eggs with treats and the chance to win other prizes, including a new bike. Are we crazy? Maybe, but apparently so our dozens of other parents, because the freezing drizzle didn't seem to lessen the crowds. Oh well, it was short and sweet and the boys had fun. Besides, after they had been talking about for three days, how can you tell them "we're not going, let's just sit at home and be warm."

Those little girls have GOT to be freezing!

It didn't take long for the kids to get to the eggs and get their alloted 4, yet they love it! (that is Corbin's school in the background - only 2 years old. Nice, eh?)

Cody was already munching on his treats by the time we found him over in the 3-4yr old section.

After the egg hunt, we had to come home and dye eggs for the Easter Bunny to hide. All I can say is good thing they are hard-boiled, whoever came up with that had to have been a mother. Cody finally figured it out after the first two had to be decoratively wrapped in foil if we wanted the Bunny to be able to hide them intact. And since I didn't think ahead and couldn't find any vinegar, I had to squeeze out every last drop of my lemon and lime juice to get the colors to dissolve. Oh well, once again, it was worth it, they loved it.

Easter morning was full of fun egg finding. It wasn't the mayhem and crazy running around I expected, although they did collect several eggs before they even remembered that the Bunny had brought them baskets of presents too. Mostly, it went like this - find an egg, check out its contents, eat it if mom is not looking. The boys also decided that they love to eat the hard-boiled eggs, somehow they are so much better when they came out of a colored shell.

In the afternoon was more egg mania. We had lunch at the park with some friends and of course, there had to be an egg hunt for the kiddies. Unlike the 4 egg quota from the previous day, they were seriously loaded after this one (and the candy was better too, I had to test it to make sure it was good). And thankfully, it was a much warmer day.

The kids and their loot.

We were supposed to go to another egg hunt on Saturday with our neighbors, but since it was rained out, we did it Monday evening. As if we needed more eggs, but again, its one of those things - when you have a five year old who knows whats going on when, you can't just skip it anymore.

Cody waiting for the egg rush to begin.

Next thing I know . . . Don't know how he's going to collect eggs like that.

Guess he figured it out

Corbin was happy with his findings! (Don't you just love those missing tooth smiles!)

So our weekend was all about eggs, eggs, eggs . . . I have no clue where or how this tradition came to be, but they love it, so we do it!

Easter fun

2009-04-20T22:20:00.002-06:00

Yeah, sorry. The title is not any more creative than that. I have to get this post done now that it has been a week, and it is late and I always have SO many more things I want to post. So this is the obligatory, I-want-to-have-a-record-of-this post.

Easter was perfect this year. I already posted all the egg-citement, and I may have to do another post with all our fun park pictures, so here is the Easter Bunny etc. stuff, so that someday my boys will see that we did have traditions and they will know how much their mommy loved them. And I am sure that when they have kids they will want to know what their favorite Easter toy was back in 2009 . . .

The boys decided they had to try out the Easter Bunny's carrots before bed.

Ready for the Easter Bunny
Corbin's Basket.

I think the Easter Bunny forgot that he used to hide the baskets, but it turned out okay. The boys were so excited about finding the hidden eggs at first, that they didn't even stop to notice the basket of goodies!

Cody's

Colton's basket. (isn't it adorable!)

The favorite of the morning was definitely the Ben 10 things that dissolve and produce little aliens. Cool.

HAPPY EASTER!