Chelsea's cravings

Chelsea has been craving chocolate strawberries. So she took it upon herself to make them. I'll admit, they look amazing and I don't even share her love for this treat. She then took these pics and altered them. She is amazing!

Super Scout

Mason is working on his Citizenship in the Community merit badge for scouts. The final requirement to complete is 8 hours of service in the community. So today I went with him down to the DI for 4 hours of service. Next saturday we'll do another 4. They put us to work cleaning all of the displays then we went around to collect extra hangers. He worked so hard. It was fun to have customers there making comments about the good job that he was doing. You could tell he felt good about the work he was doing. We were both exhausted after our time was done though.

NJHS Awards Banquet

Brianna joined her friend Emma this year in the National Junior Honor Society at school. They have enjoyed giving hours of service together. They were required to give 40 hours of service over the year, but unfortunately she went a little over - 48 hrs and 45 min. Tonight they were honored at an induction banquet. I actually remembered to bring my nice camera to take pictures, but left my SD card in the computer the last time I blogged. So I was once again dependent on my stupid phone camera. So I know these pics are a little fuzzy but you get the idea. They came in with candles and recited the NJHS pledge. After a few short speeches they were awarded their pin. Then the kids got to give a rose to someone who had inspired them this year. It was very thoughtful. I'm proud of her hard work.

Random phone pics

I find that I am using my phone camera to capture some fun everyday moments but I wish it took better pics. However, I still appreciate the pics. I was browsing through them today and decided to document these little moments:

This was the only pic I took during our move. Cord was so cute going up and down into the truck carrying whatever box he could lift. He loves to be a big helper.

Cord seems a little young to be getting into the whole x-box thing but he loves it. I don't know how he even knows what to do but he has had no problem playing our old star wars games. I guess it's a good thing we kept the old system around. He looks very comfortable here.

This month Cord's preschool had a family day at the park. It happened to be a windy cold day so only a few kids were there but they still had fun. Here they are actually playing with toy cars on the play equipment. I thought it was really cute how they were interacting together.


We had an ice cream social with the members of our Relief Society Board with our families. While we were all enjoying our treats we heard a lot of laughing and screaming in the back yard. It was then that we noticed that ALL the kids were on the teter-toter. It was super funny (as long as we didn't stop to analyze how unsafe the situation might be). I really am enjoying my calling as the 1st councilor in the RS. What it has forced me to do it get out and meet people. I enjoy our weekly visits and getting to know the sisters in our ward. I make more of an effort to get to the enrichment meetings by making sure I'm off work. I have been truly blessed mentally and spiritually with this calling.

As long as I'm talking about random things, I just wanted to document that Michael finally has a calling in the ward. He has enjoyed his break since we were both released from the primary in January. He is now an assistant ward clerk. I'm not sure what that all entails but I do know he's the one who does the counting during sacrament meeting and he has meetings on Tuesday nights. Poor guy actually has to do some work now.

Cord's plants

Cord came home from preschool with the plants that they have been growning. It's such a special time of life. He was so proud of his plants. Hope we can keep them alive. (I'm not too hopeful but we'll try).

Happy Mother's Day

I worked Saturday night so I slept all morning of Mother's day. When I woke up to go to Relief Society the house was spotless (my favorite thing EVER) and a beautiful vase of fresh cut flowers were waiting for me on the counter. I was able to enjoy a very nice Relief Society even though I was super tired. We had some great speakers that really made us feel special (not guilty for all the things that we are NOT). We also had cheesecake which is my favorite desert. After a nice dinner, then a nap, we chilled out as a family watching a movie with our traditional popcorn and orange julius. Since I usually work on Sundays it's been awhile since we have been able to watch a movie together.

I have very thoughtful children and I'm so blessed to be their mother. On Monday Chelsea borrowed my car and brought me back a treat to take to work. She gave me a little cinnamon cake from "Nothing Bundt Cakes". She said that I deserved something more than just a clean house and knew how much I loved that cake. Brianna gave me a beautiful homemade card that said some wonderful things inside. While I was sleeping Mason helped Cord clean up their room (no small feat). And Cord made me this very fashionable necklace in school. He was so proud of it. I'm the luckiest mom in the world :)

Michael gave me my gift a couple weeks early because he wanted me to enjoy it while the weather was so nice. I love sitting outside in the evening, enjoying the cool sweet air that smells like honeysuckle and roses, while reading a book (even if it's a book for Mason's homework). It's very relaxing and I LOVE it. He is so thoughtful.

Class of 2013

Chelsea is excited about her class ring. She designed the thing all by herself and I think it turned out great. Music is what is most important to her and that's what she chose as her theme. She didn't want her birthstone so she chose this pretty blue. Here's looking to the class of 2013.

Dateless Prom

Well, Prom came and went on April 30th without a date, but never fear.....who needs a guy when you have girlfriends??? Chelsea received a call from Kayla and Rachel May inviting her to their "dateless prom". What a good idea! The girls dressed up and went to In-N-Out to get some dinner. Then they went to see the movie "Prom". Chelsea borrowed (and fell in love with) a dress from Kayla. I must say that she looks stunning

Mom's new toys

Last January I made the mistake of meantioning to Mike that I thought our washer was going to give out anytime. I mean, we have had it for 14 years and it has been really good to us. The very next load that Mike did, the poor washer refused to spin. We discovered that the only way it would go through the whole cycle was if you washed on the gentle cycle. But we were in the process of buying a house and couldn't afford a new one. And so we have been washing on the gentle cycle ever since. And of course it was all my fault because I said it out loud and offended the laundry gods.

Anyway, the time has come (promted by a rumor of a global price increase on washers and dryers coming soon) for us to bite the bullet and get a new set. At first I was only getting a new washer because the dryer I bought off Craigslist 2 years ago is still functioning well. But I fell in love with the top loading, HUGE 5.2 cu ft washer. I can do at least 2 loads in one which means that all the clothes I washed wouldn't fit in the dryer. Thus we were "forced" to get the matching dryer. :) I love that it cuts my laundry time in half. There are a lot of fun buttons to play with and we have all found ourselves watching the laundry because it's so fascinating. There is no aggitator in the middle and it uses less water so I'm sure I'll be responsible for saving the earth with my little sacrifice. :) Plus it spins the clothes so dry that the dryer uses less electricity to dry them. If only I could find something to fold and put the laundry away for me then I'd be set.

I was a little nervous as they were bringing it in that it might not fit into the tiny laundry room but we are OK. I like my house, but struggle with how small the laundry room is. I need to write on the walls "Attitude of Grattitude" to remind me how lucky that I have a place to do laundry no matter the size. I don't have to go to a laundrymat and i don't have to handwash my clothes in a stream. I love doing laundry (for the time being) and I love the smell of my towels finally being clean. I am blessed.

"Im taking care of my pet"

Have I mentioned before how much Cord loves Chester? He loves to cuddle with him more than he'll cuddle with me so it's not really fair. But all the time he tells me "I'm going to take care of my pet" which means that he wants to get the food and water (which he can do all by himself). He's one kid who kept his end of the bargain, you know the "if we get a dog we'll do all the work!" begging. YA RIGHT! The kids have trained Chester to sit and shake when they have a treat. Cord does this all the time. As soon as Chester sees the treat he immediately sits and hold out his paw to "shake". Then he gets his reward.




As long as he was in the mood to help out, I put him to work on the floors. He is still at the stage when housework is fun.