LOOK WHO'S TURNING 35!

Kristin at 4 months old

Today is Kristin's 35th birthday. Happy Birthday!! I love you Sweetie! I thought I would take it upon myself to do a list similar to the list she made for her sisters’ birthday’s. Here is a list of things that I love about my wife:

1.) She is a THOUGHTFUL, LOVING, CARING, & WONDERFUL wife.

2.) She is a great sister.

3.) She is a FANTASTIC mother.

4.) She is a loving aunt.

5.) She is a fabulous hostess and loves to entertain a group.

Kristin age 1

6.) She is unbelievable cook. Give her a recipe and she will make it to perfection. If not improve on it as well.

7.) She is a total “Clean Freak”. If there is even the slightest hint that anyone is coming over the entire Johnson family is put on clean-up duty.

8.) She is a total bookworm. When she has a good book it is all I can do to get her attention. When we were first married I used to get very annoyed at how much time she would spend with her nose in a book rather than with me.

Isn't she cute?

9.) She loves to go on “Johnson Adventure’s”. These are little excursions we as a family take on weekends we can get away from the monotony of our normal day to day. They can be as big as heading to Canada or as little as sleuthing out where friends live around us. It doesn’t take much to entertain us.

10.) She has the most beautiful eyes. Very unique considering there are no directly known relatives that are of Asian descent. Hmmm…

11.) She gets special treatment and prices at certain eating establishments due to this trait of hers.

12.) She loves to go “junking”. There is not an antique or second hand store between our hometown and Salt Lake City that she has not been too.

13.) She loves to do projects that entail restoring old furniture and creating decorating items. All of which pertain to her business “Sisters Creed”

14.) She loves to create a list of things she would like to improve in our home. Slowly but surely I am working on that list.

15.) Her favorite color is blue. Navy blue to be more specific.

16.) She loves Thai food and escargot.

Kristin age 2

17.) She is a very gifted writer as I am sure you can see by her blogs. I always find myself laughing out loud at her writings.

18.) She loves her Chinese pug, Mrs. Beasley, something we found out she actually mentioned to her brother years ago in one of his journal entries.

19.) She loves to garden and work in the yard. Our yard would not be what it is if it were not for her "Green Thumb".

20.) She loves to go to the Lake. There is not a place in the world she would rather be on a hot summer day than at the Lake swimming about.

I made it to 20. I know there are so many other things I could add but I just have to say what an absolute beauty my wife is. I am always amazed how much more beautiful she becomes each year I am with her. I just hope she knows how much I love and adore her. She never ceases to amaze me in all she is able to accomplish. Enjoy your birthday list. Have a Great Birthday! Enjoy your day! I LOVE YOU!

Tyler

Kristin & I in our dating days

Book Review #8

OK...I have a confession to make...ANOTHER ONE...I am a Food Network Junkie! I LOVE LOVE LOVE the Food Network. I can be entertained by it for literally hours. My all time favorite show is Paula's Home Cooking. I love Paula Deen. I have said this before and I will say it again...I wish she was my mother-in-law...I think we would be best friends!! ;) She makes me laugh; I love her southern sensibilities; I love hearing about her family: Jamie, Bobby, Brooke, baby Jack, Micheal, and Bubba; and she has great recipes! I watch her show, I subscribe to her magazine, I cook her food, and now I have read her book.

What did I think about it...I was enthralled. Truly. She is quite a unique and interesting lady...and she even has a bit of a dark past...I guess that's what makes her such a character. This book is her memoirs and she doesn't hold anything back even if it isn't flattering. There were some things that I was shocked to find out...her life hasn't been all sunshine and magnolias. I find Paula Deen very endearing. I loved her rags to riches story. I'm a sucker for stories where women overcome adversity and poverty and achieve great success. I really liked this book. So much so that this is the book I read over Memorial Day weekend instead of my book club selection...Sorry Carolyn!! :(

So onto my rating: GOOD. If you don't know who Paula Deen is or have never seen her show maybe for you it would only be So-So but if you are a BIG FAN like me I say read it YA'LL!!

Back to the Food Network...are there any other devotees like me? My favorite shows are...in order:

1.) Paula's Home Cooking

2.) Every Day Italian

3.) The Barefoot Contessa

4.) Unwrapped

I have made many recipes from all of these shows except for Unwrapped which is like the "picture picture" segment on Mr. Rogers...my favorite part of Mr. Rogers...where they show you how things are made...that is what this show is all about..it's quite mesmerizing!

****Any other Food Network Fans?****

Our Smell

Once long ago and far away in Springdell I was hanging out with my friend, Iralee (Naomi's sister) and she remarked that our family had a smell. I instantly took umbrage and demanded that she take it back!! Our family DID NOT SMELL!! She clarified that our family didn't smell bad but that we had a certain smell. I was still very T.O. ed and demanded an explanation ASAP. She told me that everyone one has a "smell" and that people in the same family smell like each other. I didn't believe her. We then walked over to the playground area and she picked up an abandoned sweatshirt. "Smell it" she said "and tell me what family it belongs to". I thought that idea sounded vulgar and disgusting and I didn't want to go sniffing anyone's old revolting sweatshirt. Then she uttered the magic words "Do it...I DARE you!" Back in the day I didn't take dares lightly and so I grabbed that old sweatshirt and gave it a delicate sniff. "So" she demanded "who does it belong to?" I remember thinking "Oh crap! She's right". Now it should be known to all who read this blog that Iralee was known as "the brain" of Springdell. She had even skipped a grade and nothing bugged me more than when she was right and I was wrong. "Who's shirt is it?" she asked again...and I do believe she was smirking slightly. "The Tandy's" I mumbled. "Who?" she asked again loudly. "OK...THE TANDY'S...are you satisfied?"...and she was.

This became a little game of ours from then on...Look...we lived up the canyon and had a lot of time on our hands ok? But from then on we could identify who articles of clothing belonged to by their smell. Some of this had to do with how people heated their houses (we all lived in old homes where we all had wood burning fireplaces, coal heat etc), laundry detergents, foods they ate, the way their houses smelled etc. We could take a sniff and say "Nielson, Patten, Udall, McClellan, Western, Winkler, McGown, Buss etc.

I did also demand that Iralee come over to my house and attempt to identify our supposed "smell". She went sniffing all through our house and down to our laundry room where her sensitive nose identified our "smell" as a combination of Tide and Bounce.

So if you're wondering what my family smells like now it is this...my new love of the past 6 months!!

Downy with Febreze the Meadows and Rain scent. I REALLY hope you can't get high from sniffing this!! Because I am constantly doing it. It just smells so darn good. I LOVE doing laundry now...well I don't love it...I like it better when I can get a whiff of my new love. I go around our house sniffing towels, blankets, sheets, socks, clothes, my husband and kids...it's crazy I know. If you are at Wal-mart and feel that old familiar feeling that you just might take your cart and ram someone with it (which is every time I go there) take a little stroll over to the laundry detergent aisle. Find the Downy with Febreze the Meadow and Rain scent...take a whiff...and let it's aroma therapy soothe your soul. :)

By the way...I still use Bounce so I guess we smell like a combo of Downy and Bounce. Product loyalty lasts a long time doesn't it?

P.S. Iralee if you ever read this...you KNOW I love you!! :)

**** So...what do you smell like? :) ****

Memorial Day Weekend







"Let every nation know, whether it wishes us well or ill, that we shall pay any price, bear any burden, meet any hardship, support any friend, oppose any foe to assure the survival and the success of liberty."--John F. Kennedy.



Memorial Day is such a great time to teach your children about patriotism, freedom, liberty, and appreciation and gratitude for those who gave their lives for us that we might be and remain free. I am so grateful for the men and women who paid the price for my freedom.



Today is also my Grandma's 85th birthday. She lives out at the lake by herself and has been the hardiest and most un-elderlyish person I have ever seen but this year has taken a toll on my Grandma and she is beginning to slow down and show her age. This has been hard to watch. This weekend has been particularly difficult.






My grandma got sick this Fall and had to have an operation and she has just never recovered all her strength and energy. Then two weeks ago she got sick again and basically shut down. She stopped eating, started sleeping a lot, didn't want to see anyone and seemed to have given up on life. This is NOT AT ALL like her. She is a fighter. My mom and her brothers rallied and took charge of the situation and all Memorial Day weekend plans were put on hold and my mom spent the weekend getting my grandma back on track...as of tonight she was doing better.

My grandma is tough...as tough as nails at times. She has never been a warm and fuzzy grandma. She is a tell-it-like it is Grandma and that at times can be harsh but you respect her. She is the Matriarch of our family and out of her strength and steel (along with the unconditional love of my grandpa...who WAS warm and fuzzy) they created a most amazing family. She may not be warm and fuzzy but I love her and the amazing heritage and legacy she has given to all of us.

Happy Birthday Grandma!! I hope you feel better soon! I love you!

So due to the situation with my Grandma plans for Memorial Day were changed but we still had a good time. Saturday my Mom, Kelley, and I were supposed to have a "Girls Day" of pedicures, shopping, and eating...but with my Grandma needing help we put it on hold. We decided to go for a little "Family Adventure". We went to see a Dam that is near us (it belongs to the company Tyler works for...and he had just accompanied Reilly and her class there on a field trip) both Tyler and Reilly wanted to show the whole family. We stopped at the park near the dam and walked around and admired the view...and the history.

We had brought our bikes and the bike trailer so we set off on a bike ride (8 miles to be exact) on the Centennial Trail. We saw some areas we had never been before. The kids had a great time and it was fun to be out and enjoying the sunshine. It's a good thing we did because the rest of the weekend was rainy and cold...which would've put a damper on our plans of a weekend of boating, BBQing and lake fun anyway.

After our long bike ride we headed straight to Dairy Queen for a little sustenance! They have a really good blizzard of the month right now...Banana Cream Pie...YUM!

After that we bummed around in the town we were in and I did a little shopping. We ended up having a great day as a family. We already have the next stretch of our next family bike ride on the LONG Centennial Trail mapped out...we have done several sections already.

We decided to spend the rest of the weekend up at my mom's house...even though she wasn't there...it is so beautiful and relaxing...plus still close enough to help out with Grandma if needed. We had a fantastic time and hung out with Kirk. The weather was HORRIBLE. It was POURING rain the whole weekend but up there rain is just beautiful. Everything was so green...even if there was a river running through my mom's yard and straight into the bonfire pit.

The kids played and played. We watched lots of movies (St. Elmo's Fire, Raising Helen, Music and Lyrics and part of Days of Thunder). We ate lots of good food. We had our BBQ after all. Kirk made the MOST AMAZING steaks....which had been marinating over night in a Soy Ginger sauce and the BEST grilled asparagus.

I read lots of magazines (my mom gets the best ones) and read a good book. I love being up in the mountains with the windows open while it is raining with nothing that needs to be done but curling up and reading. It was so cozy!

Here are the kids playing dress-up with Uncle Kirky...He is such a fun...if a little wild...and slightly obnoxious uncle/brother. We were laughing all weekend!!

Having fun at Grandma's House...poor Mom...She kept calling to see what kind of fun things we were up too!!

Today we left around noon....it was still raining. We met my mom is Coeur d'Alene. She was ready for a break and my grandma had people visiting her so she was in good hands for my mom to get out for a bit. Whilst on our little bike ride I found four new thrift stores to check out. We have a Sisters Creed Sale (the business I have with my mom and sisters) coming up in July and so we need to get our projects done and scout out some good stuff for our sale. Rainy days are the best days for "junking". My mom found LOTS of great stuff...some for the business and some for her. I found mostly stuff for me! We had fun and had a great dinner!

Check out my thriftstore finds:


A darling pair of Chinese Laundry slides with kitten heels (the picture didn't turn out so great...I should of taken it from the side) in my size for... get this...$2.99!! I talked to my sister, Jordin, in Kansas City and she was GREEN with envy. She is a big Chinese Laundry shoe fan. I also found a cute pair of Blue Laura Ashley flip-flop slippers...never worn still with the tags on them for...drum roll please...$1.99. I am the flip-flop queen and I LOVE LOVE LOVE flip-flop slippers. I wear them all the time. My old pair is in shreds and sometimes they are hard to find...the reason why I am still attempting to wear my old shredded ones. Therefore I was very excited to find this pair. I also found 3 little sunburst shaped dishes to make candle holders with to sell in July.

I forgot to post about this last week. Reilly had her piano recital and she did an AMAZING job. She played "Spanish Guitar" and the best of the best...the theme from "Star Wars". This was her second year of taking piano lessons and she does a great job! She will soon take over playing the songs on the piano for Family Home Evening from "I-only-play-one-hand-albeit-with-great- feeling-and-emotion-ME!! ;)

I also forgot to say that Kelley and I managed to squeeze in two great workouts over the weekend. We met at the gym twice. One night after our regular work out we grabbed two basketballs and went and shot baskets for awhile...the basketball court was completely deserted...perfect for us. We did relay races while dribbling and made up other contests and mainly laughed and laughed...basketball kicked our butts! Tonight we met again...had a great workout...and then sat in the sauna sweating out our toxins and poisons...again while laughing like loons. I can't wait to do it again!


Happy Memorial Day Everyone!!

Book Review # 7 (A little late in coming)

I was very excited to read this book. As a psych major I was intrigued by its subject matter:



"Blink is a book about how we think without thinking, about choices that seem to be made in an instant--in the blink of an eye--that actually aren't as simple as they seem...Blink reveals that great decision makers aren't those who process the most information or spend the most time deliberating, but those who have perfected the art of "thin-slicing"--filtering the very few factors that matter from an overwhelming number of variables".



Hum...the unconscious, cognitive processes, split-second decision making, thin-slicing...being the psychology geek that I am...that stuff is right up my alley. I was so excited to get this book and begin reading. Then I got the book and began reading. The first chapter was great...unfortunately it all went down hill from there.



I think my friend, Lucy, summed it up best when she said:

"Basically, I think the author took a neat idea (we can make really good decisions in less than two seconds), did a little scientific research to back up his claim, and then beat a dead horse into the ground."



I found this book to be torturous. Torturous like when you have signed up for a class in college and you are really excited about it and then it turns out to be nothing like you thought and with a very lame professor to boot. That is what Blink was to me. It was like reading a psych textbook...for dummies. This whole book could have been an interesting article in a psychology journal but I felt like the author was stretching, and stretching, and stretching it out to be book length...and boy could I feel the STRETCHING!!



There were some interesting things in it...such as:



1.) A study was done on how to find out if someone would be a good employee...the study consisted of one group that met the prospective employees for lunches and dinners regularly for a year and spent time asking them all kinds of questions and the other group that dropped by their houses and looked around for 15 minutes...guess which group was better at judging whether or not someone would be a good employee? Yep...the 15 minute group. They were able to assess things like conscientiousness, open-mindedness, emotional stability etc. According to this study our personal belongings/living environment contain a wealth of very telling information.



-This study justified my inner snoop. I love people watching, blog reading, seeing how other people live, what they buy at the grocery store, looking at people's Ipod playlist, finding out what their top 5 favorite books are...WHY...because I believe it contains a wealth of information about them...and I guess I was right. Guess what one of our YW activities is next month..."Room Tour". We will go to each girls house and see their rooms and things that are important to them...coincidence? I don't think so.



2.) That being tall is an advantage in the business world and life in general. Interesting statistic according to the book : "In the US population , about 14.5 percent of all men are six feet or taller. Even more striking, in the general American population, 3.9 percent of adult men are six foot two or taller".



-That is CRAZY! Tall men ARE hard to come by. The average American male is 5 ft 9. When I shared this finding with my husband (6ft2) and my brother (6ft4) they felt supremely manly and spent the day strutting around lording their height over all the smaller men they came in contact with.



-Next interesting fact: The author polled CEOs of Fortune 500 companies and found that while the majority of CEOs are white males (we won't go into the injustice to women that is :) 58% of them were 6 feet and over and almost a third were 6 ft 2 or taller. And...through all kinds of boring studies researchers have found that an inch of height is worth almost $789 a year in salary. The book says : "That means that a person who is 6 feet tall but otherwise identical to someone who is five foot five will make on average $5,525 more per year".



3.) I found the section on Improv comedy fascinating. It was interesting to learn that improv isn't random or chaotic..."It is an art form governed by a series of rules" and those rules must be abided. The spontaneity isn't random.


-"One of the most important rules that makes improv possible...is the idea of agreement, the notion that a very simple way to create a story--or humor--is to have characters accept everything that happens to them". So basically when an idea is yelled out to an improv group they have to accept it and so does the rest of the group and then whatever a member of the improv group says the rest of the members have to accept...if they don't it doesn't work and isn't funny. After I read this I watched an improv show and low and behold it was actually true.


There were a couple of other topics that were interesting...the part about the Pepsi Challenge and the disaster of New Coke. I also liked the section where the author talked about how children from abusive homes are very good at thin-slicing and the art of "mind reading"...from years of learning in an instant from body language etc. how to judge a situation.


So there were some interesting topics but presented in such a mind-numbing fashion I wanted to scream!! Beat a dead horse is right! If I had to listen to the author bring up that stinking art museum and it's fake statue one more time I was going to lose my mind.


Book Review: SO-SO with a side of dull and mind-numbing...I'd skip it...I've just given you the highlights anyway! ;)

HE WAS ROBBED!!

Joey Fatone didn't win!! The agony. Are the planets and stars all aligned against me? All I wanted to do was watch freaking Dancing with the Stars and see my Joey win the mirror ball trophy...but I was denied!! To quote one of my favorite characters from one of my favorite movies (Kip...Napoleon Dynamite): "I am really T.O.ed!!!

Ok...Apolo Anton Ohno was my second favorite...I really liked his dance partner, Julianne Hough,...nice girl from Utah. I was THRILLED when Laila "too much testosterone" Ali was given the boot! But I was screaming at the TV when Joey and Kym came in second.

Oh well...I guess I shall recover...The Lost season finale had better be good!

Busy


Things are in full swing...and alas blogging and reading blogs have gone out the window. Too many activities, too many projects and too many headaches. Did I mention we have had a house guest for the past few weeks? Our old pal Murphy has moved in and decided he wanted to stay for awhile. (All you Dave Ramsey devotees know what I'm talking about). Anyway it has left little time for blogging.

Let me fill you in on some of Murphy's little shenanigans ...this all occurring in a two week period.

1.) Had to get a tire repaired on the Suburban. I came out of the library and heard a loud hissing sound. I looked around to see what kind of loud and obnoxious sprinkler was on...only to realize it was vast quantities of air spewing out of my tire...not a huge expense...but hugely annoying.

2.) Had to replace the alternator on the Honda.

3.) Had to buy two new tires for the Honda...Tyler had a tire blow out on his way to work.

4.) Tyler locked his keys in the Honda TWICE!!

5.) Tried to turn on our central air...broken

6.) DVD player stopped working.

7.) Turned on our sprinkler system...not working.

8.) Reilly has dental work that needs to be done.

9.) Took Reilly to the doctor to check out a weird mole on her head...looked scary to me...paid $20 to be told it was just a sebaceous gland. (Do not laugh Tiffany!!) But VERY GLAD it was just an oily pustule.

10.) Oh there's more...but I will leave it at that.

Kelley...maybe you could come and burn some sage and cleanse our house of our unwanted guest!! :)

Lucy...your package and book were the HIGHLIGHT of my week!! Thanks so much. Can't wait to get reading!!

Onto other topics:

I have also been up to my eyeballs in YW stuff...some fun...some just time consuming. Reilly had a field trip to the Museum and got to see the travelling Dinosaur named Sue, she is also on one today to the dam to learn about hydropower with Tyler (It is owned by the company he works for), Kameron got to dissect a squid (in Kindergarten!!) then they cooked it up and ate calamari, we had another "Girls Night Out" with our YW. It was a lot of fun. We watched the movie "Sense and Sensibility", ate carmel popcorn, drank smoothies, and ooohhed and aahhed over "Mr. Darcy". That was so much fun. Our non-official activities are going so much better than our "official activities". Oh...the kids also had their Trek (walk-a-thon). See pictures below.

The kids had a GREAT time...I spent my time trying to force some fluids down their throats! Kameron looked on verge of collapse 90% of the time...beet red, white ring around his mouth, wild-eyed, dodging the crazy lady with the stroller who was attempting to chase him down with water. Reilly for the most part ignored me and surfaced only for money to buy snacks and pizza. Ailey just wanted to get out of the stroller and run around too. Next year I will join the "seasoned" mothers who brought lawn chairs and hung out on the hill chatting. The kids did well though. I think Kameron ended up doing almost 3 miles and Reilly did 5 miles.

Then on Saturday Kameron had another T-ball double-header. It was FREEZING yet again. The first Saturday it was bitter cold, the next Saturday it was sweltering hot, and then freezing cold again. He did a great job.


After T-ball we went to our favorite Nursery and bought plants for our garden and our yard/deck. Project #2 is done. Our garden is planted and so are all our flowers. It is a relief to have that all done. Only 997 more projects to go! :)


Saturday night was our town's big Lilac Parade. It is a "torch light" parade...so it starts at 7:45pm. All the floats are lit up and even the bands are decked out in little white lights. It's actually very cool. When we first moved here I thought what a fantastic idea...after years of sweltering through the big 4th of July parade in Provo...this seemed like an awesome alternative. It is IN THEORY!! After nearly 6 years of living here I have only attended one pleasant parade. The rest we have been frozen or rained on. We didn't go last year...we were too tired from putting in our garden and decided to forget it. The kids were extremely disappointed and we heard about it all year. This year we were going no matter what...so we swigged down a couple of Red Bulls and made our way down town.

I will title this part of my post:

So Many Freaks So Few Circuses

I'd like to start this off by letting you all know that we are parade people. I really truly do love a good parade. Marching bands, floats, princesses, flags, military heroes...I really dig it ...and the people watching is just icing on the cake! We got there at 6pm (to get a good seat) and had to wait nearly 2 hours for it to begin. But we were prepared. I brought our cooler...we had snacks, a picnic, drinks...we were prepared. Let the show begin...and it did. Tyler and I were seriously entertained for the 2 hours of waiting for the parade to begin by just watching our local townsfolk. We (or should I say I) got hours of amusement from "crazy salad lady" next to us, not to mention, "white trash on a blind date" on the other side of us (ok...that might sound harsh...they were very nice people) the intriguing part in the exciting docu-drama of "white trash on a first date" was that they were like 50 years old and listening to them making HOURS of awkward conversation was truly entertaining. She also came to the parade with 4 kids that weren't hers and he nearly had a heart attack asking "who's kids are all these?" I just munched my popcorn and enjoyed the show. There was "Twin Blanket lady" across from us...who was also amusing. One of my former YW was across from us, there was also the guy who showed my kids how to play "See who will step in the horse poop" game (this kept them amused the whole parade). I so wanted to whip out my camera but it was a tad too obvious. I will have to be more sly next year. Tyler and I had a rousing game of "find the pretty people"! Tyler won with a grand total of 5!! Good times!! We also planted ourselves next to our favorite sushi restaurant for easy access. Because nothing says "parade food" like sushi!!





The kids had a ball and were dancing in the streets. Kameron was flirting with all the Princesses and cheerleaders. He got blown quite a few kisses and was LOVING it! The down side that it was so unbearably cold we could only stay through 140 entrees (that was 4 1/2 hours of fun) and then we left...to weeping and wailing...that the next 60+ entrants were probably the "best ones"!!





The high point of the night was when Tyler was holding Ailey and kept remarking how warm she was and what a little "heater-body" she was...I told Ty to pass her over to me...as I was a human ice cube...and I discovered that the "warmth" Tyler was enjoying was the fact that she had peed all over him!!


How sad that we have to wait another year to enjoy this kind of family fun...WAIT...the Fair will be here in a few short months. YES...we are Fair people...nothing says fun like Carnies and Deep Fried Twinkies!!

Crushes

This topic came up a book club last week. Do you get "crushes" on anyone anymore? The consensus was that not very often in "real life" but out there in "Celebrity Land"...maybe. Well...at least I do. I 'm happy to say that in real life I am very happy with whom I am married too. But I will admit to having a few crushes on celebrities...for example:

Hello McSteamy!!

And um...Sawyer.

And oddly enough...Joey Fatone.

These are my latest crushes...not to the point of stalking...just to the "please stop talking to me because I am WATCHING T.V.!!!" point.

At our house my "crushes" are well known...and often mocked! Tyler, on the other hand, very rarely will name his crushes. Very wise knowing my jealous and insecure side...I have been known to boycott movies and TV shows in which his "crushes" were stars. (I'm not proud of it...but it's true) I have managed to wheedle several out of him lately though...and NO...not one of them was my "supposed" look-alike ...Annette Bening (according to a member of our stake presidency ;). Blast that Jessica Alba and Eva Longoria!! I suspect he also enjoys Jennifer Aniston...but try as I might I can't dislike her...thank goodness it isn't the home-wrecker Angelina Jolie he likes...at least that he will admit too!!

So...here's my question for you all:

Do you have any celebrity crushes?

Mother's Day Weekend


On Friday Kameron's Kindergarten class had a Mother's Day Luau. It was so much fun. Kameron was so excited to have me come to his class. He has been talking about it for weeks. They did a cute program, sang some songs, had a slide show, and a lunch. The kids got to serve their mothers and say why they loved their moms. Kameron said, "I love my mom because she loves me". He also made me a laminated place mat with my picture on it and it said "My mom is special because she really loves to go to the store". Hum...I do? I was laughing because the mom's next to mine said "My mom is special because she loves to clean". Kids are so funny. His card said " My mom is the best. I know she loves me because makes me lunch and takes me to the movies". It was really cute. He also made me a very cute T-shirt with a picture of me on it that he painted. Kindergarten is such a sweet age.













Then on Friday night we got to babysit my nephew Kaiden overnight. This was his first night away from his mommy...both Kaiden and Jayme did very well. :) Kaiden is such a cutie! Tyler and I kept trying to keep him up so we could play with him. Tyler even got up for Kaiden's 3 am bottle and diaper change. This was amusing as Tyler has pretty much slept through each and every night feeding for our three children CLAIMING he just never heard them...VERY SUSPICIOUS!!





I had a great Mother's Day. We are starting our list of household projects and one of the things I wanted for Mother's Day was one of our projects finished. This sink/faucet has been an extreme annoyance since we moved into our house 4 years ago. Who puts bathroom knobs in the kitchen? The knobs were once clear but now they are yellowed and revolting. Plus, the faucet was so low that if I needed to fill up a deep pot I had to use the black sprayer/hose thing which was also disgusting and corroded.



Sink/Faucet before...GROSS!





Imagine my joy when I woke up on Mother's Day and found this little beauty all installed!! Such a pretty faucet and sprayer. Every time I walk into the kitchen it makes me happy. Imagine how ecstatic I will be when all the other 999 projects get done.


Sink/Faucet after...PRETTY!!

My family was very generous to me this Mother's Day. I was spoiled rotten. I got lots of great things to plant, hang, and wear. One of my favorite gifts was a book of poetry from Reilly...she is very talented. I also got to go to brunch...which I LOVE doing!!

On Mother's Day afternoon we all went out to the lake. We had a big dinner for my mom and my grandma. It was fun. I am stuffed. There's nothing more to say.





We missed Jordin who is in Kansas City. I love the expression on Kirk's face..."Are we done yet?"...he was smiling the pose before...it takes several shots to make sure everyone has their eyes open...um...I mean to make sure I have my eyes open!! ;) Do note the cute shirt I am wearing. It's a Kameron original. It got ALOT of wear this weekend.


Happy Mother's Day Mom!! You are wonderful and I love you very much!!


Oh...I almost forgot. Look at the great find I got at Goodwill. A Turkey Platter, two gravy boats, and matching salt and pepper shakers all in their original box...never used...for a whopping $4.99!! (Original price: $40 from Linens n' Things). How cool is that?

P.S. My sister Kelley has become an avid blog reader and felt that my blog could use some "spicing" up. She thinks I should pose questions at the end of my blog. So...stay tuned...and I will try to think of some "interesting" questions in the future...but it is almost 11 pm and I ain't got nothin'!! Sorry Nels!

Glorious May

I love the month of May. It truly makes me happy. It's not like gloomy January (the worst month of the year)where all the glitz and excitement of the holidays are gone and it's dark and drear and not to mention COLD. You've also got to wait a LONG time until summer. In May summer fun is just around the corner. There's less rain and more sunshine. The school year starts to wind down and the calender gets hopping. May is busy but fun.


We are getting into the thick of things now...It seems like every day on the calender is marked with some event: Anniversary, Mother's Day, Field Trips, Ballet recitals, Piano recitals, T-ball, BBQ, School parties...you name it we are doing it.

Here's just our first week:




Kameron's class had a field trip. They have been studying the ocean and marine life. There is a lady that lives not far from the school that has a huge aquarium in her house. The kids got to walk up to her house and get up close and personal with some sea life. Tyler decided that he wanted to accompany Kameron on this adventure and they had a ball. Dad at school is HUGE excitement in Kameron's world.







Kameron really got into it...which is slightly shocking because he isn't our most adventurous child. But he talked about holding that sea star and the other sea creatures for days. It amazes me how much he has grown and come into his own this year.




Then on Saturday Kameron started his T-Ball season. He played last year and really liked it. He was a bit more shy and awkward last year. This year he is hitting the ball like crazy and catching really well too. He RUNS to be the first in line to bat...again kind of shocking. On Saturday he had a double-header and it was FREEZING COLD. Hopefully this Saturday it will be a little warmer!





Look how cute he is in his uniform!! He was excited to have real "baseball" pants this year. The picture of him below is on first base...yes... he is my child...look at him posing for a little photo op!





When we got home from T-ball Reilly had decorated the house for our Anniversary! This was on the front door.







This was on our bedroom door...as was the one below. She had cut out stars and moons and hung them from our ceiling.











Reilly decided to be our little photographer and felt we needed a picture of us on our 12 year anniversary. Reilly had us do several poses. The kissing one was so reminiscent of our wedding day poses. Our photographer kept having us pose kissing. It was impossible. Every time we just started laughing hysterically. Nothing's changed in 12 years!!







Last night at book club Lucy asked me an interesting question. We were talking about my anniversary post and she asked me what it was about Tyler that attracted me besides his looks. It kind of took me off guard because I couldn't articulate anything that made any sense. Not because I couldn't think of anything but just because it is so hard to put into words what I felt meeting him. Everything seems cliche and trite. I just instantly felt a connection. I saw a face I some how "knew". I just remember him looking at me and REALLY seeing me. The real me. My world shifted. Then through dating I found out how kind, hard-working, loving, supportive, accepting, thoughtful, smart, confident and strong he was...he treats me so well...and yet he doesn't take any of my crap...he is confident in us and in our love...and he was persistant and patient. I guess it paid off. You'll have to ask him!! ;)