Colorado Gators....

In the middle of nowhere and I mean nowhere is an 80-acre Gator and fish farm on the way to the sand dunes.  If you can get past the wretched smell you are in for a treat.

Cardon loved being able to pet the tortoises that roamed all over the farm and the rest of us loved being able to hold a real live alligator.  Kendall liked the fact that if you touched his nose he would smile.

This place became a 'sanctuary" for unwanted pets in the 80's and now is full of all kinds of snakes, birds, lizards, fish, turtles, and alligators.

Out of 50 albino alligators in the world, 5 live at this gator farm.

As we were watching the largest gator at the farm, he suddenly ripped into the water and ate a fish.  We were so close that we got splashed by the water.  Cardon kept yelling, "Oh my gosh! Oh my gosh!" over and over.  I grabbed him close to me and his little heart was beating a hundred miles an hour.  So crazy!!!

The highlight of this adrenaline-pumping visit was witnessing a couple of guys wrestle a HUGE gator about 2 feet in front of us. It was crazy and a once in a lifetime thing to see. Just when you thought you had seen it all one of the guys pulled the gator up to his mouth and kissed it!

The boys earned their certificate of bravery that was notarized with the mouth of a live alligator.

Strawberry Custard Whip

Cousin Leah came up for the weekend and shared this little gem... Just wanted to write it down before I forgot it.

Mix:
1 large container of Dannon Light & Fit vanilla yogurt
2 small puddings (I did french vanilla and cheesecake)
then mix in 1 large container of Cool Whip

Top with fresh fruit of your choice.... That's it!

And the Award Goes Goes to .....

Kendall Hillan! 

 Kendall received the citizenship award for the year from Mrs. Nelkin at the end of the year assembly.  

She said that whenever she is sad or needs to be cheered up for any reason she looks for Kendall's big ole' smile.  She also said the at he was a blessing to her.  He treats everyone with kindness and is the pied piper at the school.

He got a pin to hang on his banner and naturally we had to go a celebrate.  A pretty awesome moment for him.

Kendall's 4th Grade Field Day

Cardon and I headed over to Addenbrooke to watch Kendall slay some races on field day.  Boy, were they happy to see each other.  You would have thought the two of them had been separated for years but nope, just since breakfast that morning.

Kendall:

"My favorite event from field day was the bounce house races and racing Calum.  I also liked the 50-yard dash and the standing long jump because I got first place in both of them.  I was very hot but I got cooled off in the underwater race were you had the cup of water on your head. It was fun to be with my friends and talk about what we were going to do over the summer. I loved that my mom and brother were there to cheer me on.  Go Kendall!"

Kendall got a popsicle at the end of the day and very graciously gave it to Cardon.  Pretty sweet kiddo.

Kendall was in the same class as Shayna Shaw and Logan Shaw and Cardon really enjoyed watching their siblings playing on the slide together.

Mothers Day 2018

Mammy came over and crawled into bed with me this morning.  The boys spoiled us rotten.  Waffles with strawberries, scrambled eggs, and dark chocolates.  They shut the door and we got to laugh and talk uninterrupted.

My parents were young when they had me but that was my fault.  I had to get down to them as fast as I could.  I couldn't wait any longer.  Moms have a way of teaching us very important lessons.  Lessons I feel I will probably never master in this life.

My mom is simple yet full of substance.  She is classy to the core and has an energy and charisma that is as pure as you can get.  There is no one I would rather talk to 20 times a day.

I was showered with beautiful flowers and a homemade wall hanging of the mountains that Kendall hand stitched at school.

 I was surrounded by my sweet boys and thought about how much I love being a mom.  Then my second thought was that I cuss a lot in my head.  Being a mom is hard.  It's an ebb and flow of joy and misery and all the emotions in between.  I'm just embracing it all.  I will keep trying.

On this day I'm basking in gratitude for my little tribe.  I love them all so much my heart could burst.  And then I find the vacuum hose stuffed with 3 little pairs of socks in it and bright blue toothpaste all over the carpet and an empty container of fish food.  Well... that was fun while it lasted.

We headed to church and had a special lesson that Garrett and Stacy gave in Relief Society about women of light, the young men handed out bags of kisses, and a special treat was handed out after the class.

We changed our clothes and went to Mammy and Papas house for grilled chicken-thank you dad, salad, watermelon, and sweet potato fries.  We gave Mammy a book about the temple symbols, a mother-daughter necklace, and a bag that said you are my favorite.  So naturally, we had to fill it with all our favorite things about her.

The sisters were coming over to call their parents so we ate Aunt Peggy's famous banana cream pie at our house.

It was pretty much perfect... Sigh.

Kendall made me this mountain scene and I love it!  It makes me feel happy.