It Was A Good One!

A super sonic cousin weekend was in the forecast for the upcoming  week!

We had lots to do and had to make the most of every second.  

GG started it off and came first.  She got a talent show from the boys including some Johnny Cash songs and a little piano playing.

On Friday we kept the home fires burning.  Sent the boys to and from school and baked coconut cupcakes, pikes peak potatoes, strawberry salad, and had GG's famous fried chicken.

The cousin's arrived and we had a huge birthday party for all the kids.  Mammy had got towels for each child with their name embroidered on them.  We were laughing because little Buddy ended up with the big daddy towel!

The boys had a slumber party on the floor downstairs each night with fun bedtime stories.  Buddy helped them settle down and snuggled with them all right in the middle.

On Saturday we had our traditional breakfast at IHOP's with GG.  Funny face pancakes were the pick of the morning.  Off to the pool with GG, Mammy, Papa, and the dad's while the girls went home and got some beauty rest- Ha!

Everyone got ready for the baptism and headed over to the church for some pictures.  After we changed clothes, grabbed dinner and ended up at the park to meet everyone for the rest of the night. A windy, chilly, great time.

Sunday was wonderful.  Nathan was presented his Book of Mormon by the bishop at church and the meetings were uplifting and refreshing.

We came home and made 45 hamburger patties to take over to Mike and Deb's for Sunday dinner. Everyone hung out for the remainder of the night. 

Couldn't help but feel grateful and happy the entire weekend.

Monday everyone got up and ready to leave.  GG, Justin, Kendall, and I ran over to Asian Chefs for Chinese lunch and then off to the airport.  Drove back in a whiteout blizzard for 20 minutes.  Kendall had a 4 hour nap and I joined him the last 2 hours.

Can't wait until next time.

Our Lady...

 Yes, It is true.  She has stolen our hearts!  She gives anyone a smile and we just melt into a pile of smitten mush!

We love our girl.  We knew she would be lovely but what we didn't expect was how much FUN she would be.

She is pure girl (which we were dying for), she gives courtesy laughs that are hilarious and talks up a storm. all. day. long.

Of course we all think she is the smartest one year old because she has a vocabulary of tons of words including, uh-oh, boo, HI, ta-da, dad, mom, and her finale...Alisa! Oh my, she's perfect!

She enjoys a delicious treat at moments notice and can often be found with her Aunt.... in the kitchen!

A Cub Scout...At Last!

 Boy have we been waiting for this!  Nathan has been dreaming of joining the cub scouts when he turned 8 for what seems like FOREVER!

His first time exceeded his wildest dreams.  He loves his pack and is so blessed to have the most amazing leaders, Sister Monteath and Sister Shields!

We are looking forward to an amazing scouting experience!

Interview

If you were given $50 what would you spend it on?
Nathan: A house next door to yours.
Kendall: A house for our family with an upstairs and a downstairs and a backyard with a park.

What is your favorite food?
Nathan: Pizza and Ice cream
Kendall: Something healthy... a juice

Where do you think you will go on your mission?
Nathan: Japan
Kendall: Well, I don't know.  Well, same as dad's. 

What is your favorite music?
Nathan: Piano Guys... Cello and piano
Kendall:  See Me Run (Brite music we listened to growing up.  Now Kendall LOVES it!)

When are you going to get married?
Nathan: On June 8th when I am 23. In the Mesa Arizona temple.
Kendall: At 80.  On my last birthday when I turn 80. In September.  At the Bountiful temple.

Who are you going to marry?
Nathan:  I don't know.  She will have blond hair and brown eyes and probably her best feature will be playing with my kids.
Kendall: I don't know.  I wish we could marry our moms.

If you could have anything, the most amazing thing in the word, what would it be?
Nathan: You and dad.  My family.
Kendall: 100 dogs, 2000 scooters, and a lot of money.

What is your favorite movie?
Nathan: The Man From Snowy River
Kendall: The Croods and Wreck it Ralph

Who is your favorite actor/actress?
Nathan: The dad of Jessica on The Man From Snowy River... No, Jim on The Man From Snowy River
Kendall:  Lord Milori, the winter fairies, and the warm fairies on Tinkerbell Secret of the Wings.    

What is your favorite thing about our family?
Nathan: That we have fun on spring break and we make memories.
Kendall: Play games, do activities, and Family Home Evening, and that we do fun things.

What do you dislike?
Nathan: Getting bullied at school by Trenton.
Kendall: Broken things.

What would you like to have a picture of?
Nathan: Family
Kendall: Family

What is your favorite smell?
Nathan: In the morning at school.
Kendall: Banana muffins.

What do you love about the gospel?
Nathan:  President Monson because he tells us about the gospel and how to live it.
Kendall: I love that we can follow it and it leads our way to be good.

Who do you admire?    
Nathan:  Tanner, Jake, Mikey and Kendall.  They are my best friends and I love them.
Kendall:  My cousins.

Where do you want to visit?
Nathan: Disney Land and Arizona.
Kendall: All of them.  Japan, Disney Land, and Arizona.       

What is your favorite thing to do with each other?
Nathan: Play tag.
Kendall: Fight. Wrestle.   

Egg Salad Picnic

 Someone ordered the perfect spring weather for an egg hunt and a picnic.

We joined lots of other kids at the pavilion of the Coal Mine building and went to town finding hidden eggs stuffed with treats.

We ate and visited and just before we left it got chilly and Kendall started running a fever.  Nathan tripped and a random branch stung his eye.  Both the boys were bawling in the car. That was our que to head home, calm down, start a bath, and rest for the day.

A Beaming Egg Hunt

 The boys were in their jammies all ready for bed listening to a bedtime story when Mammy and I came into their room and told them to get their coats and shoes on.

We surprised them when we unveiled the curtains to the backdoor with a illuminating sight.

Tons of colorful Easter eggs were glowing all over the backyard.

They yelped with excitement as we handed them their baskets and off they went to collect their prizes.

They decided after they finished to take turns re-hiding the eggs for each other so that they could keep hunting.  Silly fun.

Roasted....

 We got a spring tease during spring break that foreshadowed this summer.  I have a feeling we are going to get tons of use out of the fire pit!

We grilled portabella mushrooms, chicken, and roasted  little smokies and marshmallows.  It was really off balance with no fruits and veggies but we didn't seem to mind.  In fact it felt a little rebellious and I was secretly liking it.

We had some sort of unspoken contest to see who could roast their marshmallow the most golden brown and then would buckle over with laughter when it would catch on fire- blowing frantically to salvage any part of it.

Oh, what fun a small backyard fire can bring!

Golden, Co

 The train museum is so close and we had never been before so we decided to give it a whirl.  It did not disappoint.  We were able to learn tons of fun little facts and get some fresh air.  We will definitely be back!

It's GREAT To Be 8!!!

 Of all the birthdays yet, I have been anticipating this one!  Such a special age.

 I have been reflecting so much on Nathan lately and how I feel so grateful to be his mom. There are so many neat and interesting qualities that make up this boy.

My absolute favorite thing about him is:  He is NEVER in a bad mood.  He has the ability to see everything through rose colored glasses.  Anyone who knows me knows I don't do grumpy.  Let me tell you, Nathan is ANYTHING but grumpy.  He brings such a positive happy flare to our family.  He is one sweet boy!

 The morning of his birthday, he woke up to green streamers covering his doorway and continued into the kitchen.  He picked out Krispy Kreme doughnuts with sprinkles for his birthday breakfast and blew out a candle early.

The boys ate and opened gifts.  New scriptures, pencils, a case, a baptism book, a white towel, stickers, and a quarter collection complete with quarters!  It was exciting!

Then Justin took the day off  and we headed to an early showing of The Croods at the movie theaters.  We loved it!  On the way to lunch we all talked about our favorite parts.

Nathan picked Asian Chefs for lunch and gobbled down his orange chicken.

We went home to relax and play and the his cousins came over with Aunt Lisa.  The night ended with a cake pop delivery from Natalie and boys and Lemon crunch cake (his treat of choice) with whip cream and raspberries!

....and just like that, my little boy turned 8!

SpRinG bReAk!

 This spring break our options were limited so we opted for a staycation.  Although it didn't go exactly as planned, spring break was delightful this year!

Friday: Spring Break started when we picked up Nathan from school for early release.  We all came home and spring cleaned the house to get it ready for the week (which stayed clean for maybe a day). We rented the Legend of the Guardian from red box and piled all the pillows and blankets downstairs.  A cozy slumber party ended the night.

Saturday: Woke up to a huge snow storm.  It was beautiful!  I had started baking 4 dozen cinnamon rolls for a baby shower that morning and it had got cancelled so.... we made deliveries! The boys were in and out making snow angels.  A haircut and a baptism followed that afternoon.

Sunday: Had a lovely at day church did some genealogy for Justin's side of the family and came home.  Had the Stadleman's over for dinner.  Made ooey gooey popcorn, visited, and ended the night with a game of chicken foot with all the kids.

Monday: Took the boys to Zumba.  Came home and got ready to go to Jenn's.  Took the cousins to the sledding slopes.  Watched them fly off jumps and slide 3 at a time.  Came back to Jenn's and made Butter Beer to go with our Harry Potter movie.

Tuesday: Nathan woke up at 1 am with croup.  We spent all day Tuesday doing steam treatments, watching cartoons, resting, and trying to get him better.  Kendall also had a slight fever.  We played tons of games.  Sequence, got beat playing Blokus, and battleship.  It was the perfect recipe to get feeling better for the rest of the week.

Wednesday: Meet up with the Stadelemans, Alverez family, and Martha and Buddy at Chuck E Cheese.  Played and played. Got tickets and prizes.  Ate pizza and salad.  We walked over to Krispy Kreame after and watched hundreds of tiny fresh doughnuts being made.  We may have sampled a few and grabbed some for Nathan's birthday breakfast in the morning.

Thursday: Happy Birthday Nathan!  He woke up to streamers and gifts!  8 years old is extra special.  A new set of scriptures, stuff for his baptism, and a quarter collection from Mammy and Papa. Dad took the day off to help celebrate.  We finished eating birthday breakfast and went with our family to see the movie, The Croods.  We loved it!  Nathan picked lunch at Asian Chefs and was happy to eat orange chicken.  The car was washed and we headed home just in time for Cole, Cara, and Aunt Lisa to come over.  We topped off the night eating Nathan's pick: Lemon crunch cake with whip cream and raspberries.

Friday: Headed to the scout store to pick out "starter" stuff because Nathan officially starts scouts.  After, we went to Golden to the train museum.  We wandered around for a few hours admiring all the old trains and then set up the fire pit in the back yard.  Justin grilled portabella mushrooms and chicken.  We roasted little smokies and marshmallows for s'mores.  Justin read to the boys and Mammy and I set up a glow in the dark Easter egg hunt in the backyard. The boys went to sleep and the adults watched the Hobbit.

Saturday: Our friends the Craigs, put on an Easter egg hunt at the pavilion.  Lots of eager kids hunting for millions of plastic filled eggs.  We ate an egg salad picnic and topped lunch off with chocolate covered cream puffs.  The rest of the day was spent napping, going for walks, and delivering Nathan's baptism invitations.

Sunday: Went to church.  It was amazing.  Heard to best talk about a little 9 year old girl in the Martin Willie Handcart company.  Got to be with the kids in primary and taught singing time in nursery.  After church we came home and baked rolls while watching the Man From Snowy River.  It was then time to eat Easter dinner at Jenns.  We all piled into her house and had a traditional Easter Feast.  Lots of kids and laughter.

Monday: Last day of spring break and also catch up day.  The boys helped clean the house, work on book reports, practiced piano, and ate leftovers.  We had some friends over and did laundry.  Took naps and got a few more games in. When dad got home we ran to Costco, Target, and Nordstrom Rack and had one last hoorah at Costa Vida....Whew!!