It's finally summer!

Sadly, our first really nice day of summer wasn't until mid-June. All the cousins came over to run in the splash pad that Nana picked up for them. It was warm enough that I didn't mind getting a little wet myself :)

Everyone was having a blast except Aubrey, who felt brave for just dipping her toe in :)

Of course it wasn't any fun unless they came up with some sort of game to go with the sprinkler! I think this one involved running and tag and probably wrestling and racing thrown in there too.

Aubrey got some moral support from Madelynn.

Roman's birthday - Cowboy style

I love Roman. He's been counting down his birthday for weeks and was SO. EXCITED. to finally turn 5. I'm not sure what is so magical about 5, but it seems like he's gone from my sweet little boy to my grown up boy overnight! Gasp - he's old enough for kindergarten!

Roman tries so hard to be just like Hayden, but I love that he also has his own cute personality. He is still slightly shy, but thanks to preschool he is more independent and confident. And he's learned that Lovey stays up in his bed for bedtime (which, for those of you who know Roman, this is a huge step!). He knows he's cute, and when he does something wrong, he smiles and gives big puppy dog eyes hoping to get away with another crime. Here I thought he wasn't manipulative, but I've learned he's manipulating me with his cuteness! Must. Stay. Strong!

Roman's birthday was slightly like any other day. Except he got to bring popsicles to his friends at school. By this time I was all cupcaked out, and with cupcakes to make for his party, I went for simple. Buy a box of popsicles and bring it to school. Easy peasy. We picked up House of Donut donuts after school and I let them snack on those while drawing with sidewalk chalk. Roman got to open presents that night from us, Aunt Amy, and Nana and Papa. All Legos. Shocker. He's so excited. I love Legos because it keeps them busy for hours, but I despise how easily pieces are lost and (sadly) vacuumed up.

I'm not sure what possessed Roman to decide on a cowboy birthday party. The only cowboy items he owns are the little dollar store cowboy and Indian figures. I was prepared for Ben 10, Transformers, or Cars. But cowboys was great. Honestly, it's easier to find cowboy-themed items at the dollar store than it would be to find, say, a Ben 10 figure :)

Pin the Badge on the Sheriff

Yes, I drew the sheriff. It's my side job...haha. Kidding aside, I saw this drawing on the internet so I just drew it the best I could. Not too shabby, right? The kids each had a yellow star with their name on it. We blindfolded them, spun them around, and sent them to the sheriff. Most kids started off really good, but then second guessed themselves and stuck the badge on the wall, not even near Mr. Sheriff!

I was AWFUL at taking pictures this time around, but we also played "Corral the Animals" and I'd hidden 15 stuffed animals around the living room that the kids had to find and put into a laundry basket. This was meant to be an outside activity but since we live in WA, of course it rained. We also had each kid lasso their gift bags and since I haven't a clue how to make a lasso, they really just had to have the rope hit the bag :)

Roman got some great little gifts, such as a waterslide (it's like a rite of passage!) and a super soaker water gun (Carissa, totally getting you back for that :) and some Pokemon toys.

I searched Google Images for a fun cake idea but since I don't have fondant experience and I don't have an unlimited budget, I found, well, nothing. So I had planned to make each kid a cupcake with a badge (aka yellow star) and write their name in it with these edible ink markers I found at Walmart. And because I bought them at Walmart, they didn't work! So it was badge cupcakes, but luckily Roman loves me for more than my cake decorating experience!

Totally out of order, but here's Hayden with his sidewalk chalk mural!

Roman got this chalk from his preschool teacher, who probably didn't know that Dad doesn't like sidewalk chalk on his basketball court. But it's okay, it's Roman's birthday, how could he say no?

And, of course, Aubrey knows what's important. The donut! Chalk shmalk!

We also spent Roman's birthday at Hayden's last t-ball game. Roman snuggled up with daddy for most of the game. He loved cheering on Hayden and playing with his cousins during the games.

Opening up his presents from us that night. He's had his eye on that firetruck for months!

Here is some fun Roman facts:

*He loves to play Legos and play with his dollar store army men. I could put both things out and he could play for hours by himself. I love it.

*He loves giving hugs and kisses. He also loves to cuddle with me in the morning, it's a great way to wake up!

*Roman HATES getting his hair cut. He had a bad experience once where the razor (shaver?) got caught in his hair, and I'm sure it hurt, but now he thinks anything that cuts his hair will hurt. At least if daddy or I do it. Anyone else gets a smiley Roman in their chair.

*As hyper as Hayden is, Roman is more of the dare devil. There's not a whole lot he won't do. Hayden has fears of the unknown (say, a waterslide that is dark) while the adrenaline totally pumps through Roman's little body.

*I call Roman "Pokey" a lot. He is so SLOW! I'll be casually walking through a store - not speed walking, mind you - and he's still miles away from me like I'd just sprinted away! He walks slow, eats slow, sometimes tells me stories that just drag because he loses his concentration. He's the kind of kid that does things in his own time and sees no need for rush (unless I say "Let's go to McDonalds" and then that kid runs!).

Roman's Favorites:

Color: Blue

Subject in School: Math (really? Do they even do that in preschool?)

Cartoon: Lego cartoons

Movie: Cars and Cars 2

Food: Fries (me too, bud)

Candy: Gum

Toy: Legos

If he was a superhero, this would be his superpower: To shoot hot lava from his hands. So don't mess with him!

Party like a Pirate (OR Hayden turns 7!)

I'm super excited to announce that we've welcomed our first son, Hayden, into this world. He's such a cute little newborn..........hey, wait a minute...........what? He's not a newborn?..............He's 7 years old? How could this happen?!

You know you all feel that way.


Holy. Cow. My sweet baby boy with the perfect newborn face and baby mullet is seven. How time flies, right? How was my life complete before he was born? I know some of you wonder how I deal with my little ball of fire, and I'll be the first to admit he's full of energy and craziness, but he is my world. But yes, I do savor the quietness that bedtime brings :)


For Hayden's birthday we had doughnuts for breakfast. And then I sent him to school on that little sugar high. I even brought cupcakes for his class, a first for him (and me) since in Utah school was out by the end of May so he'd never celebrated his birthday during school.


On his birthday we let him open his present from us and from Nana and Papa. Legos! Surprise! His latest obsession, which I love because they keep him entertained for hours, but I don't love finding tiny little Lego pieces scattered throughout the house. Sadly, some of his Lego sets don't work properly when they are missing that tiny, itty piece that I probably vacuumed up :)


I mean, come on, look at that face! LEGOS!

I figured since he's seven now, he's definately old enough to have his own birthday party. I think the last few years lacked individual birthday parties because I lacked the energy to do so. Not that my energy level has changed, but he's also noticed that most of his school buddies were having parties and good heavens, where was his party? He really wanted a Bionicles or Ben 10 party, but I urged him into something more generic so I didn't have to go buy specialized (aka expensive) party themed plates, etc.

So, Pirate Party it is! I found this pirate hat cake from a Family Fun magazine and added some extra cupcakes (in case the hat wouldn't feed everyone) and turned them into a little treasure map.

Treasure Hunt

The first game was a treasure hunt. I think originally I'd planned on making a map, but I never actually got around to making it, so last minute I wrote down clues and turned it into a scavenger hunt of sorts.

First stop, the door bell! Then they raced to their next location...

The basketball hoops! And then onto the third stop, which was the playhouse.

The fourth clue led them to the outside grill where they found a bucket filled with their treat bags. Each treat bag held some great (dollar store) stuff like expensive jewelry, golden chocolate coins, and trinkets.

Pass the Parrot

Or in this case, the multi-colored bear because although I swear we have a stuffed parrot around here somewhere, naturally it wasn't to be found when we actually needed it. It's like Hot Potato, I cranked up music while they threw the bear around to each other, and when the music stopped, whoever was holding the colorful bear was out. Last one in wins.....a jumprope!

I had to post this. Cole lost, but I wanted him to win so bad, I just couldn't stand this face!

I'm pretty sure Aubrey and Madelynn had no idea what the game was about. They were beyond excited when they got the bear and it took some coaxing to get them to toss it to someone else. Needless to say, they were out early and totally fine with it.

In case you were dying to know, Rix won. Luckily the jumprope was purple!

Walk the Plank

This was the best and worst game. It was so fun to watch them get wet, but some didn't love getting wet.

Basically, we drew a "plank" on the cement. If the blindfolded scallywag walked off the plank before they reached the end, the bystanders would shoot them with water guns. Some really loved it (and no one made it to the end without getting wet!) but others didn't like it. Maybe it was the blindfold? Or getting wet from all sides? It was funny no matter what (sorry Jack!).

Hayden's little friend Jill won a Pez dispenser.

Here goes Hayden! Do you see how diligently I'm trying to straigten him out? He insisted on walking at an angle, which meant he got blasted with water right away. I love how everyone is in position and ready to attack.

Cole started out really good, I thought he had figured out the strategy of slowing walking and redirecting when the water started, but he just bolted for it once he started getting shot.

Another epic failure (in the best possible way). Olivia did just like everyone else. Everyone sort of started out straight and then went curvy. I don't get it.

Jack was afraid to go, so Adam showed him just how fun it could be. See Jeremiah? Totally ready. And as you can see in picture #2, Adam got soaked. The kids LOVED getting him all wet!

I saved my favorite picture for last. Even after Adam's demonstration, Jack still didn't enjoy the game. Poor kid. But his tears didn't stop the kids, do you see Roman's determination?!

Singing to Hayden. In the end, no one was wearing the pirate hats except Adam. What a kid!

Cake, ice cream, and soda. I'm such a good mom.

Seriously? Who invited this kid? He's hogging all the cake! Oh wait, that's just Adam. Silly me.

I'm sorry. We forgot to say that Baby Jacob was also at the party. Sort of. He was partying inside Celeste's belly, since he would be making his arrival in a few short days!

Celeste, I'll bet it was Hayden's Pirate cake that put you into (delayed) labor! We need to find another pregnant person to try that on, just to make sure it wasn't coincidence.

And the part that Hayden had been secretly waiting for. Presents! You don't know what Du Pirates is? Neither do I. But in English that reads Pirate Plank, it's a fun Lego game that even Jeremiah and I don't mind playing with the kids (unlike Memory that takes far too long).

Gasp! More Legos? Are you sure he needs more? Well, yes, yes he does. According to Hayden, he just doesn't have enough yet.

A soccer ball. Sweet, something Jeremiah and Hayden can do together since soccer is not one of my many (and great) talents. Hayden loves the sport. It's in his blood.

The next day was Sunday, so for the third day in a row, we celebrated Hayden's birthday. But this time we also included Roman. It's sorta a family tradition to celebrate family birthdays once a month on a Sunday evening. We had brownies and ice cream (I'm pretty sure I wasn't the only one sick of cake!) and the boys got money from some family. It was $15 total, but to them it was probably like a million.

This is the face of poor (dramatic) Madelynn after our family's birthday song. We all sing in our own key, in our own awful voice, to our own beat. It's like nails on a chalkboard and it makes everyone, except Madelynn, laugh. I think Madelynn has nightmares with the birthday song as the background music.

Hayden is certainly proud to be the oldest grandchild on my side of the family, even if it's only by a month. He is already counting down to his next birthday because he's excited to be baptized. I love that he's eager for that.

Here are some fun Hayden facts that you may or may not know (and I might not know, either, since these answers change daily):

Likes:

Food: Cherries

Color: Light Blue

Cartoon: Pokemon

Superhero: Batman

Toy: Legos

Game: Pirate Plank and Skipbo

Subject at School: PE

Candy: Push Pops (suckers)

Parent: Just kidding. We all know the answer is me ;)

He also loves the Wii, playing outside, and reading books to Aubrey. He's currently in Tae Kwon Do and swimming at the YMCA and is eager to try tumbling next session.

If he had a superpower, it would be: that he would have a waterfall in front of him. Supposedly helps him disappear from enemies. Don't ask.

Dislikes:

Food: Broccoli (standard kid answer)

Subject at School: Math

Chore: Taking out the garbage out.

He's not a fan of getting in trouble or of watching Dora shows with Aubrey :)

I heart Old Navy

So I belong to this great website called Crowdtap. I participate in discussions and if I'm one of the top members in each discussion I am rewarded with money. But sometimes they offer sample shares where we are rewarded with clothes. Old Navy clothes. Love it! We've been given Old Navy jeans, dresses, and now an entire summer outfit!

I took my sisters and my mom to Old Navy last week. It was a blast walking through the store knowing that I could pick any pair of shorts, a shirt, and an accessory (including shoes!) to compliment my summer wardrobe. I fell in love with a pair of khaki capris, but they didn't count as shorts (bummer!) but luckily I also fell in love with a pair of dark brown bermuda shorts. I don't usually wear shorts because everyone, including my dear, sweet husband, makes fun of my pale legs. But I'm not going to suffer through another hot summer wearing long jeans. I'm proud of my pale legs (if I keep saying it, maybe I'll start believe it?). I mean, Nicole Kidman is pale and she's gorgeous, right?

Each of us had a great time. Old Navy has some really cute tank tops, and although we don't wear tank tops, they all look really good with cap sleeve tees underneath or a light cardigan over them. In fact, I think all four of us got tanks with this very idea in mind! Old Navy has great cardigans, too, so it was easy to complete our outfit in one shopping trip.

As for accessories, Mom and my sisters all picked out cute little bags, like this, while I went for a brown necklace because I've been searching for a cute one for months. Who knew that Old Navy carried such a cute selection of jewelry! I was like a kid in a candy store!

Here's Carissa with her bermuda shorts and holding the tank she bought. I'm pretty sure she didn't wear the tank out to show us because it didn't match the shirt she was wearing underneath (heaven forbid she come out unmatching!!!). But it's a cute tank nonetheless. I'm pretty sure Carissa's favorite part was looking for shirts. She's usually a tee shirt and jeans kind of girl so it was fun for her to look for something a little more dressy.


Celeste didn't love her first choice of tanks (she felt it was like a tux shirt gone bad) but loved her second choice. A t-strap purple tank. Celeste just had a baby a week earlier (doesn't she look great!?) so I had to try on shorts for her but she loved that the tank helped hide her just-had-a-baby tummy. And it's super cute!

Here's me! I loved this tank. I wear it with a white tee under or a black cardi over. It's very dressy and I wore it out to dinner and a movie with my husband the following night - with cute black flats, not the socks :) I'm trying on the denim "diva" bermudas that Celeste ended up getting.

Although my mom didn't model her outfit, she sure loves her shorts and tank. I think she especially loves the hobo bag she got at the store. She brought it with her on a trip to New Mexico with my dad!

T-Ball Season

This is Hayden's third year of t-ball. He barely missed the age cut-off for coach pitch, but I'm not sure it's hit him that he could have done that instead. He's just fine hitting a baseball off of a "T". It probably helped matters that his cousins were on the same team as he was.

Hayden isn't amazing at t-ball, but he definately knows the sport know and the rules of the game. Unlike previous years, he actually runs to the correct bases after hitting the ball, and he doesn't sit around picking grass and watching butterflies while playing outfield. His coach taught them some rules about teamwork, and it helped keep the whole team from running to a ball no matter where in the field it landed. Hayden's favorite positions were catcher, first base, and pitcher, because you were guaranteed to catch and/or throw in any of those positions.

While I'm not sure Hayden loves the sport, he does love to run around, throw baseballs, and be with is friends, and that was enough to keep him interested in practice and games.

I'm pretty sure those are gang signs in some ghetto part of LA. L to R: Ethan, Rix, and Hayden

I was in charge of snacks for the last game. And it was Roman's birthday. So we went for baseball-inspired cupcakes.

The team had a party at Round Table that Saturday. Hayden was beside himself with joy because he got a trophy. Like his whole life has lead up to this moment. I was pretty excited for the cute little clipboard-scrapbook-page thing another mother made each kid.

Hayden with his coach. At least Hayden was photogenic. I didn't love this coach, I thought he was a little sarcastic with the kids, but he did a good job teaching them so I guess I can't complain, right?

Best Bites

I love Our Best Bites. Carissa introduced them to me just before their cookbook came out and I was it was love at first sight. Or bite. Whatever. Everything I make from their cookbook comes our perfectly.

I've fallen in love with a few of their recipes.

Like their bread dough = pizza dough = lots of bread-like things like these:

They posted this amazing breakfast casserole, too (I know it's amazing because Jeremiah made it for me for Mother's Day and it looked just as good. Tasted even better) :

I'm also in love with their black bean soup, chicken taquitoes, taco chicken, and just about any of their desserts.

I promise I don't creepy stalk them. I just happened to find out they were visiting a little bookstore in Puyallup and Carissa and I planned our whole day around that visit. So what if I called in sick to work? I got my cookbook signed! And I got to meet these lovely ladies who are killing my waistline!


I think Aubrey is in shock, too. She's not just bored. These will one day be her idols too :)

Proof Carissa went with me. That I didn't go stalking - I mean visiting - all on my own!

Is it crazy to feel kind of star struck by these stay-at-home cooks? They are exactly what I want to be. Creative, inventive stay-at-home moms who love food and can support their families in a way to stay at home with their kids and have fun doing it. I can't wait to one day get more creative with my recipes and be able to share those with others.

My Day!

There are two days of the year that I can expect to be waited on hand and foot. My birthday is one and Mother's Day is the other. Especially Mother's Day, I work hard dang it!

I slept in which was amazing. Jeremiah usually lets me sleep in a bit on Sundays, but there was something about sleeping in on Mother's Day that made me feel extra special. When I woke up, Jeremiah had made this for me and then gave me my Mother's Day gift. Besides sleeping in and a scrumptious breakfast, he also bought me a new shirt at JC Penney and gave me a gift card to get something else there. Jeremiah's always pretty good at buy clothes for me. Ladies, you're welcome to take him shopping with you anytime :)

I love the little handmade things the kids give me. The boys brought home little notepads they'd made in church for me, and Aubrey gave me a hot pad with her handprint on it. Too cute! They even sang to me in church and I loved watching their faces as they sang. They were looking right at me the whole time, I was so proud of them, even if Roman was more interested in chewing his gum than singing the songs.

The night wrapped up with fajitas made by the guys and cheesecake purchased at Costco (is that cheating if they don't necessarily make the dessert???I demand a do over). This is another thing I love about Mother's Day. We're required to stay away from the kitchen. Fine by me!

Me and my rascals. I love them!

Mom surprised us each with a pedicure gift certificate which we used this past weekend. I'm not sure what I enjoyed more - the pedicure or the super mega massage chair that I sat in. I could have laid there all day. It was awesome. I went with the girls, Mom, and Olivia. Olivia even got a rainbow manicure (aka an array of neon colors on her nails). I think every mom needs a pedicure. Monthly, at least.

I love being a mom. My kids drive me crazy and there are nights I get very little rest because my little ones are having nightmares and need their mom. There are days that I am in tears by lunchtime and I'm ready to hand them off the a perfect stranger just to have a moment of peace. But any bad day is outweighed by how amazing each of my children are. They never judge me and love me even when I haven't showered and my socks don't match. After a hard day at work they instinctively know that I need a hug, or a smile, or a silly song to cheer me up. They can't go to bed without a Mommy hug, and I can't imagine my life without them. I'm truly blessed to have such crazy, ornery, lovable, sweet, and unique kiddos.