Body Art

So Kylee just came to me to show me her new "body art". I didn't quite know what to do at that moment because she was SO proud of her work. So I explained that she is a great artist BUT we only do this on paper! :)She made sure to show me ALL of the "beautiful" art. It spanned all the way from head to toe, literally. hee, heeIt's amazing how you still think their so cute with blue marker and who knows what else all over their face.I love that she is carrying on as if nothing is weird right now. Oh Kylee how I love you even when your "blue".
So a new thought just came to me...maybe she is just rehearsing to be a member of the "Nave" (a.k.a. the blue men). hee, hee

A Day at the Races!

So for any of you who don't know my calling in my church is Ward Activity director which means I am in charge of creating, planning and executing multiple times throughout the year. Most of the activities I plan are for the whole family but a couple of the activities is for adults only...cheap date night. So hear I am calling everyone together to start the activity.So the kids had a blast! They all new for a few weeks that they each needed to create and decorate their own box car for this activity (with some help of course from their parents). So I and a group of great helpers made a 2 lane obstacle course and the raced.

So here are just a few of the kids racing their cars. They loved their course! Each kid was able to race multiple times.
Here's the big question of the night...who actually had more fun racing the box cars, the adults or the kids. Pictures below are some of the times in questions. I think it was all a pretty good success.

The adults had a different obstacle course...it was much more windy and twisty. Also their were stop signs thrown out at them at anytime during their race. If they "ran" their stop sign they had to run back 4 chairs and then continue on.
We can just say that not all of our adults that night were "law" abiding citizens. :) Some even tried to cause crashes by kicking down chairs into the opponents course. It was all so fun!
Below is one of our more "crazy" drivers...even when he is racing a women WITH a baby on board. If you look in the back I am laughing so hard!Also at this activity the young women in our ward were trying to raise money to go to a church girls camp. All the girls made different yummy treats and sold them for $10 each. They had a success in raising money...because the treats were so good! I was able to sample the yummy cake that was made by the mom and her daughter below. A SO DELICIOUS pistachio cake!Then it was time for the "drive-in" movie. When I said that to the kids they said "What's a drive-in movie?" Man I really felt old at that moment. So we got them all situated and started the movie "Johnny Lingo".After we got the movie started and all the kids sitting down I handed out cups of popcorn for everyone to snack on during the show.Now the kids can say they know what a "drive-in" movie is. They all said they had so much fun and wanted to due it again. I said maybe in 1 year. :) Now it is time to plan for the next activity...the 4th of July breakfast (that is scheduled for the 3rd of July actually because the 4th is a Sunday). So we will be having a bike parade and a big breakfast (pancakes, sausage, bacon and hash browns). I'm sure it will be a blast!!

3 wonderful reasons to love today!!

Reason # 1

Reason #2
Reason #3

We are taught that motherhood is a divine "calling" of God. I KNOW this to be true. I know it as I look into the eyes of my precious children. Now just because it is divine does not mean it won't have trials. Motherhood equals heartache, sadness, pain, stress, discouragement, tiredness and lack of energy. But with that motherhood equals things that are so much stronger than the above mentioned-pure love, a first smile, laughter, snuggling, comforting, joy, hugs and kisses, late night conversations, 1st times of so many things, I love you's, teaching moments and the knowledge of knowing we can be together for eternity. I am grateful to be a mother and I am eternally grateful to a mother who raised me (and continues to raise me in some ways). :) I am also eternally grateful to a Heavenly Father who in trusted me and my husband to such special children to raise and teach in this life.

Here are a few amazing and uplifting quotes to inspire mother's and all mother figures throughout the world today!

I don't want to drive up to the pearly gates in a shiny sports car, wearing beautifully, tailored clothes, my hair expertly coiffed, and with long, perfectly manicured fingernails. I want to drive up in a station wagon that has mud on the wheels from taking kids to scout camp. I want to be there with a smudge of peanut butter on my shirt from making sandwiches for a sick neighbors children. I want to be there with a little dirt under my fingernails from helping to weed someone's garden. I want to be there with children's sticky kisses on my cheeks and the tears of a friend on my shoulder. I want the Lord to know I was really here and that I really lived."— Marjorie Pay Hinckley

We women have a lot to learn about simplifying our lives. We have to decide what is important and then move along at a pace that is comfortable for us. We have to develop the maturity to stop trying to prove something. We have to learn to be content with what we are." — Marjorie Pay Hinckley

The grand and the simple. They are equally wonderful." — Marjorie Pay Hinckley"There are some years in our lives that we would not want to live again. But even these years will pass away, and the lessons learned will be a future blessing." — Marjorie Pay Hinckley

Wash my car daddy! Wash my car daddy!!

So one of Kylee's favorite things to do these days is to tell her daddy that is is time for her and daddy to "wash my car daddy!" So a week and a half ago they did just that. They had help from Mattison and their cousin Ava this time too. By the way above is not a typo- Kylee really does think the Taho is HER car.
So here is Kylee running from her daddy spraying her with the hose. As she is running she is yelling "Daddy no spray me!" (as she is yelling this, she has the biggest grin on her face). :)

Now it is Mattison's turn for a spray down. Can you tell how much my girls just "hate" being sprayed. That is why they want to wash the car regularly. I love watching this time with my girls and their daddy. It is so much fun!This is where Ava Bean stood the whole time...away from the hose! She is laughing so hard here because Billy is spraying the girls and she thinks it is hilarious.

We love when Ava gets to come play at our house because she has so much fun playing with her Kyky and Mattie. Also she thinks Brayden is her little baby. She is the first one coming to rub his head if he is crying or takes him toys to play with. She loves her baby cousins. Pretty much Ava loves anything smaller than her. :)

Potty Training a stuborn 2 year old may kill me!!

The title pretty much explains this post. Kylee potty trains when it is convenient for her and ONLY when she wants. I used to think well parents just need to stick it out and they will give in...NOPE! Kylee is not that way. She WILL NOT do something unless it is HER idea. This face scares me because I know she just thought of something mischievous to do.

Today she is trying to really test her boundaries! For example about 10 minutes ago she told me to shut up. I actually don't know where she got that because we don't say it at our house. Anyways. Also anyone who knows Kylee knows she really only has 2 volumes...LOUD...and LOUDER!!! Don't get me wrong, I LOVE, LOVE, LOVE this girl (hence the reason she is still going strong). But today would have for sure been one of those days when I would have gone to my mom's house to get a little help because Billy is pretty sick so he is not able to help. To bad my mom is out of town with my dad until tomorrow. They have been gone all week and I miss them (for more than 1 reason). Brayden is getting more speed with the army crawl and working on the leg and arm crawl. So he gets mad if we leave the room and comes after us now. :) So that adds to the fun. Anyways, Kylee- I look forward to the day when one of your children is reading this and is laughing. I love you Kyky Bug!!! I also look forward to tonight when you (and I) are doing this because I am exhausted from today.

Man on the MOVE...even through a tornado!

Yep! Brayden is on the move. Nothing stops this boy now! When I say nothing I mean NOTHING! He even crawled through a Mattison/Kylee tornado. I now know why tornado's are always given a persons name. Because it reminds us of our childhood or of our children's childhood. We have double twisters at our house all the time (and I'm sure soon enough it will be a triple twister).So I was trying to pick up the girls clothes and organize them a little differently so that they would stop making such a mess trying to find something to wear. Brayden decided to come in and "help" me. His way of helping was to crawl over to one of the piles of clothes I had set aside and pull them apart. Mommy's big helper!

You can see the mischief in his eyes here. He is looking at what thing he wants to tear down next. Even when he makes a mess he is cute! Brayden continues to bring so much joy and laughter to our home. His sisters love him to pieces! I am so eternally grateful for my beautiful family...even if they sometimes turn into tornadoes.At this point Brayden discovered he can crawl under Mattison's bed. What is it about going under Mattison's bed? I find Kylee asleep under there all the time as you can find in past posts. He was pretty proud of himself though (secretly I was too because he is getting around so good).

Here is a little video Brayden doing his thing! Enjoy!!

You wish Krista were your sister!!

So you see this DELICIOUS bread ring? My A-MA-ZING sister Krista spent a great deal of time making this YUMMY orange/raisin bread for my family and for my other sisters Tara and Erin and their families. Krista is a GREAT CHEF, is FUNNY, loves to LAUGH and LOVES her nieces and nephews! She made these for us for Easter and we devoured it! Plus we put my mom's homemade orange marmalade on top and it was so DELICIOUS! I just want Krista to know how much I love her and I am so grateful to her for all she does. Her and my mom make us WONDERFUL dinners on Sunday. I'm so blessed to call her my sister for eternity!!!