Running Through Sprinklers

When the temperatures hit 90 the other day, the kids came begging to blow up the pool to swim. I knew it wasn't going to stay that warm so we decided to turn on the sprinklers. All you could hear was laughter and squeals of delight as they ran through the sprinklers and then ended up jumping on our neighbors trampoline with the sprinkler on.



Looks like a fun start to a good summer (hopefully)!

Family Gardening

After eight years of living in our house, we finally decided to use our garden area to grow food instead of the weeds we have grown every other year. I spent three days weeding, Jim spent a day tilling and we spent two full days planting. My wonderful father-in-law came and helped us get our garden planted so things would grow best. He and I spent a day planting tomatoes and carrots and then he came over to finish planting the rest. I have to say I am so grateful to have such a fabulous, wonderful father-in-law. He not only took two days out of his life and own garden to come help me with mine, he also taught me a very valuable lesson without even meaning to. A little background first... When we first started the garden the kids were bored. They decided to go out front and color with sidewalk chalk. I went out to check on them and was shocked at what I found.



Andrew was creating the solar system. At first I thought Jim had been helping him (his Earth was quite detailed, too much for him to do himself, I thought. Shows you what I know). He had done it all himself. I was amazed. Not that I don't know how smart my son is or that I didn't think he could do something like that on his own, I guess I was just surprised that he came up with the idea on his own and was working so hard at making it look just right. After a while they both wandered back to where we were and wanted to help. Now, I try to be a good Mom, but I have never claimed being a good Mom. I want to teach my kids things and want them to learn to work and certain lessons, but I was raised with a grandfather that always wanted to do things himself 'cause it was quicker and easier that way. That is a trait that I definitely inherited. I know that if I do something it will take five minutes instead of ten. Now, to the lesson...my father-in-law was more than enthusiastic when the kids wanted to help with the corn and green beans seed. He patiently showed them how to put the seeds in the holes and put the dirt over them. He helped them to take turns every other seed patch.




I was amazed 'cause I knew he had to be tired and I'm sure he knew it would be quicker if he just did it himself but he valued that time with his grand kids over the five minutes he might have saved. It taught me that I need to cherish the time and memories with my kids and not worry about how much longer it will take me to complete the project. I also realized that even though the way they do it isn't perfect, it doesn't make it wrong. I have to remember the saying 'practice makes perfect.' The more I let them help and do things the better they will become at doing that thing. I am grateful for my father-in-law and the many lessons he teaches me by example. I am also grateful for his patience, not only with the kids, but me in this gardening process. I'm so excited to see how it progresses through each stage and can't wait to eat the yummy vegetables!

Blessings of Friends

So, I have quite a few things I still need to update on our blog, but had to take the time to write this one first. I really didn't know that I should post this because I am just letting everybody know how crazy I truly am. But after much thought I felt that if I didn't mention it I won't be being grateful for the blessings in my life. Without going into too much detail, I have been quite down lately. After many, MANY heartfelt prayers I was sure that my prayers were not being answered. Then it hit me yesterday. After receiving a phone call out of the blue from a friend just calling to check on me, I realized that my prayers were being answered, I just didn't recognize it. Shopping Monday with a friend, spending time Tuesday shopping, chatting at the park and just being with close friends, and my phone call yesterday made me realize my answer is my friends. True friends who are willing to listen and not judge (no matter how crazy I really am), be a shoulder to cry on, and give much needed advice. All of them were there for me not knowing that they were answers to my prayers. I am so grateful to be blessed with such wonderful friends who are there for me even when they don't know they need to be. Thanks to all of you!! I couldn't survive without you!

Fun with Friends

We live in such a great area with a great ward, great neighbors and friends. I really love where we live. With Jim working in South Jordan we keep debating back and forth about moving north to be a little closer to his work. Each time we talk about it, I get really sad because I don't want to leave these wonderful people. Friday night we got together with a few couples for a barbecue and bonfire to roast marshmallows for s'mores. It was so much fun to get together with couples and all the kids and just sit and relax. I am truly grateful for all the wonderful friends we have and for the time we get to spend just being together and enjoying each other. I just wish I had a big enough house to get together with more people.

Spring Soccer

Andrew played soccer again this spring and loved it. It's amazing to me how much they grow and how different they play in six months time. His team was pretty much the same team they had in the fall and they played really well with each other. They have learned to spread out, pass to each other and work as a team. He liked playing goalie more this year and was really pretty good at, he was never scored on. I wasn't the greatest mom this season 'cause I kept forgetting my camera. I thankfully remembered to take it to the second to last game, better late than never, right??

Yummy, Yummy Treats

After three days of yard work, I decided to take yesterday to get my Mother's Day shopping done. While getting me and Ally ready I decided to do one of my favorite things, check out blogs. I opened my friend Brooke's blog and found this...



Now, for those of you who know me, you know that I am a HUGE anything sugar and sweet fan. And, as hard as it might be to believe, I think Brooke is an even bigger sugar and sweet fan than I am (sorry Brooke, but you know it's true) so anything she posts about yummy treats, I believe! After reading her blog I decided that was a place I'd have to find and try some time. Ally and I hopped in the car and headed to Robert's and Quilted Bear. After wandering around for a while, without any luck on Mother's Day gifts I decided to head to the Provo mall. We walked out of the Quilted Bear and low and behold, what did I see right next door??? The same sign I saw on Brooke's blog. It was way too tempting, I had to go in. These are what I found....
Ally was super excited! She even got to pick out her very own which was strawberry. She couldn't wait to get home and wasn't very happy when I told her she had to wait until after lunch. She really enjoyed her cupcake, okay, so she really enjoyed the strawberry and the frosting but that's her favorite part of any cake or cupcake. She rarely eats the cake part.



I got a cookies and cream one and it was as delicious as it looked. I refrained from eating the other ones I brought home for Jim and Andrew. Can't guarantee I will be as good today. The Sweet Tooth Fairy has some really yummy cupcakes and their cookies and cake bites looked just as tasty. After getting home and thanking Brooke on Facebook for the wonderful treat idea she gave me another great idea - to give these as teacher appreciation gifts. Thanks again Brooke!!! It's so wonderful to have such great friends with the same addictions I have. ;)

New York, New York (extremely long post - Sorry!!)

Jim had to go to Long Island, New York for work and was so sweet and brought me along. We left Wednesday evening and got to New York very late. We took a taxi to Long Island and crashed for the night. He had meetings all day Thursday but I didn't worry too much about finding stuff to do 'cause my mom has an aunt and a bunch of cousins who live on Long Island. Bad thing is that they all work during the day. So, I got to enjoy a day most mom's don't get, relaxing, peace and quiet and doing whatever I wanted whenever I wanted. The only bad thing about it was that there wasn't much by our hotel, just a Wal-Mart and a couple of restaurants, but it was still nice to go have lunch and read a book. That night we went with Maurice and Sandy (the guys Jim went to meet with) to dinner at a sushi restaurant. Now, for those of you who know me, you know I don't like sushi and/or seafood so this was a little bit of a sacrifice for me. No, it really wasn't bad. I had some very yummy terriyaki chicken and enjoyed watching Jim eat some very interesting looking food (poor Jim loves sushi and never, ever gets it when out with me). The next day Jim had more meetings so after sleeping in, I once again tried to get a hold of my family but couldn't. I decided to once again relax. Jim called me around 3 to find out what I was doing. He felt so bad 'cause I had another day by myself at the hotel (which I really didn't mind), but he being the sweet, considerate husband that he is came and picked me up. I got to see Maurice and Sandy's offices and some of the many things they do. We then drove around Huntington and hung out at a place called Prime which is right at the harbor. It was a beautiful evening to be out on the deck.



Maurice's kids had a school dance that night so we tagged along. It was so cute to see a bunch of kids that were about 3-10 dancing dressed up as princes and princesses. Made me miss my kids. We then went to dinner at a Japanese restaurant with Maurice's family. They are such amazing people and were so sweet to entertain us and let us hang out with them while we were there.

Saturday we woke up and headed into the city.



We ate at Katz's Deli, which for those of you who have seen 'When Harry Met Sally' the famous "I'll have what she's having" scene was filmed. We sat at the table next to that famous table. Look, they even have a sign marking the table.


This place has the most amazing sandwiches. They hand cut the meat and really pile it on. I was full before I even got finished with the first half of my sandwich. After lunch we went to Citi Field to watch the Mets play the Washington Nationals. It was once again a beautiful day and thanks to Sandy, we had amazing seats.

The game was a lot of fun. And, it's not very often that you get a Cardinals fan in Mets gear. (If you can't tell, Jim is in a Mets hat and shirt)



After the game we went to Pinkberry's (which Sandy said is the big thing in New York and LA right now) and got a frozen yogurt. After that we figured we better let Sandy go so we decided to try and get Lion King tickets.



We were told they were sold out but we could wait in the 'cancel line' for tickets as they became available. There were only two girls waiting there so we decided to see what came up. We weren't in line very long and were told they had tickets for us. These tickets were amazing. We were only eight rows from the stage. The show was great! I am amazed how they did the costuming for the animals and how the actors portrayed all the animals. It was a lot of fun.



After the show we caught the train back to Long Island and went to bed since we had to get up at 2 a.m. Utah time to fly home. It was such a nice vacation for us. One that would not have been possible if it weren't for my great, amazing parents who watched the kids for us. Thanks Mom and Dad!!! We have the greatest family that is so willing to help out with our kids so Jim and I can do these things every now and then. Although, this is going to be our last one for a while with the baby coming. I'm grateful we got to have such a great vacation!!