The Birthday Boys

We never ate the boys cake when we were in the mountains. We got too distracted by the smores. So Tuesday afternoon, we decided that it was time to set the castle on fire, and let the knight's battle it out. Or at least that is how it seemed, because they had put so many candles on it!

Happy birthday Uli and Reed!

(We are having Reed's first real birthday party with friends tomorrow, so I will write all about it later!)

Memorial Day

We had a great Memorial Day this year. It was a beautiful day, and so nice to be home together for a whole day. We all got up early and went to the gym. The kids get to go to the childcare, and so far they don't seem to mind. We did a little shopping, poked around the house a bit, and then went to Logan to spend the day with family. Taylor and Krista invited us all up there and we went up in the hills and dutch ovened. Erin and Kelly, Carter and Uli, and our family came. It was really great. It had been beautiful all day, and right when we were coming into Logan, the clouds all around us turned black, and you could see it raining in the distance. By the time we got to Taylor and Krista's, it had started raining. We headed out anyways, hoping for the best. It took a little while to get there. When we arrived, we decided to just go for it, and started to unload the stuff. We were so lucky! After about 5-10 minutes, the sun poked through the clouds and the rain stopped. The rest of the night was perfect.

We got the food all prepared, and started cooking it in the dutch ovens. I just have to say that Taylor and Krista are AWESOME hosts. They thought of everything, went all out, are lots of fun, and the food was better than you can imagine. Thank you so much you guys!!!

The boys were loving the fire. It mesmerized them all for quite awhile. They were having fun getting their sticks to smoke, but it made me a little nervous.

Just a side note- I found a burn hole in Reed's jacket sleeve. I guess I should have been MORE worried.

We celebrated Uli and Reed's birthday while we were there. I made a cake, and let the boys decorate it. They had a ball doing it, and they certainly got it covered. It was supposed to be a castle ( kind of) , and then they put knights all over it having a battle. I can see that Uli is getting to an age where it is more fun for him to decorate the cakes now and get to be creative. I think that is great!

You can see the enjoyment on their faces!

After dinner, we had a few presents that the boys opened.

Uli got some books about the Civil and Revolutionary wars, and a laser dart gun.

He is even influencing his Dad- did you ever think you would see Carter in camo?

Reed was very spoiled and got some really fun presents too.

Morgan was not going to be content until she got to try out Reed's new binoculars.

Morgan was loving the Pop and Cheetos buffet.

One thing that I really noticed and enjoyed this Memorial day was that the radio stations were playing songs about our country, our soldiers, and about being proud to be an American. As I listened to the songs and reflected on those that serve our country and are willing to protect our freedoms, I felt a sense of gratitude for their commitment and sacrifice. I also thought about our family members that have gone before us. I am grateful for the wonderful legacies that they have left for us. I am grateful for family. That is what it is all about.

Shoe Thief

Morgan is a shoe thief. I think I have told some of your about this before. Whenever Jossue comes, Morgan ALWAYS wants to steal them from him. I have told her over and over and over again to leave his shoes alone. Each time, without fail I catch her with them on. The other day I caught her, and told her to take them off. I was still down there, and I heard her telling him, "When Mom goes upstairs, I am going to wear them again." SNEAKY! His shoes are Diego slip ons, just what every little girl wants right? Paired up with a nice pair of boys socks, who could resist?



Poor Jossue has just given up fighting. He just lets her have her way.

Now we're ready for summer....

The other day Erin kidnapped me (can you call it kidnapping if you wanted to go?) and we went and got a pedicure. It was so fun! Something about cute toenails can make a girl happy. I was going to see if you could guess whose feet were whose, but I am afraid that the size gives it away. It is sad that my feet dwarf Erins. She wears a measly size 11. :) Thanks Erin!

Princess

Kent and I have always joked and said that we would never have a "Princess". We don't really have the personalities to cater to a princess. We are much too practical for that. Well sometimes kids decide on thier own that they are princess, and what can you do about it. For the last while Morgan has been going around saying "I am a princess". And she pretty much is one, much to her parents dismay. :) The kids friend Bentley that lives next door has a crown and princess shoes that Morgan loves to wear whenever she can get her hands on them. I know what to get her for her birthday. She clomps all over in these heels and doesn't miss a beat. The other night the kids were doing the slip and slide, and this was Morgan's get-up. She was ready for the swimsut competition I guess. She was hillarious.

Here is little Miss Utah in her Old Navy swimsuit that is a little too small.

The answer to that question sir, is "world peace".

Heels and a bathing suit. Quite the combination.

Here Princess Morgan is being Chauffered by her driver McCray. Elbow, elbow, wrist, wrist, wrist. Doesn't McCray look great driving a pink and purple jeep? This might be good blackmail someday! :)

Duh

I had one of those moments yesterday when you wonder what you were thinking. We were out of dishwasher soap. I had a load full of dishes in the dishwasher ready to start, and we were out of detergent. I didn't want them to pile up, and I was watching kids, so I couldn't run to the store. So I asked my neighbor Stephanie if I could borrow some dishwashing soap. She is always so nice to me, and said sure. I sent Camille over, and asked her if she would just put it in a baggie for me. So Camille came back, and I put the detergent in- ALL OF IT!. It was different than what I use- it was a clear blue liquid. I use powdered soap. But I thought it would be good to try something different. I started it up, and went outside to watch the kids play. After awhile I came back in and found water and bubbles pouring out of the dishwasher and all over the kitchen floor. When I had asked Steph for dishwashing soap, she gave me just what I asked for. I should have said dishwasher detergent. It was hillarious. I was laughing at myself. I had a roommate in college that did this (remember Donna?) and we made so much fun of her. We couldn't believe that she would do that. Well, look at me. Stephanie came over and helped me finish cleaning up. We had a good laugh. I need to be a little more careful in what I ask for, huh?

My shadow

I have written before about how Morgan is never too far from me. Most of the time it is wonderful. Occasionally, I could use a little space. Today I was in the shower, and she said she would wait for me. When I got out, this is how I fould her. She got tired of waiting I guess, pulled up a towel, and got comfortable. What a sweet girl. I am sure that are things that are much more fun, but she is content waiting. What a sweet girl.

Of course, she still has her Foo-Foo. It is so gross, but she still loves it. I need to record her sucking on it. That noise is her. I listen to her sucking on it during the night on the baby monitor , and know that everything must be ok. I will miss it when she stops some day.

Slip Sliding Away

Last year I did a post about the kids running through the sprinklers, and how it was like a personlity test. The Johnston's had a slip and slide that we set up one afternoon. The personality test held true....

Guess who was the first to go? You guessed it!

He didn't even think twice. He just went full speed ahead and slid right in.

He is the daring one..... he is always willing to go first if he thinks it will be fun.

Camille got in and did it and had a lot of fun. She just doesn't go first.

Morgan didn't slide, but she sat in the water and got herself all wet.

And Reed, he eventually did get in a couple of times, but it took a LONG time. He hates being cold.

So, as you can see, some things don't change. The kids just are who they are. They had still had fun... in their own ways.

Bubbles

Morgan got a hold of some bubbles and was having so much fun.

Teacher Appreciation

I was in charge of decorating McCray's teacher Mrs. Jensen's door for Teacher Appreciation Week. I enlisted the help of another mother in the class, and I am so glad that I did. It was a lot of work. But it was really fun too. I got to know her much better by doing this with her too. We both did different things, and thankfully in the end, it turned out pretty cute.

This is Mrs. Jensen. She is a great teacher. I have been the room Mother for her this year, and I have been able to get to know her pretty well. It has been fun, but A LOT of work too. It is worth it because it makes McCray happy when I am there.

My Latest Haul

I really save a ton using coupons. It has been a blessing to our family. Every now and again, you have a trip that you are so excited about, that you have to share. So here is my latest great money saving shopping trip.

I got 18 boxes of Wheat Thins, 5 boxes of Fiber One bars, 1 box of Yogurt Granola bars, 3 bottles of salad dressing, and 2 boxes of Bagelfuls===29 items.

I paid: $7.08

I saved: $102.21

 

 Thanks to those who share their coupons with me. Come and visit us- I will share our Wheat Thins! :)

Check These Babies Out!

Look what I did. Thank You, Thank You, you can hold your applause. After an untold amount of coaching from the bread experts in my life, I finally did it. I made bread. And even better, 100% whole wheat bread. After all of my white bread years, I have finally repented.

All joking aside, I had fun making bread, and was actually surprised at how easy it was with the Bosch. I did have a couple of learning experiences, but all in all, it went well. The two biggest things that I learned 1) Don't take it out until it is done. 2) Bread will fall if you take it out of the pan before it is done cooking. I cooked it for the right amount of time, and it didn't look done. So I cooked it for quite a bit longer, and finally just decided I should take it out. I took it out, and put it on the racks to cool. We were going to eat one with our dinner, and I went to cut into it and it was still doughy. So we put it back in the pans and let it cook for awhile longer. When it came out, it was so good. The only thing was that it had dropped, so my loaves were short. But that was ok. It was still really yummy.

So there you have it. Now I just have to do it again. And again. And again.........
Thanks for all of the help and advice!