Graduation x 2

Tyson was lucky enough to get to attend 2 kindergarten programs this year! He would come with me to work and go to the first one. Then head to his regular school! So he has graduated from kindergarten twice in a 24 hour period! WAY TO GO, TYSON!!! I am really proud of him and how far he has come. He loved his school teacher, Mrs. Koer. We will miss having her as his teacher. She asked Tyson in the year 2033 what he wanted to be, he said, "I want to be a billionaire." Only Tyson! His speech, handwriting, and general skills have improved so much this year! I can't believe he is off to FIRST GRADE!! Congrats Buddy! We are so proud of you!

Addyson Update...

We went in for her follow up today. It turns out that not only did she have pneumonia, she had strep, and was pretty dehydrated. Her temp. was still around 101.2, but she seemed to be doing better today. Her antibiotic has kicked in. She hasn't touched much, food wise. She is drinking lots of water though! Thanks for keeping her in your prayers! We hope she gets feeling better soon!

~SnEaK PeEk~

Clint's Grandma has been on our case about family pictures lately. So I finally caved and told Clint we would get some done. I was even trying to plan to do them before Mother's Day, but the weather has stalled that. We had these done 2 weeks ago...and she just posted some to facebook. I was so excited! (It made my day!!) I had to steal a couple early and post them to our blog. Stephanie was so patient with us! Especially our little Kaitlon--whose picture is adorable! I can't wait to see the rest of our pictures! For now...here is a little sneak peek! There are more on her facebook page; Patchwork Photography. She does an amazing job!! She is so affordable. I recommend her! Thank you so much Stephanie. {PRESTON}
[TYSON]
{ADDYSON}

[KAITLON]

Check out her blog, too! Patchwork Photography.

Pneumonia

Addy hasn't been feeling well since Sunday evening. I called in to work Monday, because she had come down with a fever of 101.3. We spent Monday resting and trying to take it easy. She seemed to be her happy self--just with a fever and congestion. By Monday night her fever was back and she spent the night coughing. I text Clint and asked him to give her a blessing when he got home. He said it was the sweetest thing ever. She woke up in the middle and listened to Clint quietly. Then when he had finished she sat up and said, "Thank you, Daddy. I love you so much." Awe, now if that doesn't melt your heart! This morning I got up and was praying that she was doing better. When I woke her however I could tell she wasn't. I ended up having to call into work again, which was fine with me. I just hate the guilt trip I get because I have a sick child. Biggest down fall of my job. I told my boss I would take her to instacare first thing. So after we dropped Preston off to school we went strait over. We checked in at about 7:50 something. Then they spent 2 hours performing tests. So, a Flu, Strep, RSV, Urine Tests and chest x-rays later, they concluded that she has Pneumonia. I am grateful we know whats wrong, but I am still really worried about her. I have to keep a close eye on her temperature and breathing. If it gets worse she has to be admitted to the hospital. We also have to have a follow up appointment tomorrow. If her temperature hasn't gone down he will have to do blood work. She is on an antibiotic and resting. Please keep this little girl in your prayers!

A Hunting We Will Go...

...House Hunting that is!

(And other news...)

I had forgotten how stressful this process was! I just need to vent so I am putting it here. I feel like Clint and I can't agree on anything when it comes to what we are looking for. Older vs. New, Fixer Upper vs. Time, Less Home vs. More Money, Schools vs. Schools!!! I am about ready to throw in the towel and wait for someone to make me leave this house. We have now seen close to 10 homes and I just can't decide. We found one this weekend that Clint really loves. I will admit for the lot size alone it's worth it. I feel like the house is lacking though. The kitchen was recently remodeled, but they didn't do a great job. Will this be the house for us?! I was comfortable just staying in my Dad's house until Clint finished school. Our rent was cheap, our wards been great, and I love our boys' school! Decisions, Decisions.

In other news...Clint was in the home stretch of school. Only needing 5 more classes. I was so excited-- then they hit us with a bomb! They wont let him minor and major in psychology anymore. (Which they have let others do in the past) So he has to take more classes now! Ugh, so annoying. The dept. head did say they would try to work with Clint. I can't wait!! I know we still have lots of school left. I just can't wait until he is done!

Our 10 year anniversary is coming up in June. I wasn't going to be here for it, but it looks like I will be now. Since I have the time off from work-- I want to do something fun!! I deserve it after being married to Clint for 10 years *laughing*. Does anyone have any fun suggestions or ideas??

Isn't she Precious?!

We recently had family pictures done. I can not wait to see how they turned out. Getting these 4 kids to cooperate is like pulling teeth at times! Kaitlon was a stinker though. She cried and wanted nothing to do with pictures. Then these ones from school come back...and they are SO cute! Little stinker! Her teachers told me she posed and would move her head to the right spots. I had told her (and the other kids') teachers that they didn't need to have them taken, since we were getting family pictures that week. I am glad now that they didn't listen and she had some done.

I love this little girl! And that priceless face!

Chocolate-Caramel Covered Pretzels

I love chocolate-caramel covered pretzels. I decided I was going to attempt to make some. I created my own little recipe (which of course was super easy) then I fixed these bad boys up. They were really yummy. They still didn't taste as good as the ones from Disneyland, or even the ones you can buy at Seagull Book. They were good enough for me though!

Happy 50th, Mom

While the boys were at Fathers and Sons Saturday, the girls and I celebrated my Mom's 50th. We threw her a little birthday luncheon at Chili's and invited her friends. I don't think the Chili's people were thrilled to have that big of a party at 11:00am. Oh well! We gave my Mom 50 things she needed for turning 50. Which included fiber therapy, arthritis cream, new glasses, moth balls, etc... It was pretty funny! Then we sang her Happy Birthday and ate cupcakes! Happy Birthday, Mom.

Mini Golf, Ducks, and Rats

Friday nights just aren't what they used to be. I remember being in High School and getting dressed up to go hang out with friends or go on dates. Now I spend them with my children. I love it though! Clint had to work--so we decided to go use our season passes. (Sorry--I think we will have lots of posts about Toad's in the future.) I told the boys we could play Mini Golf this time. We had fun. I will admit I was the Mother "yelling" at her children. I can honestly say, I will not be taking them to play when I am alone, any time soon!
After we grabbed a $5 pizza and went over to the Duck Pond. The kids were entertained by feeding their pizza to the ducks and seagulls.
Then they found something even better...a RAT! I didn't realize we had rats at the duck pond. I guess we do!
And they swim!

○Mother's Day 2011○

So grateful to be the Mother of 4 great kids! Even though they make me cRaAzY--I wouldn't trade them for the world!

I was showered with cards and gifts this year. I couldn't pick which ones to put on the blog...so I decided to pick them all! Tyson's card was awesome! Made me laugh out loud!!
His writing translates to; Your eyes shine like crystals, Your smile makes the family happy, Your hair is softer than fur, If we could spend the day together I would like to go to the movies,You remind me of a princess.
Preston's was just as fun!
He did pretty good guessing. However I am not 35, yet! ;) And I wouldn't tell you if I weighed that or not!

He makes me cry when he writes such nice things! Then his class made bracelets for their Mom's. It came home with this really cute poem!

He chose to make mine red! And I have been sporting it all day!

The girls' teachers made little plaques with their hand prints! Funny--they are almost the same size! Addyson's is the pink one, Kaitlon's is the black one! (Shhh--I was the one who cut the vinyl!)

Then Preston made me this at cub scouts!! I love it!! It has inspired my Mother's Day gifts for my Mothers next year!! It also found it's home next to my Willow Tree figurines--because they are the ones holding the babies! ;)Then I asked to be a little more spoiled for Mother's Day this year! I know that's selfish!! I have been needing a table to go under my calender. I kept putting it off--and putting it off! Then I asked Clint to please let me have it!! I just need a place to put the pens, dry erase markers, etc.. So he told me I could have it! Yay! I wont even lie--I will decorate it up cute too!! So that's kind of exciting. New projects!! :] I did however use a coupon--so I saved some money!!

We went to church, had dinner with my Mom, lounged around, and got to talk to my brother David!! (Who is doing awesome--btw!!) It was a nice day! I am lucky to have a great husband and kids!

We ♥ Teachers!

I come from a LONNNNG line of teachers. Being one myself, even though it's for the little folks, I enjoy this week of the year. I always try to make a point to my children's teachers so they know how much we love and care for them. And how grateful we are for their service to our kids. This week for FHE we made cards for our teachers. The boys' turned out so sweet. I loved reading them. (Preston cheated and wrote Tyson's).
I also had to come up with a couple cute gifts. The first one I did was for a guy teacher. (I knew he wouldn't appreciate the cute girl teacher gift.) I bought a 6-pack of IBC Rootbeer and some Boston's Baked Bean candies. Then we tied it all up cute and said: "You make my day a "Rootin'-Tootin'" good time."
Then it was on to the rest of the gifts! All the girl teachers got this cute Subway Art. I made it in Picasa and Photo Shop. I had them printed off at Costco. Then we mated it (is that a word?). I spray painted all-a-dollar pictures frames. I thought black would look the best. Then I used a very strong craft bond and glued the ribbon to the back. After it was dried I tied it into a bow so it could hang. And TA-DA--a cute gift.

I only spent $24.00 to make gifts for the 7 different teachers. So less then $3.50/per teacher. That's pretty good--at least I think! :) And a big thank you to all of the teachers out there. Your hard work doesn't go unnoticed!

Yes, it's true.

If you see the 'For Sale' sign and wonder what's going on--I will fill you in here. My Dad has decided to sell his house. Which means...we have to move. We were told we couldn't buy the house, because of the way it's being sold. Then we were told we could, but there are extra hoops to jump through. As of right now it looks like we will be moving. We can stay here until the home sells, obviously. Which I wont lie--it can take it's time and I won't mind. I feel so lost right now. Not knowing where to go, what's best for our budget, changing schools. It's very stressful. I just hope we can figure it all out before school starts in August!

Thank You, Easter Bunny!

Enjoy our Toads Fun Zone Season Pass!! :)

Harry Potter Craze!

So it looks like we have finally "caught up with the times" and decided that we are Harry Potter fans! I have read some of the books before--but I had never finished the series. I know you all think I am crazy when I say I don't enjoy reading. It's not really the reading part I dislike. It's the always being interrupted, having to stop, mind wandering part that I dislike. Haha! So we decided we would start at Book 1 and listen to them as a family.Yes, we are cheating. We have been listening to the Books on CD. Well we have soared through them and we are getting close to the end of Book 3. That's a record for our family! I am not 100% sure how much each child has "heard", but Preston is enjoying it! The boys have loved watching the movies. And we have slowly let them see more and more. I think are stopping at The Goblet of Fire (#4), because I had sleeping buddies that night. I think we are a bit obsessed. I have planned Preston's 9th Harry Potter Themed Birthday Party-already. (His birthday is in September) And we have already decided that being Harry Potter characters for Halloween would be way fun, too! Or the fact that I told Clint the only thing I really want to do for my birthday this year is to go to dinner and see HP 7 part 2. (It comes out on my birthday).

I didn't realize how obsessed we had become until Tyson drew me these pictures:

Then I decided it wasn't just the kids. It was me too...My Harry Potter Easter Egg!