Super fun week….

Last week I was feeling a little stir crazy after all the rain and being inside. Thursday, the kids and I grabbed lunch and headed to Buttercup park. I loved going there when I was little because it had a cool slide made out of rollers. Not very safe (lots of pinched fingers), but WAY fun! Of course, the equipment is all up-to-date and child-proof, but it was still fun.

The boys had a ball… :) The girls had their own little parade…

Monkey see, monkey do…

Saturday was the best because we had two baptisms to go to. First, was our friend’s little boy. The Spirit at his baptism was breathtaking, it was so strong! This little boy will grow up to be a great man, there is no question in my mind!

After a quick lunch, we headed to Orem for my niece’s baptism. Her brother was able to baptize her, and again, the Spirit was amazing!Awwww, what a great family!! We were able to hang out with family for a while…visit, eat, make announcements…I won’t mention any names, but I am very excited to become an aunt and great-aunt again!!!!!!!Sunday was Joe’s cousin’s homecoming. We missed his talk because I was leading our ward choir at the exact time he spoke, but Joe was able to take the kids over to his house later to see family. Of course, I got to stay home with Beau who was coughing, and Camri who kept dry-heaving…….. but when Joe came home, he brought an extra little prize – Sierra! She spent the night at our house, then went to Grandma’s for a tea party with the other girl cousins. Of course, she needed to dress up, so I just whipped up a little something for her :) The tea party was amazing! Grandma sure knows how to throw a party! The girls got white gloves, hats, mints, party bags… you name it! They even got to walk the catwalk as Grandma announced what country they were from. It was Princess Party Central!

Sierra got to stay the rest of the day, and Minnie was completely smitten! Thanks Rachelle for letting us borrow your daughter!! :)

Let’s not forget about the birthday party, the Girl Scout sleepover, Sister’s Lunch, Arts in the Park and slurpees, a movie (the Proposal…eh), other cousins coming over for pizza, and, oh yeah, laundry.

It definitely was a Super Fun Week!

This guy…

This guy is amazing. We grew up in the same city, worked across the parking lot from each other, and met halfway across the world where we served in the same mission.

He has spoiled me since the beginning and continues to make sure I always know I am his number one priority. He is my best friend. He gets me. (Not like “he gets to keep me” although he’s got me for eternity…more like “he understands me even when I don’t make any sense at all”).

The day after we found out we were going to have our first baby, he left a baby toy and a love letter in my car while I was at work. He was so excited to be a dad! He was so excited for me to be a mom, and he was mostly excited that we were going to do it together.

Together we have had five kids, six pregnancies, three homes, many jobs, lots of sickness, lots of health, and lots of adventure. I am grateful every day that we are on this journey together. He is the best dad that I know, and would rather spend time with his kids then do anything else. They are his friends and his admirers.

Happy Father’s Day, my darling Joe. After being sick all week, working, teaching, finding a flooded basement, and being up at night with sick babies and a new puppy, you deserve a day to celebrate your complete awesomeness. How are you celebrating? By taking the four healthy kids to church and teaching your Sunday School class. Complete awesomeness.

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I have been blessed with great fathers in my life. My own dad is simply amazing – if you know him, you know there are not enough kind words in the world to describe him. When I wonder “What would Jesus do?” I look at my dad and I know. I love you dad!

My father-in-law raised five strong sons. He taught them to work and to love their wives. I am eternally grateful to him for raising Joe to be a great husband and father. I love you Mark!

Happy Father’s Day everyone!

Random me this, random me that…

Recently, we took the kids to the mall just for kicks and giggles. While we were there, Joe thought it would be fun for the big kids to pick out a Build-a-Bear for Beau. They chose a cute panda bear and helped fill it, clean it, and dress it. They said the magic words and each rubbed a heart against their nose for luck. Yep, his bear has four hearts. Now that’s a lot of love!

Beau was thrilled with their work.

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Joe’s been teaching the kids how to play basketball. They practice almost every day and play HORSE with Joe when he gets home.

They’ve got pretty good form if you ask me!

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Sunday, we took a little drive to see the beautiful sights of Sandy. We ended up at the cemetery to show the kids Grandpa Nielsen’s grave. It was a neat experience to have Joe tell the kids about Grandpa and answer the kid’s questions about life and death.

Little Beau still wasn’t feeling so great, so he just slept through the whole thing. He’ll see it later…

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A la prochaine!

Lots of new things...

Last Saturday, I met some family and friends and took my four oldest kids through the Oquirrh Mountain temple open house. Joe was sick, and so was Beau so they stayed home - thankfully, they are both feeling better now and it WASN'T swine flu!

Anyway, the weather was fine when we left our house, but by the time we got to South Jordan it was pouring. And thundering. And lightening. A lot! We were driving through huge puddles on the street as I explained to my kids that if lightening strikes the car, we will be okay because we are grounded by the tires. Whether that's true or not, I hope to never find out.

We got to the temple and it was absolutely beautiful. We had some tender mercies that day: 1) I saw some friends from my ward growing up, they happened to be walking right in front of us so we were able to visit, 2) I saw my brother and my sister-in-law who showed up right as we were going through to volunteer as ushers - a few minutes earlier or later and I probably would not have seen them at all! 3) With the crowds and the noise of the rain pounding outside, it was the perfect day to bring little kids. They were pretty reverent, but a three-year-old can only stay quiet for so long. The extra people and sounds helped Camri blend in nicely.

As we were leaving, one of the volunteers was pointing up at Angel Moroni. While we were inside the temple, it had been struck by lightening! Not quite sure what that means for me....

Of course I had to take a picture from where we were standing.

The one in the paper was better. This is what we saw as we drove away:

It was a wonderful day, and it was just getting started. We headed over to my bro-and-sis-in-law's house for a yummy dinner and a really fun visit with family and friends. The kids played together and the grown-ups talked and talked and talked. It was perfect!

My wonderful brother and sister-in-law - the same ones who fed us - breed shih tzus and their dog just had seven darling puppies. We have missed having a dog since Milo died and they very generously let us have the pick of the litter. As we opened the kennel to play with the pups, little Minnie climbed up onto my lap and curled up. How could I refuse? We brought her home and have loved every minute of her since. Thank you Brandon and Heather!!!!!!

And since we are celebrating new things, I have to put this picture up. I was taking Minnie outside last night and saw this little mommy quail with her young 'uns trailing behind her. They walked along our fence line and disappeared under a little hole in the fence. My kids said a little prayer for them that they would be safe.

So cute!!

LOVE YOU!! (Seriously!)

I saw the Doctor over the weekend. I was basically diagnosed as stressed, emotional, intollerant, eating away from frustrations, and then eating that frustration away. Actually, it was a bunch of things - let's call it the "mad cow". Thankfully, it wasn't the piggy flu.

I started to feel better making a video, and laughing at myself. Try it, seriously, we are hilarious if you give yourself a chance. So, I thought....laughter brings healing. After the postive response on the combo video, I wanted to post the orginal "short" video I did for Marci (shhh). O.k. it was funny, and no I wasn't in pain...I was expressing myself in the music (now that was funny). Just go with it, and yes I realize this "isn't my blog". LOL!

LOVE YOU!!

Sewing a dress is fun to do...

I've had a hankering to sew lately. Not that I'm super good at it, but I did take Home Ec. in Middle School and a sewing class at the Cotton Shop when I was 14. So, yeah, I know how to thread a sewing machine. I've made some things in the past, mostly blankets and things that I don't need patterns for. In fact, patterns kind of scare me. There's such an exactness about it and I'm afraid they aren't very forgiving if I mess up. I'm confronting my fears by actually using patterns once in a while.

Recently, I've been inspired by many friends that are super sewers and quilters and creators and figured it was time to hone my skills. It's also nice to have step-by-step tutorials online for kindergarten sewers like me.

I tried a new thing today - smocking - thanks Des! It turned out pretty well if I do say so myself. After I finished Emma's dress, I took some pictures. Then I got carried away and started taking pictures of other things I have made in the past. So, for your viewing pleasure:

I made this blanket for Colin about 4 years ago, so it's been used for a while. I saw it in a Pottery Barn catalog and copied the idea...
I made duvet covers for the girls a few years ago out of fabric that they picked out themselves...
And of course, one for Colin. I have the comforters for Camri and Beau and will be making their covers soon...When Colin was born, I only had girl blankets and stuff, so I decided to make a crib set all by myself. I've been able to use it for Beau, too.

He seems to like it just fine...
So, there's my little showcase for the day. Creating is fun, it's invigorating, and it's rewarding. It's nice to see a finished product once in a while, instead of dishes that are just going to get dirty again and laundry that needs to be folded. Again.

Oh, but sewing isn't the only fun thing. Let's not forget about homemade salsa...
Sometimes, creating something is yummy too.

Already?

Yesterday was the last day of school.

The girls got out early after partying with their classes for a half day and the celebration began. First, we went to lunch at Del Taco to redeem some certificates they won during the year. Then, we went to see "Up" with in-laws and cousins - we took up two full rows, it was awesome! I think we had about 14 kids and 5 adults. The movie was fabulous - it was funny, touching, and totally worth going to see. Two thumbs up from this picky mom.

Anyway....

After the movie (and popcorn and candy, of course), we came home. Every kid took a nap, which was their way of saying thank you to me :) After (not very long) naps, we packed up our swimming stuff and headed to Grandma and Grandpa's house for swimming and a movie. Thank goodness it stopped raining, but the wind made it pretty chilly when we got out. We had a great time, even Beau was pretty happy floating around. We had fun with all the cousins that came, then we all watched "Forever Strong" - another fabulous show - and didn't get home until late.

So, this morning, the first official day of summer at our house, what do I hear bright and early?

"Mom, I'm bored."

Seriously? It's not even 9:30 am.

Happy Summer Everyone!

Sum, sum, summertime...

This first part is a little overdue, but better late then never, right?

Grandma and Grandpa invited us over for yummy dinner on Beau's birthday, so we brought his cake and let him go at it.

He is giddy with anticipation...
He was a little hesitant at first, but thank goodness Camri helped him along.

It didn't take long until he figured out this was CAKE! There was no stopping him now...
Well done, baby boy!

We practically live in our backyard these days, especially after 4:00 because it starts to get shady and cool. Grilling, jumping on the trampoline, swinging, playing b-ball.....it just makes everything seem better. Oh yeah, Joe made these ribs. Trying to ignore me as I say his name, he is so cool...Camri loves to strike a pose...Colin learned the hard way that he is just too big for the baby swing...We have a "floating table" under the swingset - perfect for dinner and snacks...and taking pictures of beautiful girls...
When she needs a break, Koko finds other things to do outside....use the phone,
and talk to boys..... heaven help me.

Of course, we had to get a few action trampoline shots.

And finally, here's to having more time to sew for the kids. Skirts for the girls,

T-shirts and shorts for the boys.

Sorry, Beau, I thought I had a picture of your shorts. I'll get them next time.

Bring on the wonderful days of SUMMER!!