"Pre" Easter Festivities...

We got up bright & early Sat morning & headed out to a fun Easter egg hunt at a friend's house. The older 2 didn't want to go, so we picked up Bubby's best buddy & were on our way. The kids got to "hunt" for 10 eggs each, which was fun, BUT I honestly think they had more fun just hanging out & playing in Tasha's backyard (which is a kids dream BTW). Here are just a few of the many pics I snapped...


Roo playing in the "house" with all the other little girls...


Bubs & his eggs...


Bubby on the Zipline...


Bubby & Kyler...


Later that night, we got busy dying eggs (Have I told you how much I HATE this activity?!)


Funny, the boys all got tired of dying after just a few, the Princess on the other hand, could have done a few more dozen & still not been done! Here she is with C-Man...


I'll post more pics of our actual Easter Day later...

Birthday updates...

Ok Dad, this one's for you!  I KNOW I haven't been updating like I normally do, you see, we're in the middle of  what we call "Birthday Season" around here.  To say it's been crazy is a major understatement.  Add to that the fact that Prince Charming has been doing a ton of work using this computer & well, that means I "COULD" blog, but they would have to be without pics since all our pics are here.

Anyway, here is what we've been up to lately, starting with B's "friends" party, followed by a "family party" for him & the Princess.  

I'm 13 & officially a TEEN!!!


B decided he wanted to go to Dairy Queen for his b day dinner...


All his friends getting ready for an airsoft war...


Cool new drumsticks...


New Laker jersey & shorts...


Princess Roo...


More "people"...


"Happy Birthday to you..."


Bonez all tuckered out after a weekend of partying...


I'll post more pics after the Princess party next week!

Big Girl Birthday Bike!

This is going to be short, I promise I'll be back to post pics of our Birthday Celebrations that went on all weekend. For now, this will have to do.

The Princess got a new bike for her b day so of course, we just HAD to take it for a spin around the block.

She LOVES this bike & has already mastered the whole pedaling "thing". We're now working on steering. LOL It won't be long before she's chasing after her brothers.




I'll be back later with lots more pics from the weekend.

Just a day late...

We've never really "celebrated" or done much for April Fool's day. You see, it's my mom's b day, it's lots more fun to celebrate with cake & ice cream than it is to have a joke played on you. Anyway, I've never said much about the day to my kids, or played any jokes etc, they just know it's Gammy's b day. Imagine my surprise when I went to pour the Princess a bowl of cereal yesterday morning... I opened the Cheerios box, imagine my surprise when out came Kix instead! Hmmm, that's weird... it should have been a new box, wonder if the "factory" messed up. I didn't give it much more thought after that, just kind of said a quick prayer that she wouldn't get sick, that it really was an "honest" mistake & nothing was "wrong" with the cereal.

Ok, fast forward to snack time after school for Bonez. He ALWAYS, without fail, has a bowl of cereal when he get home. He grabbed the box of Kix, & then got the canister of sugar from the cupboard. That's about when I looked over & saw what he was doing. I informed him that he did NOT need sugar on Kix, sorry, but NOPE! He rolled his eyes at me & said, "I'm NOT putting sugar on Kix". Ummmm, then what exactly are you doing, you are pouring a bowl of Kix & you have the sugar, & I KNOW you aren't planning on eating a spoonful of sugar..." Again with the eyeroll as he informed ME that the Kix box has Cheerios in it, NOT Kix! Ok, so they completely screwed up my cereal at the "factory". This is beyond bizarre, what are the chances...

This is about when he started telling me that Bubby thought it would be fun/funny to play an April Fool's joke on us & switch the bags of cereal around! OMGosh, I totally missed this the day before! Anyway, I guess I got "pranked" by my 7yo, I was just too slow & it ended up being a day late!

Next year, I'll be the one to play the joke on him!!!

Happy 13th Birthday Bonez!!!

I can't believe I am the mom to a teenager. That is really freaking me out. Seriously, I can't be old enough for this! LOL

I remember so clearly the day B was born, & actually the last few days leading up to it. I won't bore you with the details, but it was quite the surprise having him when we did. We had a c-section scheduled for April 3, nope, guess he didn't like that date. He had something else in mind. LOL

I am so beyond blessed to have him not only as my child, but as my first born. B has brought so much love, laughter, personality & well, even attitude at times, to our home. I can't imagine him not being a part of our family. I have never met a more responsible child, I've even had teachers tell me that. I have a good friend that for years would make the comment "you have such good kids". Well, yeah, okay, whatever. It has taken me years to finally "get" that. You know, I really do have good kids. Bonez is certainly no exception, that's for sure! He's always the first to jump in to help, even when it may be something he doesn't want to do, I know we can count on him.

Anyway, I just want him to know how much I love & cherish him. I am so proud of you B, you have an amazing spirit & I hope all your dreams come true!

Blog Challenge #7

This is my last challenge post for the month. I've thought about today's post for a while & tried to come up with someone I could blog about that I haven't mentioned yet. I finally found the "girl friend" I want to share with you.

I'm not going to mention names, but when/if she reads this, she'll know who I'm talking about. I met my friend years ago, we weren't super close, but were definitely friends. We had some great times when we were younger & made lots of memories. We kind of "kept in touch" through a family member, but that was about it... until recently.

Once again, thanks to Face Book, we "re found" each other. We started chatting & just leaving comments on each other's walls & photos. One thing led to another & the next thing I knew, we were sharing parts of each others daily lives & the struggles we're facing. I got a "vent" email from her today saying she needed a shoulder to cry on. I emailed her back & left my #. Literally, within 30 minutes or so, my phone rang & it was her. I ended up calling her back & we talked for over 2 hours. It was such a refreshing conversation. We both got things out that really needed to be said. We both got to vent, & "spill it all" to each other. What a wonderful thing to have found a "long lost friend" like this & have a great, close adult friendship. I love that we already know long ago history, so we don't have to go through all of that, we just picked it up & went with it.

She has turned into an amazing woman, wife & mom. Her kids are so lucky to have her. She has a lot on her plate, but she is strong & has a wonderful, positive attitude. When things go wrong, she laughs. We actually talked a lot about this, how really, what choice do you have, cry & be bitter & negative, or laugh. Either way, the situation itself isn't going to change, might as well look at the positive & muddle through with a smile on your face & a laugh in your heart.

Anyway, thanks my friend, for "finding" me & feeling like you could come to me, that means a lot to me. I want you to know, our conversation really made my day!

Keep laughing!

Blog Challenge #6

Today's question is... "Who encourages you?" I've been thinking about this one & was having a hard time coming up with just 1 person, UNTIL tonight when I read Traci's blog. She posted about her daughter & that's when the light bulb went on for me. I can honestly say that one person that really encourages me is the Princess. Yes, I do know she's not quite 3. Yes, I understand she doesn't necessarily "know" she's encouraging me. No, I'm not saying she comes up & says "Mommy, you CAN do that, you're strong, you can do anything etc" (Although that would be nice to hear LOL). So how exactly does a not quite 3yo "encourage" me you ask? That's easy...



You see, in her eyes, I CAN do everything, I am strong, & hey, I'm even tall in her eyes (anyone that knows me can laugh with me at that one ;)). You see, I am her mom, right now, I'm pretty much her everything. I'm the one that is home with her all day, I'm the one that gives her a bath, does her hair, picks out her clothes, cleans up her messes, gets her something to eat, helps her get on the potty etc. I'm the one that gets to play with her, takes her to the library, shopping, out to get a strawberry limeade at Sonic. LOL You see, right now, her & I are pretty inseparable. That's fine with me, we have so much fun together. She really is my sidekick. We're a lot alike, she's super girlie girl (yep, just like mom), she loves having her hair brushed & done, she loves wearing dresses & looking like a princess. She loves playing with her doll house, & her babies, she's super social & loves hanging out with her friends, she loves the phone & is loving the computer too.



All of this is bringing me to the point I was trying to get at before I got sidetracked... she encourages me to be my best. I know she is watching every thing I do & sometimes imitating that. I want to be a good example to & for her. I want her to love life & see the positive in things. I want her to know she can always turn to me & talk to me, no matter what. I want her to know that I will be always be her #1 fan & support her. I want her to be a strong member of the church, I want her to have her own strong testimony. I want her to want to be a mom, I want her to be a good wife & mommy. I want her to want to serve others, I want her to give 110% in everything she does. I want her to stand up for what she believes in, no matter who may be hurt in the process. I want her to be strong, & confident. I also want her to be herself, & true to herself.

Yes, I want a lot for her, now do you see why I have such a big job ahead of me? She needs to learn these things from me. She needs to see me do these so she knows it can be done.



Anyway, now you know why my little almost 3yo Princess is such a big encouragement to me. I love you Roozi! May all your dreams come true sweetheart!