A Day for Mothers

I really can't express the joy I get from being a mother. I love it! It has far exceeded all my expectations. I'm so grateful for the opportunity I've been given to raise our Heavenly Father's children. I'm thankful for the gospel and for the power of prayer that gives me the extra strength when things get tough. I'm thankful for a loving and supportive husband that works so hard so that I can stay and home to enrich and nourish our two wild and crazy little boys. I'm also thankful for a Mother that taught me how to be a great mother and gave me the necessary skills to take care of my family, and I'm thankful for a great Mother-in-law that raised a wonderful son that I wanted to marry.

My Mother's Day was different this year because Casey wasn't there to celebrate with us. We had to take him to the airport early Sunday morning because he was teaching at a training in Chicago. Luckily, I have a great family that lives nearby and they invited me to spend Mother's Day with them. After we dropped Casey off at the airport, we headed to Jason and Ashley's ward. It was nice having a few extra hands to help with the boys during sacrament. Jason was great and took Weston to nursery and made sure he was okay and even changed his diaper during Sunday school for me. Then he took Benson to Priesthood with him so I could go to Relief Society with Ashley by myself. After church Jason made us all dinner. He ended up inviting over their friends the Fellows too because there was so much food. It was a lot of fun talking and watching our kids play with theirs. Even though Casey was gone, I had a great day. Thanks to Jason for filling in for Casey and to Ashley for sharing her day with me and letting Jason do double duty!

Once Casey was home and things had settled down a bit, we had another Mother's Day. I slept in until 10, Casey and the boys brought me a yummy breakfast in bed and flowers. I got an amazon gift certificate and some clothes. He took care of the boys throughout the day and took care of dinner (he did it on a Saturday so he could buy the above mentioned meals :) ). It was a nice day and I was glad I got to celebrate with Casey too! Thanks for another great day Baby!

My flowers

Weston made this for me in nursery. Next year I will have to try and get a picture with the boys.

This is the pop-up flower card that I made for our Mothers. I love Martha Stewart. She never disappoints.

Father/Son Campout

At the beginning of May, Casey took the boys on their first Father/Son campout. Jason and Spencer came too. They did good and I was all alone overnight for the first time in over 3 years. It was weird. I ran errands by myself, did a little shopping, made what I wanted for dinner, watched movies and made jam, then woke up from a full nights sleep and made myself a yummy breakfast. I think the boys had fun too because Casey decided to repeat the experience the next week and take them to Jason's Father/Son campout. Weston still randomly brings up camping with his Dad to people. Thanks to Jason for the pictures!

When they got there, they had some help pitching the tent.

The set-up
They had dinner and played in/stoked the fire. Is there a difference with boys?

The next morning. This is a common occurence for Weston and it made Spencer smile.

They did boy things like: throw rocks in the water.

Drink straight from the stream. Collect sticks.

Exhausted from all the hard work. Being a boy is tiring :)

While the boys are away, I cook. I made Tomato and Artichoke Pasta for dinner, Strawberry Freezer Jam that night, and a Monterey Omelet with fruit and orange juice for breakfast. It was nice.

Easter

I love Easter. I love having a holiday to remind us of the sacrifice our Savior made for us. I loved teaching Weston about the true meaning of the holiday. It made me so happy when I would ask him "why do we celebrate Easter?", that his response was, "because Jesus died for us." I also love all the fun things associated with Easter. On Easter day we found baskets in the morning and had breakfast. Both Casey and I had lessons to teach and they went really well. We went to Jason and Ashley's for dinner, had an egg hunt, the two oldest kids dyed eggs, and we played some games afterward. It was a fun day!

Chick-fil-a had an Easter egg hunt the day before Easter. There were a ton of eggs and it was crazy. I was just letting Benson get the eggs at his own pace, but then noticed some of the parents cramming eggs into their kids baskets, so I made sure he got a few more. He still didn't get that many. They were filled with coupons for Chick-fil-a, so I guess it was understandable.

Weston's turn. The three-year-old crowd was even worse and all I could get a picture of was all the parents behinds while they stuffed eggs in their kids baskets too. I mean, seriously. Three-year-olds can fend for themselves.
Casey and Weston coming back from their hunt. I think Casey was still in shock. The eggs went fast!

Easter morning. Benson discovering his basket.

Weston excited to get his Captain Moroni action figure and picture of Jesus for his room.

Benson still going at his basket.

Weston thought it was funny to throw grass on Benson. I'm not sure Benson felt the same way though.

While we were inside, Benson had found a piece of chocolate and found a comfy spot to eat it.

Benson finding his first egg

Weston and Paisley on the hunt

I made some Easter treats and got a little creative with my pictures :) These were no-bake cookies with Robin's eggs.

Chick cupcakes

Trick's

For Christmas, Charity got Weston a gift certificate to take a class at Trick's. It wasn't until April that we had a month that he would be able to make every class. He was a little shy and didn't really like the warm-up part in the beginning, but he loved to "jump and twist" as he called it. Thanks for the fun time Charity!

Weston loved pretending to be a Choo-choo train during this class.

Benson would longing look on. He really wanted to participate.

Losing some wisdom in Grants Pass

Wisdom teeth that is. I never had my wisdom teeth taken out, even after one broke through 4 years ago, so we decided to have Casey's brother do it. We had been wanting to go and visit Nate and Misty ever since they moved there to see Nate's new office, and this was the perfect excuse. Getting my wisdom teeth taken out went really well (I only had three and one was already exposed). Nate did a great job and I didn't even need pain killers, so we got to go about our weekend like normal. Misty was great and made sure we were well fed and we really enjoyed our time up there. Nate's office was really nice and his staff was great, so if you live in Grant's Pass or know of anyone that does, send them to Dr. Tanner. They won't be disappointed :)

The afternoon after my surgery. A little swollen and I had to keep the gauze in most of the day, but feeling good.

We went fishing that afternoon Benson and Elijah playing in the Kayak

Casey took the boys on a little ride in the kayak

Marble Mania. To say that Casey loved this game would be an understatement. The first night he got it out, he built a track, numbered the marbles, then had us pick numbers again and again to see who would win. It was cute :)

The next day we went to a beautiful and really fun park. The kids on the tire swing. Brielle was fearless and liked to go really fast.

I love this picture. There is nothing better than seeing the joy your son gets playing with his dad.

Benson and Elijah having a hang off

Benson won. He actually hung on there for a few minutes. Elijah didn't mind though and thought it was funny to fall off.

Casey challenged me to make the best track and this is what I came up with. He approved.

The boys reading in the car on the drive home. They both did great and it was actually a nice, relaxing drive home.

What a Mouthful

This kid almost always has something in his mouth. He cracks me up. Here are just a few that we have caught on camera.