Potpourri

Since I have been so long in posting, I thought I'd give you some of the highlights of last week. Friday was Jason's Kindergarten program at school. He had a speaking part and everything (..."there's something here that's not quite right!...") which Jason and Hannah have hammered into my memory forever. Grandma Jenson came to watch as well as Grandma and Grandpa Seeley. It was adorable and Jason did a great job. He has loved Kindergarten and will miss his teacher, Mrs. Larsen!
On Friday night, Cade came back from his week of business trips to North & South Carolina and Iowa to a beleaguered wife and 5 excited children! He jumped right in and we got the house and yard in shape just in time for our friends the Cummings and the Taylors to come over for a reunion barbecue on Saturday. They are our long-time friends from BYU. We were all in the same singles ward so there was plenty to laugh about and catch up on! I forgot to take pictures of the incredible fun we had, so you'll have to just take my word for it!

In preparation for our reunion BBQ, Cade retrieved the trampoline from Cade's parents house that belongs to Cade's sister Dorrie, and set it up in our backyard for the kids. Now, we've had some mixed emotions about owning a trampoline due to last year's memorable experience while living with Grandma and Grandpa Seeley:
Yep, Jason broke his leg due to a trampoline mishap at the exact moment I was pushing a baby out of my "tummy" at the hospital. The trampoline did not have a pad or a net and, according to Jason, when he tried to get off the tramp, he got caught in the springs, flipping him forward where he "hanged-ed upside down" until Grandpa could retrieve him. Poor, sweet Jason! Not many kids start their first day of Kindergarten in a full leg cast and a wheelchair. On the up-side, it propelled him to superstar status at school with the sympathy he evoked from ALL grade levels, mostly girls (who can resist those dimples...really!)

So now there's at least a pad on the trampoline for safety's sake, although it didn't do me much good on Tuesday night when I decided to show off my mad front flip skills to the delight of my children. Unfortunately, I was a bit overzealous and sprung myself right off the trampoline, crashing rather ungracefully to the ground! Thankfully, my dignity and pride were the only casualties of the day, although Hannah insists "the wind blowed you off, Mommy!" which sounds a little less lame (...that would have to be quite the wind-storm!) Fortunately, I have NO photo documentation of the "event". Here are the kids having fun:
Last, bot not least, we've been busy car-making, in frantic preparation for the infamous "Pinewood Derby" wherein the self-esteem of all boys from the ages of 8-11 is put to the test...I mean, race! Of course we bought into the hype of the Pinewood Derby...what loving parent wouldn't?? We learned our lesson the hard way at last year's Pinewood Derby wherein we bought the kit, assembled the car, painted it, and off we went...to the slaughter! Tyler's car did...not good. It was obvious the hours and hours of hard work and dedication that were invested in about 90% of the cars (thankfully, there were a couple of other dummies there besides us!) and so despite Tyler's award for "fastest looking car" (ha!) it fell short and we (mostly Cade) went home with our tails between our legs, vowing to do better next year. So this year, with the fragile self-esteem of both Tyler and Adam on the line, we (mostly Cade) worked very hard on the cars, carefully researching and implementing race-winning strategies into a couple-a blocks-a wood! He made sure the boys "helped" in two-minute increments about every 5 hours or so, which Cade carefully documented for all of posterity which I won't bore you with. Maybe I can do a slide-show on my next post so you can feel like you were there!

Tyler won the "Sleekest Car" award and took 3rd place overall!
He left the church on Tuesday night with his self-esteem fully intact.

Adam received the "Blue Coolest" award (???) and although he didn't place in the top 4, his car did quite well. Fortunately he had just enough self-esteem in reserve to emerge virtually unscathed from the Pinewood Derby!

Here are the racers with their top mechanic!

Good job, boys. Until next year!!

David vs. David...Stacy's weighing in!

GOOOOO DAVID!!!
(...Archuleta, that is)

I've been a Cook fan (...David Cook, that is) for quite a while, but I think I just switched teams tonight after "Archie's" amazing performances tonight on American Idol. He simply out-performed his competition and therefore deserves to win...of course that's just my humble opinion. I swear, next Tuesday I'm going to cry myself to sleep due to AI withdrawals (and a couple of other silly "programs" I enjoy that are going bye-bye till the fall). Oh wait...I still have a few minutes left to vote...gotta go!

Comic Relief (Courtesy of Rachel)

So, Cade's out of town which usually means I have two options: 1. I can be freakishly productive (cleaning, organizing...you know the drill) OR 2. I can be mind-numbingly lazy, stay in my P.J.s all day and blog to my little heart's content. You'll never guess which one I picked after careful consideration. Yep! Maybe tomorrow I'll make a better choice (after suffering the inevitable consequences of option #2!) We'll see! One of my ambitiously lazy goals for today is to capture the essence of Rachel's new ridiculous expression on camera for your viewing pleasure. It's the silliest face and I laugh every time she does it, which only encourages her, which makes me laugh even more (it's a twisted cycle!) She squints her little eyes, scrunches up her little nose, bares all eight teeth and breathes quickly and noisily through her nose (imagine a dog "panting" through it's nose...it's kinda like that!) I've probably taken about 50 pictures of her today, trying to get the perfect shot (thank goodness for digital cameras). Anyway, that's what I've been up to today, pretty much. So without further ado, her are the closest "essences" of Rachel's new expression I could get (and they still don't do it justice!)

Breakfast:

Lunch:Here's her "normal" expression, so you don't confuse the two:

Picnic at the Playground Day

Friday was Picnic at the Playground Day at the kid's school. I brought them their favorite...McDonalds (bleh), and we enjoyed spending lunchtime together. 2 more weeks of school left and the kids are pretty excited about it. I have mixed emotions (as always) about seeing my kids grow up! I'm so proud of them and all of their accomplishments, but on days like this a part of me wishes I could just push "pause" and enjoy them longer the way they are right now!

Better when we're together!

Suzanne and I took the day off from our troubles and countless responsibilities and spent it together having fun and goofing off (we're very good at that). Our little kids are the same ages and love being together. First we went to Costa Vida - Cade met us there for lunch, so that was nice! Suzanne and I then took the kids to the cutest little shop called Hip & Humble - full of fun, over-priced home accessories and an adorable little play-room for the kids! Then we walked over to Parson's Bakery for some yummy dessert (I had a German Chocolate cookie...jealous?) Then it was off to the park. What a fun day!

Here are the kids humoring their camera-happy mom/auntie.

Carly and Hannah are very affectionate when they both feel like it! They're either hugging or gouging each other's eyes out...there's no "happy medium" for them! This was a good day.

Cute girls!!

It was just a tad bit chilly that day for my taste (Arizona has made me very wimpy about the cold), so this is how Suz and I spent the afternoon at the park...in the car with baby Rachel, watching the kids play!! We're pathetic, I know, but everyone was happy so that's all that matters, right?Here's to many warm and carefree summer days ahead of us!

Go Figure!

So, I haven't been sleeping well at night lately. I'm up several times during the night. Now, you may be thinking that it is because of this'n:

You're wrong.

The problem, unfortunately...is this'n:
Question? How do you keep a 3 year-old in her bed at night? Keep in mind that I can't lock her in her room, because she will scream a lot and insist she has to go potty (if you don't believe me, last night's proof is double-bagged in the garbage can!) Seriously, I've tried everything (I say "I've" tried everything, because Cade sleeps through all of our little encounters during the night.) I've tried "good cop", lovingly explaining that "we" need to stay in "our" beds until it's light outside. I've tried "bad cop", complete with raised voice and empty threats, to no avail! In Hannah's undeserved defense, she's barely coherent when she wanders into our room the 5 or 6 times each night. All she wants is for me to tuck her back into her bed, which seemed pretty harmless to me several months ago when this all started. Now it's just a bad habit and rather annoying, especially when my 9 month old has no problem sleeping 10-11 hours at night without a peep. Tyler was the only other child of mine that did anything like this, but he just got out of bed a lot at bedtime, not throughout the entire night. Anyway, I'm out of ideas, so if you have any suggestions, bring 'em on!

*FYI: The bruise on Hannah's cheek was self-inflicted at the grocery store last week...I promise even "bad cop" wouldn't do that!

My Mom

Top 10 reasons why my mom was BORN to be a grandma
(& why she's still the best mom ever!)

10. She calls regularly to ask if she can tend her grandkids (& I don't think I've ever turned her down!)
9. She actually PLAYS with them (toys, puzzles, games or whatever) and I think she actually ENJOYS it!
8. She always compliments my children on their cuteness, smartness, funniness, etc. and attributes all of it to me and my superior mothering!
7. When she babysits she plays "restaurant" with them to their complete and utter delight! She's ever the happy hostess, waitress, and bussgirl.
6. She has mad skills when it comes to diaper changing & she never shies away from the worst case "scenarios".
5. She never seems flustered, annoyed, or fed up with their constant requests for marshmallows, drinks, crackers, hard-boiled eggs (which she always has on-hand), oranges, ice cream and of course, CANDY.
4. She feels nothing but pride and honor at being labeled "the CANDY Grandma" by her adoring grandchildren and still pretends that her candy stash is very well "hidden" on the middle shelf of her closet (where it's been "hidden" for as long as I can remember!)
3. She doesn't seem to mind any of the other alias's given to her: "The Ninja Turtle Grandma", "The Nachos Grandma", and most recently the "Wii Grandma" to name just a few.
2. She's been practicing and has now fully mastered her "grandma driving", always staying 10-20 miles below the speed limit "just to be safe!"
1. She has somehow managed to make her family her number 1 priority...ALWAYS!
She is one of the most selfless, compassionate, kind-hearted, giving people I know. She has set that example for me and continues to set that example for my children to learn from...Thank You!

Happy Mother's Day, Mom. You are a living legacy of
love and service to our family. We love you!

Twilight...the MOVIE!

Here's a link to the Twilight movie trailer...only 7 months and 5 days to go!

Food, Folks & Fun

I had the BEST weekend ever! My wonderful amazing sister in-law Lorena (Cade's brother's wife) flew up from Arizona on Thursday morning. It was so fun seeing her and catching up on everything. I miss living close to Lorena and being her BFF (thanks a lot for replacing me CINDY!) We talked and ate and ate and talked (my two favorite things!) If that wasn't awesome enough...



I reunited with two of my very best non-family friends, Shawna and Tiffany, to attend Women's Conference and party all weekend (in a righteous way, of course!) We laughed so much that my abs still hurt (no need for crunches here!) We have been friends for over eight years, and although geographically we have spread out a lot from our humble beginnings in Gilbert, AZ, we've never been closer!!


It was definitely a weekend full of the ladies in my life, because on top of reuniting with my gals, my sweet Hannah celebrated her 3rd birthday. I just love her happy exuberant little spirit...it's so addictive. That little girl has more personality in her pinky finger than I have in my whole hand!





I must note that, being the birthday hater, I mean "forgetter" that I am, I planned my whole fun-filled weekend with my friends in total ignorance of my daughter's birthday ( I have a lot of birthdays to remember, okay?) So I left my dear husband with the challenge of making Hannah's birthday perfect and special...without me. He didn't disappoint! He took all 5 kids to the zoo and out to lunch - what a man! He didn't even make me feel guilty about it, either, which is the real kicker. I am married to the most loving, least selfish guy I know and for that I'll be forever grateful and completely unworthy! Okay, I'll stop being cheesy now. Here's a zoo pic with my niece Jessica's kids...did I not mention that Jessica's family was in Utah visiting from Spokane last weekend as well? Well, they were, and I really wish they lived here because her kids are practically the same ages as mine and they have the best time together!

It's now Tuesday and we're back to our regular, crazy lives---I suppose all good things must come to an end, right?