Banana Boats

We barbequed for the first time this spring on Sunday.  (Well, the first time at our house anyway.)

 Thanks to the Girl's Camp certification I was in charge of, we've discovered banana boats. Mmmmm, good.  If you've never experienced them, I suggest you try it at your next camp out or barbeque.  Who can say "no" to marshmallows, chocolate chips, and brown sugar all shoved into a banana and then grilled. Not me.

 I decided to finish off some cream I had sitting in my refrigerator.  Threw that on top of everything.  Wasn't a mistake, that's for sure.

 Kyson is a fan of anything sweet.  I think he ate everything except the banana.

Delicious! 

See?

Proof that he does stop eventually.....He's been falling asleep in my bed at bedtime.  Otherwise, he's in and out of his bedroom and it keeps Shayli awake.  I move him when I get sleepy but some nights he comes back to cuddle or he'll call out for me in the middle of the night.  When I get there he says, "sleep with me for one minute."  And he holds up on finger. Sometimes I still hear him humming himself to sleep like he used to do when he was a baby.  It makes me smile.  They sure grow up fast!

Happy Mother's Day!

 We had a great Mother's Day at our house.  I was awakened with breakfast in bed again.  It's becoming quite the tradition.  Actually, I woke up before anyone came into my room.  I could hear all the excited whispers downstairs while everyone got my "gourmet" breakfast ready.  Lucky Charms = lucky me!  I think the kids get more excited about holidays that don't involve presents for them....

Who wouldn't love these kids?  I tell ya, I'm the luckiest mom in the world.  And if you don't believe me, just check out my Mother's Day Cake.  Yum!  Okay, I'll let the cat out of the bag.  I made it.  I just had Ryan hold it for me.  :)  But what I didn't make was the iPad I opened up.  Sa-Weet.  What can I say, I'm tech junkie.  Not.  But I should be with all my tech-y things. 

So, to sum up my day.  Fabulous.  Breakfast in bed, no Ward Council, church and flowers, Angels Camp for dinner, and presents in between.  Can't wait for the next one!

Kendri Turns 6!

 Happy Birthday, Kendri!  Here are some highlights from the Monster Bash!

Opening presents

Blowing out candles

Just finished playing "Pin the Eye on the Monster"

Almost ready to party!

Monster Cupcakes

Monster Fruit Bowl

Monster decorations

Monster Brownie balls

And finally, our Monster for the game

 Kendri had a great time....and I'm glad because that's all the party she's getting!  Who knows?  Maybe I'll forget the stress of throwing a party some time in the next 10 years and I'll be suckered into another one.  But I doubt it. :) She had a huge group show up for the number of invitations that were handed out (9).  But I suppose the idea is the "More the Merrier", right? 

Kendri is doing awesome as 6 year old.  She is reading extremely well for her age and likes to play with the older girls.  She's a big help at home and loves to play with Shayli.  She and Kyson are cut from the same cloth (minus the orneryness).  She loves Scooby-Doo and is currently into Monster High dolls.  Which is why she wanted a monster party!  She loves to tease and is always up for a bag of popcorn.  We love Kendri!

Noteworthy Notes

We've been keeping busy and here's a rundown of a few of our "incidents" for the month.

1.  Kyson is a show-off (It's no secret where he gets it and I don't really think I need to spell out.  Do I, RYAN?  In fact, he was just on top of the play structure tonight talking to the neighbors who were trying to have a nice time while Kyson crooned, "Hellllooooooo, ladies!") 

Anyway, he decided to introduce his friends to his pet fishy while I was working on a sewing project.  Unfortunately, his idea of introduction is more like fish torture.  Now, I can't say exactly what went down, because I wasn't there.  But what I do know, is that one poor fishy soul got scooped up into small, grimy hands and carried to his deathbed - also known as the toilet.  I wish I could say there was a good reason for it or a happy ending.  There wasn't.  He just flushed.  We lost another fishy later that night.  Apparently, Kyson likes to hold his pets. 

2.  Shayli is mobile!  And has been for a while.  However, she also likes to eat all sorts of treasures she finds on the floor.  She coughed up a wad of tape during a Relief Society Enrichment. That's right.  A wad of tape.  And then I looked in her mouth and saw another piece clear in the back of her throat.  I dragged it out.  She was mad, but I was glad!  

3.  Lexi just got her abscessed tooth pulled.  And all I can say about that is -- it's about time.  I am happy to be rid of that problem.  Lexi was a champ, after the first initial break-down.  And now she really is resembling a jack o'lantern!

4.  And we're back to Kyson.  He stole a golf cart.  I ran to catch up to him all the while holding Shayli and jumping over my elderly neighbor who got pulled to the ground in an attempt to stop the cart with his "strong" arms.  I yanked that boy out of the golf cart (which then rolled to a "gentle" stop after shoving the trashcans around bit) and let him have it.  I was mad, he was glad.  Poor Will had to go ice his shoulder after all the trauma.  Luckily, I saw him the next day and he assured me he was doing fine and that it was "no problem!"

So there you have it, April at its finest! 

Pierced Ears!

The day has finally come....Lexi gets to wear earrings! And let me tell you, it couldn't come soon enough for particular little lady.

She told me she had thought about it, and she did NOT want to hold my hand while she was getting her ears pierced. She wanted to do it by herself. Lexi changed her mind right before they pierced them, so I did hold her hand. But she was a champ. She didn't even flinch! (Notice the concerned looks of her siblings? Or perhaps "horrified" is a better word. They were extremely interested in what was going on!)

And DONE! This was about a month ago and so far things are going good. She's taking care of them on her own and they feel pretty good. Two more months to go!

Easter - Part One

Talk about parties! We believe in stretching our holidays out. Which means we like to have 2 days minimum of holiday fun. If we can fit in more, we will! This is Day One of Easter.

We went to Angels Camp to dye eggs and party with the cousins. We managed to get alot of the food preparations done during that time, too, which is always a bonus!Lexi and Rachel - These girls are getting so big! My goodness. Before we know it, I'll be posting prom pictures. ;)

All the troops making Easter magic!