Splash Pad

I am so excited to start coming here on a regular basis.  I think this is my favorite thing to do with my kids here in the summer.  Followed closely by picking berries.

On the drive home, Blake was asking me a bajillion questions about anything and everything.  My favorite was "Mom, what is that restaurant called that is red and white?  (pause)  Five Men?"   He was talking about Five Guys and I don't know what triggered that thought because we don't have one here.  So funny.

Smore 7 Layer Cake

Last night I had some friends over to celebrate a few birthdays.  I had seen this cake online and wanted to make it so it was the perfect chance.  My friend Lindsey helped me make this intense cake.  2 layers of brownie, 2 layers of chocolate chip cookie, 2 layers of cheesecake, 1 layer of graham cracker, marshmallow frosting, and chocolate frosting.  It was pretty delicious if I do say so myself, and fun to share with friends. 

Girls Night

Last weekend Eric took Blake and the Father/sons camp out.  My friend Kristen and I took our girls out to dinner at Qdoba, to the splash pad, and to Dairy Queen for ice cream.  Janie has been asking for her toes to be painted so I brought some paint along.  She kept saying "it tickles."  I'm so glad we have a boy and a girl for nights like this.

Eric said Blake loved camping--especially roasting the marshmallows. 

Party in the Park

This morning we went to the annual party in the park for a community program called Parents as Teachers. 

 Kids loved riding a bus that took us from our car to the park.  Janie sang "Wheels on the bus" both ways.

Mrs. Susan giving Janie a tattoo.  She comes over once a month and brings age appropriate activities for the kids to play with.  Blake and Janie love her.

Janie loved this toy and I remembered how much she loved it last year so I found the picture below to compare.  They have changed so much since then.

Last year Blake was terrified of Clifford.  It took a few encounters but they both ended up giving high fives to him and standing close enough for a picture.

Blake was also too scared to help squirt the water from the fire hose but this year he loved it.  I have worried about all his fears but as he gets older they have started to go away.  And I'm so glad he goes down slides now!  He has also become less shy and will wave and want to talk to people he doesn't know. 

Mother's Day

My battery died on my camera so this is the shot that we got.  Can't see Janie's face.  You can see my face but I look exhausted (that is because I am).  Blake's wins the prize for being visible and alert.

We had a great day. Blake loves celebrating.  He helped Eric make me breakfast and told me to stay in my room until it was ready.

I got a new calling at church to play the piano in primary.  Note:  When we lived in Sunnyvale I was a Mia Maid advisor.  In Chicago, played piano in primary.  Michigan, Mia Maid advisor.  And now, primary pianist.  Is that funny?  I like both callings.  Anyways, I played the Mother's Day song for the kids to sing during sacrament meeting.  Blake wouldn't stand by the group but told me he would stand next to me while I played the piano.  He sang the words he knew and mumbled the ones he didn't.  After I was done he looked at me and said "I sang that song for you!" and gave me a big hug. 

We found a copycat recipe for Outback's Alice Springs Chicken.  Eric grilled it that night and it tasted pretty darn good.

I can't wait for this baby to come and lately I've been thinking it's a boy.  Eric thinks the baby is too active to be a girl.  I had a dream that it was a boy and that we should name him Rockyard.  In my dream that name made total sense and I was happy to have finally found a good name.  The baby also had teeth, talked, and was slightly possessed.   

The other day I gave Blake some kool aid (Eric loves that stuff).  After drinking it Blake said "This is so yummy!  I am so impressed!" 

Janie was being silly and I told her she was goofy.  She said something to the effect of "Blake is Donald Duck and Daddy is Mickey Mouse."

Maggie!

Maggie and Bentley flew back to Michigan with me after California.  They stayed for a week and it was great.  It was so nice to have her there to chat with all day long and Bentley was a little angel.  We made Cafe Rio and blackberry cobbler, went to parks, the library and museum.  I realized that all of my sisters have been out to visit me, each a year apart.  Amy came last April, and Kim came the year before in May.  What lovely sisters I have!

We went to see Chicago before we dropped her off at the airport.  It was a little chilly and started to rain while we were walking around downtown. 

Trying a Chicago dog and then onto Garrett's Popcorn.

We walked by this statue and Blake said "Hey, there's a guy pretending to talk in a microphone and read the scriptures."

Children's Museum on Navy Pier.  Blake was digging for dinosaur bones like a madman.  When we got in the car to take Maggie to the airport, Blake started to get tired.  After spending over 2 hours in a fun museum that he loved, he said "But we haven't done anything fun all day!"

Quick Trip

My sisters and I had it planned to go home for our mom's 60th birthday on May 3rd.  Then after we had made arrangements, my friend Lydia got engaged and set her wedding for May 5th.  Perfect!  I left my kids in Michigan and my great friend Lindsey watched them while Eric worked.  Eric was great and was in charge on the weekend.  I was gone 3 full days and loved every busy minute. 

We had a birthday lunch for my mom and her friends from her birthday group.

My mom's friend makes amazing sugar cookies.  She said she owns like 500 cookie cutters.  She gave us some tips and I was inspired.  Maybe I will buy a few cookie cutters myself.

Lydia got married!  Look how happy they are.  I was so glad to be there and also to get to visit with high school friends.

I did miss these two crazys.  I was so excited to see them when I got back.  The house was all clean and they had made a cake for us when we got back.  (My sister Maggie and son Bentley came with me!  They are here until Saturday.)

Kirtland, Ohio

Our last stop was at church sites in Kirtland.

A few random highlights:

1)  I brought a bunch of food and snacks in the car to help avoid stopping to eat.  I brought a loaf of bread, peanut butter, and honey.  Blake got ahold of the honey and was playing with it.  I saw this and quickly told him to close the lid and put it down.  He did and the next day I reached my hand back to grab something.  I guess he had twisted the lid a little and honey had leaked all down his seat.  I couldn't tell how bad it was so I cleaned up what I could reach and worried about it later.  Come to find out it was a lot of honey and it pooled in the at the bottom with his carseat.  Eric said no more honey on trips.

2)  Janie had a tissue and was ripping it to pieces.  I let her since she was so bored.  A few minutes later I turned and saw her picking her nose with a purpose.  I instantly knew that she had some shredded kleenex up her nose and was trying to get it.  I asked her if that was what she was doing and she nodded her head.  We got it out.

3)  The last night of our trip was spent at a hotel near Cleveland.  We had been sitting in the car most of that day so the kids had a lot of energy to get out.  When we got to the hotel I let the kids walk around, ok run, down the halls of the hotel.  We found a ramp and stairs and they were in heaven running and climbing.  Blake ran down the ramp and tripped and smacked his head into the wall.  He started crying and came to me for a hug.  Then I heard Janie start laughing and say "Ha ha.  I didn't fall down and get hurt."  This made Blake so mad that he screamed and went to attack her.  He does not like it when people laugh at him.  I intervened and everyone was ok.  On our way to the elevator Blake stopped crying and on his own said "I'm going to say a prayer."  He folded his hands and prayed that his head would stop hurting.  When we reached our room he told Eric that he had fallen and that his head had stopped hurting because he prayed.

Hershey, Pennsylvania

So much chocolate!