Bikes, ICE CREAM and BBQs

This Memorial Day we had a really fun day together as a family. The morning started out fabulous because John let me sleep in until 8am!! (I can't even remember the last time I stayed in bed that late!) We had a big fun breakfast of breakfast burritos, hash browns and strawberry banana smoothies. Then the whole gang jumped on our bikes for a family bike ride! Eric was pumping those little legs as fast as he could to keep up.... telling all of us over and over, "I'm a talented guy!..." Sophie rides along on the bike seat on John's bike. With 7 bikes I am sure we make quite the scene!

We rode around the back of the neighborhood to the McDonalds on the corner to get ice cream. I did throw John a funny look when he only ordered 7 ice cream cones when there are 8 of us. For some reason he thought Sophie wouldn't WANT her OWN..... ya right! Almost everyone tried to share with her but she was really mad that no one would just give her one to hold by herself!! John finally forfeited his to her and we shared mine....

On the way back, Adam asked John about the bank on the corner,"Dad...do you still go to Compass bank?" But the way he pronounced Compass was.... "CuMP...ASS"!! John just told him to ask his mother... ha ha!

Rachel's tire went flat and Olivia had a spill but all in all it was a successful ride.

After lunch we put the 2 little ones down for a nap and then watched the 2nd National Treasure movie... not very realistic but still entertaining.
Then we were off again to a BBQ swim party with our friends the Rays, the Hixon's and a few others. It was a fun evening of swimming, playing games and eating lots of good food.

We ended the day with a really great family home evening put together by Noelle about Memorial Day. She told a story about a World War II medic who was given the Congressional Medal of Honor for repeated displays of bravery, honor and great dedication to the lives of the soldiers in his care. It was an amazing story. We also shared other stories that we had either read or about family members who have served in either WW II, The Korean War or Vietnam. It was a great Family Home Evening lesson. It is really important to us that our children understand what Memorial Day is and stands for ... that it is not just a day for bike rides, ice cream and BBQ parties.

Not so "Midweek" recipe!

Best EVER Pina Colada

2/3 c. Coco Lopez Cream of Coconut (Walmart!)

2 c. FRESH ripe pineapple, cut into chunks

dash of lime juice

3 cups crushed ice (you can decrease or increase to taste... I like a little less)

Place all the ingredients in a blender ... make sure you blend it long enough so there are not any big ice chunks! The key is a GOOD fresh pineapple ... the better the pineapple the better the pina colada! This is the BEST recipe I have ever come across.... it makes a better pina colada than the majority of restaurants!

Once Upon a Time....

there lived a cute, little princess. She is the very littlest princess in the castle. She is full of life and a bit on the wild and independent side. She has a magical gift with creatures big and small (OK...just dogs...the cat hates her...)

The little princess is known by all as Sophia Rose.

May 12th was the little princess's birthday! She is 2 years old now! The king and queen can not believe that their baby is growing up so fast! The king is even getting desirous of more pitter pattering around the castle....!

(NO joke there ladies and gentlemen...)

The King and queen decided to hold a party to celebrate the wondrous occasion. Friends and family bearing gifts came from all over the land (or at least her cousins came from down the street...)
There were sweets made by the finest pastry chef in the land. He is known by all as Sams Club. Now Sam did make a grievous mistake on the princess's cake ... she wanted Elmo ... but Sam decided she would like Pooh Bear better. The queen had a few thoughts of the guillotine for Sam but shes over it now....

The princess had a joyous time opening her mountains of presents (OK a hill.... a very small hill...) She also wore her very favorite gown to eat her cake in .... her invisible one!!

All in all it was a happy and joyous celebration. At the end of that special day, the littlest princess grabbed her new giant pink ball, put on her new brown and pink polka dotted gown and placed her new pink Binky in her mouth and headed off on a new adventure..... in dreamland!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY SOPHIA ROSE!!!

Last Day of School

I can NOT believe that school is out for summer!!!

The kids had a FANTASTIC last day of school. Katie (5th), Rachel (4th) and Adam (1st) had field day today... complete with lots of fun and creative games and competitions. Olivia's class (Kindergarten) had a cute program for all the parents. We snapped a couple of pictures... Here is 1 of each kiddo...

Adam and his teacher Mrs. Topczewski (We call her Mrs. "T"...)

Rachel at her field day competition (she got REALLY wet on this one!)

Katie kicking a HUGE ball at field day too...

Olivia performing with her class....so CUTE!

After school let out, we went to Chuck E. Cheese to celebrate (I know.... gross...but THEY had fun!) with some friends. They give free tokens for good grades ... and since all the kids had straight A's for the year they earned lots of tokens!! (and they have free refills on soda so mom can survive.... 3 cherry cokes later...)

Good job guys!! Lets have a GREAT summer!!

When you are a sixth child....

"Don't worry Mom.... I know you are busy with the other kids and the pets... I'm VERY hungry .... I can take care of myself.....

BUT

I can't seem to get the peel off this blasted banana!

... I know EXACTLY what to do....." "OK... here we go you darn banana... Its either me or you......

You are coming out one way or another!!!"

"OK... why are you SCREAMING mom??...."

Olivia's Locks of Love

Its been somewhat of a tradition in our family for the girls to cut their long hair at the end of Kindergarten. So.... Its Olivia's turn!! I just knew she would look cute with an A line bob! We went to Lollilocks and she LOVED it!

She donated close to 12 inches to Locks of Love... WAY TO GO LIV!!!

Now if I could just talk Katie and Rachel into it again!! Katie's hair is now all the way to her rear and Rachel's is not far behind ... it would be quite the donation!!

But ... its a "no-go" for now...They LOVE their long hair! (and I do too...)

Midweek Recipe!!

YUMMY Shredded Sweet Pork

(Like Costa Vida's and Cafe Rio's)

6 pound pork roast
1 jar salsa (12 oz) (I just used Pace picante sauce)
2 cups brown sugar
1 can COKE

Place roast in crock pot ... fill crock pot halfway with water. Cover and cook on high for 5 hours. Remove pork and drain water. Cut pork roast into thirds (I also trimmed off a lot of fat) and return roast to crock pot. Combine salsa, brown sugar and coke and pour over pork. Cover and cook on high 3 hours. Shred pork.

This is DELICIOUS! I just got this from a recipe exchange from our relief society. It is good in tacos, burritos and on salad... I have the cilantro ranch recipe too ...

Brace FACE

Ya... that would be me. When our dentist informed me a few months ago that I needed braces I was SHOCKED! But.... yesterday I went in for a consultation with a GREAT orthodondist ... and walked out with spacers. Now you have to understand that neither me or my husband ever had braces.... and none of my siblings did either until after I had left home.... so I know NOTHING about braces.

Today I have a bad headache and my jaw and teeth ACHE. I didn't eat anything today that required much in the way of chewing. A good weight loss plan??

I know.... I am a BABY! Today after school my daughter said,"But Mom... You said braces don't hurt..."

I guess I LIED!

What was that you said??

Last night I had to take Olivia in to the after hours clinic for our Pediatrician. The clinic happens to be at the mall. For the 2nd time in 2 weeks she has strep. Since it was at the mall I asked my sister Tammy to come with me and all the kids (John was on a Young Mens water ski trip). I figured she could let the kids play at the playground and walk around the shops. When Olivia's appointment was over it was almost 8:00 PM ... BEDTIME! So we hurried all the kids to the car. I was tired and in pain from my new spacers and couldn't wait to get the whole crew in bed. Right as we reached the car, cute little Eric (almost 4) points at the moon and says,"Mom!! Look!! Its Heavenly Father's PLANET!! See??!!"

Midweek Recipe!!

Easy and Delicious Hot Caramel Sauce

Melt 5 Tbsp. butter in saucepan over medium heat.
Stir in 1 cup brown sugar; stir until smooth.
Add 1/2 cup half and half (I have used milk) and a pinch of salt.
Bring to boil and simmer for 4 minutes.
Remove from heat and add 1/2 tsp. vanilla

This is soooo yummy on ice cream .... I refrigerate any left overs. It will thicken as it cools ... just warm it up! (Although I like to eat it right out of the fridge with a spoon!!)

Mommy Makeover

In Kindergarten at Neely we have "Mommy Makeover" Day. I just got home.... and boy do I look sooooo cute!! The Kindergartners gave all of the moms hand massages with lotion, back rubs, washed our faces, did our hair with pink bows and applied make-up. Oh so fun! This year I remembered to bring my own make-up so I would not come home again with hooker RED lipstick and BLUE eye shadow! New this year .... GLITTER!! Olivia thought I would look gorgeous with glittery eye shadow! (most moms had glitter all over their faces ... I think I like my rock star eyelids better!) She also had a lot of fun putting on my eyeliner and lipstick. The teacher decided we needed gobs of lipgloss over the lipstick too.....HOT! They also served a light snack and performed some really cute songs. Definately a day to remember .... for me and Olivia!

Mother's Day and Peanut Butter and Jelly

A few weeks ago I had a discussion with some friends about how we each make peanut butter and jelly sandwiches. I put peanut butter on both sides of the bread and then jelly on top of the peanut butter of just one side. A friend puts peanut butter on one side and then the jelly on the other. A third friend until recently would put butter on the bread BEFORE the peanut butter. WHY? Why do we each make such a common sandwich so differently? The answer is simple.... because our mothers did.

After that conversation I really thought about that a lot. How many things do we do every day because of our mothers? The way you make any sandwich... not just a peanut butter and jelly. Do you use mayo or Miraclewhip.... or just butter? How about how you make a bed or the direction you vacuum. Do you put milk on your oatmeal? What about honey on grapefruit or sugar on corn flakes? The way we do laundry or how we dust our furniture or clean a toilet??? Do you drink a certain soda because she did (or does).... and do you hide it like she did too?

A lot of my friends that are soda drinkers drink only diet .... guess why? Because their moms always did ... that was what was in the house. I NEVER drink diet because my mom was strongly against any and all fake sugars and sweeteners.

That led me to other comparisons ...... like how we each take care of ourselves.... or not. My mother never took the time to do her nails. We never had the money for her to have them done either. Guess what I almost never do .... my nails! And the way I wear my make-up... specifically my eyeliner ... yep ... just like mom.

Personally I think I do a LOT of things because of my mother.... and not always because of how she did those things but how she didn't. For example: my mom did not seem to notice how I looked when I went to school. She never helped me to pick out my clothes or to do my hair. I am embarrassed to admit I rolled the curling iron the wrong direction leaving "bends" in my hair for a long time before I realized I was doing it wrong. Why didn't my mom notice? I don't know.... I DO know that because of the treatment I received from peers because of my lack of style that I am VERY involved in my kids getting ready for school....especially the girls. I do Katie, Rachel and Olivia's hair just so... every morning. I make sure everything matches and that they look stylish and cute. Because it wasn't important to my own mother... it is VERY important to me. I never want my chilren to be embarrassed by how they look..... like I was.

My mother was always very busy .... with all my younger brothers and sisters and also with her many projects. I don't remember her really helping me much with homework or even asking me if I did it. As I got older I found myself not doing my homework ... or at least not until a few moments before the bell rang and the assignment was actually due. Even in college I would procrastinate almost every assignment. Because of this it is very important to me (and to John) that our children have good study habits. I don't just make sure they do their homework but that it is done correctly and neatly. NO assigment is done late....ever. My children know that academics are very important.... to both their parents. A little pshycho? Perhaps......

Now on the other side of things I also have funny favorites like my mom too .... specifically because they were her favorites. I like to eat at Long John Silvers.... I don't know ANYONE that likes to eat there but me and my sisters .... because our mom did.

Because my mom passed away 3 1/2 years ago I think maybe I ponder these things more often than other people. I also think I hold tight to her favorite things and make them mine because I miss her so very much. She wasn't perfect..... far from it. But she was my mom. I wanted to be just like her when I grew up ... and in many ways I am but in equally many ways I am opposite .... but still because of her. Whether she meant to or not she helped make me into the woman I am today and I guess as long as I am happy with the person and mother I have become.... she did a good job.

Thanks Mom. I miss you....

Refilling the Pool....

OK.... so it was 8:00 at night ... a SCHOOL night....the kids were already in their pajamas .... and it wasn't exactly warm outside...
AND there was only a couple of inches of COLD water in the bottom...

BUT....Dad said they needed to change into their swimming suits and come play!!


They had a BLAST!!

My Amazing Bargain Finds!!!

This past week I had a LOT of fun SHOPPING ... and it is OH so much fun when I find great DEALS!!

I had to take a couple of pictures...

Nordtrom's Last Chance....$4.97

I LOVE this dress ...it is hard to see but there are pretty, fun gold beads all along the neckline.... Rach has to wear a shrug because it is sleeveless but I just love how it looks on her!

Nordtrom's Last Chance....$9.97

I LOVE this baby blue color on my girls with their blue eyes!!

Marshalls...... $9.99 (matching doll dress included!)

I also found Boy's Calvin Klein suits at Macy's marked down ... 50%, then 30% and then I had a Friends and Family coupon for another 20% off.... I got Adam a beautiful $140 suit for under $35!!

I also got all 4 of my girls' MATCHING Easter dresses at Macy's for next year... and that is no small feat in itself when you are looking for sizes 3T up to 10/12 juniors .... but to get $70 dresses marked down to $18 .... SCORE!!

OK... so I know this is all totally random but it is very exciting to ME! (That and it's 3 am....:)...)