A Special Surprise...

As I was tucking Alex in just now he informed me about a special Mother's Day surprise...

Alex: Mom, guess what I'm going to do for you for Mother's Day.

Me: Umm.....You're going to make me breakfast in bed?

Alex: Nope!

Me: (Sounding disappointed) Nope?

Alex: Well, I'm going to do that, but what else? Something special.

Me: You aren't going to whine or complain when I ask you to do something?

Alex: No... (catching himself) Well, I'm going to do that, too. But this is something super special.

Me: Hmmm... I just don't know.

Alex: (Whispering in my ear) I'm going to make you tuna!

(The above picture was taken while Jane held branches behind Alex's head. They were pretending to be reindeer.)

Jane is Joseph?

My kids often like to play music from a musical and "act" out the songs. Lately they've taken to the musical Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dream Coat.

Tonight, while they're "performing" for me they start arguing over who will play the role of Joseph.
Alex: "I'm a boy, I'll do it!"
Becky: "But I want to do it!"
Jane: "I should do it. I have long hair!"

She may have a point.

Carpooling...Is it just me?

1: The Hurter Seat - This is where the child will sit if he/she wants to start a fight. Here the Instigator will be able to fight with/push/pull/hit/grab the other children nearby.

2: The Squished Seat - This is where the child will sit if he/she wants to complain about being squished. Here the child will feel free to ask (repeatedly), "Are we there yet?"

3: The Hurtee Seat - This is where the child will sit if he/she wants to get hurt, either physically or emotionally. Here the child will have his/her feelings hurt repeatedly by the Hurter and will claim all rights to actual tears being shed during car rides ranging from 5 min to 17 hours.

4: The Whiner Seat - This is where the child will sit if he/she wants to ask for something that the driver has no way of procuring until the destination has been reached. Here the child will be able to ask (in a whiny voice) for water/snack/binkey/blanket/movie from the moment the driver puts the car into 'drive' and will be able to repeat said request until the destination has been reached (at which point the request will no longer be valid).

5: The Hard-To-Learn Seat - This is where the child will sit if he/she wants to relearn the lesson "Don't sit next to #4 (ie baby) because he/she'll pull at my seat belt until I choke, or pull my hair until I'm bald." Here the child will be able to relearn the lesson he/she learned the day before.

6: The Talker Seat - This is where the child will sit if he/she wishes to use his/her hunk of skeletal muscle to rattle off word after word of nonsense. Here the child will comfortably talk about several things, often changing topic in mid-sentence, without a response required.

7: The "Drive me Insane" Seat - This is where the driver will sit if he/she wishes to participate in an adventure, for one is guaranteed with every trip! Here an adult may feel free to repeatedly say, "Shhhh! Quiet back there! Do you want me to crash?"

8: The Navigator Seat - This is the seat where no adult wants to sit, but often wishes for someone to occupy. Here the adult who is not lucky enough to be driving has to solve all problems resulting from seats 1-6, as well as navigating music/movies/maps/snacks/water for the driver.


NOT PICTURED:

9: The Abyss - This is the area of the car where all things are lost. It is not pictured because no one seems to be able to locate its position. Here is where you will (not) find lost socks/shoes from babies learning to take off footwear while bored, binkies, homework, Cheerios and raisins that attract ants if you are unlucky enough to forget to completely close all windows, crayons that reappear in hot weather and that melt into the carpet, dropped life-sustaining treats that adults try to sneak when kids aren't looking, etc.

It's a Blustery Day!

(This is my very good dog - unless she chases my cat or eats my chicken, that is)

Today is SUPER windy! Every now and then a big gust will come along and knock my porch things against the wall and then I'll wonder if I should take down the things that can break my window before I end up with a gust INSIDE my house! Then the wind calms down again and I get too lazy to go out into the f.f.freezing cold wind!

One unfortunate thing about the wind is that a lot of gates get loose and animals of all sorts start roaming the neighborhood. Thank goodness we haven't lost any of our pets due to the wind (once because Mr. Verizon left the gate open when he was done installing FIOS, and a couple of times the kids left the door open and my husky/lab mixer chased my cat two blocks over); however, other peoples' gates get blown open and our front porch somehow becomes the safe haven of a miriad of pets. We've had bunnies, chickens (not mine, someone else's), cats and dogs. I'll not at all be surprised to find a goat or horse here someday, but PLEASE don't bring me a cow! Any wind strong enough to bring a cow should be deemed a tornado and I don't really need that business right now!

So the wind this morning has already caused some trouble for my neighbor- the one who always lets his dog out to pee/poop in the neighborhood each morning. So, lucky me, I find "treasure" in my front yard whenever I weed. Ugh! Gross! (And, yes, I'll admit I use that as an excuse not to weed more often than I should).

This dog is seriously too annoying! He barks at ME in My yard when he wants a bit of privacy to do his business. So I'm constantly trying to NOT hate my neighbor (hate, repent, hate repent...)

Anyway, my neighbor must not have gotten the "red flag warning" because he let out his nasty pooch as usual this morning, but the little white fluffball, weighing in at 8-10lbs was no match for the wind and was carried off, no doubt to the next county by now. My neighbor was up and down the street calling for the mutt with no success. This is one time where I decided to "weary in well doing" and let him alone.

I'll shed tears a little later.

Right now I have to plan a party.

Alex Leads the Pledge

Alex was honored last Friday to lead the pledge of allegiance at school. I was unable to be there, as I was at the hospital with James for his tonsilectomy/adnoidectomy/bronchial scope, but Sean went, took pictures, and said Alex did a FABULOUS job! :)

What a cutie! :)

Gretchen Visits!

I always love to visit with old friends! So when Gretchen came into town with her two sweet kids we HAD to catch up!

Me, Shauna, Traesa and Gretchen.

All the kids - (back) Josh D., Jane M., Caleb D., Kaila D., Becky M., Dalin C.; (front) Ben D., Alex M., Zenna and Kyle C., Lexi C., Emma D., James M., Andy C.

SOMEDAY I'm hoping that we'll get our original daytime group back together for a huge playdate. Cindy, Jenny, Crystal - we missed you!

Coming Home

On our way home from Redding we decided to take the scenic route. We stopped at Pismo Beach to stretch our legs, find some shells, and play in the sand.

We swung by Solvang to check out the sights. We were amazed at the beautiful architecture, interesting animals (ostrich, pigmy horses), and friendly people. Definitely a spot to revisit!

A Visit with Grandpa Ed

The day after Easter we started our trip to Redding, CA to visit with Grandpa Ed. After a looooong drive we finally made it!

It just so happened that we weren't the only ones visiting Grandpa that day! Sean's cousin, Matt and his family were also there. It was so fun catching up with family we rarely see!

Dying Cupcakes

This Easter we had a great time creating colorful cupcakes. The kids mixed dye into the batter, then took turns scooping up different colors into the cupcake cups. We ended up with VERY colorful treats!

Easter Morning

This past Easter was spent listening to the words of our beloved prophet, Thomas S. Monson, hunting for eggs in the backyard, and eating fabulous food over at the Monroe's. This is the first Easter James could really participate in the egg-hunt, so it was hilarious to see him shy away from the colorful eggs. It took quite a bit of persuading, and a bit of peeking into the eggs, to convince him it was worth his while to gather as many as he could. By the time we got to the Monroes for the egg-hunt over there, he was ready to search for real.

This year the bunny left lots of fun treats in their eggs - erasers, bubble gum, crystal light on-the-go packs, chapstick, and candies.

Over at the Monroes the bunny went all-out! The kids came home with baskets full of candy that would rival any pillowcase on Halloween!

Watering the Garden

I was out watering our garden one Sunday and the next thing I know, I turn around and all of my kids are wet! HOW DID THIS HAPPEN?

I mean, really! I was only watering the garden. :)

Mini-Monroe Reunion

Uncle Jeff, Aunt Cindy, and cousins Courtney, Julie and Robyn came down to So Cal this last weekend and we all got together for some catching up. We took over the back part of East Side Marios' restaurant and, boy, were we a hassle! Kids were everywhere, adults kept switching tables/chairs to chat, and a ton of noise and mess by the time we left. But we had a blast!

(L to R) Rhianna, Krista, Jon, Barbara, Greg, Cindy, Jeff

Kevin, Lis, Jill and (her new hubby) Rick


Leslie with Harley, Garrett, Cheryl, Julie, Robyn, Courtney, Chad, and Julie

Sean and me (duh!)

Jane, Becky, James and Alex



A whole new generation of cousins! :)

Chocolate Faces

There was a hot day last week when I just didn't feel like doing much. So what did I do? Gave my kids ice cream for snack and sent them outside. What a fun treat for them. I came out to check on them after I'd dished up the last cone (mine!) to find this:

They had all cozied up on my swing eating their ice cream so nicely. And, of course, James' face became a disaster! But it was WAY too cute NOT to get a picture! And he always smiles so sweetly for the camera. :)

After he finished his ice cream, Alex came inside to do a bit of coloring. He'd found my glasses on the counter and decided to try them on. What a cutie! Chocolate face and all. :)

Building...

We were blessed to have fabulous neighbors to the rear of our yard who were getting rid of a lot of wood. Nine 4x4 beams measuring 12' long, as well as several other pieces of wood. We used the beams to make our new garden box, in which we planted watermelon, canteloupe, cucumbers, and LOTS of peppers. The kids had a great time helping Sean and I pound in all the random, rusty nails.

And for the finished project(s)...

Our sun post with upside-down hanging roma tomatoes, with right-side-up flowers. Underneith is a tomato plant. We're hoping to grow beans up the pole (thanks for the idea, Lis!).

hanging pots and random pots with onion and broccoli seeds....

Our 12'x4' garden box...