Well, I got sucked in...

I am not a crazy Twilight fan. I read the books but didn't love them, they were just a fun read.  I didn't even see the first movie in the theater.  In February I saw New Moon (the second movie) with some friends when it was on its last leg in the theater and had so much fun with them that I made sure we would see the third movie Eclipse in the theater too.  I had no idea we would be seeing it at 12:01am in the IMAX on opening night. But we did. There were 13-14 ladies from Eastlake who decided to go and I am glad I could go with them.  Here we all are...(minus Tara)

Laura and Shawntae made Team Jacob (a werewolf) cupcakes.

Kristin and Chrystal painted their nails red like everyone else in the group...I didn't, no surprise there. Yes that girl in the back is really pregnant!

Chrystal, Me and Tara in the back of the theater waiting our turn with the rest of the group to get in.

I felt like I needed do show my contribution to build unity with the group so I brought my Team Edward (vampire) Vampire baby...

Just kidding I didn't bring Scarlett just a picture of her. :) Everyone got  a good laugh at that.  Seriously she is growing fangs!

As we were driving home at 2:30 in the morning I had a little review of the movie with Chrystal and we liked it. I thought is was one of the funnier movies.  I really liked the soundtrack and it was well done, by far the best in the "saga." Here are the critics REVIEWS.  I am also glad that the teens in the theater weren't loud and obnoxious.  It would have ruined it for me if they were.

Thanks ladies for such a fun night. I came home and of course had to wake Nathan from his slumber to tell him all about it, which means I didn't get to bed till 3:30 and its 7:30 now so you do the math...running on 4 hours of sleep is going to be fun for me today! :)

Letting go

I almost always have the kids pick out their outfits for the next day before bed. (with assistance) Last night was no exception but Bridget found this dress hanging in the closet. She begged and begged to wear it to church. Luckily I had one for Scarlett and Lucas ran into his room and said..."Don't worry Mom, I have a shirt to match!" I wouldn't normally have picked these dresses for church dresses but they looked great. 

So here they are...

Bridget insisted on the wedding click clack shoes, Scarlett wanted her brown shoes.  I didn't want to fight it because they were so happy with their choices.

AAH, I just love it! Scarlett is ina 2T and Bridget is in a 3T. They are just getting so big!!

Someone told me at church today how much the girls were alike. I laughed because most people don't tell us that so it was refreshing to hear. She is in the nursery and was going on and on about their little personalities and how much fun they are.  It sure put a smile on my face.

I feel so blessed to be their mother, and I hope that they remember when they look back how much time and love I really try to give them.  It gets lost in the frustrations of daily life but I am really working hard on relinquishing some control and letting them just have fun...because really they are only little for a short time and I would much rather laughter

over tears! :)

Sometimes

things just align enough that our day that no matter what happens, the kids are perfect.

Today was one of those yummy days.

Lucas and Bridget were friends all day - playing office and going to work.

Sharing bikes, and toys. Making lunch together. It was wonderful.  They were also very accommodating to lil' miss.

Everytime she would do this...

they would calm her down and include her in their game at the time. They each made lunch for each other, served it to the recipient and the whole time used their manners.  This doesn't happen very often, but when it does I feel the need to document it.  They are never at each others throats or anything but its like having triplets sometimes because they are all so close in age.  On top of this wonderful day I was able to accomplish a few things on my never ending to-do list and that of course made me happy.

One last thing that made me happy today is our creation of the perfect hybrid...

A  -  CUTE  -  TAN  -  REDHEAD. 

I am sure there are other red heads out there who tan, but none of them are as cute as mine!   

Sorry about all of the gushing today but I felt like I needed to be proud of my babies. Deep Breath. They are not babies much anymore. :(

Fathers Day fit for a King

We did our normal errands, put the kids down for nap and then I told Nathan to put a suit on we were going out.  He was a bit confused and then saw the girls...dressed as Princesses, well Scarlett is technically a fairy, she was SilverMist from the Tinker Bell movies and Bridget was Aurorarora from Sleeping Beauty. Lucas was dressed in a suit too. Why? Well Tara, Chrystal and I planned a fun evening for our men.

So it was time for the Prince and Princess to take a picture...

Of course, We got one of the King and his kids...

Nathan had no idea where we were going until we turn onto Colorado and he hears Lucas yell..."Mom look at Ashley and Ellie's Backyard!" The surprise was 1/2 over! Haha.

The Princesses got to pin and crown their daddies and then it was time to enter the party...

Here is the set up, Chrystal did an amazing job...

Bridget loved EVERY minute of this party. She had the best manners and was grinning the entire evening.

Every one digging in.

Lucas and Carter served the ladies and gentelmen and then came in to stuff their faces.

They were funny.

After dinner (Chicken Alfredo Ziti) they played for a little while.

The girls pretended that Lucas was the Horse and they were in the carriage singing..."its time to dance at the ball" So we took pictures of the King at his throne, and then had dessert.

Thanks Chrystal for taking these! :)

Then it was time to hit the dance floor.

Yes Bridget is wearing her princess heels! Haha.

Scarlett found herself a kissing buddy...I mean a friend and she had fun with Cody. They were so cute together!

Each Daddy got a plaque and I think everyone had a fun time. I love this picture because every husband is looking at their wife.  This picture Chrystal took and Ryan was looking right at her.  Can you guess where I was standing? Haha.

The plaque said: My prince has come...His name is Daddy!

Adorable right?

I am glad it was such a fun night and my kids had a blast.

Camping this weekend, Camping next weekend, Lucas's Party the following weekend!

Look forward to a ton of posts! :)

Teddy Bear Picnic

Chrystal and I have a bunch planned for the summer, this was the kick off activity.

We met up at EB Raines, and had a nice little lunch near the lake, when I say near I mean like tiptoes away. Haha.

The light on Bridget's eyes looks funny.

Ellie, in a dress of course! :)

The kids brought their teddy bears and we all had a picnic.  

Ashley being cute.

Scarlett brought baby.  She also ate everyone's lunch.

The kids spotted these babies.

and couldn't keep their eyes off of them.

I love this picture of Ellie and Bridget. Its so sweet.

The kids were looking on the lake floor and getting excited at all of the things that they were seeing.

Once they were over it it was time for wagon rides by Ashley.

Scarlett was happy as a clam on the blanket in the shade eating everyone's leftovers.

We knew it was time to leave when the animals...

were stuffed silly. HAHAHA.

It was a fun afternoon until Lucas threw Scarlett's doll into the lake and the whole way home EVERYONE cried because they were tired, or sorry they threw a doll in the lake, or that their doll was wet because of said lake incident.  I almost started crying because I hit EVERY single RED light on the way home. Typical right?

Oh well, I am still counting this fun-ness as a success!

Finally -

 - Lucas got his wish. It was his turn to speak in Primary.  He has been begging since February and really wanted to talk about Daniel and the Lions Den. (His favorite story) but the theme this month is on the Holy Ghost. So I taught him the lesson in the Primary 1 manual and then asked him his thoughts.  He wrote/prepared the talk pretty much on his own.

We practiced everyday and then once more before church.

He spoke clearly and was so proud of himself after the talk.
Here it is in words...
"When you are hurt or sad, how does your mommy or daddy make you feel better?

 My Mommy gives it a rub or a kiss and sometimes if I am bleeding really bad she gives me a bandaid. I really like Spiderman bandaids. Show picture of Jesus.

This is Jesus Christ. In John 14: 16-17 Jesus knew that his helpers, umm, disciples, would be sad when he died, so he told them that he would ask Heavenly Father to send a comforter to help them not feel so bad.

The comforter is the Holy Ghost, and he can comfort us, too. When we are sad or upset, Heavenly Father will help us by sending the Holy Ghost to comfort us.

When I am upset or really mad because I am in timeout, I ask for the Holy Ghosts help to calm me down. You can do this too, all you need to do is ask for a little help and the holy Ghost will be there. 

In the name of Jesus Christ Amen."

I just can't believe he is old enough to give talks. This is just madness to me.

To celebrate Lucas's good job we made Strawberry Shortcakes for dessert.  I never had these growing up but I think they are going to be a tradition in our house.

Good Job to my big boy!

Woodglen's Variety Show

This was my last activity in the Activities Committee.  I have been on the committee or have been the chairman for over 6 years, in 2 different wards.  In that time I have had 3 Talent Shows, 5 Chili Cook Offs, 5 Halloween Activities, 7 Christmas Parties, 1 Luau, 1 Ward Campout, 1 Ward Olympics, 1 Variety Show, 3 4th of July Breakfasts, 19 Break the Fasts, several FHE nights, 2 Water Wild Picnics, 1 Ward Picnic, 6 Easter Egg Hunts, and 1 Ward Blue and Gold Banquet.

I have loved almost every minute of it, and was glad I could serve the wards.  Last night was no exception to the fun.  I had a particular interest because my Activity Day Girls, and the Sunbeams (Lucas's class) were on the program.  We had Baked Ziti (my recipe) Green Salad, Garlic Bread, and Cookies and Brownies.  We had plenty of food and lots of fun. There was over 200 people there and the usual families weren't even there!

There were 23 performances, here are the ones we were involved in.

Lucas and his Best Bud Robert.  Don't worry I have video. Lucas thought he needed to be on the mic the whole time. Haha.

Here is the Sunbeam Class minus the 3 kids that weren't activity. Caleb (the teacher), Robert, Lucas, JC and Jayden up top. Nathan (their other teacher)

Video as promised!

*they all knew the words but it was a little hard to hear. 

My girls, minus 1. We did a skit.

Bridget cried and cried because she wanted to sing a song too. I calmed her down and she found her friend Camryn and then she was happy again.

Scarlett was funny too.

I kept finding her with different people.

She also had a different cookie each time.  I am so grateful that the ward takes care of my kids while I am working the event and I am even more grateful that the ward always pitches in to help clean up, its really great!

This was a really fun activity and I got a lot of compliments on the food and the activity, that must mean everyone had a great time. 

Other things to note...my kids think they are break dancers. Ask Kirsta Jacobs, she saw first hand the bad moves of my kids! Hahaha.