Bird Watchers

Binoculars
Book
Quiet Feet
Whisper voices
Listening
Searching eyes
Spotting
Identifying

We are
now
Bird Watchers.

And
we are
still
ice cream eaters.

Asian Market

On our way to see Kung Fu Panda 2, we passed by an asian market a friend had just told us about. We just had to stop and check it out. After browsing, we embraced the asian experience and tried Japanese food for the first time. We weren't fans of the soup or radish/squash dish, but everything else we got was really good. The boys enjoyed the challenge of eating their meal with chopsticks. Eric and I used forks. I'm sure we will be back there again soon!

Kacin Love

Eric found this sweet love note when he woke up this morning.

"I like you dad. You are my best dad. To: Dad From: Kacin"

Kacin noticed I was a little upset one morning. He ran across the room and threw his arms around my waist giving me a great big hug. He looked up at me and said, "You are the best mommy I've ever had!" He paused and then went on, "And I've had a lot of mommies--3 of them!"

Hello, Park!

We've gotten a few days of nice weather over the last few weeks.
And so park days begin!

Do I Have Something On My Face?

I was upstairs folding laundry.
He was at the table eating a snack.
He called my name
beckoning me to come downstairs.
I walked into the kitchen
and he asked,
"Do I have something on my face?"

Yum. Yogurt.

Probably the Best Saturday in Years

I am so glad we are finally past
redirecting, time-outs, and tantrums
every hour
and have moved on to fun, happy days together.
We had such an enjoyable Saturday.
It was schedule free and,
miracle of all miracles,
everyone was in a good mood.
The day unfolded with all sorts of fun things to do.
We made caramel popcorn, watched a movie, biked to the park and to Taco Bell, played Killer Bunnies, and read from The Chronicles of Narnia.
Saturday was declared my favorite day of last week.

Arizona Weekend

I stole away for the weekend.
It was a very last minute decision
that I rationalized because E and the boys
would be going on a fathers and sons camp out.
I hate leaving my family.
I love them.
But
I think I love them a whole lot more after taking a few days
for myself.
I thoroughly enjoyed every minute of my weekend
in Arizona.

 

Three things that would have made the trip even more amazing?
1. If Stef had been there, too
2. Getting a large Bahama Bucks instead of the baby size
3. If I had remembered I wanted to go to the lake, and gone

 

Three yummy foods I was so excited I got to eat while I was there?
1. Bahama Bucks
2. Costa Vida salad
3. Rosa's Mexican Food

Three games I played?
1. Dominoes with Grandpa Allen and my family
2. Settlers of Zarahemla with Jacqui and Josh (Ticket to Ride was packed away)
3. How big is Jacqui's baby belly?

Three places I went?
1. Mesa Temple
2. Jacqui's new house
3. ASU campus


Three people I certainly wasn't expecting to see, but ran into while I was out?
1. My Aunt and Uncle, at the temple Friday night
2. Mr. Green from Westwood (the teacher who led my Close-Up trip to Washington DC my senior year), at yoga class Saturday morning
3. Ted, at the temple Saturday morning

Three fun things I did?
1. Hiking Camelback Mtn. with my dad
2. Jacqui's baby shower
3. Playing games with everyone


Three ways I relaxed?
1. Walking through the neighborhood with my mom and sisters
2. Looking through photo albums with my mom
3. Sitting in the massage chair


Three times I laughed a lot?
1. when Grandpa got irritated playing Dominoes with three chatty girls
2. when I spilled on my shirt three times before Jacqui's baby shower and ran through Target trying to find a new shirt with Jenny who was carrying a cheesecake she didn't want to melt in the car
3. when I saw Jenny's face in this picture:

 

Three things I was so happy to return to Monday night?
1. Eric

2. Kyler and Kacin

3. My comfy bed

Mother's Day

My boys finally took the hint I've been giving them
at every present giving holiday
since Mother's day last year--
probably because I stopped hinting
and just told them straight up
if they wanted to do something for Mother's Day
ALL I wanted
was for someone else
besides me
to clean the shower.
Unlike last year,
when I was told it was easier for them
to just buy me something,
they all three secretly scrubbed the bathroom Saturday night.
I was so happy when they led me upstairs
into a sparkling clean bathroom.
Yes, it was much more work than running to the store
but I appreciate it so much more.
My Mother's Day experience was also filled
with Kacin's school's Mother's Day Tea
and skipping Kyler's school's Moms and Muffins
and going out just me and him for donuts
(much more special
than being in a crazy crowded cafeteria with icky muffins).
I received hugs, cards, and clay creations made at school
first thing Sunday morning.
I am so lucky to be mom to such awesome boys!

Good Idea, Bad Idea

Good Idea: Gathering flowers for your mom
Bad Idea: Gathering flowers for your dad


mid sniff

 We were leaving the zoo this afternoon
walking down a big grassy hill
(because as mentioned before, 
we are too cheap to pay for zoo parking,
we walk an extra 8 minutes or so and leave the car in a neighboring park)
almost to our car
when Kacin ran ahead and began gathering little flowers.
I remarked to Eric
"How sweet, he's picking flowers for me!"
Then I caught myself right away
and Eric and I laughed that they were probably for him.
Yep.
Sure enough,
Kacin ran over and handed a handful of little flowers
to Eric first.
And then he gave me a few.
Silly E put one flower behind each ear
and drove us home.
At some point during the ride,
I went to give E a peck on the cheek
but the dainty flower tucked behind his ear
creeped me out
so I pulled it from its place
and set it down.
E picked it up again
and placed the stem up his nose
in a "Is this better?" way.
Oh yeah, it was much better seeing a daisy
poking out of his nostril.
How attractive.
He left it in there for a few minutes
before returning it behind his ear.
Then he sniffled.
And sneezed.
And sniffled some more
For the rest of the day.
Apparently,
a flower up the nose triggers allergies.

Kite Flight

We took our kites out last Saturday
to try our hand at flying.
It wasn't the best wind for it,
or maybe it was just our lack of kite skills,
but the boys could only keep them in the air
by running through the field for as long as they could.
So kite flying was very tiring!

Frolicking Amongst the Tulips

What a beautiful day to attend the Tulip Festival!
What made it even more awesome was that
Kyler and E played hooky from school and work
so we could frolic through the tulips together.