A terrible, horrible, no good, very bad day

A few weeks ago, I was having a REALLY bad day. We had just got back from our trip to Oregon and the transmission went out on my van, my neighbor is an idiot and there were a few other things going on that I can't remember but I just know that I was really grumpy. Anyways, my friend asked me to teach her Sunday School class so she came over to drop the manual off and I was on my way out the door for a bike ride. We visited for a minute but I was not very good company. I usually ride for about an hour and the kids just stay home and play. Well when I got home from my ride, this is what I found. My friend went and got me beautiful flowers and with my kids, hung kisses all over the ceiling! The flowers were a bright happy yellow and who can't use chocolate on a bad day!!! I went to bed that night feeling good thanks to a good friend!

I really think that I have some of the most amazing friends (and kids) in the whole world! Thanks Alex, Andrea, Bizzy and Larecia

Andrea turned 7 July 24th. We have made it a tradition in our family to go camping for her birthday. It is something that we all look forward to each year. This year our friend came up and brought cake and ice cream. Andrea was surprised with her new pink bike! It is nice to get away and spend time with the kids and really celebrate Andrea. Her birthday falls on Pioneer Day which is a holiday in Utah. They have parades and a celebration at the park and end the day with fireworks and we really like to make this day about her.

I let the kids invite friends and each year, they put on a play that they "write". It is always fun to see what they come up with.

This year Andrea was the princess, Bizzy (on the corner in the black) was a trouble causing gargoyle, Alex and his friend Chase were the detectives, and Patricia was the maid.

A sweet action shot of the detectives trying to catch the gargoyle.

And of course we played many board and card games! We really enjoy our time together and I LOVE getting away from phones, computers and TV!

Calling all readers!

My friend is doing a giveaway on her blog. If you like to read she is giving away two of her favorite books so you should check it out! Even if you are not a reader, it is so much fun to win things! Plus, I get to enter my name twice because I mentioned her giveaway on my blog!

Another really fun thing we did in Oregon was to spend the day at Silver Falls. As a child, I spent lots of time up here with the family and at girl scout camp-outs. It Think Alex was telling me how much he loved me:-)

We have no cousins that live close to us so when we go to Oregon(as you can see from the picture) there is no shortage of family to hang out with. This is probably half of our cousins. The kids always have so much fun!

Just a random picture of some of my cousins at the the BBQ. I should have taken a picture of the food. It was amazing. The guy next to the grill in the blue shirt is my cousin Mario and he is a master griller. Him, my dad and my Uncle Rudy really did a nice job that day!

I probably have a picture of me and my sisters as children standing in this same gross water! It's not really gross, it just looks dirty. I even got in to cool off:-)

The kids and I went on a hike with my dad. It was really fun to watch him be a grandpa and teach the kids things. Here he is showing them what an ant hill is. We haven't seen any in Utah so the kids were amazed by the size of the hill and the number of the ants.

Family Vacation to Oregon

We have been back from our vacation for a few days now and if i don't start blogging about it, it won't get done. We spent 2 weeks in Oregon and had a great time seeing family and friends. We were able to do a lot of really fun things and make lots of memories. One of the first things we did was go to the beach with Aunt Roberta. When were were driving up the coast we passed Lil Sambos restaurant and Alex said it looked like a fun place to eat so Roberta took us there to eat.

Here are Bizzy and Andrea posing with the tiger. Alex didn't want to be in the picture:-(

Alex loves to play with Quinny. Here they are both enjoying the beach

It was a beautiful day and the kids had a blast playing in the ocean and sand!

what an imagination!

Bizzy cracks me up everyday. The other day I got out of the shower and found her dancing around the house like this! She said she was an Egyptian dancer.

I would have never thought to use my ballet skirt as a head dress but this girl will make a costume out of anything.

Here she is using her brothers broken sunglasses to be a pirate!

Look out scout camp!

Alex is going to an overnight scout camp this year for the first time. He has done day camps but never an overnight one. He was so excited(I was nervous) this is the first time he has been camping without me. He is a good boy and I trust him but when I am there, I am sure that he is safe. He has had his gear packed for a week. They were supposed to leave today at 2:30 but by 1:45. I couldn't contain him. We drove around for a little bit and he insisted we get to the church so he wouldn't get left behind. We arrived at the church at 2:10 and waited.

Here he is loading his gear in the truck.

One final picture of my scout before he left for camp!!!!

Music to my ears

Alex and Andrea started piano lessons in February and they had their first recital tonight. Andrea loves anything to do with music. She has a sweet little voice and loves to sing. She had really enjoyed playing the piano and learning about music. Alex also really enjoys learning to play. He is not so much a fan of the practice time.

I made a video of the kids but I am just not smart enough to figure out how to put video on my blog so you just get to see pictures of their backs!:-) Andrea played Yankee Doodle and Jolly Old St. Nicholas. She played both individually and then as a duet with her teacher. She did GREAT!

Taking her curtsy after her performance.

Alex played Big Black Cat and he also did really good!

It was really fun to listen to them and also to listen to the other children and see where my kids will be if they continue to practice. I am thankful that they have such a good and patient teacher who makes learning to play the piano fun! Maybe by the next recital I will figure out how to put a video on so you can listen to them!

Possibly the worst day of my life!

Here are the crazy girls that did it with me. This is actually after the race was over.

Here is Ashley before the race pinning numbers on shirts. Her sister ran into traffic and barely made it in time to start so we have on pre-race pictures.

This is the morning of the race and I was nervous but confident. I have had some pretty bad days in my life but I think this tops them all! I really thought that it would be no problem to run-bike-run. The total course was only a little over 11 miles but BOY WAS I WRONG! I ma really debating whether or not to do the triathlon in July.......

Happy Birthday Bizzy!

My baby turned 6 yesterday! I can't believe how fast it has gone and how much she has grown! I let her choose her birthday dinner so we had Macaroni and Cheese with "cheese grilled" sandwiches. I added a veggie tray to kind of balance it out. She got some HSM flip-flops with some serious bling on them from her sister.

Her brother took the money he earns mowing lawns and bought her a pink mouse. She LOVES stuffed animals and was really excited about this one! Good job Alex:-)

Debbie got her clothes. She also LOVES fashion and putting things together. I am not sure where she got that from, I LOVE jeans and t-shirts.

The birthday girl blowing out her candles. This is an exciting time of year for both of my girls. If you'll notice the birthday tickers at the top, they are both 6 years old for the next month and a half! They think it is sooooo funny when people ask if they are twins:-)

SUMMER!

The aquatic center opened last weekend and we made sure we were the first ones there!

The kids had a great time going down the slides

We had a really good time and can't wait for school to get out so we spend more time here!