Memorial Day

We had a fun rainy Memorial day. When I was a little girl we used to go out to Daniel's Park on Saturday mornings and have a picnic breakfast. Dad would cook eggs on the Coleman stove and we would get to hike and climb around in the rocks and brush. Lots of fun.


So we resurrected the tradition this Memorial Day. Kraig and I took the kids and met my parents, and Robi and her kids. We picnicked on french toast on the Coleman stove, bacon, bananas, strawberries and OJ. Mmm Mmm Mmm! Delicious! The kiddos had a great time climbing around and exploring. But I don't remember there being so many dangerous cliffs when I was a kid :) But there were no injuries to report. It was so beautiful and the rain held off until we were driving home so Kraig would get to work at Noon.

More Veggie Tales

Andrew loves to sing. He's very good at picking up tunes and words of songs, but sometimes he gets them mixed up when songs have the same words. He also will focus on a song and have us sing it over and over. Right now his favorite song is Latter Day Prophets. We sing it at least 25 times a day.

Because I want to encourage his music, I try and choose activities that involve music. We sing in the car, on walks, to remind him of a principle I'm trying to teach him (like to be kind to Joshy or to be obedient to Mama), and before bedtime. The movies and shows he watches usually have a lot of music too. His favorites right now are Cars (great soundtrack) and Veggie Tales (catchy, funny songs).

Well we reached a new height today. We were singing I'm trying to be like Jesus and he stopped and told me, "Mom! I found Jesus!"



"Oh really, Andy, where did you find him?"



"In the produce aisle!"
What a kid!

What I've been spending my time on

For certain pressing reasons (my sister Robin is coming into town), I've been very active in getting some projects done that I've been planning for months. The reason these projects haven't materialized before now was two fold: 1)Money (snowy months are pretty slow at the Golf Club) and 2)Motivation (Snowy months don't lend to high energy to get things above and beyond the norm done)


So here's what I've been working on:

1. WEBB--I realized that I don't have any family identifying features in our home. I'd been researching vinyl lettering for a few months for another project (see post at future date when I actually finish that project) when my sister Brenda told me about a project that she was going to do (or have done) in vinyl lettering for her new kitchen. I liked the idea a lot, but I couldn't copy it exactly and she told me what it would cost to have the "professional" put it together and it was a little out of my price range. Anyway, I just happened to eat dinner at my neighbor's home and she was doing the exact same "FAMILY" thing for one of her walls, only instead of vinyl lettering on the glass she was painting it on. Eureka! That was my solution! So this is what I came up with: I did WEBB first, and put it on the wall, but it seemed like something was missing. So I added this: Both Kraig and I think it looks more complete now. Frames $6 (garage sales and walmart) Paint $1 Glue $3.50 Total Project $10.50


2. I planted flowers. I've been gathering flower pots at garage sales all spring. I'm not totally set on the arrangement of the pots, but I'm pretty pleased how they turned out. I'm excited for how pretty and full they'll be in a few weeks after a lot of good water and sun. I did end up over-buying flowers, so I'm keeping a lookout for more pots.

I was RUNNIN'!

Saturday morning I ran (and walked) the Gift of Life and Breath 5K to support lung cancer early detection. Brenda and Darren came down to run it too.

It's been over two years since I ran that far (I'm much more of a yoga, elliptical machine, aerobics kind of athlete), but all things considered, I think I did ok. I finished :)

My mom stayed with the kids while I ran.

Andy was out of the stroller when I was coming up to the finish line so he ran out and helped me across. I was glad to have his hand to hold onto.

Federal Economic Stimulus Payment

Kraig and I got our ESP this week. It was a real surprise to receive this extra money because I had just assumed that the "stimulus payment" had been included in our tax return.

So viola! We've got all this 'extra' money to spend to stimulate the economy. What is the government expecting us to spend this money on? A new television (tempting), a vacation (also tempting), new furniture (I would love a dresser with drawers that open and close smoothly), or just whittle it away dollar by dollar on unimportant things at Wal-mart until all that is left is a hole in our savings account where the money used to be a little more fodder for my garage sale.

So we've decided to spend it on (Drum roll, please) Kraig's tuition! I can't think of a better way to stimulate the economy than to further my husband's second year of his second education :) Exciting, I know. But hey, at least we don't have to go into debt to do it! (He did get the other scholarship for which he had applied, so our portion is smaller still. Yahoo!)

Ok. ok, we'll have money left over after his tuition is paid. Maybe I will get that new television...

Oh and I bought some new patio chairs :)

What are you spending your economic stimulus payment on?

If you like to waltz with tomatoes up and down the produce aisle...

For mother's Day I made myself a dinner of Roast, Sweet twice baked potatoes, asparagus, homemade rolls, and mango. It was delicious. The boys especially loved the asparagus. Joshua ate 4 all by himself. Andy had to be coaxed into eating 2, but hey, he ate them.
I took these photos of my asparagus eating kids for my non-asparagus eating parents :) If your grandkids enjoy it so much, maybe you should give it another chance.

Plus, it's the best photo I've gotten on Joshy's two teeth. Still the only two!

Happy Mother's Day

There are a lot of WONDERFUL MOTHERS that I'm grateful for today:

My Mom My mom taught me how to be a good mom. As I've married and started a family of my own, she's changed from being just my mom and caregiver to my friend. She is a wonderful grandma and loves my children almost as much as I do.

My Mother-in-law Kolene is a wonderful mother to my husband. She raised him to be strong and independent. She's also welcomed me (and all of her children-in-law) into her family as if we were born there. She is also a wonderful grandma, always ready with a smile and hug for my children.

My Sisters.I've learned something special about motherhood from each of my sisters: to work hard, have fun, laugh, teach them young to make good choices, share clothes, and be friends.

My Sisters-in-law Each of my sisters-in-law is special to me. Each has qualities as a mother that I strive to emulate everyday: patience, love, creativity, fun, and kindness.

My Grandmothers Both of my Grandmothers and Kraig's Grandmothers have left us an amazing heritage of strength and love that I hope to pass on to my children and grandchildren.

My Friends Although some aren't mothers yet, each one has helped me to realize the important role of friends in my children's lives and what a difference good friends can be.

Thank you, Mothers, for making my life more special.

Happy Mother's Day!

How well do they know me?

Since I'm 27, I think this was pretty accurate!

You Act Like You Are 26 Years Old

You are a twentysomething at heart. You feel like an adult, and you're optimistic about life. You feel excited about what's to come... love, work, and new experiences. You're still figuring out your place in the world and how you want your life to shape up. The world is full of possibilities, and you can't wait to explore many of them.

What Age Do You Act?

Ya, right.

Your Celebrity Style Twin is Jessica Simpson

Flirty, feminine, and fun.

Who's Your Celebrity Style Sister?

And as if you couldn't already tell...

You Are a Life Blogger!

Your blog is the story of your life - a living diary. If it happens, you blog it. And make it as entertaining as possible.

What Kind of Blogger Are You?

Scholarship Award Luncheon

I'm so proud of Kraig! He applied for and was awarded a scholarship from the National Restaurant Association Education Foundation for next year's school term starting in August. He is the first apprentice to ever apply for the scholarship (and he received it, to boot!). We were invited to attend at luncheon today honoring the recipients. Here he is receiving the scholarship:
There were two classes of recipients: High School and Post Secondary. Kraig was part of the Post Secondary group (and we figured the oldest one there by at least 8 years). Here he is with the other Post Secondary recipients and then with all of the honorees:Although his scholarship is from the NRA and the Colorado Restaurant Association, it's provided to them by the Weil Foundation. We got to meet the wife of Mr. Weil (who passed away about 3 years ago), his son, and grandson (we were seated at their table). They were very kind.I'm so proud of Kraig for working towards this scholarship and getting it. He really has found his niche.

The feeling is mutual

Brenda did a post about a little homestead sickness. I've got it bad too. So this post is purely indulgent for me of one of my favorite places on earth.

A few dollops of catch-up

Phew. It's good to be home. I must admit that vacation is great, but being home is better. Although definitely more responsibility (more surface area to be responsible for). But there were a few highlights of our trip that were not covered in Pottypolooza that I wanted to be sure got good mention:

1. My cousin Trisha's wedding. One of the main reasons for the trip to Utah. The ceremony was beautiful, Trisha and Brandon were beautiful, and the kids were darling. I hope Kelli can post the video soon. The wedding didn't make the Tour because I left the kids at Grandma's house under the watchful eyes of Kathy and Chaz.
   
2. I bought a new swimsuit. I bought my old one the week I came home from my mission and it gave up the ghost at a swim party in February, so it was definitely time for a new one. There was a flier taped to Mom Webb's door advertising a "Spring Boutique" with Modbe Swimsuits. Two of my cute and fashionable sisters-in-law have Modbe's so I was eager to check them out. I ended up finding one that I liked that was modest and that helped me not look like I've given birth to (and nursed) two children. When I told Kraig that I found a swimsuit that I thought I looked good in, he immediately insisted I buy it. I mean, honestly, how often do those jewels come along? Once again, this was a Mommys Only party, so it didn't make the tour booking. (I look just about as good as this model does ;).
   
3. American Idol. I got to watch American Idol with my Father-in-law. Who knew?!? But the kids were in bed--no performances from the Pottyman needed--we had David.
   
4. I spent two afternoons at my sister Cory's. We built a dresser with our bare hands! Argggg! Ok, ok, we used a nifty cordless drill that Creighton gave her for Christmas. That's beside that point. The dresser that we built was for the little girls' room and it was darling. I tried to find it online, but they only had it in black. I was totally covetous of the dresser and how cute it looked in their room. We also did a little cleaning out (switching seasonal clothes and things). But the best part of it was the visiting while we built and sorted. Andy and the girls played and Connor toted around his "little cuz," Joshua. It was great. But, Cory's didn't make the tour because he's "toured" there before. Rockstars never make return performances :)


5. I bought a painting. My walls are seriously lacking large pieces of art. I just hadn't found anything that I was in love with that I would want to look at for the next 50 years (I figured something large for my wall would definitely be an investment). But when I saw this painting I knew it was the one. It was just what I wanted to say. Andy was actually there on both occasions that I went to Seagull to look at the painting (and ultimately buy it at 50% off...), but I figured this beautiful piece of art deserved an honorable mention. This isn't the exact print of what I got, mine's more oblong and includes more of the trees in the Grove.


6. My sister-in-law Kristy and I worked on a big project for Mom and Dad Webb. We gathered photos from each of the families and compiled them into two large 11x17 documents, printed them at Kinkos, and laminated them to make them "place mats" for my in-laws to take with them to Japan. The idea was the place mats would be light and easy to pack and they would allow is to "eat dinner" with mom and dad each night. It was a bit of a hastle gathering the photos, but the finished product was worth it. Once again, I left the Performer at Grandma's under the rouse that I was at Kristy's "Watching the Jazz game on the big screen." Heartless, I know. (My scanner's not big enough to do the entire 11x17 document at once, so I had to do one of the pages in two "pages," but you get the idea.)

So all in all it was a fun, productive trip. I enjoyed a few moments' of reprieve from investigating the 'new' pottys everywhere we went.