Father/Son Campout--Painting--Grandma Visit

The older boys got to go camping with dad!  They slept in the van because it was such a quick trip.  The occasion was the Stake Father/Son camping trip.

I was able to get some painting done!  

Grandma came to visit for a few days because she was working in Kirkland.  Grandma got to see a baseball game!

And she got lots of snuggles!

She also got to witness this hilarious note that Ryan wrote during Sacrament meeting.  Completely random!

Mariner's Game!

I got Mariner's tickets for my birthday!  And we must have been lucky charms because they won!  It was such a fun night with the boys!  We got to introduce them to the wave, the seventh inning stretch and trying to catch foul balls (although we were a little too high up for that).

Mother's Day Weekend

Mother's Day weekend started with a Friday at home with the family.  After everyone was in bed, I did the final cleaning and sat down to finally catch up on the blog.  For some reason Evelyn woke up and started crying.  I wonder if she saw the light on.  I was able to pick her up with her favorite blanket, bring her into the living room and just snuggle with her, feeling her heartbeat next to mine.  These moments are so tender to me.  What a blessing to be the mother to these beautiful children who I know are meant to be in Tony's and my care.  I've had several experiences before they were born, where I felt my children close.  They are the whole reason I made most of the choices I did in life.  I knew that if I didn't change some of the things I was doing as a teenager, that it would affect me in the future and affect my children.  Everything I am is to be a wife and mother.  Nothing else I can do is more important than that.  Yes, I need to have time to myself, to be my own person, but I am not complete without my family.  They mean more to me than they can ever know.  Every thing I teach, every word I record, every photo I take, every adventure I help plan is for my family.

We went to the Mariner's Game this weekend which was a birthday gift.  So fun!  I also got to enjoy the beauty of springtime around our house.

Mother's Day was lovely with my wonderful husband and kiddos making sure I got to rest.  It was wonderful!

Birthday day!

I had a really fun birthday.  I'm blessed with wonderful family and friends.  I had a surprise dinner with friends.  It was great to celebrate with such fun people.  They pulled off the surprise with one day notice since Tony's schedule opened up and he was able to be home and take care of the kids last minute.  Love these ladies.  A really cool thing happened towards the end of our dinner.  An older gentleman who was dining with his wife came over to me and said he wanted to give me a birthday present because it looked like I was having such a nice time.  He handed me $10 just like that.  I had to give him a big hug.  It was a beautiful gesture and totally appreciated. I decided right then that I would pay it forward.

We went shopping as a family.  

Tony surprised me again by taking me on a surprise date to Red Lobster so we could have lobster and crab. Yum!  

Then we saw Avengers.  Our sweet baby-sitter had the boys draw pictures and they made me cupcakes while Tony and I were out.

On Sunday, the primary kids sang to me--seriously a favorite of mine! :)  

On my actual birthday, I volunteered in Max's classroom and my friend had offered to watch the kiddos longer so I could do some shopping.  That was really nice.  When I was back home for the babes' naps, I had a couple of friends stop by with cupcakes and gifts.  Of course my kids and hubby are always there to brighten everything.  They are my world!

I also had help painting from friends.  Tal even brought lunch and helped me finish painting my bathrooms!

It was quite memorable.  Most memorable was taking the time to do 38 acts of service.  I had a friend who did 40 acts of service on her 40th birthday and it inspired me.  So even with all of the fun gifts and visits, I treasure taking the time to make sure I turned to others and provided service.  I'm grateful for kind friends who inspire me every day!  Life is good!

A Few Randoms From April

Ryan draws our family.  He appropriately draws Ev as our little ladybug girl. :)

A sparrow built his next in our back yard, on the ground.  We were hoping to watch these little guys grow up but unfortunately we found the next torn apart a few days later. :(

Warm, sunny days mean playing at the beach!

A friend left her little hat at our house and Evelyn loved it.

We've had a few date nights lately, amazingly.  We had some group dates and some one-on-one time.  This is just one random picture I took.  Haha.  I love Tony.  How many licks DOES it take to get to the center of the tootsie pop?

The Sheep Get a Haircut

Grandma Kate was able to drive up for a day when she was working in Vancouver and we decided to visit Kelsey Creek Farm.  They were having a sheep shearing event and we thought it would be fun to take the kids.  There were so many fun animals to see and now whenever we ask Jase to tell us what a sheep says, he'll oblige but then he goes on about how sheep get "HAIRCUTS".  So funny!