Great Picture

I was looking through my old pictures to find some for a friend when I found this picture. Nate has been blessed with these great friends in our ward. These boys have been friends since they were 2 and 3 years old when some ladies in the ward started a playgroup. I went to cubscout daycamp Thursday and Friday and was lucky to spend some time with these boys during a few of their activities while the rest of my time was spent with Jake's cute group. Nate had something happen that easily could have been made fun of but every single one of the boys were encouraging him and making him feel good about himself. I can't wait until they are all about to go on missions to get them all in their suits in the same pose. I have had a rough last few days with some other people in our neighborhood and seriously felt like moving because of it. It's good to be reminded that there are many more reasons to stay.

Fun Game

Everybody that knows me well knows I love to play games. I found this vocabulary game on another blog. All it is is basically a vocab test but I enjoyed it mainly because I got most of them correct. Sarah was watching me play and was amazed with my skills. If you want to feel good about yourself and give some rice away to some hungry people, give it a try. Ask me what any of those words are in real life and I'll have no clue but give me a multiple choice test and I'll get it right everytime.
Warning: I gave 2000 grains of rice away before I realized the game is never over.

Rebecca's First Sacrament Meeting Talk

Rebecca gave a talk in church on Sunday for her first time. Her topic was "Feasting upon the words of Christ". She is turning 13 on June 5th so this was a long awaited thing for her. We kept wondering if we should say something to the bishopric since all her friends have given talks a few times. I just decided she has the rest of her life to give plenty of talks in church so why push it! She did a great job. I pulled up a few articles and scriptures from LDS.org for her to read through and she put it all together herself. I was surprised she didn't ask for help for her first time. It's really nice to know that she knows how to be serious when she needs to! We're proud of you Rebecca!

Dancing Divas

My friend took this picture of Brent and the girls dancing at a reception a few weeks ago. I love how much fun Brent has with the kids. You can tell how much they love him.

We are the Champions!

Nate had his championship minor league baseball game tonight. It was another intense night of ball! Nate got some great hits and did really well in the outfield including catching a fly ball again. It was close there at the end and the Tigers really put up a fight but the D-Backs finally won the championship! I'm a little sad it's over because we have really enjoyed this season. I wanted to get a picture of Nate with his championship winner plaque but he was in bed asleep before I could get to it (shoes on and all). Another thing I love about Nate: when he's tired he is out like a light!

***I had to add a few more pics to this post that my favorite photographer (Mary) sent me. Also had to add how thankful we were to have Clint be the coach of Nate's team this year. First of all thanks Clint for even picking Nate for the team! Nate played a lot of positions that we know he wouldn't have had the chance to play if it weren't for his great coach. We are positive this is why he improved so much over the season. He got "most improved player" for I think the third year in a row! Go Nate!

Help Me Decide!

Which should I do for Nate and Jake's teachers this year? The first would come with a gift card to Barnes and Noble. The second one would definately be cheaper. I think both are really cute. Does anyone have any better ideas? I am just now thinking of this and have only Wednesday to figure it out!

Aren't these adorable?

Maybe I'll make these for Rebecca's party. The dessert is planned...now what?

How cute is this for table decorations? I love daisies!
Or.....maybe just a movie and dinner with a few friends...

I Love Fathers and Sons Outings!

Actually I love both Fathers and Sons and Fathers and Daughters outings because it gives me time with either the boys or the girls alone. Last night was one of Nate's tournament games so the boys didn't go up to the outing until early this morning. The girls and I went to breakfast at Crackers and then after opening Krazy Sub and making a bunch of big subs we went out for pedicures. We decided the pedicures definately have to be a tradition. Thanks for hanging out with your goofy mom girls!

I got this list in an e-mail from Glenna. Great things to know! I wonder if they really work...

GOOD FACTS TO KNOW:
1. Budweiser beer conditions the hair 2. Pam cooking spray will dry finger nail polish 3. Cool whip will condition your hair in 15 minutes 4. Mayonnaise will KILL LICE, it will also condition your hair 5. Elmer's Glue - paint on your face, allow it to dry, peel off and see the dead skin and blackheads if any
6. Shiny Hair - use brewed Lipton Tea 7. Sunburn - empty a large jar of Nestea into your bath water 8. Minor burn - Colgate or Crest toothpaste 9. Burn your tongue? Put sugar on it! 10. Arthritis? WD-40 Spray and rub in, kill insect stings too
11 Bee stings - meat tenderizer 12. Chigger bite - Preparation H 13. Puffy eyes - Preparation H 14. Paper cut - crazy glue or chap stick (glue is used instead of sutures at most hospitals) 15. Stinky feet - Jello !
16. Athletes feet - cornstarch 17. Fungus on toenails or fingernails - Vicks vapor rub 18. Kool aid to clean dishwasher pipes. Just put in the detergent section and run a cycle, it will also clean a toilet. (Wow, and we drink this stuff) 19. Kool Aid can be used as a dye in paint also Kool Aid in Dannon plain yogurt as a finger paint, your kids will love it and it won't hurt them if they eat it! 20. Peanut butter - will get scratches out of CD's! Wipe off with a coffee filter paper
21. Sticking bicycle chain - Pam no-stick cooking spray 22. Pam will also remove paint, and grease from your hands! Keep a can in your garage for your hubby 23. Peanut butter will remove ink from the face of dolls 24. When the doll clothes are hard to put on, sprinkle with corn starch and watch them slide on 25. Heavy dandruff - pour on the vinegar !
26. Body paint - Crisco mixed with food coloring. Heat the Crisco in the microwave, pour in to an empty film container and mix with the food color of your choice! 27 Tie Dye T-shirt - mix a solution of Kool Aid in a container, tie a rubber band around a section of the T-shirt and soak 28. Preserving a newspaper clipping - large bottle of club soda and cup of milk of magnesia , soak for 20 min. And let dry, will last for many years! 29. A Slinky will hold toast and CD's! 30. To keep goggles and gl asses from fogging, coat with Colgate toothpaste
31. Wine stains, pour on the Morton salt and watch it absorb into the salt. 32. To remove wax - Take a paper towel and iron it over the wax stain, it will absorb into the towel. 33. Remove labels off glassware etc. Rub with Peanut butter! 34. Baked on food - fill container with water, get a Bounce paper softener and the static from the Bounce towel will cause the baked on food to adhere to it. Soak overnight. Also; you can use 2 Efferdent tablets , soak overnight! 35. Crayon on the wall - Colgate toothpaste and brush it!
36. Dirty grout - Listerine 37. Stains on c lothes - Colgate toothpaste38. Grass stains - Karo Syrup 39. Grease Stains - Coca Cola , it will also remove grease stains from the driveway overnight. We know it will take corrosion from car batteries! 40. Fleas in your carpet? 20 Mule Team Borax- sprinkle and let stand for 24 hours. Maybe this will work if you get them back again. 41. To keep FRESH FLOWERS longer Add a little Clorox , or 2 Bayer aspirin , or just use 7-up instead of water.
42. When you go to buy bread in the grocery store, have you ever wondered which is the freshest, so you 'squeeze' for freshne ss or softness? Did you know that bread is delivered fresh to the stores five days a week? Monday, Tuesday, Thursday, Friday and Saturday. Each day has a different color twist tie. They are: Monday = Blue, Tuesday = Green, Thursday = Red Friday = White Saturday = Yellow. So if today was Thursday, you would want red twist tie; not white which is Fridays (almost a week old)! The colors go alphabetically by color Blue- Green - Red - White - Yellow, Monday through Saturday. Very easy to remember. I thought this was interesting. I looked in the grocery store and the bread wrappers DO have different twist ties, and even the ones with the plastic clips have different colors. You learn something new everyday! Enjoy fresh bread when you buy bread with the right color on the day you are shopping.
Don't forget Gatorade for Migraine Headaches. PowerAde won't work. Pass this information on to friends so they can be informed.

Jake's Season is Over

Jake got his trophy last night at his last baseball game. Isn't that the real reason for playing anyway?

Can't Wait!

Our nectarine and apple trees are getting close! I just hope the nectarines are ready before the birds are this year!

Nate LOVES his sisters

The kids gave me one of those cards that you record your own message in for Mother's Day. Sarah decided to record a different message to Nate and gave him the card. She said: "I love you so much and I adore you and... I got the power." It then played the song, "I got the Power". This was his reaction. Nate HATES it when his sisters tell him they love him so they tease him all the time with it. Hopefully he'll get over it one day.

Aren't they too old for this?

I wanted a recent picture of my girls together. This is how many it took to get a decent picture! Everytime I counted to three they quickly changed their faces. I'm just glad they have fun together. I overheard Sarah talking to a friend today and she was telling her that she and Rebecca are best friends. Sometimes you would never guess that's how they feel but I'm glad they feel so close most of the time!

So Much To Be Thankful For

I went out tonight with a friend that I grew up with. She is my age and still single. She was really upset because her boyfriend just broke up with her. It got me thinking about how thankful I am for my family. She would never want anyone to feel sorry for her but she has been through a lot in her adult years and has had to do it all by herself. I don't know why some people have to go through so many more trials than others but she has sure had her share of them. She would like more than anything to have a husband and children of her own instead of being the favorite aunt to everyone including my children . I am so blessed to have four wonderful children and a husband who is so good to me. It really is the simple things that we need to remember everyday to be grateful for.

Great Ball Games Last Night

It's no secret my children got their sports genes from me.I have always struggled with sports hence the huge crying fiasco when I got my feelings hurt when we played kick ball for family night once,(so embarrasing!). I run from the ball when I play volleyball (the ball hurts when it hits you!), I duck when I'm thrown the ball when playing softball (again, pain when you're hit), and I can't quite even get the ball to touch the racket when playing tennis. In my dreams though, I am the best athlete to walk the face of the earth. This is why I like to sleep a lot.

Anyway, to the point: We have a rule in our home that the boys have to learn the sports that you play at church functions which are basketball and baseball. I want my boys to enjoy going to the mutual activities and lets face it, most of the mutual activities for the boys are centered around basketball or baseball. I have seen with other families that if the boys feel inadequate in these sports,they don't want to go to their church activities. I am so proud of my boys for continuing to play year after year even when they feel down about how they play. Nate has really come into his own this year and has learned to really love to play baseball. This is all I really ever wanted for him; to enjoy himself and to feel good about his efforts.

This is Jake's first year playing coach pitch. At the beginning of the year he told me on the way to one of the games that he loves playing in the outfield because you don't have to do anything. Another time he told me that he would play better if it was a "real" game. Obviously he has had a hard time this year but we have been proud of him for sticking with it and practicing every day with his brother. Finally last night he got a great hit and got his first homerun. You should have seen the smile on his face. Priceless! Last night was a great game for Nate's team too. Amy and Matt blogged it so if you get a chance, read that post. Everyone in the stands from our team were on edge the whole last inning. I got so stressed that I ended up with the biggest headache of my life. Never knew stress could do that to you. It was all worth it in the end though~ Awesome games!

Dr.Finley Day

Friday was Dr. Finley Day at Nate and Jake's school. Who is Dr. Finley? Their principal. I think this was a little odd that he wanted all the kids to dress up like him for a school spirit day but each to their own I guess. I was just glad he cut off the pony tail a few months ago and that the boys didn't ask to get their ears pierced like Dr. Finley. Yes...you read that right. Side note: No, we don't usually drive around with our dog in the car. She had just gotten out and the only way we can get her is by driving up to her and opening the car door.

Jake's Birthday

I just found my camera so I can now post pictures from Jake's birthday party. He invited 6 friends to come have pizza, go to Horton Hears a Who and then back home for a treasure hunt and cake. They were all so cute together. I was a little nervous to invite 2 girls to come with 5 boys but the girls fit right in and they all had a great time. The first picture is of Jake with his new blanket from Grandma K. She usually takes the eight year old grandchild out to pick their own material for their blanket that she makes. The prospect of going alone with his grandma to the store was too nerve racking for him so she just asked him what he would like. He said dogs and the color blue. He loved what she picked and made for him. Thanks Glenna! Hopefully he outgrows this shyness before it's time for him to go on a mission!