I have become a bad blogger...it is just easier sometimes to put things on Facebook. BUT I am not abandoning the blog quite yet. I still like to tell a story....
On March 28th...I was OFF....I got to watch my little boy perform at the school talent show. I was so proud of his bravery in dancing ALONE in front of everyone. I might or might not have shed a tear.
Here is the dancing boy and his proud sister after the show!
ALSO on March 28th...after much waiting and much anticipation, I met my bestie Misty...and a bunch of our now mutual friends, including the amazing Destiny, at the half-way point in Lehi to see THE HOST. It was great! So much fun!! I didn't take many pictures...here is one I stole from Misty..hence the screenshot.
Here is the whole gang! Well...except the darling gal who took the pic for us!
April 30th...after a crazy two days at work...the family got to dye eggs. We also bought a new aquarium for our rapidly growing fish. Jamie had a lot of fun with the box.
Aha!
I made them wear aprons so they wouldn't ruin their clothes!
Jamie wore one of my aprons....he called it his "Captain America" apron!
The kids left the Easter Bunny a note. I never would have thought to ask questions like these....
But the bunny responded!!
And the bunny spoiled them in return....
Sweet!
Our presents for our folks. They smelt soo good. I loved the purple color.
I am so mad at myself...I didn't get ANY pictures of the kids in their Easter bests! DOH! These were the only shots I got...as they did their hunt at Papa Leo and Grandma TTs house!
Lauren and Leo's brother, Uncle Joe.
Their loot JUST from Leo and TTs!
At my parent's house...I noticed a drawing of Lauren's on the fridge! WOW! What a talented kid. She does NOT get this from me...I can NOT draw! Can you guess what this is?
I got ONE selfie of my lovely hubby and me. He is hot stuff!
I also snapped a pic of my dad's rockin' pony tail.
I got pics of the kids at night in their new PJs. ADORABLE!
Cute Lars!
Silly Jamie!
After my mom's house...this was our haul...this is WAY too much candy for just four people.
So..that was some of the excitement of March. I was looking forward to April and what it would bring.
I took April 5th off so that I could do Lauren's hair and makeup for her dance pictures. Lauren and Jamie were mad that I went to The Host without them, so I had planned to take them...THEN Matt decided to take the day off too....and he (after not much convincing) persuaded Jamie to watch GI Joe while we girls went to The Host. She even wanted to dress alike too! How precious! We snuggled during the entire movie...it was so much fun. Here is a selfie (can you see our matching blue pants?)
We even shopped for cool headbands and earrings while we waited for the boys. I just LOVE my little girl.
The first week of April, we got Jamie's hair cut. He had been begging to get it cut for a while...I made him wait until after his 6 year pictures to be taken. (6 year pictures coming up next post). I REFUSED to take him to get it cut because I like it long so much. SO...Matt did it. I seriously almost shed a tear. He LOVES it short. Me...not so much....
Before:
Before:
After:
After:
One of the things we were looking forward to in April, was Lauren's first dance competition in SUNNY LAS VEGAS!
Here she is at her dress rehearsal April 9th, with her best friend Shelby.
We headed to Vegas on April 11th. The night of April 10th, as I was about to go to bed, Jamie started throwing up. He was sick from about 2AM-7AM. After that, he seemed fine...so we chalked it up to it being something he ate, especially since he was sick for such a short amount of time and then rebounded quickly. He and I were both tired from being up all night....he slept for most of the way down. We stopped at my bestie's house on the way down. (subsequently giving her entire family the flu...what a jerk..but more about that later).
We made it to Vegas around 9 p.m. and took the kids for a drive to downtown Vegas to show the kids all the bright lights! Vegas always amazes me. We got an awesome deal on the room and had an awesome view from the 19th floor!
Here was the view in the daytime.
We enjoyed some family time together in our hotel room that Friday morning.
My boys:
There was also some wrestling/tickling. I love the sound of the three of them playing!
We took a couple of shots of us...glad we did because we were not feeling well about 12 hours later!
Happy to be on vacation!
I am the happiest when I am with these three! I adore them!
Me and my honey! I am SOO thankful he took us on vacation. I love him so!
Across the street from our hotel was Landrys Seafood. Just like in Louisiana! We had to go and try it out! It didn't disappoint! Check out this awesome shrimp cocktail we shared! I had yummy crawfish etoufee!
After a yummy lunch we took the kids to Circus Circus. It was a perfect day, not too busy at all. The kids had a blast!
Having fun riding the rides!
See how far up we are?! Can you find Matt?
So, we had a great Friday! After Circus Circus we took the kids to the pool and visited with Matt's dance teacher Terry. He is so energetic and funny and charismatic, he is such a nice guy. The kids had fun swimming. We went back to the room, changed and headed to a Mexican restaurant at the hotel for dinner. It was yummy, but during dinner, I started feeling a little "off". Matt and Jamie went up to the room and Lauren and I went shopping at the gift shop. I was feeling very "full" and a little dizzy. I thought it was because of the junk we ate and all the rides. When we got back to the room Matt and Jamie were sound asleep. I laid there for a while and thought if I just stayed still I would feel better...NOPE. I was up puking from about 12 a.m to 7 a.m.....every two hours out one end or the other...and I was MISERABLE. Luckily I didn't wake anyone up. THEN around the time we needed to be up to go to the dance competition that Saturday...I was awoken to the sound of Lauren throwing up..OH NO! What were we gonna do??! She was such a trooper. We got her ready somehow. She threw up RIGHT before we left for the venue. I carried around a bucket just in case. BUT she was such a trooper! She danced without complaint. We asked her if she wanted to stay or if she wanted to go and she said she wanted to go...she opted to leave and it was a good thing because as we walked in our hotel room...she threw up! WHEW! She and I slept for a few hours....then Matt got a little impatient and told us he was starving. For ONCE...NOTHING sounded good to me...I felt so weak. At least Lauren could sympathize. We ended up going to Marie Calendars...the kids were able to eat for free = score. I had a pot pie and just ate the creamy middle. We didn't want to have a total bust of a day...so we drove around to see some Vegas sites....like where they film "American Restoration", one of Matt's FAVORITE shows...and the Pawn store from "Pawn Stars". Awesome!
We woke up on Sunday...with Matt sick! DOH! Luckily he didn't throw up...but he got it out the other end along with the weakness and exhaustion that comes with it. It was a long drive home...especially for him. I finished the book "Divergent" and I was in LOVE with another book..what a nerd! We stopped in St. George where a Cafe Rio was opened ON A SUNDAY! We got the soup..but BOO...it was cold...we were both too short on appetite and energy to make a big stink about it. I felt MUCH better Sunday night...but then something happened Monday...I woke up to a fever of 103 and I was BURNING UP. I was SOOO exhausted when I went to work. I didn't start to feel better until Wednesday. NO FUN.
With Jamie's birthday around the corner, I got to thinking about the changes around the corner. About him going into First Grade and no more "snuggles in the morning". I AM looking forward to working the same shift as Matt (after 10 freaking years) and to having more time with the ENTIRE family. It doesn't mean that I haven't LOVED the one-on-one time that I have had with Jamie for the past three years. He and I were cracking up at this picture...with the flash so bright we couldn't open his eyes. Here we are snuggling.
Here he is without the flash..my sweet boy!
That Friday , April 19th, my brother came into town from New Mexico. It was sooo nice to see him and visit with him and to be with ALL of my siblings! Friday night my mom made gumbo..it is SOOO good. MY FAVORITE! Saturday was Jamie's birthday party (WHAT WAS I THINKING?)...I spent the day cleaning and prepping for the party...in typical fashion...I was ready RIGHT as the guests arrived. I got a pic of Jamie with all of his guests. He was so excited! It was also nice to have my brother here for a get together. The kids enjoyed the bouncy house, even though it rained earlier and was a bit chilly.
Even though we used Spiderman invites, he wanted a Star Wars cake. It is his day, so I gave in.
One of my best friends, Melissa, her fiance, David..and their two kids...Arielle, and Carson (Jamie's buddy). What a cute family!
Jamie with Matt's sister, Kristen...her hubby Dave and their son Ethan. My niece Maddie, decided she wanted in the pic too! I love it!
Papa Leo, Grandma TT and Maddie..who decided to squeeze into everyone's pic. She LOVES Jamie, it is so cute!
The birthday boy and his parents...we sure love our little boy!
My Mom, Dad, my brother John and Jamie...I don't know what his little gang sign is all about. Ha!
Here are me and my all my siblings! This is a rare occassion! Happy to be with them!!
Crazy kiddos!
My brother had also brought along a late birthday present for Lauren. She loved her nail and tattoo set. She promptly made a cute glitter tattoo.
At the end of the night, we were all so tired at the end of the night...Lauren crapped out!
Even the cat was sleepy! No joke! Well..she is always sleepy, so that doesn't really count.
That Sunday, after church...we all met at IHOP for breakfast as a big old family. Luckily Lars went around taking some pictures for me. Here is my cute Mom and Dad!
My mom, Matt, and Jamie.
My brother, his daughter, and her girlfriend, Devyn.
Tuesday April 23rd was Jamie's real birthday. Here was the setup of gift from us. His little trinkety toys needed a new storage bin and this one is awesome. It was sort of more of a gift for me...ha ha!
Here he was opening his presents in the morning before Lauren went to school.
And here was the birthday boy the night of his birthday, after his bboy class. I love his smile!
Friday April 26th was my brother's last day in town. My mom had us all over for dinner again, and once again it was super yummy. It was nice to sit around and visit...I am sure my mom and dad enjoyed having ALL of their kids AND grandkids in one place at the same time. I didn't take any pics, except one of me and my brother's dog "Be Be"...she was so cute and so snuggly. I sure miss having a doggy!
Lauren had her second competition April 27th at Taylorsville High. I love to watch her dance, I tear up every single time. She is such a cutie. I am looking forward to this next year!
Driving past the kids' new school's construction everyday is always amazing to see it's progress. I will miss their old school...but looking forward to their new adventure.
Monday April 29th...(knock me over with a feather)....after 9 years Lauren asked me to do her hair in for school in her dance hairstyle! I was happy to oblige!
There are things that awe and amaze me about my little girl, quite frequently. How about her special instructions on how to wash her Easy Bake oven dishes! Or the other day when she gave me a shirt saying "I am gonna need you to stain stick this". I am not sure why it is so surprising to me.....
The strangeness continued as she wore dresses the rest of the school week...CRAZY!
I had to take pictures to document it.
Tuesday: Fancy dress AND eyeshadow. I had to tell her that she was not allowed to wear makeup yet! EEK!
Thursday:
Friday:
May 3, 4, and 5th was a much needed 3 day weekend. Friday the 3rd, Matt was off with me and I was thrilled to have ZERO plans. After I dropped the kids off to school, Matt and I went on a mini-date to the Blue Lemon...YUMMY. We walked around City Creek..hand in hand...perfect weather. We ran a few errands and picked up the kids from school. Matt wanted to work outside, so the kids and I joined him outside, attempting to fly kites. Lauren illustrated our adventures. This is such a perfect drawing. This is Jamie..perfectly colored clothes...and skin...and his Cars kite.
Jamie cracked me up with his Batman gear and swords...he is such a boy and I love it!
Laer that night, we went to Crown Burger for a hamburger and awesome fries and fry sauce. We also did a little driving around...scoping out houses for the "Clean and Beautiful" awards that Matt has to give out. The kids begged for an ice-cream. I just wanted a simple cone...and they handed me this MONSTER cone. I have it up to my foot for comparison. Matt said it doesn't really do the cone justice because my feet are small. Ha!
Here is to the rest of the fun that May will bring....stay tuned for Jamie's 6 year pics coming soon!
