Good Deal!

Things that make me happy: hugs, hot chocolate, honesty, an empty laundry hamper...

and a Good Deal!

I went to the grocery store today and got all of this:

for $1.66, including sales tax!

Happy Dance.

On second thought, maybe it is a little pathetic such things make me happy and show up on my blog.
Don't you love Adrienne's pose? She never met a camera she didn't like.

Mother's Day

It was a wonderful day. Breakfast in bed, dinner made, some wonderful cards. All of it designed to make me feel special. It did.
One of my favorite things was actually a sheet of paper Nathan filled out at a restaurant we went to a couple of weeks ago. It said "My Mom should win Mother of the Year because..."
Nathan wrote this:
She is kind and generes and looks out for me and she loves me and does things for me to I think she should win mother of the year.
So sweet!
Annika's teacher had the kids in her class write down their favorite recipes and put them in a book. This was Annika's recipe for Angel Food Cake:
With flour and a couple of eggs and some sugar. Put everything into a bowl and mix it together. Put in a pot that has a circle in the middle and bake for 20 hours. Then take it out and put whipped cream and strawberries on it. Put whipped cream all around and strawberries all around. That's it.
Not bad for a 6 year old. But I don't think I trust her to bake anything quite yet.
Kade gave me a sweet little coupon book good for some chores. Woo hoo. I'll definitely use that.
My husband gave me a picnic table. I am so excited to have it because now we can eat outside occasionally. We actually ate lunch outside today. It was beautiful weather and we enjoyed it. Especially the "family jump" on the trampoline after dinner. It was fun.
Overall, the day was nice and relaxing. Thanks to my great kids and husband. Love you guys!

The Karate Kade

Kade just filled up his third star card at Karate. It is basically a reward system for attendance, skills, and behavior.
He is very proud of himself, and had to take the three framed star cards all the way to Grandma and Grandpa's to show them.

These ladies are his senseis.

He is going to be in the first grade talent show in a couple of weeks. He has been practicing Bo Jitsu Sho Dan for the program, and is very, very, excited about it. Now I just have to sew all those teeny, tiny little patches on his gi (uniform) to get ready for the big show.

April Showers, May Flowers

We have had some really beautiful flowers blooming in our yard. Especially the dandelions. They grow so effortlessly...
I took some pictures of the more desirable ones in our flower beds.

These are blossoms from our weeping cherry.

These are lobelia, I think. They are so pretty I really like them, whatever they are.

These are bleeding hearts. Annika's favorite.

This is creeping phlox, given to me by my mom. It blooms in the spring and is very pretty. We are currently in the market for some more colors because we like it so much.

We also found a giant earthworm while we were out there taking pictures and pulling weeds. It is honestly the biggest worm I have ever seen. Annika tried to pick it up and tore off the back half. These pictures are of what was left after the amputation. I stuck my finger in there to give some perspective on its size.

It is so nice to have some beautiful things growing in the yard after the long winter.

Burke got some great pictures of a spectacular rainbow after the showers that gave us the above flowers.

New Hair Toys and Baby Chains

Yes, another post about hair. I figured I'd warn you so you can stop now if you are completely uninterested in hair.

But I love it.

I just got some new curlers for Annika's hair. They are really easy to use, and more comfortable to sleep in. The results were so pretty.




I ended up doing her hair and taking these pictures before she had changed her clothes for church, so she is still wearing her glam pj's when I took these "after" pictures:

I finally tried one of my favorite styles on Adrienne's baby hair the other day. It turned out really cute, despite the constant movement of the head. There are a few little fly-away wispys, but I think it looks good for a 3 year old. (It only lasted about 3 hours, and was not nap-proof, however).

Sunday Funnies

Sunday....
Hmmm. Is it really a day of rest? After Sacrament Meeting today, I don't think so. It seemed like someone fed all of my kids a big dose of caffeine or some other super-stimulant right before we left for church. They were all being little stinkers at some point or another.

Here are some of the highlights:

Annika wanted to sit on Burke's lap, but she was being so wiggly. For some reason, Burke doesn't understand that when you are doing sacrament meeting with a bunch of kids, sitting and meditating is not in the cards. He was trying to get her to settle down, and I heard him whisper into her ear, "You are supposed to be thinking about Jesus."
Annika answered, "Well, I just want to think about me!"

*sigh*

Kade decided to bear his testimony. It was short but sweet and to the point. When he came to sit down, he told me that it was really scary but kind of fun. I thought that combination was a little strange so I asked him to explain what me meant. He said that it was scary to get up in front of everyone, but that he liked bearing his testimony because he felt the Spirit.
Then he asked if he could do it again.

I gave Sharing Time in Primary today. I felt a lot better about this one than the last one I did. I wasn't too nervous and I actually enjoyed it this time. I have come to realize that is the key. The kids can always tell if you are enjoying what you are doing. Very intuitive little people, they are.
My sharing time was about the ordinances of the gospel, and I am proud to say I came up with the idea myself, which is amazing, because I do not have a creative bone in my body. I am generally really good at stealing other people's ideas.

I am slowly but surely getting up on my feet and feeling a little more comfortable in my role in Primary. But...

We need to plan a quarterly activity. I HATE them!

I know that is a terrible attitude to have, but I do. When we had them in Michigan, I would have nightmares the whole week before the activity, and it was super stressful for me (see "basket case" below). I was pretty comfortable with most things I had to do in Primary, but the activities never did come easy.

Always another hurdle, right?

I had my first baptism as the PP on Saturday. It was really a good experience. I am so grateful for a husband who is a worthy and willing priesthood holder. I am also grateful for whoever taught me how to lead music (somewhat)! Don't remember who it was, but it came in handy that afternoon!

Our Civic Duty

Date night? Not really.
Despite the fact that we did have a babysitter, and we were going somewhere in the car alone together, I wouldn't call it a date.
We went to the County Convention to elect leaders of our "party".
It was interesting. Things can often get downright testy when you have a room full of very opinionated people. (Which are the kind of people who show up to caucus and get elected as delegates in the first place.)
We did our duty, and got a free "date night dinner" out of it for our trouble: Subway sandwiches and chips, provided by the Party.
I forgot to take the camera with me for pictures, so no picts for this post.

It would have been fun to get one of the officer who pulled Burke over for speeding on the way to the convention, though.

Traffic school, here he comes.