Pre Emmy

UTAH TRIP

...at the Peterson's

Okay... since I wasn't fabulous at keeping up with anything during the last few weeks of my pregnancy, I will be doing this post like a fabulously long run on sentence!

 After my mom's graduation, we enjoyed spending time in Utah with family so much.  The girls absolutely loved playing outside at Grandpa and Grandma Pete's.  Someday we will have a nice backyard with a fence that makes me feel secure with them playing out there without me, but today is not that day.  Ours is a up to your torso, weak, chain linked fence.  Secure?  I think not.

 One of the things that Jared specifically requested was to have a barbecue with homemade root beer, since he had gotten a bit jealous when the kids and I had gotten to have one with his family when we went back there in August.  The kids loved checking out the smoke from the dry ice!

 Another Jared request was met when they took us to the new City Creek Center in Salt Lake.  It is an outdoor mall that is beautiful!  The courtyards have such pretty landscaping throughout.

 Thanks Grandpa and Grandma Pete for making the days so memorable and fun!

...at the Palmer's

 We stayed a few days with Grandpa and Grandma Palmer, as well.  One of the really fun things that Jared helped the girls do, especially Addie, is to help pep up the playhouse out back.  They painted rocks and put each of the cousins' names on them and added carpet and other decor.

 This did come at a slight price since they live on the mountain and there are a lot of wild plants and weeds growing out back where the shed is.  Addie got into one that wasn't so kind.  She woke up one morning puffy, with red splotches and a few blisters on her face.  Luckily, her cousin had had the same thing happen a few days earlier, so we had a heads up that it was a possibility.

 The price was worth it, though, since their hard work really dolled up the playhouse.  Plus, they got great quality time with their daddy!

 Cheese!  We are awe-strum musicians;o)

 And Jed is ready for any wild west adventure that Utah has to offer!

 Another highlight was getting to go to a park with my bro and his family.  These two cousins are going to be best buddies; it is just scary to think of what mischief might be in their shared future.

 Ha ha...ha ha ha!  I got the frisbee!

Thanks Grandpa and Grandma Palmer for putting us up with only a few days notice; we loved spending the time with you!

We safely flew back home (a.k.a. this trip, that happened when I was 34 weeks pregnant, didn't send me into labor!); what a relief!

MOTHER'S DAY 2012

Plain and simple, I got SPOILED!!!

I got breakfast in bed, that I brought down to eat with my sweet little family!

 Jared worked hard with the kids to prepare me a breakfast feast of pancakes, bacon, eggs, and ...

 smoothies.  It was Mmm mmm Good!

 The girls drew me adorable pictures,...

 and Addie even wrote me a Mother's day song which she performed for me.

 On top of that, I got beautiful flowers.  Due to not having all the money in the world, I usually let Jared know that those things are not currently in the budget, but Addie really wanted me to have some.  We thought that since she was so sweet that we would allow it, since her other idea was WAY out of our present price range.  It was one of those vacuums that have sensors and run on their own, which is a perfect Mother's Day gift according to the commercial;o)

PRESCHOOL GRADUATION

We had another great preschool swap this year that ended in the middle of May.

Congratulations Graduates of 2012!!!  They are Chase, Ethan, Maddy, and Alexia.  

You can't have a preschool graduation without a special treat and I do have to say that I was pretty pleased with how they turned out.  I guess that whomever this little sneaky hand belongs to was also pleased enough to try to snitch one literally right out from under me!!!

In case anyone is interested, all you need is Oreos, some type of chocolate covered square cookie (these were chocolate covered graham crackers that I found at the dollar store), and chocolate frosting.  You simply have the kids put the frosting on one side of an oreo and stick another oreo on top.  Then you frost the top of that oreo and stick the square cookie on top, and VOILA,...you have a graduation hat cookie stack for dessert!

TEACHER APPRECIATION GIFT

During teacher appreciation week, I wanted Addie to be able to give a gift to her teacher.  Since living costs in the East Coast are EXTREMELY HIGH, we have to be careful with what we spend.  So here is an idea for any who are similarly in tight circumstances; it will cost you a whole $2:o) 

Go to the dollar store and pick up a pack of cute pencils and a small vase.  Sharpen the pencils and put them in the vase with a homemade note, talking about how you think they "are as sharp as all pencils should be!"

JED

What can I say?

He is SUPER!!! . . .

Super at making messes and getting into things he shouldn't, even when you think he should be contained;o)  I do have to thank him slightly for this, because he kept me moving more than I ever have during the last trimester of my pregnancy, which helped to keep my belly looking a bit tighter at the end than it usually does.

KODAK MOMENT

On one of the Saturdays that Jared had off, he got on task first thing in the morning and had the lawn mowed and both cars washed by 11:30 a.m.  Way to go, Hubby!!!!!  The kids loved being out there with him and loved helping wash the cars.

I decided that I better take a picture of the picturesque moment.  After snapping some shots, Jared told me that someone who was driving by slowed down to be able to say how it looked like a Kodak Moment.

We officially made it one with our incredible...ha ha...8 1/2 year old Kodak camera.  It is still kicking, so we are still clicking;o)

THE END (of our family of 5) to start a new beginning (of our family of 6)!  CrAzInEsS!!!