Thay Cheethe

Thith week ith a spethel one...it ith Aaron'th birthday.  Tho my pothtth are going to be about my amotht theven year old, Aaron.  Thorry, I know that thith ith pretty annoying, but thith ith how Aaron ith talking now.  Hith triumph ith that he lotht hith two front teeth...check it out...what a cute boy!

 Ok...enough of that!  What I thought was amazing was that he managed to eat 4...yes 4... ears of corn last night with his mithing (sorry I couldn't resist) teeth.  He must have some gums of steel!

In honor of Aaron's seventh birthday, here are seven things that I think are special about him:

1. Aaron is a very hard worker.  He loves to help us on big projects like building our shed, and yard work.
2. Aaron loves to read and learn new things.  He pushes himself to excel in school.
3. Aaron is VERY good at math.  His brain is always calculating.
4. Aaron is an awesome big brother.  He takes care of and loves Nathan and Travis very much.
5. I love to go out and play with Aaron.  It is so fun to play catch or throw the frisbee around with him.
6. Aaron puts on a rough and tough exterior, but inside he is very sensitive and loving.
7. Aaron tries his best to do the right thing and to reminds me to be a better mom.

Here's to the big "Theven".  I hope it is a great year for you buddy!

Sunshine Award

I just received my first blog award...thanks to Buzzing the Day Away!  The Sunshine Award is given to bloggers whose positivity and creativity inspire others in the blogging world.  Wow...I am glad that my blog brightens someones day.

So, here are the rules for accepting this award...

1. Put the award on your blog and/or within your post
2. Pass the award on to 12 bloggers
3. Link to the nominees within your post
4. Let them know they received the award by commenting on their blog
5. Share the love and link back to the person who gave you the award.

Here are 12 of my favorite blogs that inspire me.  Check them out, they are amazing!

1. NieNie Dialogues 
2. eighteen 25
3. Mindika Moments
4. Sweet Basil
5. Oopsey Daisy
6. C.R.A.F.T.
7. Delicious Ambiguity
8. 71 Toes
9. Mother Lode
10. 365 Days of Slow Cooking
11. Grandma's Desserts
12. The Creative Crate

Nathan-isms

I need to write down my 2 year old's funny (and a little maddening) phrases before I forget them.  He is so funny and usually says these things out of context.  Here are some of his Nathan-isms:
"You not the boss of me." - followed by
"Never mind" - when he sees my bossy face
"Maybe later" - especially when I ask him if he wants to go potty in the toilet
"I just kidding Mom" - like when he tells me that he wants to go potty in the toilet

Here are some "Mom-isms" that I said and then asked myself..."did I just say that?"
Nathan was sucking the toothpaste out of the tube..."Nathan, don't drink the toothpaste!"
As I was cleaning dinner up, I looked over to see Nathan spreading his taco salad all over his face and arms..."Nathan, dinner is not lotion!"

This is where Nathan would say "I just kidding Mom"

Later that same night as we were enjoying a fudge-pop outside I look over to see Nathan spreading his melting fudge-pop all over his face and arms..."Nathan, popsicles are not lotion!"  I guess that I should have specified EVERYTHING that is not lotion during dinner...silly me!

This is where I would say "Let's go clean you up...again"  and Nathan would say "Maybe later"


Even though his Nathan-isms can be a little frustrating, I can't help laughing and smiling at his cute, mischievous face...even if it is covered in mashed taco salad and sticky fudge-pops!

Love of Liberty

I am so grateful for my liberty and freedom!

Abraham Lincoln once asked, “What constitutes the bulwark of our own liberty and independence?” He then answered, “It is not our frowning battlements, our bristling sea coasts, our army and our navy. … Our reliance is in the love of liberty which God has planted in us.” 

Moroni, the great Book of Mormon leader, was someone who loved liberty. We read:

“Yea, we see that Amalickiah … led away the hearts of many people … to destroy the foundation of liberty which God had granted unto them. …

“And now it came to pass that when Moroni, who was the chief commander of the armies of the Nephites, had heard of these dissensions, he was angry with Amalickiah.

“And it came to pass that he rent his coat; and he took a piece thereof, and wrote upon it—In memory of our God, our religion, and freedom, and our peace, our wives, and our children—and he fastened it upon the end of a pole.

“And he fastened on his headplate, and his breastplate, and his shields, and girded on his armor about his loins; and he took the pole, which had on the end thereof his rent coat, (and he called it the title of liberty) and he bowed himself to the earth, and he prayed mightily unto his God for the blessings of liberty to rest upon his brethren, so long as there should a band of Christians remain to possess the land” (Alma 46:10-13).

One tradition that our family loves to do on the 3rd of July is to pack a picnic, blankets, chairs, and a frisbee and go to a golf course that puts on a great firework show.  We sit with our neighbors on a huge hill, share treats, play, listen to the live bands, and let the kids run/roll down the hill before the fireworks start.  Here are some pictures of past years:

Well, yesterday we were not able to celebrate our tradition at the golf course because our kids were sick and we didn't want to spread hand-foot-mouth disease along with our treats to our neighbors.    We were all pretty bummed because as you can see - we have a blast!  So this is how our night went instead:

• The kids got their pj's on.
• Kaylee had an emotional breakdown because she realized we weren't going to the golf course.
• We loaded everyone in the van and drove to the golf course hoping to find a place to park and watch the show from the van.
• The streets were packed but we finally found a place to park with a limited view of the fireworks.
• The kids complained and whined.
• We left and drove away in the middle of the show.
• About a mile from our home we found a place to pull over with a great view of the fireworks (now much farther away).
• The kids pulled out some blankets and spread them out on a strip of grass and started to watch the show in our traditional way with Eric laying down with them.
• All of a sudden, sprinklers came on right under and around the blanket.
• We all rushed back into the van and finished the show.
• We came home and watched some of our neighbors fireworks before going to bed.

What a day!  I sure hope that the kids are not sick next year!  It is so much easier to lug coolers, chairs, strollers, blankets, and 4 kids up to the golf course than what we did last night!

Again, I am very grateful for the liberties that I enjoy so that we can do things like this together as a family.  Thank you to all of those men and women who risk everything for these liberties that I love so much...even the sprinklers.

The Volcano

After organizing Kaylee and Aaron's school papers and projects on Tuesday, I found some AWESOME stories that they wrote that I want to preserve and share.  I will post some of them on Saturday's Story.

Our first story is The Volcano written and illustrated by Aaron (1st Grade).

There once lived a volcano.

He erupted almost every day.

Everbody was terified of him because of his lava.

Also because he looked scary.

They thought he looked frightening.

That's why they were afraid of him.

And also when the volcano erupted

45 million gallons of lava came out!

Everybody knows that volcanoes are not alive,

but this valcano was alive!

And everybody knows that reagular volcano's lava is very hot!!

But this volcano's lava was very, very, very hot!

Every day the people poured cold water, 

but the lava never got cooler.

And that's the way the people had to live.

And they did not like it at all!!

And I am not kidding.

Would you like if you had a volcano at your door?

Texas Sheet Cake

After Monday's crazy day, I took a nice break and made a delicious cake.  Here is the recipe...enjoy!

Texas Sheet Cake

• 2 cubes butter
• 3 Tbsp cocoa
• 1 cup water
• 2 cups flour
• 2 cups sugar
• 1 tsp salt
• 2 eggs
• 1 tsp soda
• 1 tsp vanilla
• 3/4 cup buttermilk

Bring the butter, cocoa, and water to a boil.  In a separate bowl mix the flour, sugar, and salt.  Pour the boiled mixture on top of the dry mixture and add the eggs, soda, vanilla, and buttermilk.  Mix well and pour onto a sprayed jelly roll pan.  Bake at 350 for 30-35 minutes.

Frosting:

• 1 cube butter
• 4 Tbsp cocoa
• 5 Tbsp buttermilk
• 2-2 1/2 cups powdered sugar
• 1 tsp vanilla

Melt the butter, cocoa, and milk on low heat.  Take off heat and add the powdered sugar and vanilla.  Add enough powdered sugar to make it the consistency that is between a glaze and frosting (it should be thick, yet still able to pour).  Pour the frosting on the cake right after you take it out of the oven.  Top with sprinkles or nuts (we like half and half). 

Kid Wash

This is the perfect activity now that the sun is hot and the kids are a sticky mess from drippy popsicles. It is a sprinkler made out of PVC pipes and water misters. Eric came across this idea a few years ago and made some. We have LOVED it. We set it up over our sidewalk so that the kids can ride their bikes and scooters through it. We have also set it up over the slip-n-slide or even just a tarp to add more water and fun! It is really easy to set up and store. Here are some great tutorials on how to make one: instructables.com or click here for a printable PDF version.

We set it up a few days ago and the entire neighborhood showed up. It was a lot of fun. The kids even had contests to see who could stand under it the longest...Aaron stood under the cold water for 10 minutes...Brrrrrr!

We also took it to our family reunion and it made a big "Splash".