Shane!

Shane is officially a 10 year old!

 He wanted me to do a treasure hunt (like we do for Christmas) for his presents.

We settled for the "Hot & Cold" game.

 Shane loves to fish!

So I made this cake for him.

It turned out pretty cute.

And he liked it~ that's all that matters.

Happy Birthday, kiddo!

(He's holding his chest because it is hurting! He got an air-soft gun for his birthday, and trying to learn how to use it, he strained his chest muscles. He hurt for a couple of days!)



Baseball!

It's been a rough start to the Baseball season this year.

It's kinda tough to play ball in the Snow!

 Shane's been really sick for a couple of weeks~ but he only missed one game so far.

These pictures were taken after we did team pictures. When we got home, he wanted a few more.

This is his first time playing in an actual Little League.

He had to try out and everything!

He's in the Minor league.

He's a pretty good little ball player~ and I'm glad he'll be perfecting his skills and really learning how to play.

It's been fun so far.

He has an awesome coach, who really teaches the boys a lot but is not real intense and uptight.
He's not a screamer/yeller coach. And I like that!

Shane usually plays 1st or 3rd, and they've been talking to him about pitching too.

School Field Trip

It was cold and miserable!

But the kids had fun!!!

I'll post more about that later.

Nine Years Ago...

Nine years ago, Shane was just a baby!  And a cute one at that!  He was my fussiest baby, though. He was a terrible sleeper and a terrible eater!  Good thing he was not my first, or he may have been my only! :)

Yesterday was his birthday.  How time flies! 

Then: (at about 6 months)                

                                     


 Now:

Shane is a fun, funny kid.  He loves sports and is very athletic.  He loves basketball and baseball.  He also is an awesome skateboarder and he loves to swim too!  He also has natural talent for tumbling/gymnastics. 

Shane still likes to cuddle, maybe that's because he's the youngest?  He likes me to lie down by him at night until he falls asleep.  Every night he tells me, "Goodnight, I love you, see you in the morning....I love you more than anything in the world, even Pluto and all that stuff!"  He has also made it clear that he does NOT love me more than oxygen.  Sometimes I like to tell him I love him more than anything in the world too...except for glazed doughnuts!  (Or some other wacky, obviously not true item). 

For his cake, he chose "Better Than S*x Cake... (we usually call it Snickers or Skors Cake... a double entendre?) Shane has been calling it "Sexy" Cake.  When grandma asked him what kind of cake he was having, he replied; "I'd rather not say".  Funny kid!  (And, the cake didn't turn out right...darn it!)

We had Chicken Broccoli Casserole for dinner (no surprise there).  Happy to report, no blood was shed, but the left-overs are all gone! 

Happy birthday to one sweet, fun, loveable boy! 

Happy Birthday, Mom!

Last week, my mom celebrated her 71st birthday.

I don't have a good, current picture of her, so this is one from about 7 years ago.

My mom loves to read. It's a passion she passed on to me.

Anytime we went on a trip, even if it was just for a day or two...she would find a thrift store or used book shop to search through. She always would come away with lots of treasures. She used to bring the books home and bake them in the oven (seriously) to get rid of any germs or smells. Not sure if it worked or not, but she does have a lot of old, used books. :)

One of my favorite books, "The Rosary", is such a find. And I am certain it "did time" baking in the oven.

One of my favorite childhood memories is of staying up late on a summer evening, reading with my mom. In my mind's eye, I can still see her curled up in the swivel rocker, engrossed in her book. I can still remember looking up and seeing the white, sheer curtains blowing in the summer night breeze, hearing the crickets chirp outside the window, and being curled up on the couch enjoying being able to stay up so late, reading. I even remember the book I was reading; "The Endless Steppe" by Esther Hautzig.

We also did a lot of camping when I was a kid. I think mom owned all of the "Roughing It Easy" books by Dian Thomas, and she always had something new and fun for us to try; Banana Boats, Tin-foil Dinners and lots of other goodies. We always had a fun time together.

Whenever mom is trying to tell a joke, or recount a funny experience, well...she gets laughing so hard that no one can understand a word she is saying...she just starts squeaking and laughing! And the harder she tries to stop, the more she gets to laughing, until everyone is laughing, yet we still have no clue what the "funny thing" was...her attempt at telling is always the funny part. In fact, whenever she starts to share something humorous, my dad usually says, "Here she goes again" because he knows what's coming...

My mom is very organized...and she is always on time! She and my dad always show up 15-20 minutes early to everything. I don't think she has ever been late a day in her life.

She also has always been a 100% Visiting Teacher. Nothing keeps her from getting her VT done every month (early too, of course). Sadly, this is NOT a trait she passed on to me. I think the only time she may have missed a month was when Curtis was in the hospital after his car accident.

Thanks for a lifetime, of warm, wonderful, happy memories (and lots of wonderful books!)

I love you mom! Happy Birthday

19!

Happy Birthday, Emily!
19 years ago, you made your debut...Although it seems like just yesterday that you were a cute, spunky little girl...you have grown into a beautiful young woman. (Still cute and spunky!)

Here are a 19 fun, random facts about Em.

She loves music and loves to sing.

She also can play the piano and the violin.

She loves her friends and is kind, thoughtful and loyal.

She is a daddy's girl.

She loves the San Diego Temple:


Her favorite food is Chicken Broccoli Casserole.

Her favorite colors are RED and TURQUOISE. (Not necessarily together).

She loves Orca Whales. Last time we went to Sea World, she cried when "Shamu" made an appearance.



When she was little, she wanted to be a teacher and a hair stylist.

When she was 2, she fell out of her 2nd story bedroom window, but thankfully was unharmed.

She loves football, and Tom Brady and the New England Patriots are her favorite team.

She likes to cook & is pretty good at it. (Don't ask her to sew anything, though!)

She is the only girl in our family. (Well, besides me!)
She is also the only granddaughter on my side of the family.

She is the 2nd oldest of our children, and has 3 brothers.

Her favorite movies are: "How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days" and "Pirates of the Caribbean"

She has always been happy and cheerful. She has a good sense of humor and loves to have fun.

She does not like "hick" music, so her dad loves to torture her with it on long road trips!

Never leave a drink unattended around Emily. She is sure to add a special ingredient, usually vinegar or lemon juice.

"If You Could Hie to Kolob" is one of her favorite hymns.


We love you, Emily. Have a wonderful, happy, exciting 19th birthday!

( Emily and Spencer earlier this year)

It's Great to be 8!!!

Or: Shane's Birthday!

(from http://www.wordle.net/)

Shane turned 8 years old last month. Eight is a very important birthday and he was very excited! His birthday was also the same day as Easter this year, so he thought that was especially cool!

Shane was reading his birthday card from Grandma and Pa and when he got to the part where they had signed their names, he tossed the card down and said; "Blah, blah, blah, I can't read SPANISH!" We laughed so hard! I bet my parents didn't know they could speak Spanish! Ha, ha...He meant to say CURSIVE and realized his mistake after we all busted up laughing.



He requested Chicken & Broccoli casserole for his birthday dinner, and I made him a skateboard cake. It turned out cute, but it was HUGE and most of it didn't get eaten. :(



A few weeks later, Shane got to be baptized by his dad. We had to wait for the font to be filled, since someone had forgotten that little detail. No worries, though. Since Shane is small, they didn't have to fill the font too full...although it was a long ways down for Rick to bend over! (Good thing Rick is short, too!) Everything went well, although I do admit to holding my breath until everyone was standing upright again. Good thing Rick didn't topple over, or his pants didn't split or something else disastrous!

We had a nice program. Emily and her friend Aubrie sang "A Child's Prayer". We had a couple of talks...all short and sweet and just perfect.

Shane looks so handsome and grown up in his new Sunday clothes. He refuses to wear a clip on tie! He wants a "real" tie, just like his dad and older brothers wear. He also is very excited to have a nice, new set of scriptures.

Hooray Shane! Way to CTR!

We love you Shane! Happy 8th Birthday and Happy Baptism Day!

APRIL! APRIL! APRIL!

A Recap:

I knew April was going to be a bit of a crazy month, but somehow I thought I had it all under control. HA! Thought I would have time for lots of funny, insightful, wonderful blogging. HA! HA! (Not that I generally do that, anyway!)

Things started off well enough, with two days of this:

The 179th Annual General Conference of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. And Elder Holland's talk, "None Were With Him". The most beautiful and eloquent sermon on the Atonement I think I have ever heard.

Things get a little "dicey" from here on out! (Tylenol and brown paper bags not provided).

The next weekend included a little bit of this:

Our 23rd Wedding Anniversary! Manti Temple, April 11th, Loved him then, love him still, always have, always will!

Followed the next day by a little of this and a little of that:

Easter and Easter Eggs combined with Shane's Birthday!

Happy 8th Birthday, Shane!

And a lot of this:

Birthday Cake! (It's a skateboard, in case you can't tell!)

Then, just a couple days later, my 91 year old Grandmother passed away, so we wedged in a 3 day trip to Utah for the funeral. Love you, Grandma!

Rushed back, and got ready for a little bit of this:

Curtis' CTN (Therapy) Graduation Ceremony. This is him, with his Speech Therapist, Maura.

Then, we started off May with a little of this:

Shane's Baptism Day! Hooray for Shane!

We had family here visiting for the Graduation and the Baptism. My parents were here for a week, and Rick's parents were here for 4 days. Emily flew in too, and was also here for 4 days. We had a great time, and lots of good food! A few laughs, a few tears...and not a dirty dish or an unfolded towel in the house the entire week. Our moms should live with us all the time. Or not :)

That's the end of our crazy, wild ride through April! I think I will go take a nap now.