This week I had a big birthday cake to do. It was for a surprise party for our bishop. I'm glad I could do it, but grateful I can get my food out of coolers and back into our fridge.

Free gymnastics meet

The kids each got a coupon for 6 free tickets to a Utah Gymnastics Meet. They got them months ago and we hadn't had a chance to go to one. Friday was the last one of the season and happened to be against BYU so we decided to pack up the kids and go. Both Ben and I thought we were just going to take the kids so we could have a family night out. But, it was actually fun and we enjoyed ourselves. We didn't think many people went to the meets so we didn't think we had to get there that early, but it was packed. By the time we got there there wasn't much room left. We were up on the very top row.

When we got there they were jsut starting with the introduction of the teams so it was extremely loud. Miles was dancing and smiling to the music. He loved it!

We parked at a Trax station and got to ride Trax to the meet. That was an added bonus.

It was a fun outing, we all had fun, and the best part is that it was all FREE!!

One day last week Ben came home from work at 4:00. It was a BEAUTIFUL day. So he and all the kids walked down to the park to play for a little while. It was so nice. Our house was actually quiet for about 45 minutes. I periodically get to go somewhere by myself, but that is usually to go grocery shopping or run other random errands (not the most fun things to do in my opinion). But this day I actually got peace and quiet in my home. I got to make dinner without interruption or twenty questions. I loved it so much I think I'm going to do it again (hint, hint). (BTW, Ben is really good at letting me go out without the kids when I need to. But for some reason, time alone in my own peaceful house was different.)

Sorry, I have to tell you about a sweet deal I got today. I also thought I would share the info in case of you are interested. (Hopefully it makes sense)

My kids love the movie Toy Story so when I saw it was coming out, I decided I was going to get it for them and use it as a gift some time. (shhhh...don't tell). And you all know I don't like to pay full price for things, so I did some research and found some great deals/coupons.

Target has the movies (DVD & Blu-Ray combo pack) this week for $22.99 each. But, if you buy both Toy Story and Toy Story 2 at the same time you get an instant $10 off. Great deal, right? Wait, there's more....

If you go here you can find a $5 off coupon for each.

Wait, you guessed it...there's more.

If you already own one or both on DVD or VHS you can get a $10 off coupon instead of the $5 for each one you have. Go here and set up (for Free) an account with Disney Rewards. After you're logged in, on the right hand side, under "message center" there's a box to enter a code. Enter the UPC code from the back of your current disc/VHS. I don't remember what exactly happens after this and I can't go back to figure it out because I've already entered my code. But it will either take you directly to the $10 off coupon, or you can figure it out from there. You will need to do this twice if you already own both.

I only have Toy Story so I could only get one $10 off coupon. But, I went to Target today and got both shows for only $21 (if I had owned Toy Story 2 already I would have had 2 $10 off coupons and would have only been $16). Less than just going and buying one. Sweet if you ask me. Try it and let me know...

(When I got back, I looked up somewhere else and found that Toys 'r' us might even be a couple dollars cheaper. You can do you're own research on that) :)

Girls vs. Boys

(Posted with special permission from my 7-year-old. NO teasing please or I may not ever get her permission again.) Sara is SO into boys and I am SO not ready for it. She went to a classmate's birthday party and when I picked her up she was talking about this one particular boy she has been talking a lot about lately. She always mentions him and about how much he likes her, but never admitted she liked him. We had to drive somewhere before we went home so I thought this was a perfect opportunity. She was talking about him and I just asked if she liked him. She said, "Yes. He's really nice." I then said, "But do you like him and think he's cute." She kind of giggled and told me she did. That afternoon is when she asked about crushes. She asked if it was okay to have a crush. We told her she was probably going to have lots of crushes and it was okay and normal, but that it's not appropriate to hug or things like that until you are much older. We'd already talked about not dating until your 16 and not going out with just one person until you are much older than that. A couple weeks later I took her and Evan to a play, The Twelve Dancing Princesses, at the Middle School my dad works at. The whole time she was giggling when the princes were on stage and thought one in particular was really cute. She was talking and giggling about him on the way home. She even said she would marry him if she could. I asked her what her favorite part was and she said it was the princes. I asked Evan and he said his favorite part was when they were pretend fighting. (Thank goodness he's not into girls yet. I don't think I could handle two.) Although I think it is cute and funny, I don't think I like it. My little girl shouldn't like boys yet, right? But I am very grateful she is comfortable enough to talk to me about it and that she knows I won't tease her. I know she would shut down if I did. Hopefully all my kids will comfortable coming and talking to me about things, now and when they are older. I know that might not always be the case, but right now I'll take it.

While Kamri was at preschool, Miles and I went to the park for a little sunshine and exercise. The walk around was great. Afterward we just put a blanket out on the grass and enjoyed the nice weather. I love Spring weather!! It just makes me happy. Too bad it doesn't last long enough. I would happy if it lasted year round.

It was so bright Miles couldn't look up at the camera, but that's alright. I just love those cheeks and got a bunch of pictures of them to look at.

He hasn't been feeling very well, so yes he's still in his PJ's. He's been sleeping a lot.

I think this was his first time playing on the grass. He was in awe at it and was picking at it trying to figure out what it was.

We had some fun!

Like I said, he hasn't been feeling well. He needs to be held all day. He just lays around moans. It's so sad and hard to get anything done. Feel better soon, Miles!

Kamri's in PreSchool

I went visiting teaching a couple weeks ago and they lady I was visiting told me about a "young 3's" preschool class a nearby elementary class does. It is for those kids who were not 3 at the start of the school year, but turn 3 during the school year. They are able to start attending the month of their 3rd birthday. It is twice a week for an hour and a half each time. And the best part is that it is only $10 a month. I knew Kamri would LOVE it. The day she turned 3 she thought she was such a big girl she could go to school and primary now. She was a little disappointed when she couldn't do either. After Evan got home from school I told her to get her shoes on so we could sign her up for preschool. She thought she was going to school so she said, "Oh, I have to get my backpack." She ran downstairs and got her LeapFrog backpack and was so excited. I had to tell her she wasn't going yet, but could in a little bit. I took her out and got her a real backpack. Thursday was finally the day. Her first day of school! Tuesday was actually supposed to be her first day, but she was still a bit sick so she had to stay home. I took her over just to meet her teacher since she had been so excited to go. She was a little nervous and wouldn't talk to her teacher so I was kind of nervous how she would act on Thursday when I left her. When we got there she just let go of my hand and started toward the toys. I had to ask her to come give me a hug. She's getting so big and she's so articulate. She is excellent at expressing herself and catches on to things so quickly. When I picked her up, she said, "I like my new teachers." And she had a huge grin on her face. She had a great time. She was just so excited

10 months...

Who wouldn't be happy seeing this face every day for the last 10 months.

All of a sudden he's gotten so big!! In size, but also in his abilities. It's true he learned to crawl before he could sit, but he has mastered sitting (even on his own). This means we were able to move him to his bath seat instead of the infant bath. He loves it and kicks his legs and gets a huge grin on his face when he hears us turn the water on. He zooms around crawling. His favorite room to "run" to is the bathroom. He sits at the base of the tub waiting, I think, for us to turn the water on for a bath. Just this week he held the bottle to feed himself. He fed himself for a while on the floor, but then I picked him up to hold him. I don't know why, but I like someone to be holding him when he's eating. Maybe it's my guilty conscience of not being able to nurse him. He's never liked to eat anything but his bottle. He refuses to eat baby food. We've been introducing "big people food" and he loves eating now. We had stroganoff last night and he ate more than ever. It was exciting. Maybe that's why he's gotten so big. He can also now pull himself up to standing. He's trying to take steps along the couch, but has yet to do it. And he now has 2 1/2 teeth. So darling! He is an absolute JOY!! You really can't help but be happy when he's around.

Kamri's first haircut

I've been trimming Kamri's hair in the back just to make it more even with the shorter front, but I decided it was finally time to get it cut by someone who knew what they were doing. Plus, she doesn't sit still for me and I have horrible scissors. Monday the kids didn't have school, so my friend came over and gave all three of us girls a haircut. (It's nice to have someone who can come to MY house and do my hair while our kids play.) Kamri did great and sat very still and a had a smile on her face almost the whole time. She was lovin' it.

The Three Piggy Opera

All year Sara's second grade has been going to different theaters and halls to see plays and learn about props, scenery, costuming and have a had a whole experience centered around this part of the arts. It has been amazing and Sara has really enjoyed it. To top off this experience the 2nd grade put on a play. It was a big deal and all Sara talked about for a couple of months. They had lots of practices during school, some after school practices and lots of dress rehearsals. Last Thursday I finally got to see and hear all the songs she's been singing for two months. The performance was great. I was amazed at how well all these 7 and 8 year olds performed and had the guts to get up and sing solos and do their parts. It was a great experience for her and so glad she was given this kind of opportunity.

Sara was a horse in the Farm animal chorus. The costumes, scenery, and props for the whole thing were amazing. I don't know how they got all of it. I couldn't get a good picture of it all, but trust me, it was pretty good. (Misti, if you have any good pictures, send them my way)

Homemade Donuts

I was reading my sister's blog the other day and she and her family made homemade donuts out of refrigerator biscuits. We used to do this when we were younger but I had totally forgotten. It sounded like a great idea so I decided we would do it for Family Home Evening one day. I've still got some things to figure out, but the kids enjoyed them.

Wow!!

Ben has become so domestic the last little while. It started with the cake balls and lead to cinnamon bears. I love chocolate covered cinnamon bears but they are usually a lot more expensive than I would like. So.....

Ben decided to make some. We just got some bags of cinnamon bears, melted some chocolate, and covered the cinnamon bears in it. Delicious!!

He had some left over chocolate and we had some strawberries so he dipped those, too (along with some bananas). Way to go Ben!!