Day Two of Memorial Weekend

Today we packed in a lot of activities.

First- Splash park.

Next- Fishing

Of course the boys were a little ticked that "the girl" caught the only fish...



Later- Swimming

A little later- We made the kids cook for us.



Even Later- A visit from my brother and his cute boy Quaid.



And finally- BED!

Memorial Day Weekend

Thursday morning I was looking at the forecast, and saw that Memorial Day would be filled with wind and rain. However, St. George was lookin' mighty nice. Jeremy had to work so I decided to totally ditch him and head down South. I called my brother to see if we could take his son Harrison so Landon would have a buddy. We had Harrison sleep over that night and headed to St. George the next morning. It was an easy drive and all of the kids were great. We found out while on our way that Gary Coleman died. Landon has been somewhat obsessed with him over the past few months (don't ask) and when I told him, he said, "Oh no! First Micheal Jackson, then Gary Coleman! Who's next, Jim Carrey?" This kid says the most random things.

We finally arrived and were excited to see that my nephews were at Grandma's house. The kids rarely see their cousins, so it was so nice to have them all hang out.

Emma wanted to show Grandma how well she can do a back bend and Olivia didn't want her to have all the attention and yelled out,"Grandma, watch me do a back end!"....

For the rest of the night we just hung out with my parents and went to bed.

Piano Recital

The kids have been in piano for two months. I was one proud Mama to watch their progress in such a short time.

My handsome boy

My darling daughter and her wonderful teacher

The video quality is pretty bad since it was recorded from a cell phone.
I hate to admit it, because it only contributes to Jeremy's
argument as to why he needs wants an iPhone 4.
Enjoy anyway :)

Can You Take The Heat?

Landon was required to do a Science Fair Project this year. We went online to see suggestions for 3rd and 4th grades. We found some that were interesting to Landon and submitted them. His teacher kept telling us they were too easy. We finally went to a 6th grade website and well...it all looked really hard, quite honestly.

Here's the deal. Jeremy is the math and science guy. I'm in charge of art, English, writing, and anything else that uses the right side of the brain. Unfortunately, Jeremy has been working 90+ hours a week and just couldn't jump in. It took Landon and I a week, and what we lacked in actual scientific evidence, I tried to make up in a beautiful display (again trying to use my right brain).

Landon is very much like his Dad and can remember facts better than Rain Man. It was so amazing to watch him answer the random questions with such confidence.

I'm so proud of this kid and that giant brain of his.
Oh, and he's handsome too.
Watch out ladies!

The Dog

My kids have been asking for a dog pretty much since they could say the word. I definitely love dogs, but had a pretty long list of requirements: Since Landon is allergic we needed a hypoallergenic dog. However, I wanted a big dog,  so we can take it for walks, and I would feel like I have a little protection in the house. I was also against getting a puppy because I didn't want to house train, and certainly didn't want my furniture chewed up. If I got an adult dog, I needed it to be good with kids and fairly well-trained. So needless to say, after a couple of years, we still hadn't found what I was looking for.

Last month, Jeremy's cousin got a divorce and had to find a home for their Chocolate Lab. Other than being hypoallergenic, he was exactly what we had been looking for. We have known him since he was a puppy, so we've basically watched him grow up. He was very well trained and raised with twin girls. So off we went to make Landon play with him and see just how bad his allergy would be to this specific dog.

 

Meet Ruger. 

The kids played with him for a few hours and Landon didn't seem to have much of a reaction. We decided to take him home for a few days to see how it goes. 

He made himself at home and seemed to really fit into the family right away.

Unfortunately after three days, Landon finally had a reaction to him.

I told the kids we would have to give Ruger back, and they were all so devastated. Emma cried for hours. The next morning, we decided to keep him if the kids would be willing to make some adjustments. We put a gate on the stairs so Ruger can't go into the  bedrooms and Landon had to wash his hands after he touched the dog- every time. We tried that for a few more weeks and it worked really well. We also decided to have Landon tested to see just how bad the allergy is and also find out what else he is allergic to. So for now, we are officially dog owners :)

Mother's Day

I love Mother's Day, because I'm always reminded
of what amazing kids I have.

I started the day with some home-made gifts and cards...my favorite!!

My son wrote a book of various types of poems, from a sonnet to a haiku. They were all centered around me. I learned in those poems that I clean a lot and discipline a lot. I guess all the other priceless memories I've made aren't as etched in his memory as they are mine, lol.

We went to breakfast and then came home and took pictures in the backyard. The kids get sick of it, because I do it every Mother's Day. But I love it...After all, I wouldn't be a mom if it weren't for them!

Jeremy insisted that I didn't cook or clean today, so he said he would make lunch.

Then we went to celebrate with my in-laws. The kids made Grandma a frame with their handprints and decorated it themselves. They were so proud. I've always told them home-made gifts are much more meaningful than something they can buy at the store. I sure hope Grandma agrees.

Olivia was showing Grandpa and Grandma how to use the iPhone. She can navigate her way through a complex technical device, but still can't pee on the toilet. Love her.

Cheryl knows how much my Livi loves cupcakes, so she made some cupcakes in a jar. Not only do they look cute, but they are so much easier (and less messy) to eat.

What a fun day. I just love these crazy kids!!

Landon's Spring Program

Landon had his very last performance at Challenger. They really went all out this year with choreography and everything. Here is a little "chant" about the Scientific Method.

There were a lot of songs, but I will only post one (you're welcome), because it's one of my favorite songs. Not bad for a bunch of 3rd graders...

Then we headed back to his classroom to look at his Young Authors Book and meet some of his friends.

Easter!

Last night we colored Easter eggs to leave for the Easter Bunny. It's so nice that Olivia can get involved in our activities now that she's a little older.

The kids woke right up and started looking for chocolate eggs and their baskets, so I didn't get a chance to grab my camera before they found everything. I forced them to stay on the couch while I grabbed my camera, so here is our one and only Easter picture. Luckily it's a good one :)

Happy Easter!

Big Girl Bed!

I was dreading the day I had to take Olivia out of her crib. Even though she is 3 years old, she had never tried climbing out, so I figured, if it ain't broke, don't fix it! However, for the last few nights, she has been having nightmares and in order to get to me as quickly as possible, she would jump out in one swift move, landing on her head or back. So, it was no longer safe for her to be in her crib.

As I was taking down the crib, I kept telling her how she's not a baby anymore, and that big girls sleep in beds and they DON'T GET OUT. EVER. I really wasn't looking forward to seeing her cute little face every five minutes that night.

I must say, I was pleasantly surprised that she slept well, with no nightmares...and so did I.