May 17 through May 23

Sunday, May 17



We enjoyed a Sunday dinner at Heidi and Aaron's house this afternoon. The weather was nice enough to eat outside. The kids had a great time hunting around looking for bugs to catch with Kaleb's nifty bug catcher. It was fun to watch them catch and examine a jar full of roly polies and a baby grasshopper. A fun simple toy that entertained the bunch for quite awhile!

Monday, May 18



The thermastat reached just over 90 degrees today. The kids enjoyed the sun by getting out swimming suits and the sprinkler toys for the first time this season. Ben got quite brave and had a great time getting wet. Natalie on the other hand wasn't so sure about getting wet and stayed clear of the spray.

Tuesday, May 19

We're looking forward to our Disneyland trip in a few weeks with the Handy's...we've been working on some homemade autograph books to take to the park. Jennie borrowed a Disney cartridge from a friend and we ended up with some cute books.

Wednesday, May 20



This is what happens when you combine a terrible nights sleep, no more naps, a morning at the park, an afternoon with friends, and several temper tantrums...crash at 4:30pm!

Thursday, May 21



We had corn on the cob for dinner tonight... the first time this season. It was alright and the kids loved eating it and pretending they were Mickey and Donald eating corn on the cob...a scene from one of our favorite old Mickey cartoons.

Friday, May 22



We bought a couple of portable DVD players for Christmas for our car. Sometimes they end up in the house when 2 kids can't agree on what to watch on TV. We also recently purchased headphones for these DVD players as someone likes to watch them with the volume super loud! Natalie and Ben were so cute laying on their stomachs watching a show together, but when I got out the camera, Natalie refused to pose. Oh well...Ben did a good job giving me a cheesy grin.

Saturday, May 23



Here's another image of Natalie biting the dust in the afternoon...we'd been to the mall and ran some other errands and she'd been up since 5:30am! Following this peaceful image, however, we ended up with a different scene as we dealt with the "Nap Hangover".

May 10 through May 16

Sunday, May 10



Mother's Day today! I had a wonderful day with my family. Bryan and the kids surprised me with a new Kitchenaid mixer...a kitchen gadget I've desired for a long time but the price tag kept me from getting one. However, my generous husband was kind enough to surprise me with one! I love it and even used it this morning to make cookies! We enjoyed church, visited Grandma Peterson's grave, and then had dinner at Great Grandma White's house. It was a beautiful day!

Monday, May 11



We've been trying to help my sister, Jennie's, friend raise some Monarch caterpillars into butterflies for a wedding. Here's a current photo of one of the little bugs who has gone from a teeny baby caterpillar to a big juicy caterpillar who eats constantly. We've had several die and we hope to have success with at least one. We'll see how it goes.

Tuesday, May 12





Haircuts for Mommy, Ben and Natalie today. This was Ben and Natalie's first experience with real haircuts from my stylist Marie. She did a great job as always and the kids ended up with some cute do's...Mommy did too! Natalie got a bit cut off and got a cute little bob. Ben said..."She looks like someone else!" We're so used to her curly locks that it was a bit of a change to see her with straigth hair. So cute though!

Wednesday, May 13



The past week or so, Ben's Kindergarten class as been studying animals at school and had to do an animal report on an animal of their choice. Ben chose monkeys and we made a cute poster and puppet to go with his report. He did a great job! His favorite tidbit about monkeys was that a group of monkeys is called a troop.

Thursday, May 14



One of our favorite things to do when the weather is warm is go on walks around the block or up the ravine path after dinner. Lately the dandelions have been out in full force and the kids love picking the white fluffy one and making a wish as they blow the seeds off. So much fun but not helpful in stopping the spread of these little annoying weeds. Bryan's constantly asking them to leave them alone but I can't resist letting them have at it. I love watching them have fun picking and making wishes. Here's hoping some of them come true!

Friday, May 15

The iris's in our garden are starting to bloom. The pretty purple color really brightens up the yard.

Saturday, May 16



Another lawn mowing picture as the kids help Daddy in the yard. We bought these toy lawn mower and trimmer a few years ago when Ben was about 2 years old. We sure have got our money's worth!

May 3 through May 9

Sunday, May 3



Ben decided to read the paper this morning..."like an old man!" He got the idea from one school. His class is working on little plays for a Mother's Day program and in one of the skits, one of the boys is an old man reading the newspaper. So this morning, while he ate breakfast, he poured of the front page and asked me a thousand questions!

Monday, May 4



As I've posted a few weeks ago, Ben has been intersted in exercising with me in the mornings. I bought me a pair of exercise shorts and he wore them this morning. It actually motivates me a little to have a "partner" to work out with! Look at those muscles!

Tuesday, May 5



Rookie Baseball keeps us busy twice a week...here's Ben taking a swing! He loves playing ball and looks forward to the games each week.

Wednesday, May 6



It has been Teacher Apprecation Week this week and I've been busy sewing every night to finish this little quilt for Mrs. Craven. I embroidered the handprint and signature of each student on it. It turned out to be a bit more of a project than I planned. I finally finished it tonight at 10:30pm. I'm so glad it's finally finished...we're giving it to her in the morning!

Thursday, May 7



Ben's class performed their Mother's Day program at school this morning. It turned out so cute. They share a few poems and songs, performed their plays, gave us Mother's Day cards, and served us fruit pizza for dessert. I loved it! The boys recited a cute poem called "A Mother Knows." They listed lots of great things mothers know but then at the end, the last line read: "What I want to know is how a Mother so wise can be so dumb by kissing my in front of all the guys!" It was so cute! In his Mother's Day card, he wrote, "I love my mom because she makes me lunch and volunteers in my class." What a lucky mom I am!

Friday, May 8


Saturday, May 9



It was a warm afternoon and the kids helped me plant some flowers in our yard. It's taking shape slowly and we hope to get the vegetables in next week. We just ran out of time today! Saturday's seem to race by with all the projects we have to get done!

April 26 through May 2

Sunday, April 26



Here's an oldie but a goodie...this is Ben playing with a dollhouse that was mine when I was a child. Each of my siblings had one that was given to us by our Grandma Anne. She spent lots of time collecting toy treasures. This was just one of many. She loved finding a good sale on antique things. My parents recently gave us one to take home. They had been sitting in their storage room for years. My kids have loved getting it out and setting up house. It's fun to remember all the times I used to play with it with my siblings. We'd set up a little neighborhood and make up names and such for our little families. Good times!

Monday, April 27



After all the rain we've had the past week or so the grass had become a bit of a jungle. Bryan spent a couple or hours mowing and edging, trying to tame it. Natalie was a bit of a helper. I love this picture because I know somewhere I have a couple of Ben at this age doing the same thing!

Tuesday, April 28



Some friends invited us for a picnic at the park after school today. It was a little cool in the shade but we all had fun playing and visiting. Park play as been a favorite of the kids this year. There are several around and we have tried them all out at least once already this year.

Wednesday, April 29



My sister Jennie's neighbor is helping her friend try to raise some monarch caterpillars into butterflies for a wedding in a few weeks. We are lucky enough to have a few as guests in our house. We started out with 2 babies and larger caterpillar, but the larger one has already bit the dust. It'll be a fun science experiment for us. Hopefully we'll have a picture of a butterfly in a few weeks!

Thursday, April 30



It was a rainy day today...Natalie spent some time watching it out the back door. I love Spring rain. It makes everything seem fresh and green and clean!

Friday, May 1



Teacher Appreciation Week for the teachers at Ben's school starts next week. As the room mom I'm in charge of a few projects. We kicked off the week by decorating her door. Our theme was "Mrs. Craven, You Take the Cake!" and I made a 2 dimensional cake with the students name surrounding it on stars. It turned out pretty cute, I think!

Saturday, May 2



Here's an update on the caterpillars...some are growing pretty fast. This project has inspired many questions from Ben. He's constantly quizzing me about the process of a caterpillar turning into a butterfly. I need to get a book or something...he's relentless! I hope we get a butterfly soon!