around the yard

For the past few weeks, we have noticed a couple of robins spending a lot of time in our yard. We looked all over for a nest, and never found one....until last week. This nest showed up overnight, just as our weeping cherry tree finally leafed out. We peeked into the nest when the mama bird was gone and discovered a single blue egg. The kids are having so much fun watching her. What we assume is the daddy bird hops around the yard most the day and tries to scare us away from the tree. The kids are counting the days until the egg hatches.

As for the rest of the pictures, I'm just giving you some proof that warm weather finally arrived here....well...sort of. I'm taking anything I can get at this point, and trying to ignore the end of the week highs-in-the-60's that are coming. These pics all came from our yard...so many of my favorite flowers are blooming,
and I just had to share!

Miss Kim miniature lilacs...they smell soooo good!

the columbines are the biggest they've ever been...
thanks to the cold weather

no idea what this is, but it's pretty!

honeysuckle vines are blooming away....beautiful!
It's a good thing I enjoy digging in the dirt. I spend hours
out there in the flowerbeds, it's kind of a therapy for me.
The kids don't want to help weed often,
which works out well for me...
it gives me quiet time to myself which is so very rare!

camo teeth

The countdown ended today for Miss Maddy....braces...finally! We were patiently waiting for the last couple of teeth to come in so Maddy could get into the braces game. As you can see, there are some space issues in her tiny mouth. The next few weeks should come with big changes in those front teeth, if the poor girl survives the pain. We stocked up on popsicles, ice cream, and creamies to get her through the worst of it.

The orthodontist let her pick colors for the top braces. She picked green and black bands...I didn't get that at all until I heard her explaining her color choice to Dr. Watson.
"I picked green and black because I need camouflage colors when I'm at Shadow Mountain. We play forest ninjas and my teeth would totally give me away!"
I had to turn my head and concentrate really hard so I wouldn't burst out laughing.

Still can't believe two of my kids are old enough to be wearing braces...crazy!

at LAST!

So, so, so glad that school is OUT!
No more schedules, homework, chorus, drop offs,
pick ups, walking-home-from-school-fights...YAY!
Thanks to the cold weather, we postponed our water party
and headed to the gardens instead.
We had just enough sun to enjoy the early afternoon.

...my BFF...

playing chopsticks

making a city...

Our movie in the driveway tradition was altered...
again, thanks to the wind and cold.
We moved everything inside the garage, flipped the screen,
and it was just as good as the real deal!
Super fun day!
WELCOME SUMMER
...now if mother nature would
just get on board!

huffin' and puffin'

Last night was our first Raingutter Regatta for cubs. Tim was running the show and had a double elimination tournament for each den. Carter decided it would be good luck to paint his boat the same colors as his pinewood derby car...so it was gold with black lightening bolts. So apparently, our boat building skills were not as good as our car skills. Poor boy didn't even win a race :( Had no idea people were actually gonna wax their boats! It was still a fun night and popsicles and ribbons made all the boys happy in the end :)

On your mark...get set....

BLOW!

Missed it by that much!

We made Jace a boat and he was thrilled to race his big sister at the end of the night!

Hey! I'm losing to my 5 year old brother!

All in all, a fun night for all the kiddos! and yes, I'm super excited that tomorrow is the last day! Although the weather...60's and rain...could pose a problem for our pizza/smores/driveway movie night..grrrrr.

letters

Letter #1:
Laityn wrote this last night instead of going to sleep....
I'm thinking this was a way better use of time than sleep :)

Letter #2:
Dear Spring,
NEVER MIND!!

Notice my sad tomato plants all curled into frozen heaps!

man cave

In a few months, we will be hitting the seven year mark for living in this house. Longest time we've lived anywhere since we got married...and the plan is to stay...pretty much forever. Anyway, every Spring we "plan" to build a shed...and every Spring that project gets delayed another year for a project (usually of mine) that is deemed more important. Poor Tim has been patient, and this year his shed FINALLY made it to the top of the list! Tim poured cement in March, and has been steadily working away. The weather has been killing us both...in fact he worked out there in rain, wind, and even some snow (so much for Spring weather in Utah-ugh!).

just getting started

Since Kenzie is WAY stronger than me,
Tim convinced her to help haul wood, trusses,
shingles and most everything
for the price of an ice cream creation from Cold Stone.
Not a bad deal!
I did help hammer the trusses together and a few other things,
but really, it was pretty much all these two!

Putting up the roof, and yes, it was almost dark
but at least it wasn't stormy!

This is where I slacked off on my picture taking.
I should have gotten a shot of Kenzie and Tim
putting on the shingles in the pouring rain...
but ya know, it was raining and I was inside thinking
how glad I was to be inside!

I did manage to put up my very cool sunflower...
my next plan is a trellis for the other side with some kind of vine.

This is a shot from the front door and if you're wondering,
I did help organize.
Yup, I loved organizing the shed
as much as I love organizing the house :)

Serious Skills!
Tim actually built a shelf to hold his radio and
ran power (he put in that line 7 years ago)
so it really is his little man cave...
well, except for the big metal sunflower by the door!

This has NOTHING to do with anything, but this actually happened,
all on it's own, and I thought I'd better document it.
Maddy was practicing her piano this morning around 6:00.
I rolled out of bed to find this...Maddy playing "He Sent His Son"
and both her and Laityn singing along. CUTEST THING EVER!
Don't know if it will ever happen again so I had to have proof!

some things just don't mix

This weekend was our neighborhood "Girls Night Out".
We spent All DaY Friday shopping and eating in Park City.
Friday night we headed back to Heber where we had a
MONSTROUS vacation home to spend the night in.
I stayed until after midnight, and then headed home.
Saturday we walked through Gardner Village,
ate the best carrot cake I've ever tasted,
and I managed to spend not even one penny!
(Cause I spent all I dared in Park City the day before!)
As every mom knows, one thing that doesn't mix well
is hours of shopping and kids
While I was busy spending our savings, Tim managed to caulk,
prime, and paint the shed (pictures to come soon).
Saturday morning he scored free tickets to the car show
so he took the kids to see some COOL vehicles.
As you can see from the pictures-- reflective paint, sun,
kiddos, and pictures do NOT mix!

didn't even attempt to open her eyes...

...trying...to....open...eyes....

almost open!

There we go! If someone had given us our very good lookin',
FREE eyewear, we could have looked fully awake all morning!

...and by the way....only 9 full school days to go!