Backyard photoshoot and bragging....

The other night we were in the backyard, Andy was hard at work raking and getting the garden ready while I sat in the chair and just soaked in the surroundings. My belly is getting to a point that makes it difficult and uncomfortable for me to bend over, it's just awkward. So I got out the camera and took some pictures which turned into Carlee asking me to take her picture every five seconds. She keeps asking me how she can be one of the girls in the picture frame (you know when you buy a new frame and there is random person in there, yeah, that is what I am talking about.)













Now, I would like to take a few seconds to brag about my husband. I just have to say what an amazing husband I have. He is the best father ever and is always working so hard here at home when he is so tired from working so hard at the hospital. He NEVER comes home and asks for a few minutes of quite or to un-wind, he always just gets right in the swing of things and starts playing with the kids or helps me make dinner or works in the yard, it is always something. I just feel so grateful to be married to someone who is truly a partner. Last weekend Andy tried so hard to be sure I had a good Mother's Day. On Friday night he took us all out to Malley's for ice cream (it was more out of guilt because he was 2 hours late getting home and I had to miss something I had been wanting to go to for months-- and we had a gift certificate) but he still took us trying to make sure our night wasn't ruined, and then he rented me a red box (we have no cable or Netflix anymore). Saturday he was an hour late, but came home with a babysitter, told me to get ready, and he surprised me with dinner and a movie (Iron Man 2 is really good), something we never do. Then for Mother's Day he surprised me with the Rachel Ray cooler tote from Costco that I wanted to take with us to the pool this Summer. I asked for it about a month ago and he said it was a piece of junk, but really he had already gotten it for me!

Over the past few years I have learned so many things, one being that doing things for the people we love and care about requires effort and can be annoying sometimes when we all live such busy lives, but it is so worth it. Andy made me feel so special by surprising me with a date. He was aware of how busy he has been and knew that we needed a date and some time together and he acted on it. Instead of just coming home and having another night of dinner, playing, bath, bed, picking up, and a quick game of Monopoly DEAL he went above and beyond.

More on Andy....he is not afraid of anything, okay lie, he is afraid of heights, but that is it. The other night when we were cleaning up after dinner I asked him to take out the garbage. When he opened the door out to the garage he started yelliing for the dog and was just yelling all sorts of weird noises. So I poked my head out and asked what he was on and he said there was a racoon eating Molly's food. The WHOLE rest of the night (seriously every 15 minutes) he would just randomly open the door going to the garage and yell and scream determined to get the racoon. It was so funny. Finally at about 9 o'clock, there is more screaming and the dog is freaking out. He had busted the racoon again in the garage and he and Molly chased the racoon up a tree. So of course the kids get out of bed and I am forced to put my good read down to go and see the racoon. I am not sure I will understand the need to chase the racoon and scare it (why not just shut the garage and be done with it), but it was entertaining, something that Andy is very good at, he is always making me laugh.



Final thing on Andy....he participated in the ward talent show last night. We got the idea for his act from when he was in Med School in Maine. A bunch of the male med students got together and performed the Riverdance (they just watch it on a TV and do what the see) it is pretty funny. Here is last nights performance.

Acting loco with the little banditios.....

Yesterday was Cinco De Mayo and we celebrated! I don't know the last time I ever celebrated that holiday, but we did this year and it was fun. I was able to go into Porter's class for the day and be a part of the party there which was great. We made tacos, bean burritos, ate chips and salsa, played Mexican instruments, and I even got to have a "Moc-arita" (parents only)! I read a book to the kids (Skippy-Jon Jones) and I couldn't help but talk like the Taco Bell dog (and on a side note, when we drove by Taco Bell the other day Tessa yelled out "TACO"). After school we came home and made tacos for dinner, I love Mexican food and can never have too many tacos or refried beans, so I think we are going to keep celebrating Cinco de Mayo every year!

2 for 2 and other things....

Yesterday was the first of many soccer games to come this month (before we get to go to Utah!). First up was Porter, he did great, got right in on all of the action, and did a great job "trying to block" the other team. It was so fun to watch an all boy team who knew what to do.


He threw in most of the penalty shots.


Porter may have done a little dancing on the field.

Then Carlee was up and it was a night and day difference. The little kids on her team looked like little mushrooms growing in the grass, like they should not have been allowed to play soccer. Carlee is definitely one of the oldest and tallest on her team, but definitely not the fastest. She was much more interested in saying hi to her friend from pre-school who happened to be playing on the other team, I hope Andy got that on the video camera.




Look at the concentration tongue hanging out.


Funny how they got the same number.


A little excited from winning their games.

Then there was Tessa, who was very patient the whole 2 and a half hours we were there. She kept herself entertained while looking for birds.



Which speaking of birds....earlier this week we can home from running errands and I sat down at the computer to check my e-mail. Tessa followed me to the dining room but stopped at the top of the stairs and started yelling "BIRD, BIRD!" She is always looking for birds and geese, so I did the busy mom thing and just said "oh yeah Tessa", but she would not let up. Literally this went on for about 5 minutes, then walked in Porter with a "oh man!! Look at that huge bird!" So this finally got my attention, I got up and looked out the window to see this





sitting on top of our swing set!! It was totally amazing! I did not have time to get the camera and get a better shot because I was "too busy" and not listening to what Tessa had to say. Maybe next time I will be more responsive to her, I have learned my lesson.

And on another note, I love my kids. They drive me crazy some times and make big messes all over the house, but they are so cute and have the best smiles. This morning before church we were just hanging around the living room, they were playing so cute together. I was trying to take a picture just of Tessa wearing the frog costume, but they were insistent on being together, hugging in the picture. Too cute!!

I do not fear color....

The past few weeks I have been busy with a lot of projects, but the largest was switching the kids rooms and painting them. We moved Porter into Carlee's old room so he can have his own room, and put Carlee and Tessa in Porter's old room so they can be together therefore opening up the room downstairs for the baby to come. It was a much bigger job than I expected, but I loved cleaning and throwing out old toys. Never in my life did I think I would paint a room pink or green, but I just couldn't say no to their requests, I love them too much.


(hard to take a picture facing the window)


Tessa's bed


Andy put shelves up here for me, it used to be a big open space, I could never figure it out, much better now, and he put them high enough to fit the American Girl doll stuff!


I was shocked to see the cute heart thing Andy chose.


Porter loves his "teenage mutant ninja turtle" green, this green was a compromise.


I love the secret stash of things he did not want to put away under the table. When I was a kid I hid my vitamins under my mattress, so it's cool, I understand.

The next project I am about to wrap up is re-arranging the living room pictures. Ever since we cancelled cable and moved the entertainment center down to the basement everything was off center. I took everything off of the walls and Andy has been hanging per my request. Andy has been so patient with me throughout all of this, he is the best and I am so lucky to have him, (love ya Bush.)

Baby Steps....

The past week was pretty busy with a lot of things going on. First the kids started soccer again, this is Carlee's first year and it is so cute to watch. Porter has his first practice on Monday and is so excited. They both have their first games this Saturday (pray for good weather!).



At church I helped throw together the Relief Society belated birthday party which was a lot of fun. I think I enjoyed the planning and the decorating more than the actual event because once I sat at my table I realized how tired I was. It was great though, we made the cute Martha Stewart tissue paper pom-poms, Sara S. grew some wheat grass in some cute pots for center pieces, and we served chicken salad sandwiches, veggie trays, giant cupcakes also made by Sara, and chocolate covered strawberries. YUM!! The party was great, I wish I would have taken more pics, but like I said, I was tired. I love being in the Relief Society, it is so fun.



We ended our weekend with a mini trip down to Columbus to go to the temple. It was great. Andy surprised the kids with staying at a hotel which meant swimming and a breakfast with bacon (I usually only make bacon for spaghetti so it was a treat for them.) It was such a great feeling to make the commitment to go and to follow through. I LOVE the temple and the peaceful feelings I get there.



The drive home was fun, Andy and I spent a lot of time discussing names and didn't get very far, the kids were exhausted from staying up late and waking up early, so they slept most of the way until we had to make a most important stop and Fin, Feather, and Fur where Andy was drooling over the bow selection and Tessa's was yelling deer at all of the dead animals all over the walls (I don't get it, but I love Andy Bush, so I'm in). We also stopped at the Cheesebarn for some ice cream and a potty break and just happened to pick up a couple of Amish handmade baskets. I didn't know they don't like their picture taken, I found that out after Andy asked, crazy.



Also on the drive home I saw a licence plate that said "CRAWLER" which made me think of a baby, which then made me think of "baby steps", which led me to think of What About Bob, which led me to decide that What About Bob is one of my favorite movies ever. Great weekend!! Now I am off to play a round of Pictureka with Porter....

My creative friends....

I have to give a shout out to some of my friends who I think are amazingly talented. Lately as I have been reading their blogs and seeing what they are up to I am just overwhelmed with their amazing talent.

First is my super friend Andrea who currently resides in Arizona. She is one of the best photographers I know. She always sees things through her lens that others don't and she doesn't over edit which I appreciate. She has been doing more and more photo shoots, one of which was for a web site that she did all the photos for, and she was mentioned by The Pioneer Woman, cool! I love and miss this girl like crazy! To see her photos and learn more about her click here.

Next is Lauralee. Lauralee lives here in the Cleveland area, we met at church. She has helped me with so many projects and always has a wonderful, honest opinion. Lauralee is an amazing artist, designer, and she knows how to bind books! This past Christmas she helped me out by binding a book for Andy's grandmother of all of the stories she has written to the grandchildren, it was amazing and turned out beautiful (there are pictures of it on her blog). To see some of Lauralee's work and her shop click here.

I have another friend named Sara who lives close to us and happens to be from the same town as Andy (they went to the same high school) and she has kids the same age as ours. Anyway, Sara is great at making jewelry, and one day decided to open up her own Etsy shop and sell some of it. Her shop has only been open for a few months and she has had over 100 sales!! I think her stuff is so cute and if I had pierced ears I would be shopping there too, oh and a major bonus is all of her things are under five dollars! To visit Sara's shop click here.

Last, but not least, I have to mention Candace. Candace and I met her in OH, but she has since moved back to her roots in Las Vegas. Candace is a very talented seamstress. I think Candace looks at fabric and makes something of it in her mind and it is just a matter of time before it comes out of her sewing machine. I love the stuffed bunnies she has made, the clothes she makes for her girls, but most of all I love how she is not afraid to try. I think a lot of women are afraid to try to sew or think they don't have any talent, which is so not true. To see Candace's blog click here.

So there it is, a shout out to some of the creative friends that I have. I feel so lucky to know them, I am inspired by them each day when I click to see what they are up to. Enjoy!

A Few Funnies....

One of my favorite things that Tessa does is make a frown face, but she doesn't do it for me very much. Last night at dinner (eating porcupine meatballs, Holla AZ) I looked over at her and she was doing it for me so I had to grab the video camera.

Then later that night Andy and I were upstairs giving the girls a bath when we could hear Porter in the downstairs bathroom singing, here is the outcome of that....