the MBA Graduate

We made it! Ryan has earned his MBA from ASU. It's so nice to have him around more in the evenings. And, now he drives more while I just sit in the passenger seat. For the last 2 years, he's been studying while I drive. Sometimes, it's the little things!
Ryan opted not to walk at the graduation ceremony.
Said he had already spent enough time & money at ASU.
So, we had a graduation celebration at Lake Pleasant with Grandpa & Grandma Johnson instead.
Much better way to spend a Saturday!

A Memorable Memorial Day

Drove to CA for the Memorial weekend.

On Sunday we drove to Old Town San Diego to see the newly renovated

Mormon Battalion Visitor's Center.

Caleb's favorite was panning for gold.

Eli's favorite was the lookout tower binoculars.

Marcus's favorite was washing the clothes with the water pump.

He's sweet like 'Cus saying, "No picture! GO AWAY MOM!"

Hey, I actually made it into a picture! Aren't my boys handsome. We all matched and didn't even mean to!

We stopped at a Japanese restraunt for lunch.

Caleb really, really wanted to try sushi?...

and, he really, really liked it!

SUGOI!

These kids had so much fun together.

They played on the beach, jumped on the trampoline, ate lots of cookies and played lots of soccer.

These kids had lots of fun together too.

This is what happens after an early morning surf session.

the Preschool Graduate

Eli had so much fun at Busy Kids Preschool this year. Miss Amy was a great teacher and Eli made lots of new friends. Reading has started to "click". He's excited and ready for Kindergarten in the fall.

Karate Advancement

Caleb and Eli did a great job in karate. After the big test, they both advanced.

Caleb earned a green belt with a white stripe and Eli earned a yellow belt,

which he says gives him the power of the sun.

Caleb invited me to his classroom for "Muffins with Mom" the week of Mother's Day.

Mrs. Hackash was a great teacher for Caleb. So was so patient and really challenged him.

Eli's 1st Soccer Season

Eli loved playing soccer this season.

He had a really nice coach and learned how the game works.

He cracked me up when several times he would be running after the ball during a game,

look over to see if I was watching, and then give me a thumbs up sign.

In the meantime, the ball would get stolen by the other team!

Marcus Update

This boy loves anything involving a ball. This was a rare moment when he actually used the T to play baseball. Typically, I have to pitch to him. Over. and over. and over....

And, looks like he's a lefty? But, he eats with his right hand. We'll see...

Cus also loves to use my dirty clothes as his blankies. He knocks down the hamper and cuddles right in.

1st Stiches & ER Visit

That's pretty good considering we have 3 boys.

Here's Eli's wounds a week after the accident.

5 stitches, a few scratches, bruised arms & 2 purple eyes.

Amazingly, no concussion!

Ryan took Eli & Caleb on a bike ride. They love going down a steep ramp near the elementary school. Eli was not wearing his helmet and Caleb was (go figure). Eli went down the ramp and didn't quite make the 90 degree turn at the bottom. He smacked head on into a concrete wall and crumpled to the ground. Ryan flagged down a car to get a ride home.

So, I answered the door bell to Ryan holding an extremely bloody Eli!

We feel so blessed that he didn't have any damage to his brain.

He was so tired from the ordeal that he slept through the stitches! Didn't even flinch!

Ryan saved us the $20 copay and took the stitches out himself.

Since I don't know what kind of cake you like...

I made my favorite!

Future Cop

Eli: Guess what I want to be when I grow up? They get to put handi-cups on bad guys...
Me: a Policeman?
Eli: Yeah. When I get bigger of course.
Me: Great! You'll be a good cop. And, you'll get to go to some training first to learn how to be a cop    and learn all the laws that people need to follow.
Eli: Oh. I already know all the laws. Don't say stupid, dumb, jerks. And, don't steal stuff. And, I already know how to put handi-cups on bad guys too.

2 Year Olds Are Fun!

... and CRAZY,
and need lots of attention,
and constant supervision,
and refuse to put their shoes on,
and throw tantrums,
and run away from you at stores
and throw things at their brothers,
and have a high-pitched-ear-piercing scream when they don't get their way,
and will make you pitch a baseball to him for h-o-u-r-s,
and are fascinated by simple things like a balloon,
and love to cuddle,
and love to eat,
and love to get butterfly kisses,
and learn to say cute things like,
"OK Mommy"
or "Thank you Mommy"
or "Go away Mommy!"
or "Please Mommy"

Sometimes being the mother of a 2 year old makes me think of the famous Charles Dickens book intro:

"It was the best of times, it was the worst of times..."

I'll be so sad the day I realize that his cheeks don't jiggle when he runs anymore.

Yardwork = Lego Rockband

For Christmas we got Rockband. The boys love it! So do Ryan and I.
But, it feels a little strange when your innocent little boys are belting out songs about say, their alcoholic father or their old girlfriend, etc...
Then, some friends introduced us to LEGO Rockband. The songs are kid friendly and you can set any instrument to a "super easy" setting, which makes it more fun for them. So, when I saw it on sale, I snagged it up.
But, I have a problem just giving my kids somethin' for nothin'. So, we made a list.
Caleb had to:
-learn to play I Am a Child of God on the piano
-do yardwork
Eli had to:
-read me a whole book by himself
-do yardwork
Marcus had to:
-just look cute
-jump up and down in the trash can while we did yardwork

They have LOVED Lego Rockband!

They always argue over who gets to be the singer (even Marcus)

and they always choose Ghostbusters and Kung Fu Fighting every. single. time.

18 Week Belly

I took a great photo class a few weeks ago. One of the assignments was called, "A Day in the Life of ________." So, since I never have pregnant pics of myself, I figured this was a good excuse. I took all of these by myself, with a tripod & on timer, which made it a bit tricky, especially when I had to get up and down off the floor to take multiple shots, until I was happy with one!