Birthday Boys!!!!

Today is such a special day! Two of my favorite boys in the universe have their birthdays today!
I'm sure it's not easy to share a birthday with your brother, but Andy and Giovanni do a good job at it!

We woke up at 6:30 to open birthday gifts, eat birthday breakfast {an all meat omelet for Andy and homemade pancakes drenched in syrup for Giovanni! Yum!!}, and get ready for school! The boys brought cupcakes to school with them {60 cupcakes!! YIKES!} then we brought them lunch to school... Giovanni wanted a McDonald's happy meal and Andy wanted Asian beef with rice and sushi {yumm-o!!}.

Tonight we are making Hawaiian haystacks for dinner and then having a family over for cake. Then I'll be staying up all night baking-- Giovanni's party is at 10 tomorrow morning and Andy's is at 2 tomorrow afternoon {I don't know what I was thinking lol}

I'm so happy to celebrate these boys today... they are my little lover buggers! I couldn't imagine my life without them!
{we went to Fry's today-- the boys climbed into the freezer-- I had to take a pic!!}


10 Reasons I Love My 10 Year Old {"Andy Pandy Pants"}
1. He can ALWAYS make me laugh {unless he's making me cry-kidding!}
2. He keeps me on my toes
3. He asks every day {without fail} if he can drive
4. He is one of the best helpers when he knows I'm stressed
5. He loves to read and when he's really into a book you can't even talk to him
6. He is a mans man, loves meat, guns, and pretty girls {I'm in trouble! lol}
7. He is developing a testimony of the Gospel and will make a great missionary
8. He is truly smart
9. When he puts his mind to something there's no stopping him
10. He is constantly seeking after knowledge


5 Reasons I Love My 5 Year Old {"Barky Von Shnowzer"}
1. He is my boy {just ask him, he loves me the most}
2. As much as he struggled with speaking, he tried so hard and his hard work payed off
3. He has developed the cutest little personality
4. He gives the best foot rubs EVER {and loves giving them!!}
5. He takes after his Daddy- could sit and watch movie after movie and popcorn for every meal!


Boys, I love you so much! I'm so blessed to be your Mommy! You two are my favorite boys EVER! I love you both the most-- I WIND!!! ;)

Advancing

Tuesday night Andy was advanced from a Bear to a Weblo in Cub Scouts. He also received his Religious Knot, one of the only 3 awards you can take with you in scouting. I am so proud of Andy, of all our hard work {it was as much me climbing on him as it was him lol} and of the confidence this has given him!

Part of the advancement they have a parent go up with the scout and have a contest, like eat three crackers and then try to howl like a wolf... well, Bry and Andy got a tin of whipped cream each and had to find the candy kisses hidden inside... only my hubby would end up putting the tin in our son's face when they were done and the whipped cream would fly all over one of my besties in the ward... Good thing Tera loves me and is a good sport! ;)I'm so proud of Andy. He has grown so much in the past few years. I love seeing his little testimony develop and I love seeing the example he is setting for the other kids. This does make me sad because this means it's Andy's last year in Cub Scouts , next year {when he turns 11} he will be in Boy Scouts... it's crazy to think of! But I am happy we won't have to buy a new book each year! ;)

Way to go, Andy! You're my favorite {almost} 10 year old!!

Surprise!!

This is my favorite family pic we've EVER taken-- I seriously want to use it for our Christmas cards!
Luis, Bry, Me, and GI Jen {his co-workers and buds}
Lu-E and Bry {everyone has a nickname}
So, I said I didn't want to take a pic w Jen cause I'd look too fat w her so she puffed out her cheeks-- LOVE it! lol
Alicia, Jen, Me, Jess, and Britt-- THE best friends a girl can ask for!
Me and Britty! So fun having my best friend so close!! yay!

Last Saturday I had a surprise party for Bry for his birthday! I wanted to make his 30th birthday extra special for him. It was so hard for me to keep this from him because I tell him EVERYTHING! But, I did it! I didn't even brake when we were laying in bed one night after Natali's party and he was telling me he was so happy he and I were going to spend a quiet date night together for his birthday! {Let me tell ya, I was tempted to tell him at that moment, but I didn't!}

Saturday morning I got into my "cleaning mode" now, everyone thought this would send red flags, but if you really know me I have a tendency to get in these moods where I want the house scrubbed, so I'm sure Bry thought I was just having one of "those" days. lol. We then went to Wal Mart to pick up some things and Bry diddle dawdled the whole time. He isn't a shopper, but that day he was lol. I was rather annoyed when he stopped by the booth they had set up in the front of the store and let the kids get bracelets for a donation for breast cancer and took like 10 min. lol. But finally we got home and my friend Alicia came over. I told Bry that Alicia needed some girl time so asked if he could take the kids out for a while. It worked!! :)

We were supposed to have fondue and a chocolate fountain... it turned out more like fondon't... but, I tried. So veggies, dip, and a chocolate fountain. YUM! :)

Thank you so much to our friends who helped keep this a surprise and helped me keep my sanity!

And once again, Happy Birthday to my love-- I'm so blessed to have such an amazing hubby, even though you are old... good thing I think older men are sexy ;)


Just 2 more birthday's to go this month and we're done! Let me tell you-- NO MORE KIDS BORN IN AUGUST!! {as long as that's what His plan is, too, of course lol}

30

Yesterday Bry celebrated his 30th birthday! It was a fun day, but kinda sucked because he had to work. We woke up and he got his presents-- a few weeks back he got the new Palm Pre so that was his big gift, but the kids made him a shirt, a key chain that says "We {heart} u daddy", and a plaque that says "Fathers who are kids at heart make the best daddies". Bry then left for work and I rushed to get the kids to school.

I then did something I've never done before in attempt to make the hub's bday special... I made him homemade Carmel corn! Bry is a total pop corn connoisseur, and he's always talked about his mom making Carmel corn so I got the recipe and gave it a try! It was sooo easy! After I was done {and tested the finished product} I drove and met Bry and some of his co-workers for lunch. It was fun!

We made carne asada tacos for dinner {Bry's request} and I made Bry some brownies {he had cake at work so I thought I'd mix it up a bit!}. The best thing was when we were getting the candles Andy told me how when he was little Bry put those trick candles on his cake so he wanted to get him back! So we totally did! It was awesome!!

Babe, I love you so much! I'm so glad we were able to spend some time together for your birthday. You are the best thing that's ever happened to me and I love that we have become so close. You are my best friend, my world, my lover, my everything. Happy Birthday babe!

It Sure Is Quiet Around Here

I never thought this day would come so quick, but all 3 of my "babies" are in school! Andy is going into 5th grade, Natali ("Lauren" is what they call her at school) is going into 2nd, and my baby Giovanni is going into kindergarten!! Wow!!

Last night they were all so excited we had to calm them down quite a bit before they received their Father's blessings for the start of the year. It was a nice, spiritual time to spend with our family. And I cried through all of them. After we were done they went to go get in bed and Andy said he was so excited he needed a sleeping pill- where does this kid come from?! I cracked up!! When I checked on them at 10 they were all fast asleep!!

This morning was fun, it's Bryant's 30th Birthday so we woke up, got the kids ready and then they opened gifts with Daddy while I was cooking breakfast. Then we {rushed} to get them to school on time.

I walked Giovanni into his classroom and when we got there it was crowded, so Giovanni turns to me and says, "there's no room in here, there's too many kids, we should just go home". That's my boy! lol. Too cute! Two seconds later the principal came in and said it was time for us parents to leave. There was a boy in HYSTERICS, it made me thankful Giovanni wasn't that kid. {who am I kidding? He was that kid 2 years ago on his first day of speech school}

So, the kids are all nestled safely in their desks while I'm home. All. Alone. Dishes are done, floors are swept, laundry is being washed, I'm updating my blog, meeting the hubby for a {surprise} birthday lunch. And it's not even 10am! A lot gets done with no kids around!

Though, I know this will all change in 12 short days when I start school, too!


Oh, and I think it should be noted, I didn't shed one single tear! I was pretty proud!

The Difference Between Boys and Girls

This morning I decided I would make my life a little easier and have the kids choose their outfits for school for the first 5 days of school.

One by one I took the kids in to pick their outfits. Andy was first, I laid out his new clothes and said what do you want to wear the first day? He asked me what matched what so I put the clothes together and he said "ya, that's fine" and chose his 5 outfits.
Next, Giovanni came in and said "Mommy you pick for me" I've been trying to get him to make his own choices so I told him to choose the shorts he wanted to wear first and then guided him from there.
Finally, I go into Natali's room and tell her what we're doing. We lay out her new clothes and she proceeds to try on EVERY outfit, with accessories, and shoes. She then looks in the mirror, twirls, and tries on the next outfit, changing the day she's going to wear the outfit with each change of clothes. She then tells me how beautiful she looks in her new clothes and finally (an hour later) decides on her outfits (with much coaxing from me!).

And now I see the difference between boys and girls!

In Seven Heaven!

Tomorrow, August 7th, my baby girl turns 7!!! I can't believe it! It seems like yesterday I was putting her in pre-k and next week she'll be in 2nd grade! Where has the time gone?!






This is one of my favorite pics of Natali... she was 5 and surprised me with doing her own hair for church... she put every hair accessory she owns in her hair! Silly girl!!



Natali a few weeks ago when I cut her hair. I love that she likes to change it up with her hair every so often, she's such a girl!


Me and my baby girl about 2 months ago... she LOVES taking pics of us together! My cutie!!


A few months ago again, I think we were out to dinner and we were bored so we decided to take pics of us on my phone! She's too dang cute!


On Sunday me and my girly posing for the paparazzi!

7 Reasons I love my {almost} 7 year old!

1. She has her own sense of style-- totally funky to say the least!
2. She loves everybody unconditionally {everyone is her "best friend"}
3. She loves to read {and has been known to finish whole chapter books in a day!}
4. She is one of the most compassionate little girls you'll meet
5. She loves to mother {sometimes I have to remind her who the mommy is!}
6. She loves to sing and tells us she's going to be famous when she grows up
7. As smart as this little girl is she is soo ditsy sometimes- I love it!

Natali badadali, I couldn't imagine my life without you. I'm so lucky to be your Mommy and get to watch you grow and learn. You are a special little girl and we are so blessed to have you in our family!!

I love you the most, I win!!

Finding Joy

Thank you all for your words of kindness on my post about being in a rut. I am truly blessed to have such amazing friends in my life. You all said what I needed to hear in your own way, either on my blog, or by grabbing me in the hall at church, or a sweet phone call. I appreciate you more than words could express.

A lot has been happening in my life and I've been feeling the constant reminder of a phrase in my Patriarchal Blessing lately. I'll paraphrase, but it basically tells me that I will be called into the halls of higher learning and my decision to do this will bless my family and children's lives. I can say that I've officially registered for classes and will be starting school on August 24th . I'm so excited about this decision and know the Lord will bless me and my family through what may be a crazy time in our lives. I've never been good at school, I'm not the brightest crayon in the box, but I feel confident and have been studying this past week trying to refresh my old brain, which causes my excitement to grow even more. This is a huge step for me, and I'm nervous, but thankfully my excitement is out weighing my nerves {for now}.

To get ready for us all to go back to school today I've been making "schedules" for everything, laundry, scouts, dinner (more like menus), cleaning, homework, etc. I love that I'm getting more organized and I love that I'm motivated to do these things! I love that I'm finally finding the joy in my journey!

I'm especially thankful to my hubby who realizes how important this is to me and has been nothing but supportive since I've made my decision. I truly found the BEST hubby {EVER}!

So... Here's to a GREAT start of the new school year!!

Better Late Than Never...

Seeing as it's now August and we went on our trip to Newport about a month ago, I figure it's about time I post about it! We had sooo much fun! We stayed at the Hilton on the border of Irvine and Newport, it would have made for a nice romantic weekend {like it was planned for until our plans were changed last minutes and the kids weren't leaving for Utah for 2 more weeks! lol} but we made it a great family weekend.
We loved playing outside and feeling the fresh ocean air... it was a nice change from the 100+ Arizona heat we're used to! We all decided we want to move there once we become rich! lol.
One of the days we were there we went down to the Del Mar Fair and had a blast walking around. I was amazed... I was sooo good at staying away from the fair food!! It probably helps that I'm way cheap! lol. The kids had gotten money to spend so they loved walking through and buying just about anything that jumped out at them. We also all played a game together (I won, aren't I a bad Mom for not letting one of my kids win?! lol) It was so fun!
Giovanni bought a hermit crab, Crabby Bob Garvin and a sword with his money. He loves Crabby and takes such good care of him! Every night in his prayers he says thank you for Crabby. Too cute!
Andy caught Daddy on a good day... I am total anti gun, but clearly Daddy is cool with it, Andy got 3 bb guns and a cap gun. Needless to say, Andy is one happy kiddo!
Natali bought some markers (I can't remember what they were called) and a hat. And maybe a stuffed animal.
Cute kids with all their loot! They were so excited!



Our last day there we spent at the beach... the water was sooo cool and felt sooo good! We weren't there too long but I came home looking like a lobster! All in all, it was a great trip! I can't wait to go again-- I just hope it's sooner rather than later, this Saturday is supposed to be 114 degrees, I wouldn't mind going then! :)