Cupcake Catastrophe

My family destroys all cake that every enters our house and has even been know to damage a few cakes other places as well.  This round of birthdays was no different.  Brynna's primary teacher made her some beautiful blue (her favorite color) cupcakes for her birthday.  Fortunately she brought plenty extra because when Brynna helped her carry them into the house some tipped over and some slid off the tray.  Her poor teacher was trying to hide the pain on her face as she watched her precious master pieces get destroyed.  I guess I should have warned her before she brought them over.  It wasn't but a few hours later that Jonah managed to dump one whole tray on the floor. (I really should have seen that coming.) 

My family has some history with destroying cakes, maybe I doomed myself when Don and I smashed each other with the cake on our wedding day, but someone is always doing something to the cake.  Joshua climbed on the fridge and dug through the saran wrap right into the middle of Maleah's 1st birthday cake.  Joshua also ran his finger down the side of Dan's wedding cake.  Apparently he just can't resist.  So if you ever need to put a cake somewhere for safe keeping don't bring to our house or anywhere near any of my children!

Oh Happy Day! Brynna's 7th Birthday

Brynna was so happy on her birthday.  As you can see from all the smiles.  I think she smiled from the moment she got up until she went to sleep.  She had a busy, fun-filled day.  She had swimming lessons first thing, so her first gift was a new swim bag, sunglasses, and swim suit cover-up.  She rides her bike to swim lessons so she had to have that first thing.  Don had carefully hidden it in the garage for her to find.  After swimming she had a neighborhood dance class where the girls planned her a surprise party.  She got new dance clothes and a Michael Jackson CD (She is a huge fan!  I think I may have created a monster!)  At the party they had ice cream cone cupcakes, so cute, painted nails and of course, danced!  Big thanks to her dance teachers for doing all that for her!  Then we took one of her favorite friends, GG, and went to the pool.  We finished up the evening with dinner, cupcakes (thanks, Angie Lemon) and fireworks!  Brynna wants fireworks every year for her birthday and since it is the day before the 24th she can have them.  She also gets to celebrate with her Grammie at a family party every year, non-stop fun for Brynna!

Fun on the 4th

We had our usual fun on the 4th of July.  We started out with the parade in Mt. Pleasant.  It is a great small town parade.  The kids love it because they throw plenty of candy.  We love it because it starts a little later and we don't have to park very far away or fight the crowds.  After the parade we had a picnic and went swimming at the pool just down from the cabin.  Then we went up to the cabin to relax and barbeque for dinner.  After the drive home we usually like to do some fireworks, but this year everyone was too tired to do much of anything.  Lots of fun!

Dog for Sale?

My kids are in a horrible habit of looking at things online on KSL classifieds and for some reason don't seem to understand that just because an animal is FREE doesn't mean they get to have it.  Imagine Maleah's dismay when she called on 10 FREE gerbils and was told NO, even though all we had to do was go to Provo to pick them up.  Why wouldn't a mother do that?  Well, the poor dog got the blame.  So Maleah promptly got him on his leash and took pictures of him so that she could post him on KSL for sale.  Fortunately she is not QUITE that computer-savvy, so our poor, innocent (ok, naughty, stinker of a dog) was saved.  At least for now!

Not pretty.

 

And, just in case you were wondering, it is NOT socially acceptable for a grown woman to go around with a black eye.  My Grandma said what everyone else was thinking, "Who did that to you? " She said rather accusingly.  I'm not sure she believed me when I said, "I did!"  If you don't believe me, just go try opening your driver's side door, quickly, with your right hand, while talking on the phone and holding said phone on your left shoulder.

Farm Country

Since all the other kids are now in school Jonah and I are hoping to do some fun & educational things of our own.  Last week we went to farm country on $2 Tuesday.  Probably not the best idea, but we had fun. (It was very crowded.) 

I learned I need a much faster camera in order to catch this busy little two year old in action.  He loved everything, feeding the big white horse, the baby goats, riding in the wagon with his buddy Sky and was even willing to wait in a very long line for 45 minutes for a pony ride.  We did have an embarrassing moment or two along the way, which has led me to wonder if it is better to be with friends or alone when your child does something embarrassing.  I still haven't decided, but if there is anyone else who would like to get out and do something fun with their less than perfectly behaved toddler, let me know.

Happy Mom. Happy Kids.

I have decided I love the First Day of School. And not for the reasons you might think. Although I have been know to say "I love my kids, just not all at the same time." They are A LOT to handle all at once. But, still, I love my kids, I love having them around, I love taking them fun places all Summer long, but I also know that they and I thrive on a good routine. (Kudos to you homeschooling Moms who are able to give your kids a good routine without the help of sending them off to school.) We always start the Summer with a good routine, but by the end it seems like everything has gone crazy. It seemed to be even more true this Summer than any other. I was not at all ready to start getting up and getting everyone out the door, but seeing how excited they are about school makes me happy and excited for them.

Maleah did just as she was supposed to, got all ready for school and waited on the porch for her picture to be taken.

Brynna headed down the street to get her best friend, GG, who you can see in the background.

And then there is Josh. He left for school without even saying goodbye. I went and took him out of class. He would never have smiled so willingly except that I threatened to take the picture in his class if he didn't. He smiled nicely, but was mumbling some not so nice words under his breath. I'll bet next year he will be on the porch right along with Maleah. Unless of course he WANTS me to show up at the Jr. High.

I just loved watching them all run around the night before making sure they had their clothes set out, their breakfast planned and their alarm clocks set. If only that would last all year.

I loved this note that I found. It reads Brynna is having eggs. Don't take too many eggs.Thank you. Sincerely, Brynna. They really were busy thinking of everything they could to be prepared for school.

After school they all came home talking, smiling and happy. Life is good.