Shaylee's Field Trip

My cute Shay had a field trip at This Is The Place....I was pretty hesitant about going...it gets stressful to find people to watch the other kids...she insisted that I come and I'm so glad that she did! We had a great time-she's just awesome!

Riding the big yellow school bus feels crazier the older I get-it wasn't a big deal when I was young-now I know about traffic and blind spots etc......funny....it was fun to be with Shaylee & the kids & the noise, though! ;)
Shaylee & friends pulling a handcart
Learning The Virginia Reel....they were SO FUNNY about this....not wanting to dance with the boys (the feeling was mutual-the boys were being dorks about it!) but once they quit giggling and tried it they had so much fun.
Going to school-their teacher was so cool! I loved the feeling she portrayed of what it was really like-one room school houses, discipline, and going to school with kids that are every age. We've come so far with education!

Coolest.Thing.Ever.

I love caramel. Not a chocolate lover-but caramel seriously makes me happy. Lastnight I learned something that changed my life....get ready for it to change yours. Did you know that if you take a simple can of sweetened condensed milk-remove the label-and boil it in the can for 3 hours it turns to caramel? Well, it does. And it's yummy. And you should try it. SO good on ice cream-it's good all by itself, too. Amazing, I know. The hardest part is making sure the water covers the can while it boils-I had to add water to the pan a few times. I'm glad I put 2 cans in there because our awesome friend's Brian & Erin stopped by and they were in awe. They loved it. Brian wants to go to work and share the recipe with all the guys. He's just like that. ;)

FYI-this is after we all devoured it-not much left-but proof that it works!

Need some marriage advice?

Apparently Casey & I were having a conversation the other day while I was in our bedroom and he was in the kitchen....we couldn't hear eachother and kept saying "What?".....this is sounding like we are 76 instead of 36, right?

Casey said to Jaycee, "Your mom drives me crazy."

Jaycee's reply...."Well, you just have to get her to love somebody else."

Need any marriage advice? Ask Jaycee. She's the new Dr Laura....

3 Super Brave Boys!

I say all the time how lucky we are to live where we do-we really love our neighborhood, our ward, & our school. We ALL have been blessed with awesome friendships! Sawyer has so many buddies his age and they are all such fun kids. Today after school Sawyer's friends Aiden & Tyler came over to play. They were playing in our backyard and suddenly started to scream all at the same time-you'd think they were three little girls that just saw a ghost! Close-they found a snake....good thing we have Shaylee...she LOVES creepy crawly things and came to their rescue. Made me laugh so hard-when they are big bad teenage boys I will tease them about this!

They had to parade the snake around the neighborhood...so funny! Sawyer told Aiden's mom, "This is the best day ever! Pizza and a snake all in one day!" (They got to eat pizza for lunch at school to practice for 1st grade!)
I think it's funny now but I had NO IDEA we could possibly have snakes in our yard-I'm already a freak about weeding because of spiders and bees-my yard just might be worse this year than ever thanks to this little incident! ;)

The chef is at it again....

I decided to make a batch of cookies tonight-when I opened my cupboard to pull out my Bosch I spotted this little beauty. It has Jaycee written all over it. I asked her if she knew anything about it. She smirked and shrugged her shoulders. I pushed a little harder and she finally confessed:

"I thought if I added some sugar and put it in the microwave it would look better."

If I could only get inside her mind. This is sorta funny....So I ask, "How long did you cook it?"

"Five-Zero-Start."

Oh dear. My next question, "When did you do this?"

"Today."

I'm of course dying to ask the next question....."Did you taste it?"

"NO! It looked disgusting!"

My last question...."Why did you hide it in the cupboard Jaycee?"

"Cuz I didn't wanted to get in trouble!"

Dang! The big blessing here is that it happened today and I found it today~could have been a terrible situation. She hides everything in the cupboards-my keys, the cordless phone (that's always fun when it's ringing but you can't for the life of you find it and it's in the cupboard-of course it is-first place you should always look when you want to answer the phone!), toys-it's all a game to her. We're gonna have to be a little on guard and be checking the cupboards daily-she loves to cook crazy things and now hides them if they don't look like she wants. Maybe we need a don't use the microwave without supervision rule? Not gonna get the mother of the year award but I sure am grateful to be a mom--these kids keep me on my toes and make life so rewarding! Anyone hungry for a tasty snack? I'll save it for you!

Lunch for my almost 5 year old

After we dropped Sawyer off at kindergarten today I took a call on my cell phone. I of course continued to talk to my friend on my cell phone when we got home. Jaycee brought me a can of peaches-I opened them without even thinking about it. I heard her scuffling around the kitchen and then heard the microwave beep that something was done. She put some chow mein noodles on her plate-then cheese-then peaches and zapped them in the microwave for a few, or maybe more than a few, who knows...I certainly wasn't paying attention! ;) I am pretty sure she was shooting for a Hawaiian Haystack-you know-chow mein noodles, rice, chicken, cheese, sauce, PINEAPPLE (not peaches) a little coconut...we love those for dinner around here. She swears her own version was super yummy, not sure I will ever know. Seriously so funny to me she didn't make a PB&J or even a bowl of cereal. Maybe someday she'll be a chef! Anyone for peaches with cheese and the crunchy goodness of chow mein noodles? Come on...be brave! LOL

Hard Times and Holy Places

Wow!!! It's been awhile...life has been cRaZy around this house-so much to do and so little time! I feel like I am beginning to understand the expression "A day late and a dollar short"-that is my life! Always running behind and realizing how valuable a dollar really is and how many times you need the same dollar each day! ;) I am grateful for my awesome little family, though. The busy-ness they bring to my life makes my life rewarding. I really am so blessed!

I blogged a few months ago about Time Out For Women. It was an incredible experience that I got to share with some awesome friends from my ward. Loved it! It was there that I first heard a woman named Kris Belcher speak and I was AMAZED! The woman has been thru so much and her testimony and sense of humor are incredible! My life was changed just from hearing her speak. Among so many other things I realized while hearing her speak I became so grateful for my eyesight...such a blessing that I have honestly never thought about. I can't imagine not being able to see Casey or our kids or anything around me-what a blessing it is to see the beautiful temple and the world we live in. Since then I have bought her book as a gift for a few friends-it's called Hard Times and Holy Places. Every single time I have bought it I have wanted a copy for myself but decided to wait. Funny how meaningful a gift is when you give it to someone else and long for one for yourself. My awesome friend Erin bought it for me for my birthday...the funny thing is I had just left Seagull with 2 copies for 2 friends that very day!!! I was so grateful for it and have absolutely LOVED reading it. If any of you would like to borrow it come by and grab it-be sure to check out her blog-I added the link to my blog today. Your life will be changed also. She is a beautiful person with a beautiful testimony-a blessing to each one of us who will take the time to "know" her-someday I'd love to go to lunch with her or something. It'd probably freak her out if I showed up at her house-dang it! I'll have to be a little more subtle about my new friendship....