Crazy Spring Weather

Well, we've finally had a few beautiful spring-like days to get some work done in the yard. In a couple of weeks we should have a beautiful fence around it. Yay! It will be nice to not have to worry about DD#2 when she goes out there to play. DH's big project has been a little water feature at the edge of our patio. He is almost completely done--we just need to cover some of the pond liner that you can still see. We like to open the window in the living room and hear the water outside. We picked out the plants a couple of weekends ago and this is the first time he has ever been emotionally invested in any of our plants--usually that is totally my thing. Every couple of days he says "Oh--I need to go water my plants". Never thought I'd hear those words come out of his mouth : ).

The weather continues to be totally unpredictable with a LOT of wind. Sometimes it makes it hard to sleep at night because it is rattling the windows and whistling. Last week we got some more April snowfall. I won't be suprised if we see more snow in May. I don't dare start the vegetable garden until things get more normal. Here's a little picture of the snow and the waterfall area. I'll get a better picture of the waterfall after we finish the rockwork.

Spring Break Trip to the Zoo

We just finished the kids Spring Break, and it was back to the routine this morning. Only about 5 more weeks to go and we can enjoy Summer break. It's so nice to not have to worry about homework and schedules (for the most part).

Last Thursday we took the kids to the zoo. It was the perfect day for it. We stopped for some yummy Cafe Rio on the way up and got to the zoo right after lunch time. Spring is a great time to go because it's not as crowded and the smells aren't as bad. The first thing we saw were the Tamarins. They were my favorite. A couple of them were running around with little babies on their backs. They were soooooo cute! DH says I only liked them the best because of their name : ).

Then we went into the monkey house and the kids had a fun time looking at this guy. He had the cutest little face and looked at them a few times but didn't seem very impressed.

The kids also like to play with this elephant. It makes all kinds of cool noises and plays music when you walk around it.

This giraffe was really funny. There were lots of people there, but it just stood in front of us and stared at me the whole time we were there. I was joking with the kids that it was giving me "the cold hard stare". They thought that was great.

We had a great time. The kids all said that they're favorite part was the playground at the end. I have to admit though, it was a pretty cool playground.

When the day was done we returned home to our very own wild animals : )

Happy Birthday Daniel

My little brother Daniel would have been 26 tomorrow. It's still weird to think that he is really gone. Anyway, I have just been thinking more about him lately and especially about my parents who have gone through so much with the loss of their son. This picture was taken at his wedding in 2005--he was dancing with my youngest. Let me tell you--I am soooo grateful that I made the sacrifices to be there for that. It's nice to have those good memories.

Here is a fantastic poem that I first read when I was home for his funeral. This is inspirational for anyone, whether you have lost someone or not.

The Dash

I read of a man who stood to speak at the funeral of a friend.

He referred to the dates on her tombstone from the beginning...to the end.

He noted that first came the date of her birth and spoke of the following date with tears,

but he said what mattered most of all was the dash between those years.

For that dash represents all the time that she spent alive on earth...

and now only those who loved her know what that little line is worth.

For it matters not, how much we own;

the cars....the house...the cash.

What matters is how we live and love and how we spend our dash.

So think about this long and hard...are there things you'd like to change?

For you never know how much time is left. (You could be at "dash midrange.")

If we could just slow down enough to consider what's true and real,

and always try to understand the way other people feel.

And be less quick to anger, and show appreciation more

and love the people in our lives like we've never loved before.

If we treat each other with respect, and more often wear a smile...

remembering that this special dash might only last a little while.

So, when your eulogy's being read with your life's actions to rehash...

would you be proud of the things they say about how you spent your dash?

Author Linda Ellis

On a lighter note, this is spring break for my kids. They have the whole entire week off. It's nice not having to get up to an alarm clock every morning! Today we met some friends at a place called Kangaroo Zoo. It's full of bouncy houses and slides. They played and we had pizza. They had a great time. This is a pic off of their website--didn't want you thinking these were my kids!

Here is something else that will make you smile:

My Shopping Extravaganza

I have been really good lately about not buying things other than groceries and all that. But, lately I've found a few things that were too cute to pass up. A couple of weeks ago I went to Dollar Tree to find some things I needed to buy for church and found some awesome Coca-Cola glasses. They were just perfect and I really loved the color, so I picked up a bunch. Then, this week DD#1 reminded me that we have not yet been to Ikea since DD#2 has been potty trained. I was needing to get out of the house anyway, so we went to Ikea to let the girls play and then have lunch. The girls had a ball and I found these plastic plates that matched my glasses perfectly. They were only a buck a piece, too! Can't beat that!

Today I went to pick up the little girl we carpool to preschool with. She had the cutest flip-flops on and her mom (Thanks, Tara) told me they were from Payless. I couldn't resist. Off to Payless we went. They were having their BOGO sale too.

As I was checking out I spotted this adorable purse and decided to get it. Love it! It's not too big, but big enought to cram a bunch of treats into next time we take the kids to the movies.

I also hit the big sale at Smith's thanks to Kari reminding me about it. I got 20 items (cookie mixes, fruit snacks, golfish crackers, granola bars) for $20--which saved me $30! My kids ought to have plenty of snacks for days to come. I might go hit the sale again in a couple of days, but a lot of the stuff will be pretty picked over. I got the last chocolate chip cookie mixes and the last princess fruit snacks (that were on the shelves anyway). I love seeing my shelves all stocked up.

Have a great day! Stop over at my stamping blog--I have a lot of new things posted as well as a Mother's Day workshop coming up.

Trying to enjoy springtime

Last weekend was conference weekend, so we didn't go to church. We watched the Conference on the tv right here at home. Great times. Nothing like listening to church in bed in your pajamas. However, we started getting a little stir crazy being cooped up in the house so we decided to take a little drive down to the lake. The kids love playing in the sand and throwing rocks in the water. Not to mention the excercise, fresh air, and beautiful views. Here are some pics of our little outing. Smuckers came with us, of course. However, it did not feel a bit like spring! : (

I think it's funny that Utah Lake is such a beautiful place to live now. When I was in college, we used to take long drives to the lake and we would have never imagined all of the houses and businesses that are here now. I never would have guessed I'd be living here with my own cute family. I'm a lucky woman! Oh, I saved the cutest picture for last:

Kitty Love

DS had a nice little cuddle with our kitty, Mr. Whiskers, today. The cat was actually sleeping like this until I came over with the camera--then he had to see what was going on. I love the way cats' back feet look like rabbit feet.

Mr. Whiskers has really not grown much since we got him in November. It's kind of nice. He still looks like a cute little kitten. He's a fun little guy. Pretty mischevious, which is one of the things that makes him cute!

Not much else to tell. I went to Chick-Fil-A on Tuesday with Kari and went over to the school today to help Christina put vinyl quotes up on the walls. Nothing too interesting. I have three stamping parties lined up this month which I'm really looking forward to. I sure wish spring would get here!

Parent Teacher Conference

I forgot about DS's Parent Teacher conference a couple of weeks ago (bad mommy!). I just got going with the afternoon routine. We had friends over for the kids, and I was doing my own thing and before I knew it, we had missed it.
However, his teacher is the best and arranged a new time for us. The beginning of the conference consisted of DS reading to me from a prompt sheet his teacher had him fill out before hand. Things like "I think I'm good at....." and "I need to work on......". One prompt was "I'm proud of....." and DS said "my Dad". I'm sure she intended for the answer to be school related, but how sweet was that? She said "You must really like your Dad" and DS said "Yah...we're kind of like buddies." Awwwww. So sweet!
The wind is blowing like CRAZY today. I went to get the mail and had tears streaming down my face! Not very condusive to a fun Saturday. I needed to clean up anyway and I also got a nice long morning nap while the kids watched Pippi Longstockings. They like to listen to stories on CD in bed at night, so I got them the movie at Hollywood so that they could compare to the story.
I hope all is going well with you guys. Hopefully I'll have more entertaining blogging material for you next week!