Air “Mikey”

So, this year both Michael and I have decided to take control of our weight and start eating healthier.  We’ve made a lot of changes in how we eat since the beginning of the year and so far, he has lost 23 pounds and I have lost 18.  We’ve both managed to get more active than we were, too and we both started playing Stake Basketball through our church.  It’s been lots of fun!  Most of his games, unfortunately have been in the evenings when the kids are already in bed, so I haven’t been able to watch him.  Well, luckily my Mom was able to help us this week, and watched the kids for me so I could go watch!  I think he thinks I was silly, but I wanted him to know I support him and I’m proud of him!  I have a feeling once he saw me break out the camera, he thought I was crazy!

Disney On Ice

It was another family adventure today!  We were able to take the boys to see the Toys Story 3 Disney On Ice performance at the Energy Solutions Center today.  They had a pretty good time.  The irony is…..I think Jared enjoyed it the most!  Although, I don’t know if he would admit it….  He’s funny.  He’s getting to an age where he’s starting to be aware of other peoples’ opinions, but he still genuinely loves things that aren’t necessarily “cool.”  Gavin went into it saying that he hoped our surprise wasn’t Disney on Ice….which made me SO excited to surprise him, after that comment.  Gavin, however was up and dancing around by the time it ended and although we endured one fist fight between he and Scott, we made it through and everyone came out smiling.  Michael and I try to smile through grit teeth as we remind each other that “we’re making memories.”

Look Who’s 10!

Gosh, it’s so hard to believe how fast time flies by!  It sounds so cliché….but it’s so true!  This year Jared chose, once again, to take a few friends to the movie for his birthday party.  There was a new Dr. Seuss movie out called “The Lorax,” which he requested.  They’ve been studying a lot about Dr. Seuss at school….especially as of late, because his birthday is in March too!

There is a reason this Mommy doesn’t make many fancy cakes; it’s totally time consuming!  I spent half a day alone working on the cake pops that sat on top of this cake…..don’t think that will happen again.  I was curious; I’d never made or had cake pops and they were totally delish and cute!  You make a regular cake mix up and after the cake is baked, you crumble it up and add about 3/4 of a package of frosting and stir it in.  Then you mold them into shapes and freeze them.  The hardest part is having to dip them in melting chips and all the detail work that goes along with decorating them.  It’s  a real art; working with all those layers and smoothing them just right.  So…..this is what we ended up with.  I was pretty proud!

 

On Saturday, we did the “friend” party.  We had friends come and  have some pizza, cake and ice cream.  Then we hurried and opened gifts.  Fortunately, my parents were able to borrow my sister’s car so we could have a way to transport all these kiddos to the movie theater.  After we saw “The Lorax,” we took the kids home.  I think he had a great time.

 

 

 

 

 

His real birthday was Monday.  We did the family thing that day, as the festivities continued.  He was thrilled to find a mailbox full of letters from his grandparents, Michael’s Aunt (who is always so thoughtful and sends cards always), and…..my sister Kim in the Philippines!  She couldn’t have timed it better!  Things usually take close to a month to get through the mail!  We asked him what he wanted for his birthday dinner and he chose….drum roll……Del Taco!  Yippee! (Sarcasm in the air)  He also told me he didn’t want birthday cake, but wanted to go somewhere to get ice cream, so we took him to USwirl.  It’s the first time I’ve had a kiddo big enough to request an alternative to the traditional homemade cake and ice cream…..weird not putting candles on something.  Instead, we sang to him over the ice cream.  His brothers gave him more Ninjago Lego gear ( his latest collection) and we gave him art lessons for his gift; something he’s been asking for, for years.  They start Saturday. 

Here’s a slideshow for Grandma and Grandpa Brown to see:

Jared's 10th Birthday VIEW SLIDE SHOW DOWNLOAD ALL

Blankey Baby

Sweet little Mason.  I have just soaked up this little baby boy.  Sweet little Mason sometimes gets bored when the big brothers all go outside to run around and he’s left all alone with Mom in the house.  He LOVES this fuzzy velour green blanket and goes to his room to find it and will yank it out of his crib.  Then he follows me around the kitchen and sometimes sets it on the floor and just lays on it at my feet.  He’s so adorable!  His latest trick is to run around the kitchen making puckering kiss sounds like a little fish; his way of asking for a kiss!  And…..I’m happy to oblige.

More Cute Scotty Moments

So, the “Pec Pops” still have yet to die down.  We celebrated Jared’s birthday with his friends and Scott turns to me and says, “Mom, when it’s my birthday, can we take my friends to see the Pec Pops movie and will you make me a big Pec Pops cake?”  Too funny!

Today, Michael had to help out in primary so they could do a special Relief Society lesson in church.  I guess Scott was supposed to say the closing prayer and Michael let him go up front, assuming he would know what to do…..but he didn’t!  Michael said he went up front and stood up at the podium and began to nervously introduce himself.  “Hi, my name is Scott.”  Michael says he quickly went up front to assist him and then all went well!

Warm Fuzzies & Peck Pops….Again!

This is just a couple of random things that have happened lately.  Jared came home from school just the other day, jacket not on (as per usual), hanging by its hood on his head, backpack slung over shoulder, and says randomly, something like, “Mom, its nice in here.  I like how it feels."  It made me stop for a minute and think, hey, this is a great time to chat about having “The Spirit” in our home.  So, I went on to tell him that it’s the people that help make it feel that way, and how our actions are what invites  the Spirit, to which he added, “ Um, hum like our love.”  It was sweet and I immediately reflected on my Patriarchal Blessing which mentions something about my children recognizing that.  It was pretty special.

I had to take Scott in to get him an antibiotic…..I was pretty sure strep hit us again and yep sure enough, it did.  While we were there, somehow it came up that he wanted to have pecs like “The Rock.”  I think I previously wrote about this.  It was hilarious!  So, the Dr. humored him and checked out his pecs and told him that sure enough, they’re really strong and to keep working on them!  So funny!

Things That Make You Go Hmmm…

 

So the other night I was going through the papers Jared brought home from school.  For the month of February, he was given a spelling list of  Valentine words or phrases.  Part of the assignment was that he needed to illustrate those words and I came across this page.  He received a 10 for his illustrations and I was pretty proud of it until something caught my eye!  I will let you see if it catches yours.  At first I was a little embarrassed and laughed out loud remarking to myself how anatomically correct the cupid was.  Then, I  pointed it out to Michael.  We thought…oops, maybe we need to have a chat with our son.  So, Michael called up Jared and asked him about all his neat illustrations and got around to the Cupid, where Jared proceeded to explain that it’s Cupid in a diaper with a safety pin!  “Oh, we exclaimed.” 

Where were our minds?!