My Big Surprise

Saturday morning I woke up and heard happy whispers coming from Macy and Kelsey's room.  I let them be because there was no blood curdling screams coming from behind the door.  They soon emerged dressed and said they had a surprise.  They opened the door to show me.  They had dressed themselves, made their beds, picked up their room and put their pajamas away without me asking!  That was the greatest surprise to wake up to.

Many Faces of Braden (and other camping faces)

Happy

I want that.

Ewww!

Fun House Mirror

Huh?

sad

GQ

Excited/showing off

Give me food or I eat you

Holy (she lost another tooth while camping)

Hairy

Memorial Weekend Camping Trip

Memorial Day Weekend can always be iffy weather, so this camping trip we opted to borrow my grandmother's RV.  Boy is it nice to go camping in an RV with full hook-ups (sewer, water, electricity).  I highly recommend it.  Some of our neighbors joined us along with my mom.  The rest of my family joined us for the day on Sunday.

Of course Brian took up his parent's ATV and his brother's ATV.  Macy was always begging to go.  We camped at Wasatch State Park near Midway (an old family tradition for me) so we had to drive the four wheelers to trails.

We didn't think about a helmet for the little man, so he had to use a slightly too large helmet.  Check it out.  Doesn't he look like a character from Star Wars?  Braden had to ride with Brian so Brian could help hold all the weight on Braden's little neck.

We cooked our first ever dutch oven dinner in a dutch oven we have owned for over 9 years.  It was delicious.  My brother-in-law helped us figure things out before we went.  We a rosemary roast with potatoes, hot buttery rolls and chocolate cherry dump cake (thinking about that cake right now is making me crave it, yummy).

We played a little ball at the park near by.  The kids rode bikes all day long.  We took a nature hike (didn't make it to the end because we had to turn around for the bathrooms).

Of course games were played.

And Braden sucked on plenty of rocks, ate dirt, consumed tons of sugar and played with lots of sticks.  He was a mess by the end.

Well all of us consumed lots of sugar.  There were plenty of campfire desserts; peach cobbler with ice cream, smores, campfire eclairs, and campfire banana boats.  That doesn't even include all the other snacky stuff throughout the day.  I think I should cut back next time and not bring up so many treats.

We even went to the 11 AM church in Midway (yes we showered first).  It was like attending a stake conference it was so full.  The man conducting mentioned that last year they had 1500 people in attendance for the 11 o'clock hour.  I don't know how many were there that morning.

Lastly there was plenty of time around the campfire.  The amount of laundry I did when we returned proved that.

End of the Year Events

May is the month for many activities.  Macy had her first ballet recital.  I don't think it will be last because this gal is super busy.  I think she is going to take tap and ballet next year, partly because I am a mean mom and told her we are not going to start cheer until she is older and taken some dance.

Blurry picture but flash photos were not allowed and if you zoom too far on our camera the pictures are not the best.

We also had her kindergarten performance.  I felt like a loser mom because I sent her to school in the elementary school colors and jeans (I thought that is what I read in the note sent home).  All the other kids (with the exception of like 2 others) came dressed in their Sunday best/prom dress.  I was baffled and wanted to slide down in my seat.  I went straight home and looked at the note.  No mention of dresses and dress shirts.  Please wear the school colors: black, red, or white.  I followed directions.  What is up with everyone else?

By the way she did a great job, remembered her part and sang cute songs.  My parents taped the performance and when Macy watched it on TV she asked why the kids were all shouting.  Yes they also sang loud like they were told.

Torturing the Children aka chores

The girls have chores that they are supposed to do weekly and daily.  Each day they are to comb their hair, brush their teeth in the morning and night, make their beds and pick up their room.  Weekly they are supposed to clean the bathroom, dust,  and pick up the family room.  There is definitely room for improvement when it comes to these things being done.  We are far better at these tasks when Macy is out of school.

Well today I did I made them clean.  I even but Braden to work.  They were all happy with this so I was happy with this.

 Here is the little man doing his part.  Milk was spilled so I could not procrastinate the mopping any longer.  Braden also happened to be awake at this time.  Have you ever tried sweeping and mopping with a 14 month old around?  Near impossible to keep them out of the piles of dirt and off the wet floor.  He found the broom and I let him stay in his corner while I cleaned the rest.