April Go-ings On

 We have had several beautiful weather days for the beach. I have wanted to take advantage of them because we will be moving in another month away from the ocean. That part of the move is oh-so-sad.

 Linnea had a field trip for school. They went to San Francisco to the Academy of Science and the De Young Museum. She had a great time. Below, the picture was a huge room simulating a rainforest. 

 Below, a butterfly landed on a parent's head in the rainforest room. Linnea said that they were checked for butterflies before leaving.

 Below is an odd-looking creature...

 Below, the picture is taken from the roof of the observatory of the De Young Museum. Linnea said they had quite a view of San Francisco.

We have also been busy with tons of baseball games (Gavin) and finally got the paperwork in finishing up Jacen's Eagle Scout Project (Yay!) I will post baseball pictures later and hopefully soon a Court of Honor for Jacen's Eagle. We hope to be able to have that expedited and have the court of honor before we move but its not likely. We will probably need to come back for it. That's okay, we'll wait until the worst of the summer and then welcome a break from the heat when we come back. I have been busy sorting through closets and cupboards, taking tons of trips to Goodwill, and even have packed like 15 boxes. Our move date is May 31st/June 1st. Escrow should be ending in the next week to two. Busy, busy!

February and March

 I'm playing a bit of catch up. Here are Gavin and Micah on Valentines day decorating cookies. They love this! It makes me a bit nervous.

 Below, Jacen's birthday dinner on his birthday.

 Sushi

 And I actually made steak. He said it even tasted good.

 Angel food cake with strawberries and cream for dessert. Jacen, look happy! (:

 Gavin's cub scouts had a blue and gold dinner in which each boy was to submit a cake. Dallin and Gavin made one together. Their is a button on the tent that lights up the inside of the tent.

 All of the sudden my very neat eater has gotten messy on me. ): I think he is just enjoying playing with his food too much.

 Then Gavin had a birthday and turned 9! Here he is with his bow and arrows. Too fun.

 Happy Birthday to my sweet boy! Jacen was slightly more lively then he looks. (:

 I didn't have time to make sugar cookies for St. Patricks day to decorate so I reluctantly bought some from Whole Foods. They didn't taste anywhere near as good but the kids were still happy.

 Gavin with his sugary creation (and wearing his baseball shirt! -it's started!)

 Funny Micah. (:

 We went out to Sapporo's with Tera's family to celebrate both Jacen and Gavin's birthdays together. Here Carter is catching a piece of meat in his mouth.

 Then we threw together a little kid party for Gavin as well with a few friends from school. We played balloon games and had a pinata.

 I expected some wildness. It didn't disappoint. SO much energy!

Our nice and calm water balloon toss quickly turned into complete craziness!

 Plenty of sugar here. Yikes.

 I had to include this uncharacteristic picture of Micah. He is cute.

Happy 17th Birthday Jace!

Jacen is 17 today!

I well remember today, seventeen years ago. I was so happy to finally be meeting my sweet boy. I had yearned so many months to meet him and hold him. I already loved him more than I ever thought possible. It's been so rewarding to raise him and grow with him and teach him as well as learn from him. He is a great one. He is. I am privileged and proud to be his mother. In the things that really matter, he is true. He will always hold a special place in my heart as my first child and the first to capture my complete devotion.

Our Little Sea Turtle..soon to be Angelfish

Beginning the first of this month, Micah started swim lessons. I was hesitant to sign him up because I didn't know if I had time and didn't know if I wanted to spend the money... but I'm so glad that I did. He LOVES it and is learning to swim so well. Today was his last day as a Sea Turtle and next week he will start as an Angelfish. Every day he asks if it is a swimming lesson day. I'm so proud of him for learning so well and listening so well to his teacher and trying so hard.

Rock Climbing

 For Dallin's birthday party, we went to a Rock Climbing place. Above, three cousins practice climbing in the party area.

 Micah practicing. I didn't think he would put on a harness and try it out on the real rock wall but he eventually did.

 Micah loved it SO much! He went up a little higher each time he climbed and he wouldn't get down! I was holding his ropes and my hands got really tired because he was up and down and up and down, loving every second.

 Gavin was an awesome climber! All the cousins were and they had SO much fun.

 Above is the birthday boy! He had this party immediately following his baptism.

 Gavin again...

Haley was a super great climber too!

Happy Birthday to Dallin! We love you and are so glad that you are a part of our family! You make us smile!

Dallin's Baptism

My nephew, Dallin, was recently baptized. Dallin is Tera's youngest child and in the picture is the blondie in center front with the big, wide smile. He has a great smile, doesn't he? It was so nice to be a part of his baptism day and to have so much family present. My brother Leif baptized him and confirmed him. His confirmation blessing was so incredible. The youth today are so outstanding and have such a great calling. It is evident that they are up to the challenge they will face. I am so grateful for my whole extended family!

Happy Valentines Day!

 What I am listening to today....
http://youtu.be/GvLRDhYGtuc

Cash Only Budget

Have any of you tried a cash only budget?

I am constantly trying to create a more effective budget, and manage to stay with it and not go over it. It's hard! Things always come up and my kids seem to SENSE if I have any extra money (or not) and need some. It's never-ending. I read about this cash only budget where you budget and then take out cash for your budget. Then when you've spent the cash, that's it. You aren't allowed to dip back into your checking account until the next pay period. My husband gets paid weekly so that's pretty easy but this can work for any pay period. Of course, once I decided to do this, I got on Etsy and found this cute laminated envelope/billfold that I had to buy. (: I know....  Anyhow it is made up of ten categories, each with its own envelope. The categories can be personalized to fit your particular budget. Mine are: groceries/household, fun, kids, clothing, date night, car, housecleaning, tithes, gifts, and other (for something that I might think of later). I'm excited to try it. Some people say that they spend less because its harder to fork over cash then swipe their debit card. I think that will ring true with me as well. Most of the time I swipe my debit card, I don't even look at the amount so now I will be checking that more. I'll let you know how it goes. I'd love to hear if you or someone you know has tried this!

Today

I want this picture at the end of my post but ever since blogger changed, I don't know how to work it.

Anyhow, today started out nice.

5:50 am alarm clock

Took Jacen to seminary. I did an Insanity workout in the gym.

Took Jacen to school.

Got home at 7:15 and took a shower.

Helped Linnea and Gavin get ready and off to school. Helped Albert get ready and off to work.

Made and ate my breakfast.

Cleaned the kitchen. Laundry. Picked up the house and made beds.

Took Micah to swimming lessons. His first swimming lesson. He loved it. Albert came and watched part of it so it was fun to see him too.

Home again and made some yummy mushroom barley soup for lunch.

Played make believe with Micah.

Laundry. Ironing.

Micah and I walked over to Linnea's school to watch her spelling bee. She was a finalist and did very well. She finally missed Pompadour. I didn't know how to spell it either. She was happy that at least she got a cupcake.

Hurried home to meet up with Jacen and take Jacen and Linnea to the dentist. Dropped them off to hurry back to pick up Gavin on time (pretty close). Home for snack and help Gavin with homework and then back to pick up Jacen and Linnea from the dentist. Jacen took longer then expected and we ended up watching Elmo in the car (Micah's choice). Home and got tomatoes simmering for spaghetti sauce for dinner. All the sudden, crash, I feel terrible. It could be worse but I don't like being sick. At least I have this great book to cuddle up with. I'm probably one of the last to read it but if you haven't, I recommend it. I'm about halfway through. How I love to curl up with a blanket and a book. It's my FAVORITE thing to do after a long day.