#2 turns 14!!!!!

How has this happened?  First Jake went and turned 16, now Josh has gone and turned 14.  This makes it seriously hard to convince myself that I am still in my 20's! 

Here is was when he saw snow for the first time.  I'm sure he remembers it fondly.  :)

Here he is enjoying his time with Jacob.  Don't ask why Grandma is excercising off to the side.  You never know.  Jake could have just hit Josh and knocked Grandma over.  He's been known to do some wild and crazy things at times.  :)

Jake isn't the only one who loves to pose for pictures.

His love of trains is/was legendary. 

He keeps getting older and older.  Why can't he just stay little? 

No.  He has grown up into a wonderful young man who will surely turn into a wonderful adult.  Of course, I'm sure it will be hard to explain when he turns 30 that his mom is still in her 20's!  Maybe I will have to grow up a bit with him?  Nah.  I don't see it happening.  haha

Spring break fun

Last week was spring break. Mother came to visit.

We didn’t do much, but we had a very good time. :) We went to Kohl’s and found Emma a dress for $10. It fit her really nice also. She made sure to wear it on St. Patrick’s day.

Jake, of course, got in on the St. Patrick's day fun...

We also went to the mall in search of the lunar golf store, which apparently went out of business. Guess that shows how often I go to the mall. Haha

We made pie the night before Mother left. Actually, Mother made TWO chocolate pies Friday night.  She made one with meringue and the other topped with cool whip. The one with cool whip didn’t make it till the next day. It was devoured by the kids, who apparently hadn’t eaten in weeks! Haha The kids absolutely LOVE Mothers chocolate pie. We made another one Saturday morning before she left. As if giving me the recipe wasn't treat enough, she also let me make the one Saturday so I would know how to make it for the kids myself. The kids will be extra happy if/when I make it for them. I can’t guarantee I will be making one anytime soon (especially since we had THREE last weekend alone!), but at least I know how now. :)

No good deed goes unnoticed

Today I was busy. Not with going up to the kid’s school, or transporting some kid to a doctor or anything like that. I mean, I was BUSY! It was such a beautiful day, and I was in the kitchen of all places. I should have just gone to the park or something. :) First, I made these…

They were actually rather easy. Here is the link to the recipe. I have wanted to make them for a while. Mine didn’t turn out as pretty as hers. :)  All the sugar has melted off the top and they don’t look as appealing. I figured I would be nice and have them for an after-school snack for the kids (as well as dessert). I let Emma and Elaina have a few when they got home. They really enjoyed them. The boys just got home and they both enjoy them very much as well.  Elaina and Josh are my picky eaters and they both wanted to eat the whole bag!

I also made these…

I have been eyeing these rolls for quite a while as well. I just haven’t had energy and time at the same time. For some reason, that is important for when I cook. Haha It was a super easy recipe as well.
Here are some pics from the process...

Then as payment for all my hard work, Elaina yelled “I hate you” to me after I continued to whistle a tune while getting dinner ready. I guess it really didn’t help any that I had just told her I needed to be able to see the floor in her room before dinner tonight. Haha Today is a milestone in my life… I have now been officially “hated” by all my kids. Wow. I am doing something right, or else really, really wrong. I’m sure this won’t be the last time Elaina “hates” me. We will just have to wait to see what my next “offense” is. Haha

I did the unthinkable

Yesterday was a day for shopping.  I had a couple of hours to spend, so I went to Kohl's.  I found the cutest outfit for Elaina.  It was marked down 80 % to $11.20.  I was impressed.  She was excited.  I had her try it on, and she wouldn't take it off.  haha

I also found some shirts for myself and Emma.  Unfortunately, they are all the same style, just different sizes.  haha  I got Emma one in black and white, and myself two (one purple and black, the other brown and teal like in the picture).  They were marked down 80% to $7.20 each.  I was quite impressed. 

Then, the cashier made me an offer I couldn't refuse.  I signed up for a Kohl's credit card (don't worry.  I won't use it...  much!) and I got an extra 30% of the purchase.  I bought 4 shirts, 1 pair of leggings and a package of 6 head bands for $27!  I was so proud of myself and ashamed of myself at the same time.  I don't do very well on spending money on anything other than food and absolute crap.  haha  Then the cashier told me the worste news she could have.  I got the extra 30% off any purchase for the day I got my card.  I of course did the only thing any good woman would do.  I took Josh and Emma back up there to see if they could find any shirts.  Josh is starting to get a little nervous about starting High School next year, so I thought a couple of new shirts might help.  Come to find out, he really needs them!  Yeah, double win.  A psychological boost as well as a necessity!  Wow.  That doesn't happen often enough.  haha  He ended up getting 3 shirts (two with t-shirts underneath, so actually 5 shirts).  I spent about $28 on him.  Emma didn't find anything.  That's alright.  she doesn't need it as much as he does, but she did have fun looking.  haha

Walmart isn't just for shopping anymore

Wow. I’ve heard that Heavenly Father uses people for his desires, now I know Satan uses them too. I had a very good morning. Actually, things have been going good for a while. I should have known something would mess it up. Haha

Today, I was out and about. Kroger was having a great sale on soda and it only lasts Thursday thru Sunday. I know I won’t be going tomorrow or Sunday, so I went today. As usual, I ended up at Wal-mart. I was taking my time, enjoying being out of the house. I haven’t left the house, except to take kids to school and to read at the school myself, in a little over a week. Well, I have been keeping an eye out for a new coat. I have been using one of Mike’s old ones and it is a little big and definitely comes from the men’s department. Haha I have just wanted something more feminine. (Did that just come from me???) Well, Wal-mart had a bunch of sports jackets on sale for $5. I had looked thru them and didn’t find anything for me, but found one perfect for Emma. She grew out of hers and has been stealing my sweater on chilly days. I had just put it in my buggy when a lady I’ve never seen before walks up to me. “I remember when I was your size I couldn’t get clothes to fit either” was the first thing out of her mouth. I was in shock to say the least. She kept on talking and talking about how much cheaper the clothes are in the “smaller section” (pointing to the junior department), and how now that she has lost all this weight, other mothers compliment her on her outfits. I did not smack her. I didn’t even say anything. I bit my lip so hard it bled, but I didn’t respond. My insides were screaming quite a few things at her. No, I won’t disclose them, but they weren’t nice! Then she made a comment about, “oh my, you’re gonna start crying aren’t you?” accompanied with a wave of the hand. I said with all sincerity, “no, I’m not going to cry”; I left off the part about how I had a few things to tell her about manners and proper greetings to strangers. I turned and started walking away. She hurried up and cut me off saying something about how she just was talking to me out of love. Ha! I’m pretty sure that talking to a complete stranger about how fat they are is not love. I’ll admit. I did a bit of crying. Only out of the store, though. What a crazy thing to do to a stranger! I hope and pray I am never an instrument to make someone feel worse about themselves. That is never helpful! :)

Thank heavens for cell phones and sisters! What would I ever do without Dana. I hope I never find out. :)

"THE" party!

Last night was Jacob’s “big” party. We haven’t ever had a birthday party. This was our first. Usually we just have family over and then go shopping with birthday money or something like that. Since Jake turned 16, we figured it needed to be special. We set the mood by having lots of Lava lamps all around the living room. We also got a stop light and a disco ball thing (you point a light at it and it spins and puts rotating lights all around the room). We also took out some of the lights from the ceiling fans and left on lights in other rooms. The lighting was perfect. The lava lamps/disco lights stood out but it was still light enough for no one to think about getting into trouble. Then Mike hooked his computer up to the big speakers we have. He used Pandora to find 80’s music and it worked out perfect. It was just like a dance club with better lighting. Haha
~~We didn't leave them on this table, this is just what all our garage sale lava lamps over the years look like.  haha

We had fewer kids than expected show up, but I was grateful. :) We had 4 guys (not including Jake and Josh) and 5 girls. We had a full house. :) Actually, we only had about 3 guys not show. :)

We had tons of food. I figured teenagers would eat more than they did. I was prepared. Haha I told Mike later that I’m not cooking the rest of the weekend, and I think we will fine! Haha

Jake and his friends had a good time. They spent time indoors then outdoors. We played a game with toilet paper and plungers. Once the game was over, Jeremiah (Jakes best friend) juggled with them. Haha

After everyone came back in, we had cake and ice cream. I was looking for superman ice cream and found this cake instead. It was perfect. I don’t usually buy birthday cakes, but this one was worth it. :)

Jake goes in tomorrow to have his interview with the bishop to become a priest. Can you believe? I am not ready for that. I shouldn’t be that old yet. Haha


Elaina also got dressed up for the party.  She put on her favorite dress and heels(!?!) and put a headband in her hair.  She was ready to party!  haha  She ended up staying in my bedroom watching movies that we rented from the library.  :) 
I’m glad this party is over and done. Now I just have to try to get Josh to figure out what he wants to do for his birthday next month!

Happy birthday, Jacob.

Today, Jacob turns 16. Man I feel old! It seems like just yesterday he was born. He was such a good baby. :) He had to stay in the hospital for a week but he was adorable with his red hair. At 8 lbs 12 oz he was the biggest baby in the ICU. :)

(17 hours of labor will do wonders for your hair)

He always loved Aunt Dana.

He usually had a big grin.

He always has had a love for homemade pizza.

His love of bugs has only increased over the years.

He is always stunning in his suits.

He was and will always be a COOL guy!