May 20th, 2012

We had a super fun, but VERY busy week!

• On Monday I found out my sisters, Gerren's friend (and now my friend) Julaine, and I were accepted into the St. George Marathon! Wahoo! I can't believe I'm running another marathon. I told myself I wouldn't for 10 years...that was three years ago:) They have already been doing high mileage running so I have a lot to do in the next four months. This will be my 6th marathon but I've never properly trained for one so I'm determined to see how well I can do with the proper training.
• On Thursday we went to our friend Jamie's parent's house for preschool. They have horses, chickens, and goats plus an awesome yard to play in. The kids LOVED it!

• On Tuesday we had our last official Girl Scout Meeting of the year. We have one activity planned each month of the summer but our little meetings are done. It was a fun year and the girls were great to work with. That evening the school hosted a get together to meet the new First Grade Chinese Immersion teachers. One teacher will teach the English part of the day and the teacher will teach the Chinese part of the day. She will be speaking in Chinese all the time from day one! I'm really nervous for this whole endeavor!
• On Thursday Addy had her Kindergarten Program! It was so adorable and just as cute as can be! Addy was even given a speaking part. She did great and the songs were so fun to listen to. After the program we took her out for ice cream at U Swirl!

• On Saturday morning Addy and Brynn had their year-end dance recital. Of course they did great and were super cute! They have decided not to do dance next year (they want to do sports instead!) so this might be our last time we have to get all dressed up!

• Late Saturday afternoon Todd decided to take the kids fishing. We went up American Fork Canyon up to Silver Lake. The kids had the best time! Bodee loved getting dirty and discovering all the fun things to pick up and throw in the lake. The lady fishing next to us even gave Bodee a big worm. It was his best friend until he literally loved it to death:) We actually didn't catch any fish but it really was a fun family evening and it was so beautiful up at the lake we didn't even care!

May 13th, 2012

• Brynn was given a water balloon at preschool this week. Of course she only had one so the other kids were envious. Water balloons became a topic of conversation in our house for a few days so I finally broke down and bought a few packages of water grenades. It wasn't that warm out so we just filled up a few and threw them around. They can't wait for a really hot day so we can have a water balloon war!

• Grandma Bassett bought Bodee and Todd matching "Bass Pro Shop" hats. Bodee likes to wear his around. He's such a stud!

• On Saturday Todd and Addy ran a 5K as a fundraiser for Addy's school. We told her three miles was a long run but she was determined. She and Todd did run/walk the whole way! She was exhausted when it was over though. The first picture is pre-race and then as they came in crossing the finish line.

• After the race we went over to Grandma and Grandpa's house. Grandpa just bought a 4 Wheeler so we all wanted a ride! How fun! After a few rides we all went to Costco for a cheap lunch. Somehow Brynn tripped in Costco and bonked her head really hard. Talk about a goose egg. 

• Here is Bodee trying to do the splits like his sisters:) He's always practicing.

• Awww, Mother's Day! The girls had each been working on all sorts of things the last couple of weeks. They each stuffed a bag full of art and projects they made for me. Here are my favorites. From Addy: A picture frame with a picture of herself she made at school and a painting of a flower she used her hand to make. From Brynn: A questionnaire about me she made at preschool. My favorite questions/answers:
• What does Mom do? Make our beds. (Which is funny because they always make their own beds everyday!)
• What does Daddy call Mommy? Hey Honey
• Favorite food? Healthy stuff. Potatoes. 
• Where does she take you for fun? To get ice cream!
• What do you love most about her? She takes me to my friend's house.
• How cute is that? Todd was just as sweet and bought me flowers and gift card to get a pedicure. LOVE HIM! It was nice to just relax and read in the afternoon. I wish every Sunday could be Mother's Day!
• I am so very grateful I can be a mother. My husband and children are the biggest joys in my life. I hope to try harder to be a better, more loving and compassionate mother. I am so grateful to have been blessed with three wonderful kids:)

May 6th, 2012

This week I met up with my sisters in New York City! The first few days of the week were spent getting ready for the trip. I can't believe how much work it takes for a mother to leave  for a few days. Here's a recap of our fun trip.

• Gerren and I both flew in early Thursday morning. I slept and got ready for the day while Sarah went to pick up Gerren. Once they arrived we all went to lunch at Tiny's Sandwich Shop. Then we walked down Canal Street and I bought a purse and sunglasses. We also stopped by a place called Economy Candy. The coolest candy store I've ever been to. Very cheap yet contained a selection of candy from around the world as well as candy from our childhood. We also had to stop by Lululemon. 
• We then bought tickets for Mary Poppins on Broadway, went back to Sarah's apartment to get ready, grabbed a slice of pizza and headed to the show. Mary Poppins was very good and the scenery was amazing. After the show we headed to a diner for a very late dinner. By bedtime were we all exhausted!

• Friday morning Gerren and I slept in until 9:30am! I guess we were a little tired:) Sarah had made us massage appointments at 11am for our birthday presents so we hurried to get ready and headed out. The massage was one of the best I've ever had! 
• Sarah had then purchased tickets for us to take the ferry to the Statue of Liberty and Ellis Island. It was fun to visit such a famous landmark. Ellis Island had a great museum about its role in immigration. It was really fascinating. We had a late lunch on Ellis Island and then back to the city to visit the 9/11 Memorial. The Memorial was beautiful. I loved seeing the new World Trade Center towers as well. 
• After visiting the 9/11 site we had dinner with Gary at Gyu-Kaku, a Japanese barbecue restaurant. It was very good and fun to cook our own meat at our table. Gary then took us to a pastry shop called Venieros. I tried my first cannoli among other goodies. It was seriously delicious! After our yummy dinner and treats we of course had to stay up until 1am talking...just like sisters do!

• Saturday morning we went for a 6 mile run in Central Park. My sisters are in shape because they are currently training for a 1/2 Marathon and a 1/2 Ironman. I am not in shape so I barely pulled out 6 miles but I couldn't let my big sisters show me up:) 
• For lunch we went to my favorite place for a New York slice...Rays! Yummy! Then we went shopping again at Lululemon and walked to the MET. As always, the MET is completely amazing. I really liked the Egyptian artifacts. Sarah then took us to an off-shoot for MET, The Cloisters. Very Cool!
• For dinner we stopped at the Delta Grill. THE best mac & cheese and BBQ pulled pork sandwich I've ever had. We also stopped at Junior's for cheesecake...and boy did we get a lot of cheesecake. We were home by 8pm and ate cheesecake, watched a movie, and talked.

• Sunday morning Gerren FORCED me out of bed for another run. This time we ran just over 2.5 miles. I actually felt pretty good after the run:) Sarah took us to a restaurant called Cowgirls for brunch. The french toast was so good! 
• We then made stops at Levain Bakery and Trader Joe's for more goodies. By then it was almost time for Gerren to head for the airport. I hung out at Sarah's place for a few more hours before I grabbed on more slice of pizza and then headed for JFK.

I am so grateful for my wonderful sisters! I had the best weekend! I sure wish I lived closer to them:)

April 29th, 2012

There is only one picture form this week...

• Brynn made a fort in Bodee's crib. She is very inventive. I haven't figured out how Bodee was suppose to get in the fort but it was very sweet of her to build it for him.

• This was my last week teaching preschool! Yay! I have been part of a mom co-op preschool for three years so I'm very excited for Brynn to attend a regular preschool three days a week next year.
• I was talking with Addy's teacher this week and she mentioned that Addy is up to reading at Level 14! Wow! Great job to my Addy girl!
• Friday night Todd and I went out on a date. We met up for dinner at Chili's with our friends, Shawn and Katie. It's always fun to have some alone time away from the kids.
• Bodee loves watching Spiderman now and even says "iderman". He will also point to the different parts of his body when you name them and Todd has taught him to show his muscles:) He is one fun and cute kid!

April 22nd, 2012

I'm behind on my blogging so here is a catch up the last couple of weeks.

• On Tuesday this week Todd decided to drive down to Las Vegas for a work conference. He left at 5am Wednesday morning. Brynn came in our room just after as he was leaving. After he left she said "I miss Dad." I said "I know, Dad's the best!". She replied, "he is the best...unless he puts me in the Disneyland crusher!".
• We met up with Todd on Friday morning in Salina for his Great-Uncle Dee's funeral. Todd was so sad about the passing of his Uncle Dee. He was honored to be asked as a pallbearer. The funeral was very nice and a great reminder of the full life Uncle Dee lived. Todd's father, Chris, spoke at the funeral and did very nice.

• The DeVerl Boys. Theo DeVerl, Todd DeVerl, and Boden DeVerl at DeVerl Clark's funeral.

• My handsome boys!

• The kids did very well the day of the funeral. A two hour drive to Salina, Then sat reverently during the viewing, funeral, and grave-site followed by a two hour drive home. They did so well we stopped at Chuck E. Cheese to play games. As always, they had a blast! 

• Saturday was a very beautiful day so we took the kids to the park. The girls hit golf balls (Addy did a great job connecting!) and we played catch with our gloves and baseballs. Great family day!