52 Plants.

Summertime is in full swing.

We are soaking up our Utah bound friends as much as possible.

We are all getting tanned....well fried actually, from squeezing in  so much 

beach time with them.

Only one week to go before their big move : (

 Besties!!

................................................

Last night I met 

my Master Gardening friend Erica at the 

Cocoa Extension Office where we browsed through hundreds of 

plants, bushes, and trees of all varieties.

Like kids in a candy store!!

I left with a FULL Truck bed of plants.....

52 to be exact.

Now for the hard part....getting all these beauties in the ground.

  In a place that suits them.

 In an arrangement that balances the yard...

and to decide what spot makes the most 

out of every little, and not so little specimen.....

52 times!

(thankfully my leader gave me some guidance here as well : )

I think I have twelve or so to go....mostly for the back yard.

Which once again requires my honey.

He is really beginning to wonder about my mysterious gardening buddy.

I need to make introductions!

He says he is not interested in spending every spare second he has 

on any more yard projects.

Truth be told, he has been a wonderful sport....

he and the kids finished repairing the sprinkler system last night,

just in time for todays planting.

Then tonight, after walking in the door from work,

he kindly accepted my next plea for he and L to

pull and dig out three more decrepit, over worked, tired looking trees

from along our back fence.  

I think this is the place I am most excited about.

I am so excited to look out our big family room window 

and see something of beauty through them for a change....

rather than our neighbors back yard through our rusty old chain link fence.

HIGH HOPES!!  

 Will post a final update this weekend : )

.........drum roll please........

TIC - TALK

Pioneer Trek.

Scout camp.

Hair Bobbing.

These kids have it made.

Lots of fun summertime experiences.

 E and R spent four days at pioneer trek with other friends and 

kids in our stake.

I love that they had this opportunity.

Before Pics.

After.

Here is a short VIDEO of their return.

I can't seem to get any of Lawson's scout camp pics uploaded to 

my blog today.....so I guess we will settle for pics of one of the two

tics found in L after he got home, 

(and showered and cleaned up) from camp.

L found this one in the side of his foot, 

earlier K had dug one out of the back of L's head.

Geeez!

I wanted you to see what they look like, I sure didn't know.

If you are wondering why there are so many angles.....

that is because this little guy was a quick mover.

YEP.  that's right, both tics were alive and well,

ready to burrow again after being extracted.

I guess that is good, otherwise, if they had been dead it would mean 

the head popped off in the skin, 

and would have continued to burrow!!

 M has been wanting a bob for a while now.

We (I) cut her hair a few months back, and she has enjoyed that.

However, she and a few of her good gal pals had a shorter

style in mind.

V and I took the girls to a "Salon" ......The $15 Hair Cuttery down 

the street, and they had a BIG TIME.

They loved it!

It was a fun little girl time splurge while the boys were away.

Bob-C Twins

 I have been excited to be working with my Master Gardner friend,

Erica, for the last week or so.

We are making big plans for our yard, she has given me certain 

assignments I need to fulfill before we meet up again next week to purchase

new native plants for our yard.

Some of those assignments are to pull out some 

old, nasty trees and bushes.

Great.....
it's just that K has been traveling so much lately,

that I felt a little worried about how the kids and I were going to
remove them on our own.
Well, Fear not!
K said, lets just do it now!
OK, lets DO IT!

Here are the remains of our yard for now.

You can see the broken sprinkler pipe in the big picture....

So yes, 

we ran into a little trouble, but we will  forge ahead.

Kev was not exactly tickled about the project after the sprinkler 

buckled and snapped after being drug out of the ground with the 

roots of the third tree.

He has big doubts now that he is more involved with the project.

He thought his involvement would begin and end with the
tree removal / grass tearing up project....

so did I.
Here is a brief, yet distressing VIDEO of the Damage being performed.

                                

I wanted to share this beautiful morning with you.

Come visit and see this magnificence with your own eyes : )

and Hey.....how bout one more VIDEO to start, or end your blog reading right?

BORED Games

Summertime is here.

Kids are home all day every day.

It brings me back to our days of schooling at home.....

I do kind of like it.

I announced to my four little buddies,

"We are going to be spending a lot of time together guys.

We are a team, remember that.

Plan to work on projects together,

and having lots of together time this summer."

The flip side of summer is also
terrifying, and exhausting.....
the constant battle to keep kids off their electronics.

It is a never ending task.

I am 100% positive that it is the same for many other moms

out there...I know this because we talk about it,

and I hear you on the phone in the middle 

of conversations, etc.

It is a CONSUMING issue for us all.

I can't come up with enough chores, and projects to slow them 

down.  They work fast and like a fine oiled machine when

they know when they are done they can get right back into gaming.

Only, I don't want that to be their summer.

I WANT THEM OFF THE COMPUTER.

OFF THEIR PHONE.

OFF THE INTERNET.

OFF THE T.V. GAME SYSTEM.

It is a full time job trying to creatively and peaceably try and assist them 

with this goal,

because they are fighting for the exact oposite.

Here is what I love to see as a mom.

Washing dishes while humming a tune.

Happily reading.

Writing a report on the importance of honoring your mother

and father (had a little run in that needed addressing) 

 ....and this,
working in the yard together.

They would never admit it, but they had a good time picking these

cut branches up as a team....

I was spying, they were laughing, having

CONVERSATION, and funny competitions.

It was not torture, no matter what they try and say.

Besides, I had already done all the hard work of cutting and 

trimming to prepare this task for them.

We had a very enjoyable out doorsy trip to Asheville, NC with

Kevin last week.

The kids and I drove the 8 hours there.  We spent 5 days river rafting,

(can't wait to do that again!!)

hiking, 

 Eating a lot of fine barbecue.

(Me, reading!!!! Happy, Happy, Happy!) 

 Climbing Chimney Rock, 

 Zip lining, and enjoying the Adventure Park.

 It is so much fun now that M is finally old enough for us to 

start enjoying these more active wholesome recreational activities together.

 We had a wonderful time....all except for my speeding ticket : (

This trip was fun, and a great way to stay off the dreaded media....

sort of.....we did have some of that to.

Vacations are GREAT!  But obviously, 

all summer long cannot be a never ending vacation.

So that is what I am trying to figure out now.

A happy medium for all of us.

I love the new church magazines that came today, in 

The New Era, there is a great article, 

PLAY TOGETHER, STAY TOGETHER

there are some fun ideas.  

One quote I like is this,

"We know that spending time with our family is important,

but not every family gathering can be a planned, themed event.

So we need to know how to spend time with our parents and siblings

from day to day."

I bring this up because sometimes I feel that we struggle with 

communication. 

Polite, courteous, friendly, supportive conversations.

We sometimes get critical, cynical, and just plain rude

with one another.

In one of my many strategies of trying to get our kids off media and

into real life, and interacting with each other,

I implemented family board game time.

We kicked this off last night.

K had to head back to Asheville, so I corralled the kids,

and forced a game on them.

It was Hearts, to begin with.

This was a struggle from the get go.

M was pushed to tears twice, there was a lot of 

LOUD yelling and accusations thrown about cheating,

and game wrong doings.

We tried two games total....it was completely frustrating and

bewildering to me.

So much so that I extended the program of family game 

playing to every day for the rest of the summer.

I am doing this with the hopes that our 

FAMILY CAN LEARN TO BE NORMAL.

I had no idea our boys could not function and play a real live 

board game with out being insane and crazy.

Well, guess what?

 We have a lot of summer to go.

I have HIGH hopes for them.

The night ended with me having to count several times,

"Ok, that's it.....1, 2, 3, 4, 5.....what in the heck?

These guys are all teenagers?!

I took away a sword, a phone, and one person got assigned 

to write a report on respect.

Basically it was a major joke night.

..............

I have thought many times over the years 

about an experience I 

had with my own dad while we were vacationing with them in Utah.

We were staying with them at their previous home in 

American Fork.

My sisters and I were having a late night game night,

playing Canasta and probably eating a whole ton of garbage....

(can't wait....only a few more weeks and we will be doing it again!!!)

 We were trying to get dad to play with us,

(which he has numerous times)

but he was hum-hawing around and did not want to play.

I said dad, why don't you want to play?

It is so much more fun playing together.

He said, well I feel like it is just a waste of time.

?

I quickly retorted.....gee dad, it is never a waste of time to play

with your kids.

He agreed, and sat down to play with us.

Mostly I am sure I said this just to guilt him into joining us....

because 

those words out of my mouth were really 

meant for my ears.

.......................

It is certainly effort to play with our kids at times.

Last night it sure was.

But it feels like something that is vitally important.

In the June Ensign I stumbled upon another great resource,

there is an article I found helpful called, 

Nine Principles for a Successful Marriage and Family.  

There are many great quotes, 

I will use just one,

"Just as honest toil gives rest its sweetness, 

wholesome recreation is the friend and steadying companion of work.

Music, literature, art, dance, drama, athletics - all can provide entertainment

to enrich one's life and further consecrate it.  

At the same time, it hardly needs to be said that much of what passes

for entertainment today is coarse, degrading, violent, 

mind-numbing, and time wasting.

Ironically, 

it sometimes takes hard work to find wholesome leisure."

I am up for the challenge!!

Is something working great for your family????

Share your successes...PLEASE :)

Gardening Competition Update.

Well, it is hard to tell who is winning.

On different accounts we are both winning and loosing.  

You be the judge. 

Any helpful feedback and tips would be much appreciated 

to us gardening novices.

Here is my little table top plot.

I have not lost a plant yet, but it seems like my plants growth is stunted.

I got fruit very quickly, but my plants are very small,

which means they are yeilding only a few massive looking edible veggies/fruits each.

I have to prop them up w/ broken bricks to keep them standing tall.

Is this because my container is too shallow?

Over watering?

Some of the leaves are turning a lighter more sickly yellow w/ brown on the edges.

(man I sound pathetic) 

Here is K's ground garden.

We lost the strawberry plants right away.

They are too tempting for animal life.

The mint has quadrupled in size.....now to figure out what to do with it.

The pumpkin is huge....lots of blossoms that will hopefully produce.

Watermelon is hanging in there....the pumpkin is trying to cover and 

consume it, but it hasn't won out yet.

Corn is getting taller and taller.

His tomato plants are finally producing tomatoes, 

I counted at least 22 today.

His plants are much bigger than mine, even though they are kind of falling 

all over the place.....does that matter?

I have a few seed packs of chard and one or two other items 

I am going to try in containers today or tomorrow.

This is fun and exciting!!....and sometimes scary, and sad.

Here are some pretty spots around the yard.

The white flower in the top left rectangle is one of my favorite plants.

It is my favorite because it popped up like a weed in our scuzzy back 

yard.  I dug it out and transplanted it in my black pot months ago.

It is strong and hearty and spreading in the pot.

I am thinking of trying to take some to transplant 

in another space now.

The pink flowers next to it are coming back into their own.

Never give up on a plant.

That is what I am believing and seeing for myself.

Keep nurturing, pruning, and loving, it just may hang in there and

come back around.

The middle picture is a little spot I really love back behind the bigger 

bushes in our front yard.

This space is right by our hose spicket. 

Really no one sees it but the person creeping back inbetween 

the bushes to water.

It is a quite little gift of beauty.

I assumed that red leafed plant had died long ago.....

but it found the right conditions and lives on.

If anyone would like any of these plants, just let me know.....

I have lots of certain things around the yard that I can tell you

can live through just about any neglect and turmoil,

and still thrive.

I will hook you up if you stop by.

..............................................

The kids are doing great.

Here are a few conversations we've had lately:

Lawson asked me to cut his hair two days ago.

I did.  He requested I buzz the sides quite short,

and leave a little extra on top to "style".

This I did happily....I have been waiting for this moment.

The moment when one of our boys gave a dang about 

using a gel, or doing something with their hair on their own.

(Ryker's hair is pretty good w/out gel, he has a decent style, 

and his hair is pretty silky)

So after the hair cut I helped him style it with a little gel.

(hold it....no lie.  look what just got delivered to our door.
flowers from my parents for Mother's Day.
Awwww!!
Wow.
I LOVE YOU GUYS.
Thank you.
What a delightful surprise on a run of the mill old Wednesday.

: )

Ok, so anyway.....he came home yesterday and said that he was 

relieved that none of his classmates had said that he changed his 

hair "just to get the girls".

He had been hesitant to use gel because he didn't want to give that impression.
But, it didn't happen, so he was relieved.

This past week at church, I said to M that I wouldn't mind if she
married a certain boy in our ward.
It was fun to see her shocked expression.
Her embarrassed blush, and gall that I would suggest
a boy eight years her senior.
Well....I couldn't help it.
I like that boy and can see him as a son in law.
It was really the first we had ever actually talked about who she might marry.
We decided that probably certainly she had not met the lucky boy
she might one day marry.

A few weeks ago Ethan was washing the dishes,
the rest of us were at the table talking.
The random topic of "kissing tag" came up.
The younger kids were like, ew, I would never play that.
From the other side of the kitchen we heard a soft......
"I might play it sometime".....
we loved it.
He brought down the house.
I really think he meant it to.  : )

Ethan had to make cup cakes yesterday for one of his classes
(tough assignment)
This morning I made muffins for breakfast.
He said, gee mom, you could have told me that this was on the bottom
of them.  Be MINE.
I guess that was a big topic topic during class.

My workout friend Barb gave each of her mom friends a little pail

that says, 

"Good moms have messy kitchens.

Laundry piles. & Happy Kids".

I love it.

Came home and threw away my old pencil holder on my desk.

It is a good message to be reminded of each day.

I grew up with a mom like that.

Last random detail:

Go try Iced Choffy.....It is so super good!!

Or better yet, come try it here!

FCAT Bonding ....

 This week starts the "dreaded" FCAT testing for Florida Students.

What school is all about these days.

The ever anticipated, hyped up week long state mandated tests that 

judge how our kids are doing in school.

Dumbo.

Huge waste, unfortunate, and all that.

But, just because I, and I'm pretty sure every other parent feels the same,

 means nothing.....they will still happen.

So around here, and everywhere that children are in public school,

I am sure these tests are built up,
and 

focused on like crazy.

One of the big tips is to have your children get
enough sleep this week.

 Also, to be sure to get a hearty, breakfast each day.

The rest of the days of the year.....what ev.....but these few days,

really be careful and attentive and whatever you do 

don't mess up.

Ok.

I'm down with that.

So I make the big announcement,

Kids, tomorrow expect a big FCAT breakfast.

I want your brains to be in full gear.

They all say the FCATs are easy, and don't seem to notice all the hubbub....

which I am grateful for.

Yesterday I woke them up with the wafting smell of bacon, eggs, and crossants.

Plus a mini super charged green spinach shake which they all appreciated.

We all sat at the table and enjoyed our breakfast together.....

minus K : ( he is back in Asheville.

Last night L says, hey mom, I don't have testing tomorrow, 

but could we have another FCAT breakfast in the morning?

Heck yes we can.

This morning we sat down to Colleen Johnson's best ever 

banana chocolate chip bread muffins 

(recipe will be provided!!)

Along with dark chocolate silk Almond milk K purchased.

Yummo!

So, here is the part I really wanted to write about:

We are again sitting together at the table with a cloth on 

and the whole shebang.

We are enjoying our hot muffins.....

and Lawson says,

Hey everybody, 

When was a time when something really painful happened to 

you that you remember?

(crickets)

We are all intrigued.

He has us reined in.

We aren't sure if this is leading up to a punch line,

or if he really wants to know.

I say that I have one.....

Do you guys remember the time when the horse stepped on my foot and I fainted 

into the barbwire fence?

Mom!!  You can't always use that one.

Ok, what about the time I dropped my jello in grade school and I 

hit my knee picking it up and fainted off the bench.

Are you kidding!!?  That is so long ago.

Ok, ok, wait.....oh yeah! 

Having all of YOU!!

That hurt pretty badly.

No, that doesn't count.

Finally having kidney stones was accepted.

M remembers the time that Ryker pushed her down

onto the bricks after she head butted him in the 

Stomach trying to be friendly. 

R reenacted that several times and we laughed our heads off.

L shared the time he had a painful pimple 

right on his nose.  

He had to pop in a huge rush because 

his friend was waiting outside for him.

It was the most painful day of his life so far.

R recalled the night he ran into the spicket at church playing

man hunt.  It tore his favorite jeans and he has the scar to

prove it.  Lawson showed us his scar on his leg from doing the 

same thing another time....

Ethan....we were all looking at him,

waiting....he said, well, it hurt pretty bad having Mursa and

going on the sling shot ride several years ago.

We roared with laughter,

and
amazement at how long Ethan went on not telling Kev 

and I that he had a huge boil like cyst on his rear-end.

It was so sad.

He was so embarrassed, and it hurt him so badly, he was limping,

(YES we asked obviously.....he told us it was from his bike crash,

which he really did have at this same time)

He would not sit on his butt.

I remember getting mad at him for always reading on his hands

and knees behind the couch.

I was like,
what is going on?

Let's take you to the doctor!.....NO.
I'm fine mom.

It is nothing.
He was so adamant.

One day K gave him a little swat on the rear, 

you know how sporty guys do.....

like to say, that a boy!

Ethan came unglued and went off on him.

We were all dumb founded.

Gee....K does not know his own hand strength.

The night of the slingshot ride in Orlando we had taken the kids 

on a "special" outing to see the live Pirate show.

All through dinner on the hard benches

Eth had to sit on one side and try to make it

through with out saying a word.

He never complained.

........

I have been baking bread, making favorite cookies....

all in the name of FCAT.

Not really.

Guess I am just feeling so grateful for our children.

 I am so broken hearted and afraid for the Provo, Utah family whose

little girl did not come home from school yesterday.

Charice Beaumont.

This could be any one of our stories.

Provo is a safe place.

Satellite Beach is a safe place.

I guess this is hitting me so hard because 

the little girl reminds me of M.

I know the place....

McCauley rides her bike to school often.....mostly with Lawson 

on his skate board, but occasionally she will ask if she can 

leave early.... sometimes I say yes.

I am back to riding with them.

Why wouldn't I?

Who cares what class I have coming up...

I have time to be with our children and soak them up.

While they are in my care.

While I can Behold Them and Learn from them.

I am sure you are praying for the family as well. 

...........................

M has become quite the responsible little mother's helper.
(L reverently snuck these shots for me.)

Last night during his Family Home Evening presentation R found 

this long attached hair.

It took him forever to pull it out.

(I'm kind of surprised he didn't recall this as his most painful event!)

The rest of us had a grand time watching and offering to hold

his under eye skin down while he pulled.

A great shot of L during Soccer.

 Sure love these guys.

.............

One more thing real quick.

Last night the most glorious thing happened.

I was saying good night to the boys.

I had gone over and said to Ryker, come here and give me 

a big hug....he did,

next thing I hear....or think I may have heard, but doubted it very much,

was 16 year old Ethan say,

hey, can I get one of those?

................

He did say it.

................

1st Annual Garden OFF!

Our Long Delayed,
first attempt at gardening in Florida,
has begun.

I have wanted to start a garden forever.

I have listened to friends gush and ooooooooo and awwwwww
about their mega successes. Their fresh thises and thats.
The constant glee over, we have thus and such
coming out our ears!

I am convinced they have all the answers and we have none.
(Well, really only one friend).

I have partaken and drooled over her families produce,
they are always generous in sharing.

I have felt pangs of jealousy and inadequacy.

I have always known we need to have a garden.

But I have just believed we don't have enough information to try.

What is the point of trying?
I know it's not going to work.
We aren't brilliant enough to garden in Florida.

OK.
Get over it.
Maybe it boils down to one thing only....
L. A. Z. Y.
....too Lazy to try.

Luckily,

Lawson needed a family project for his Family Life Scout merit badge.

So Boom!
We are going to be Gardeners!

Just one problem.....

his name begins with K.

This certain person would not conform to the right and proper way

of growing a garden beach side in Florida.

He does not "believe" in purchasing dirt.

God gave us all the dirt we need right here under our feet.

He will not concede, or trust that no plant will grown in our amazing, 

salt laden sand Heavenly Father provided for us.

He won't back down.

He won't believe me when I tell him about my friend's successful garden....

and about all of the notes I have taken.

I know what to do, lets not reinvent the wheel.

Let's follow a PROVEN PLAN for our area.

Here are the school's gardens and raised beds.

I also grilled our gardening expert there...

she told me the same things my friend did.

We WILL FAIL, our plants roots will die, if we plant in the dirt.

(Exibit #1 - School garden....purchased dirt, beds that separate FL dirt from touching garden soil.  Look how hearty, healthy, and strong)

He is sticking to the FACT that Florida is one of the top growers of 

carrots in the world!!

Do we....(the kids and I were all on one garden team) actually

believe that these huge gardeners go purchase bags of dirt?

Do we seriously think they lay down weed controlling plastic or newspaper?

That they raise their planting beds?!!!

Don't think so.

After a bitter struggle.

He won all of the boys over to his side.....and McCauley half way,

cuz she planted items in both Kev's garden and mine.

Ok, that is fine.

I am just happy that we have our own garden(s) to love and nurture 

and do our best with.

This is not about winning,

or whose garden does better.

Mine is the little one up on the table away from the 

contaminated ground.

I am so happy with the kid's feeling of stewardship over our new little babies.

They literally weed and fret over it every day, 

(the one on the ground, mine does not get weeds) 

WITH OUT BEING ASKED!

They go out together to check on it.

They play catch out by it.

Send progress photos and updates to K on his trips.

(Look at the new growth, the small corn plants pushing through for life, sun, and air....

such a miracle.  The blossoms, the beautiful detail.)

 We are struggling to keep a strawberry attached long enough to become

fully ripe.

Our Animal robbers are very active.

M had very good intentions of saving a little strawberry,

she built a brick barrier to keep the animals away.

It had a hole in the top for sunshine....

that plant died over night.

Hey, it was worth a shot.

This bush is out front.

I purchased and planted it in this pot when we moved in thirteen years ago.

At one point I could see it was getting too large for the 

small container, so I wanted to replant it 

to give it a fighting chance.

I went to move it and realized right away that it had taken 

care of the matter on its own.

Its roots had broken through the bottom and were 

firmly rooted deep in the soil below.

I was thrilled.

Good job buddy!

I love this plant because just about every year I am sure it is the 

end of its days.

I just know it's dead.

It goes brown, very dormant, unattractive,

it really looks completely dead.

I get ready to replace it, and then just like magic....

the tiny green buds begin again.

This plant gets tons of beautiful bright yellow flowers

pretty much all summer long.

It tricked me again just this month.

I knew it was all over.

Dang it, I'm going to miss you little guy......

yet look at it now.

(yes, I am a slow learner.)

 You can see our first tomato below, 

(my plant....no big deal I just figured you were curious)

That tree out front has a twin sister we planted around 5 years ago.

I was 94% sure they would not make it.

How could they?

We don't know the first thing about taking care of trees properly!

Yet once again, 

nature takes over and is proving me wrong.

I love these trees, they are beginning to offer shade and beauty to our 

small yard.

These pink flowers are on the front porch....

I always check out the clearance section at Lowes.

I see what is half price and nearly dead.

Why pay full price when it likely will die anyway?

LOOK AT THEM!

GORGEOUS, Generous Blooms, plenty of life!

That big black pot on the bottom is from several years ago,

That one guy, my competition, purchased me an extremely thoughtful 

Mother's Day gift one particular year.

I was very surprised.

This container was jam packed with tons of lush, beautiful plants.

I have managed to keep a few of them alive.

It is amazing what a little watering can do.

I love that Heavenly Father provides such Bounty.

Such FOOL Proof ways for us to feel satisfaction and joy.

I hope to be like that plant I mentioned, the tree that dug its roots in for dear life.

Not to be swayed by the wind, or tossed.

Grounded. Alive. Faithful. Steadfast. Solid. Strong.

Back to real life again.

Spring break has come to an end.

What a great, fun, unplanned, unscheduled week we had.

The week began with our big annual ward cake auction and spagetti dinner.

This is the one fund raiser we do each year to benefit the youth program

and help with high adventure trips, scout camps, etc.

My Choffy cake went for BIG BUCKS!!

It is a pretty hot ticket item around these parts.

Grab the RECIPE HERE if you'd like it. 

The pictures below are a few of the items we bid on and won.....

the I-Phone cake by one of our young women,

Ryker and Aaron's cheese cake (mom's recipe),

Giant chocolate cup cakes.....

There is Tina and Christi w/ Tina's S-more Cake....SUPER YUMMY!

Toby's Tower of Doom-nuts.

It was a fun night and a huge success. 

We also had a court of honor for our scouts.

Toby got his Eagle....Great job!

Ryker is in the pipeline for his.

 This is where the week got really good....

for me : ) anyway.

I was pulling jobs and projects out of my hat like a magician.

The kids would have been happy sitting the days away in front of the
computers and gaming systems.
But not I.

I certainly don't mind a portion of each day being taken up with that past time,

but while there is still breath in my body I will help them 

make other,
 better choices on how they spend the majority of their time....

even on Spring Break.

I had the gang out cutting, and hacking down dead wood in our yard,

they dug out stumps, 

Axed through limbs and carried them out.

I LOVED IT!!
(and truth be told....I don't think they minded it much)

This got them energized to put on their backpacks and ride to 

Walmart for something they needed for their gaming system....

cuz oooops, I'm stuck at home trying to get caught up on some important things.

ALRIGHT!!  See you in a while...You go boys!

Cookie was here with us for a short visit as well.

She is always a welcome guest.

The weather has been pretty chilly, but we managed one afternoon at the 

beach with friends.

It was so relaxing and enjoyable to sit and visit and listen to 

the waves wash in and out.

The kids had a blast creating this Lord of The Rings structure.

LoVE the work of imagination!  and Team Effort!

 Another Favorite project:

The ceiling of the play room.

I have been putting it off forever, because it is
soooooo hard and tedious.

Well, that is because last time I did it by myself, probably pregnant.

This time,
I demonstrated  how to wipe every slat and groove,

moving the ladder and rinsing the cloth often and squeezing almost all of the

cleaning solution out so it doesn't drip into your eyes, etc.

Then Ryker and Ethan finished the job!

Having older BIG KIDS IS A DREAM!!

When they have something they really want to do,

and all they have to do is get "mom's job list done first"

They are angels and extremely hard workers.

It's called LEVERAGE.

It keeps the peace and makes everyone happy in our home.

M dusted and vacuumed the entire house,

she is happy listening to my little ipod.

Look at the team doing dishes, they figured it could be done

quicker if one rinsed and the other washed.

GOOD JOB GUYS!

I Love spring break.

I get sooooooooo much done with these guys around.

I kinda hated to see them go back so soon.

Hope you had a wonderful Easter.