Peanut Butter Cookies & Baseball

The other night I finally decided to make peanut butter cookies because we have TONS of peanut butter & I found a simple recipe online that I had all the ingredients for!!  That's always a bonus. 

Preheat oven to 350

1 C. sugar

1 C. peanut butter

1 egg

1 tsp. vanilla

mix together & then mold into balls

loosely flatten with fork & bake for 8-10 minutes.

Seriously...that's it!!!

recipe found at allrecipes.comallrecipes.com

Well...Blake said he wanted to help & I thought the fork part would be great for him.  So I went outside & this is what I found.

Blake was teaching Sonny to throw the baseball to him so he could practice his catching skills.  I thought it was so sweet & Blake wasn't even yelling at him.  Why did they take their shirts off?  I have no clue but it was so fun watching them & I even took some video.

(gotta figure out how to upload to here...I used to know how to do it)

Needless to say...I finished the cookies by myself because they  were having so much fun.

But...the definitely helped me eat them!!

Blake's Open House

Here's Blake with his teacher Mrs. V @ his school's open house last week. 

 I can't believe it's that time of year already!! 

Where has the time gone? 

He's showing us his plants that they've been growing in class.

I'm so proud of Blake & all that he's accomplished this school year!! 

He is definitely a "reader" now & is really good at math & spelling & has lots of friends. 

His teacher has nothing but good things to report about him. 

I'm so HaPpY he's done great this year. 

Only 12 more days of school left!!!

Stung by a Bee

Last week Blake went in the house to get a drink & then all of a sudden he started that cry/scream. You all know what I'm talking about. At 1st I was like...what the heck...and then I KNEW what had happened. He'd gotten stung. I was outside & he was inside...weird, I know...but I took a look & there it was...the stinger!!! Geez!!! I got a card & finally got it scraped out & then proceeded to look on the internet to see what it was. This time it was a bee because bees leave their stinger behind. Last summer it was a wasp because there was no stinger & it stung him multiple times. I made sure I got a little ice pack to put on it. & then we looked & looked to find the bee but it wasn't til about a 1/2 hour later that my friend Jaime finally spotted it. Blake insisted on showing it to his friends & then sketched it. So there you have it...Blake's sketch of the bee that stung him. And...he was totally fine. Thank goodness he's not allergic!!

Happy (late) Mother's Day!!!

Here are my 2 handsome boys on Mother's Day. 

(Sonny's holding bacon for the brunch at my parents).

I would have to say that I had a lovely Mother's Day. 

It's hard to believe that I became a mom 7 years ago (almost 8).

I love my boys so much & truly grateful for the stewardship I have over them.  I pray that I can be the best mom for them & that I can teach them everything they need to be the best that they can be throughout this life.  It's a fun, happy, sad, exciting, irritating & truly a wonderful experience for me & I wouldn't trade it for anything in the world.  I'm grateful to have these 2 wonderful boys!!!

HaPpY MoThEr'S dAy to all of you too!!!

(I actually wrote this on Mother's Day & just posted it because I was looking for baby pics of me with them when they were born & I can't find Blake's because they are not on the computer.  Guess I need to do some scanning.  ♥)

Howie Cat

This is Howie. We've had him since he was a kitten & he's great. He's a funny little cat. Very skinny & will not...I repeat...will not eat people food. Unlike the other cats. I think it's because he can't smell very well. He sneezes all the time & we think he's allergic to himself. :) Poor Howie. He likes to find new places to sit & lounge where he will not be bothered. The other day he thought this basket would work. It was cute so I took a picture. Thanks for meeting Howie.

Colby's 5th Birthday Party

Colby, the little boy I babysit, turned 5 on the 14th & had an Indiana Jones themed birthday party on that Saturday. I took Blake & Sonny to join in on the festivities. It was a fun party & pretty much all boy except for a few girl cousins sprinkled in. There were water balloons, an obstacle course with snakes & they even got to throw water balloons at Adam (Colby's dad) at the end, a pinata & of course cake, ice cream & presents. Kylie was upset because her balloon popped all over her & she was super tired. The kids sure had fun on the obstacle course & of course tackling Adam at the end. And who doesn't love swinging blindfolded at a pinata to get candy? It's always fun & dangerous too. Breanne (Colby's mom) made a really cool treasure chest cake & it was delicious. I wish I could've had more. I'll have to ask her for the cake recipe. And Kylie finally had some fun eating cake while I was making funny faces at her. When it was time for presents I had a surprise of my own. Sonny had disappeared into the house & I thought I heard him crying so I got up to go see. Breanne had gone in too & said Sonny's a little bit messy. Well...that was putting it mildly!!! He was crying because...yup...you guessed it...he pooped & it was all over his legs & even got onto the carpet. Oh what a joy!!! So I spent the next 1/2 hour cleaning him up & the carpet. Oh what a joy (did I already say that?). Well I did my best to not get angry & to keep my emotions in check...I was so close to crying & I was embarrassed too. It's one thing to clean him up at home but a completely different scenario at somebody else's house. NO...he is not doing well at going to the bathroom when it's time for #2...he is excellent at peeing in the potty...but not the other. GOSH!!! What am I supposed to do??? Anyway, we cleaned up & Sonny in his undies, I apologized & off we went to give Sonny a bath & then go swimming at Grandmother & Grandad's. I then proceeded to have a mini meltdown at home because I feel like I'm failing at this #2 business & I've been reading more & I've come to the conclusion that I can't be mean...I just have to keep trying & be loving & he'll get it....hopefully sooner than later.......

Anyway...Happy Birthday Colb & thanks for inviting us. You are a great kid!!

Mormon Helping Hands Day

This past Saturday members of our church...the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints...were involved in a huge community clean up day.  AKA "Mormon Helping Hands".  My ward was assigned to the Rusch House at Rusch Park.  I was able to take Blake & Sonny & we were able to participate in this great service project. 

(Sonny in the beginning. 

He kept calling his smock a Jedi cape & he really wanted to keep it. 

Guess I should learn how to make one for him.)

I was a little worried about the timing because Blake also had a baseball game at 10:00 & not at the same park.  That would've been convenient though.  Well...I decided that we would go for at least an hour.  I'm so glad we went.  We had a great time & spent most of it digging & planting flowers with Colby & Kylie's Grandparents (Lisa & Paul Durston) & 2 girls from young women's.

(Lisa Durston)

(Emily O. (above) & Emily G. (below)

(Sonny digging with his Jedi cape on)

 At one point Blake asked if he could come over & help us because he thought he'd be better at digging than weeding.  It was so cute & of course I let him switch tasks.  We learned how to transfer flowers from plastic containers into the ground. 

(Blake is great at digging!!!)

(Blake getting instructions from Paul)

(working on those roots)

(Blake & Nolan)

(totally ready to go home)

(he decided it would be easier to crawl down the grass instead of walking because I wouldn't carry him)

(ok...guess I'll just wait it out...I'm glad my camera takes great outdoor pics)

(just messing around...I do believe this is my best angle yet...hahaha)

Here I am with my 2 very happy boys before we left.  Blake didn't want to leave because he was having too much fun.  I'm glad he had a good experience.

It was fun & a great experience to clean up & beautify!! 

And we made it to the game with no problem but it was super cold!!!

Alicia's Temple Day & Blake goes to Urgent Care

My sister Alicia (above) who is just 3 months younger than me (combined families) went through the Temple for the 1st time about 1 week ago!!  It was so exciting.  Good thing I saw that my stepmom mentioned she was going to the Temple with her daughter or I never would've known.  Crazy!!  I found out just in time & was lucky enough to not have anything else scheduled that night.  Thank Goodness!!!  I talked to Alicia & it was so funny because she said if I wasn't there she would've been mad & I said that if I found out about it later I would've been hurt.  Kinda funny but the powers that be made it known to me & I was able to be there for her on this special day.  I must say it was wonderful.  It was probably the 1st time I've been to the Temple in a long time that I didn't have major things weighing me down & I was able to just enjoy being there & I wasn't really there searching for answers.  It was lovely & I was just so happy!!

Our parents were there, Amelia (baby sis) & her husband Erick, good friends Amber & Matt & some other extended family members were there in support of this special day.  It's so awesome to go to the Temple & have so many family members there too.

Before the Temple session we got together at our parents house for an early family dinner.  When Blake got home from school that day he fell asleep on the recliner.  This is very unusual for him but I just thought he was tired because he woke up a couple times the night before.  So off we went to my parents house.

It was fun & we had Hawaiian Haystacks (a girls camp fave) & had a nice time visiting.  We headed home after a little bit & Blake was just super tired & really wanted to go to bed.  So we decided to get the kids ready...it was only 6:00....very early.  Blake really wanted me to read to him & read the Scriptures before I left so I did & then I took the bandaid off of a scrape he had on his knee.  Ooohhh!!  It looked pretty nasty.  I cleaned it up & it was not only gross but his entire knee was red.  After some thought & a blessing & a 2nd opinion by my dad I had Brad take him to the Urgent Care.  Good thing he took him because he had a pretty bad infection....Cellulitis....he had to get 2 shots & some antibiotics & they drew a circle around his kneecap & said if the redness continued outside of it he needed to be seen again.  Thank goodness Brad was home & able to take him in while I was out at the Temple.  If he had not been home I would have taken him myself & my sister would have understood.  I'm so glad that I have a husband that is there to help out in parental responsibilities :)  Anyway,  I ended up taking him to his regular doctor & she gave him a 2nd RX & missed 2 days of school.  The 2 rx's were able to bring down the swelling quickly...thank goodness.  So Blake is fine & just finished up his 10 days of icky antibiotics.  I never took any pics....but it was gross & now the scab is gone & he's got pink fresh skin.  What a day & weekend!!!

Ok...this is horrible lighting..

.my camera only likes outdoor in the daylight it seems...

but this is me & Alicia after her session in the Temple. 

I'm so happy for her making this step in her life.

CH Spring Fun Run

My stake had a Spring 5k a week ago.  I thought it would be a great way to start on my 5k's for the season.  Besides it was totally FREE!!!  I called my friend Sarah C. & let her know (she's my 5k buddy) & we planned to meet eachother there bright & early.  I was also lucky enough to have Blake & Sonny spend the night with Grandpa & Naunie so I didn't have to find an early morning babysitter.

Me, Sarah & Melissa

Here's Melissa with her dad Jerry (they're from my old ward)

The Colvins (old ward)

My good frien Robin who we tortured & made jog with us. 

She did great!!

Here's sidewasy Sarah with her husband Josh & dog Gus.

(couldn't figure out how to rotate it & I didn't want to spend an hour trying to figure it out.)

Here's another longtime friend...Darlene...after we were done.  She's so awesome...I believe she came in almost 5 minutes before me.  She's doing this awesome training.

(ok, seriously....my boobs are freaking huge in this picture...oh-my-gosh!!!)

Anyway...Sarah had her trusty watch with her & we did 1:1 intervals.  1min jog...1min walk.

I think we did great.  When we were almost done Melissa's dad Jerry came back to find us & made her run the rest of the way (he is like a professional runner) & then I thought I can do this so I told Sarah I was off & started to jog almost the rest of the way. 

I made it with a time of 42 minutes flat. 

 I believe that's my best time so far. 

 I guess we'll see how I do at the next one which is on Memorial Day. 

I'm so excited & can't wait.  I never thought I would ever enjoy jogging/walking for exercise but I really do.  Ever since I trained last year for my 1/2 marathon.  I just need to keep it up all year.  I've been trying to walk outside or on the treadmill @ the gym for at least 20 minutes every day.  I'm hoping I will shed these unwanted chubby spots that I have acquired over the last year too.  It also helps that Blake & I can walk to school now that the weather has been nicer, & I've almost completely given up soda.  It's going on 3 weeks & I've only had 3 sodas.  I'm drinking a lot of water now.

Well wish me luck!!!

Rusch Park's Most Wanted

About 2 weeks ago our youth had their annual America's Most Wanted activity. Members of the ward sign up & get their "mug shot" taken so the kids know who they are looking for. (I don't have the original photos but they are posted in the hallway at church). The purpose is for the kids to find the "wanted" people throughout the facility & get them checked off. I have to admit I had no idea what to wear. Originally they do this activity at the local mall but the new owners said NO because it wouldn't bring them any business. Whatever!!! Well...we ended up doing this activity at the Wal-Mart that's almost across the street from us. They were nice enough to let us have our FUN there!!! Since we were going to Wal-Mart I decided to just go in "Wal-Mart" attire. Hahaha....what's that you ask....my lounge clothes/pj's!!! Plus my glasses, & a hat. It was sooo fun. Some kids knew who I was right away but others walked by me several times or I was able to ditch them before they found me. I have to say it was really fun. The best part was seeing a group ok kids & then being able to hide from them. Here's some of the "most wanted"......Milo Anderson....David Sewell....Scott, Kristen & Chase Jackman....Lisa & Paul Durston....yours truly....our Bishopric....& Bonnie Oyler who I believe tricked everybody including me. If you ever get asked to do this...do it...it's really fun!!!
FYI....I don't go to Wal-Mart looking like this...the only time I truly look like this is at Girl's Camp or if I'm really really sick  :)