Summertime is finally here

Yes, I know it is only spring. But it's definately summer-ish. All the signs point to summer. We have full on heat and humidity. I think it is finally safe to pack the winter clothes away. School will be out in less than 4 weeks. And the ice cream man has started making his rounds. The girls came running in when they heard the first truck this afternoon. But by the time I robbed Bryan's wallet, the truck was gone, but obviously not forgotten. So when the second truck came, we were ready. After he handed over a powerpuff girl popsicle for Taylor, a lil bratz popsicle for Hayden, a giant ice cream sandwich for their friend, and some mouth dyeing popsicle for Payton, I handed the man his money and told him to never come back by here again. I don't think he took me seriously, though. I am pretty sure their map has a big star by our house so they know to come to our house everyday and drive around the block blaring Turkey in the Straw until I give in and buy more.


Of course I had to take a few cute pictures. When I came back in the house, Bryan saw me with the camera. Can you believe he accused me of letting the girls get stuff from the ice cream man just so I could take pictures?! Of course I wanted pictures. 1) I need something to blog about and 2)When the girls complain about how they never get anything they want, I have proof otherwise. But that is not why I let them get something. I knew that everyday we heard that music coming up the street, they would beg me for ice cream. If he came by 100 times, they would beg and whine about it 100 times. So I say lets get it out of the way now and save ourselves a whole lot of trouble. Today there is ice cream for everyone, even the neighbor friend. Check that off the list of summer to-dos.

And since we are in that summer-ish spirit, we broke out the sidewalk chalks. Sidewalk chalk is not near the top of the list of things I love. Especially, since our house is on the market. Last time we got it out, the girls drew all over the fences around the backyard. But, hey after getting playdough out last night, (another one of my least favorite toys) what can a little sidewalk chalk hurt.

Just a sidenote: We scrubbed Payton's face with a loofah and still couldn't get that blue popsicle dye off. So if the ice cream man comes by your house, don't get the mouth splasher, tongue dying gigantic popsicle. You will regret it if you do.

Pooped - - Not quite.

When we got home from the Autism Walk this afternoon, Hayden was pooped. I guess riding on Bryan's shoulders half the time just wore her slap out. So while the other girls were playing on the swingset, she participated in her favorite pasttime. She found something soft to snuggle and sucked her thumb. She was too tired to even look at the camera at first.


I eventually got a smile out of her.

Then she sat right up and asked if I would take a video of her doll pretending to play the guitar. I told her I would, but that she would have to sing. She agreed and I got this little gem:

By the way, I love our daybed. It is the best place for lazing, if that is even a word. If its not, it should be. So if you are looking for a good place to laze, come on over.

Autism Walk

Taylor's teacher, Ms. Burden, invited Taylor to be part of her son Jacob's team for Mobile's Autism Walk. We were so excited to be part of this. Besides it being a great cause, it was a fun family activity. There were inflatables, crafts, live music, a silent auction, refreshments, etc. The main event was the actual walk that was set up around the parking lot at BayBears Stadium. I was able to explain to the girls a little about what Autism is and how it affects some of the kids they know. The frog is the mascot for the Autism Society of Alabama and stands for: For Research Outreach and Giving Support. Payton was a running a little ragged the last lap, so I told her about the frog and that our part is Giving Support. I think she actually understood. The girls were so excited to see some of their friends there. Ariel and Cecily Odom were also there for Team Jacob. The walk went alot faster for me since Andrea was there to chat with. We also saw the Scotts from church. Of course, we saw tons of people from school for Team Jacob.
We were part of the largest team there, by far. Ms. Burden said they had over 100 people there. It was nice to see so many parents, teachers, and students from school out to support Jacob and the Burden family.
I am so proud of my girls for making it through the event with minimal weekend. Between this and cheering on the contestants at Special Olympics last weekend, I think they are understanding the importance of service and thinking of others. And lets face it, one less Saturday spent in front of the TV watching cartoons means success to me.

Does anyone have 12K?

Bryan has had his eye on this little number for a while now (in white, not red.) He has been by the Suzuki dealer many times, sitting on it, admiring it, asking if its on sale, etc. The one he wants is still on the showroom floor just waiting for him. So whenever he is in the area of the store, he runs by for a little visit. Today was one of those days. We were just around the corner, so we stopped by. Hayden jumped out of the car first and told us she was going to show us which motorcycle daddy has picked out. She ran in the store and found "the one" in about 30 seconds. She has been there with him before and knew it right away when she saw it. All the girls talk about "when" daddy gets that motorcycle. Payton even asked if her and Bryan could come back to the store on a date. We all want him to have it. There is just one problem. $$$$$ So if anyone has a some extra $1000 dollar bills laying around that they aren't going to use, send them our way. I'm sure Bryan would take you for a ride in return.

Just another day

This is just a glimpse into a typical afternoon at our house. This was actually Wednesday after swimming with the Kirbys. The girls were very obedient and got started on their homework right away when we got home. Well, Taylor had to make a detour to change out of her swimsuit into her nightgown and to grab her CD player. She has discovered the joy of listening to music while doing homework. She was listening to the High School Musical 2 soundtrack and she would just jump up and start dancing every so often. I love having the kids doing their homework in the kitchen while I am making dinner. I know it is a weird think to love, but its those little things that count. And yes that is her nightgown. That is a girl after my own heart.

Payton was reading her "just right" book from school out on the daybed. She has discovered the Magic Treehouse series. I knew she would love those books. Taylor has read a few but never seemed terribly interested in the series. Well, Thursday when she got in the car after school, guess what she was reading. You guessed it, the same book. It was so cute to see both of them reading the same book on the way home from school. And yes, Payton is wearing her swimsuit. And yes, she did sleep in it that night.

When Hayden saw me taking pictures of the girls, the clothes she was wearing mysteriously got dirty so she had to run inside and change into this outfit. Her favorite. This beautiful green dress. She got it from Aiti for Christmas and has loved it ever since. She would wear it everyday if I would let her. The only problem is she has gotten a little taller, so the dress has gotten a little too short. But everytime she sees it hanging up clean in the laundry room, the clothes she's wearing somehow get messy or wet or sometimes just disappear, forcing her to wear this. It never even makes it out of the laundry room to her closet. If she had her way she would wear it, sleep in it, and wear it the next day. I know this because she has asked if she could.

Payton's 1st book report

Payton has her first book report due today. After alot of deliberation, Cam Jansen was ruled out and she chose Fancy Nancy. She worked hard on her picture and presentation. I am proud of her and I think she is pretty darn cute.

Is it summer yet?

Grant invited Hayden over to play in his new sprinkler. Of course, she wanted to stay all afternoon. Shawna also told me I could bring the other girls over after school. They had a great time. But between swimming, popsicles, and it not quite being summer, the girls were a little cold. However, that did not keep them out of the water. They love hanging out with Grant and Bradie and today was no exception.

Hayden's bottom lip was shaking so bad from being cold so I had to video it. I kept telling her to quit smiling because when she tried to smile her lip stopped shaking.

When she ran off at the end of the video, she was running back to jump in the pool.
Oh, and I am sorry I have not learned my lesson about the vidoes.

Good Times

We love to have the missionaries in our home. Expecially Elder Tovo and Elder Reis when they bring some music to share with us. After dinner the other night, they indulged us with a few of their songs. After bringing out Taylor's guitar, Bryan's guitar, and Payton's keyboard we had a little jam session going. Elder Tovo was even nice enough to teach Bryan a few new chords.

We definately have a good time when they come over, but we especially love the spirit they bring into our home. It is nice to hear the stories of their successess and for their example of hard work and dedication.

Spring Break

I am not a super huge fan of the beach. But my kids LOVE it. So, when the Kirbytons (Singletons and Kirbys) invited us to come spend the day with them at their condo, I couln't pass it up. I was a little worried that it would be too cold. But, it was beautiful and the kids had a great time. I could barely get them to sit still long enough for a few pictures. The water was freezing but they didn't mind.

Grant's Pop was nice enough to play with all the kids in the water and lift them up when the waves came. There was no undertow and the water was pretty calm. Pop even built sandcastles with them and brought popsicles for everyone.




I do have to admit that I did enjoy myself. It is so relaxing to sit there in the sun, with the cool breeze, and dig my feet into the sand. Payton woke up this morning and wanted to go back to the beach. Maybe later in the week, but not today. I am still sweeping up sand from all over the house and nursing a sunburn I got on my ear and part of my neck that I missed with sunscreen.

FHE and another recipe

We are so happy that Addy was able to go home from the hospitall yesterday. It was so sad to see her sick, and to see Daylyn and Jill go through the horrible of experience of having your baby be in the hospital. So, having been there before, we did what we could to help them endure it. We decided to take our FHE lesson and treat to them on Monday night. It wasn't the most well behaved our kids have ever been during family home evening, but it was fun.




For dessert, I made these super easy chocolate truffles. I didn't have any eggs, so I was looking for something easy that I could make without eggs. So I found this truffle recipe and it turned out perfectly.

Easy truffles:

3 c. semi-sweet chocolate chips, 1 can (14 oz.) sweetened condensed milk, 1 Tbs. vanilla

Mix the chocolate chips and milk together. Microwave on half power until melted. (Do it in 30 second intervals and stir between each time.) Then stir in vanilla. Chill in refrigerator until cool enough to roll into balls. Then roll them in sprinkles, powdered sugar, crushed nuts, coconut, etc. I let them set in the fridge a little longer after we made them.

A call from a boy

Taylor got a couple of calls from a boy in her class when she was in kingergarten. But I after I talked to her about not telling her phone number to anyone who asked, it stopped.

Well, she got another call from a boy today. Dylan Parkes called her to talk Webkinz. It was so cute that I couldn't resist taking her picture. She is writing down his username so they can play online together. Hopefully this is the only thing she will be talking to boys on the phone about for a L-O-N-G time.

A recipe I have to share

I love to try new recipes. I like to dig through my cookbooks or check out several blogs that I have bookmarked . Well, I discovered this recipe in one of my compilation cookbooks. I don't know if that's the real name for them. You know, it is one of those cookbooks from an organization that is usually sold for a fund raiser. I love those kind because people usually submit their good, tried and true recipes to those. Anyway, I came across this recipe for Honey Bun cake when I was looking to make a dessert from ingredients I had on hand, and my family fell in love with it. I have made it several times and it never lasts more than a day at our house. I made it again Sunday night when Bryan's parents came over for dinner. This is what was left for them to take home.

I know that it doesn't look terribly appetizing in the picture, but it is GOOOOOOOD! So here is the recipe:

Honey Bun Cake

1pkg. yellow cake mix
8 oz. sour cream
3/4 c. oil
4 eggs
1 c. brown sugar
3 Tbs. cinnamon
2 c. powdered sugar
1/4 c. milk
1 Tbs. vanilla

Mix cake mix, oil, eggs, and sour cream. Pour half of batter into a greased 9x13 pan. Spread cinnamon and brown sugar over batter. Cover with other half of batter. Bake at 350 degrees for 35-40 minutes. While cake is hot, mix powdered sugar, milk and vanilla. Pour over hot cake.

I always use more brown sugar and cinnamon that the recipe calls for. It is too easy not to try this recipe. Let me know if you try it and how you like it.

This cake also goes well with a game of Uno.

Spring Fling

It is that time of year again. Spring Fling at school has become something that the girls really look forward to. The games, the prizes, the snacks, etc. All of it.

There isn't anything specifically interesting to say about it. So here are the pictures.
Hayden is usually the one clowning around when I am just trying to get one good picture.

She didn't want to waste too much time eating lunch, so she tried to eat both pieces at the same time.

The look on Taylor's face is so typical of her personality. She was having a good time, but she was serious about winning the games. Total concentration.

The volunteer mom at this booth wasn't too fond of Bryan. He was in the background cheering on the girls rather loudly trying to tell them which duck to pick. She must have left her personality at home that morning.

I was glad Bryan decided to take the day off. These types of things are so much more fun as a family. While we were eating lunch, Ms. Burden was going around taking pictures of her students and their families. Since I couldn't get out of getting my picture taken, I handed her our camera too. The pictures of all of us together are few and far between because I am usually behind the camera. But I guess, I have to be in a picture every now and then.

We had such a good time. The weather was pretty good which was nice. We were able to play all of the games at least once and spend some time on the inflatables in the gym. I bought Hayden her own tiger T-shirt at the beginning of the year and she wears it proudly along with Taylor and Payton. After the K-2 kids had their fun, the 3rd-5th grade kids came out. I was scheduled to volunteer during that time. So Bryan got the kids out of school early and took them to see Horton Hears a Who. It was a great day. But when we all finally made it home, I was T-I-R-E-D. I am definately ready for Sprink Break!

We love visitors

The girls love it when we have people over for dinner or just to visit. Having Jilly, Addy, Grandpa, and Aiti over "just because" was no exception. They love having another girl cousin in the family. Anytime she comes to visit is so exciting for them. They are disappointed that Addy is getting passed the age of just sitting still in their lap to be held. So they played with her any way they could. I couldn't even keep them in their chairs during dinner because they wanted to chase her around. But who wouldn't want to skip dinner to play with her. She is too adorable and I don't think she minds all the attention when it is in small doses. All three girls in your face at the same time, can be a little overbearing. When I got the camera out to take pictures, she just kept smiling for me.
Addy did sit still for a few minutes to drink her bottle so, Payton took the opportunity to hold her. The rest of the time they were playing chase and peek-a-boo or getting out our remaining baby toys for her to play with.



After dinner, the girls took turns reading to Aiti and Grandpa. It was a nice evening to spend together as a family. I am glad that Daylyn and Jill live close enough that they can come visit often.