Kuna Days 2010

A few short weeks ago, Davis got off the phone with Rafael and told me that their band was going to be performing at Kuna Days. He was excited, I was excited, his little brother and sisters were excited but, as usual with him, we had almost no details. Within the next few days we learned that it was a "Battle of the Bands" arrangement, the boys would be the first to perform and there would be a total of about eight performers.

While Charlie was out of town, Rafael and Davis got to work writing and practicing. They worked so hard to get the song sounding just the way they wanted it.

Today was the big day and Charlie made it back in time to get a little practice in and play with the newly dubbed "JustUs". They were FANTASTIC! I know, I know…I'm his mom so of course I thought they were great. But so did Davis's aunt and uncle and grandparents!

And so did the judges, the boys won the contest! It is ten hours later that I'm sitting down to write this post and I'm still drowning in pride. I keep watching the video over and over and checking facebook to see who else has commented on my status update regarding the win.

Working

Proof of hard work! When we got in that night it was late and there was no time for a bath. I sat all three of the filthy little beasts on the bathroom counter and went to work with a washcloth. Next time I'll just turn the hose on them!
We are trying to transplant some aspen tree starts. They are pretty small and a little hard to see among all the weeds sooo...the kids put little stone borders around each one. They really worked hard and felt good about their work. My sweet kids are not good workers most of the time so when they get into a job that they enjoy and care about, it is pretty cool. I suspect that part of the reason they enjoyed this job so much had something to do with the dirt!
The light was nice and I've been trying to learn more about my camera so I can take some really nice photos. This one is close to what I'm going for. I tried to get the girls too but Sarah wouldn't quit making goofy faces. Maybe next time.

Mother's Day 2010

Ahhh, Mother's Day. I like Mother's Day but it's not anywhere near my favorite holiday. That would be Christmas. This Mother's Day, Chance had to work all day. Total bummer. But the kids and I saved the day by heading up to "Redbud" to spend a few hours with Nama Jane and Papa Dale. We got there just in time for lunch and then the kids put their feet in the hot tub. It didn't stop there though, Dayton had on long pants and he didn't want them to get wet so I said he could just take them off and that was the beginning of the end. Dayton and Maggie ended up skinny-dipping and Sarah and Davis went in right in their clothes! Next time we won't forget the swim suits!
After we dried off, Nama took us for a walk up the road to a pasture where several mares had foals this past week and one more should have hers any day now. They were so cute! The hike up the hill to the pasture wore us out...the ride home was pretty quiet. Until Davis got a hold of the iPod!
We missed Chance and he was bummed that he didn't get to come with us but what can you do? He did bring me home chinese food and oreo cookies so I would have to say, it was an awesome Mother's Day! I am a lucky girl!
 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I Wish You Could Smell My Backyard

Happy Mother's Day! I hope you enjoy the flowers and I do so wish you could visit this corner of my backyard and experience this fragrance. It is amazing!

Did you know that lilacs are one of my top 5 favorite flowers? Did you ever see the movie High Fidelity? He is always making top 5 lists and I started doing it too. I think I should start sharing these lists.

I'll start right now. Aren't you lucky?

Meredith's Top 5 Favorite Flowers

(in no particular order)

Tulips

Lilacs

Daisies

"Old Fashioned" Roses

I know that was only four. My mind suddenly went blank. Big shocker, I know. Rest assured, I will get back to you with a fifth.

Easy Like Sunday Morning

We had a lovely Sunday today. It started with the kids letting me sleep till nearly 8:30! If you know my kids then you know that this is almost unheard of at my house. (Right Aunt Maggie?)

When I did get out of bed I made our usual Sunday breakfast: pancakes with homemade syrup. Next week we go back to 9:00am church so pancakes will be our usual Sunday lunch!

Then I bathed the kids one by one. Except Davis. I let him shower on his own. It was a real spa day with a nice long soak in the tub and manicures and pedicures and massages!

Church was short today and when we got home daddy had burgers and fries ready for us. Then jammies, half a movie, s'mores, the other half of the movie and bed! I love Sundays (and Tuesdays) when we can all be together. I always feel so.....content! What a happy life.

365/1

I got to babysit my nephew Connor for a few hours this evening while his mommy and daddy went out for a Valentine's Day dinner. He is the sweetest baby! He is super easy to take care of because he hardly ever cries. And look at him...he is a creampuff! Man, I'm in love with that kid!

And speaking of being in love...how could you not love this little hippie/flower child. What you don't see in this picture is that she is wearing nothing but a diaper. She's a nudist. But if you had nuddies that cute, you'd probably want to show them off too. I know I would.

Baby Maggie

Photo taken October 21, 2007

Almost Summer

Big difference from my last post, huh? It's really warming up and today was the first day the kids played in the sprinklers. The sprinkler itself didn't last long and soon it was just the hose.

Poor Maggie Anne got the worst of it. She's so little and the others never pay any attention to what is going on around them so she got squirted every time they turned around.

Amazingly, she never cried. What a trooper. By the way, I washed her face like a million times today but she has a little cold and I just can't keep up with that nose. Poor kid.

A Week In My Life (Enter at your own risk)

I love this picture. I am always looking out the window and saying, "Wow! Look at the light outside!" I say that all the time. Does it have something to do with where I live or do you say that all the time too when you look out the window? I can't believe I was able to capture it in a picture!

So my week. On MONDAY I got up and fed everyone and sent Chance and Sarah off to school just like normal. A half hour later Chance and Sarah walked back into the house with doughnuts and chocolate milk. I forgot to look at the calendar; there was no school on Monday! Duh.

TUESDAY and WEDNESDAY were mostly filled with housecleaning and cooking. I signed up for these wonderful menus to be e-mailed to me from SavingDinner.com and we have been eating so good! I love this program. I got three months for $9.95. Six dinners every week plus the shopping list to go with them. So far there has been 1 beef dish, 2 chicken dishes, 1 pork dish, 1 fish dish, 1 vegetarian dish and one is always a crock pot recipe each week. Love it!

On THURSDAY I took Maggie in for her one year well-baby check up. She weighs 20lbs. 12.5oz. And is perfect in every way. Three immunization shots did not go down too well though. Thankfully, she recovers very quickly from that nonsense. During the exam though, she was amazing. She just sat there so still and looked at Dr. Brus with those big blue eyes like, "Whatcha doin'?" It was pretty cute.

THURSDAY night was date night. We went to Applebee's and Craft Warehouse. Woo-Hoo. It doesn't matter. We could sit in the car in a parking lot and have fun. It's mainly about being just the two of us with no hooligans around. You know what I'm talking about!

I purchased some pre-cut quilting squares that I've sewn into a mini-quilt top. Valentine's theme. I'll post pictures very soon.

FRIDAY Davis came home which always makes us all feel that things are back to "normal". And on SATURDAY we tore the kids' rooms apart to do some deep cleaning but we never put them back together. Oops.

And TODAY Chance is making my favorite meal for "First Sunday". Spaghetti and Meatballs! We'll be celebrating Maggie's birthday today. Fun! I'll post photos of that soon too.

Happy Birthday Miss Maggie!

Check out the blotchy complection and the wild hair! Last night after the kids went to bed Chance and I sat here at the computer and looked at old pictures of Maggie and her brothers and sister. They used to be so little! Sarah's chubby cheeks and Dayton's widely spaced front teeth just killed us. And Davis, oh man, I don't even know where to start. He's practically a teenager now!

But back to the birthday girl. What a beautiful little girl she is turning in to. Even with cupcake on her face. It occured to me that it won't be long now before she starts getting "easier". Not long after she really starts walking she will start growing up in so many more ways. Feeding herself, climbing into her carseat on her own and before you know it she will want to go potty in the toilet like her siblings. I will have been changing diapers continuously for something like 7 years. Seven years!! Anyway, we'll be turning a major corner in our house in the next year or so and mommy has very mixed feelings.

For now though, Happy Birthday my Beautiful Baby. Mommy loves you!