I totally got my kids for April Fools Day! I got the idea from Ryan's aunt. She pulled this little trick on her kids when they were younger. I LOVED the idea and had to do it!
We all know Mal is the MOST picky of all the kids EVER! So, on April 1st I made sure they were good and hungry for breakfast and I kept promising them the best surprise breakfast ever!
They sat eagerly in their chairs as I walked toward them with a pot filled with their much anticipated breakfast.
"IT'S MUSH!" I announced! "It was my very favorite thing to eat for breakfast when I was little and I thought you guys would love to try it!"
This was NOT received warmly.....(Pardon the picture quality. We snapped these with my phone.)
"NO!! I DON'T WANT MUSH!" Was exclaimed from both of the little people.
Then I sat the pot on the table and told them to dish up.
Jake leaned over the pot to bravely take a peek and man was he ever surprised!
He shouted, "I LOVE MUSH!!" as he peered into a pot full of ice cream sundae!
That's when I chimed in with an "APRIL FOOLS DAY". And then both kids believed me to be the most tricky, most awesome Mom EVER! :)
Ice Cream Sundae's for breakfast?! Only on April's Fools Day! They were thrilled!
If this isn't restitution, I don't know what is. I tell you, I must love humble pie, cause I am about to eat an entire pie, all by myself!
I decided that since I was willing to post, for my entertainment, videos of Brian screaming and pictures of our irreverence, I had better be willing to post videos of myself, being painfully embarrassing....extremely hilarious, but painfully embarrassing, for the entertainment of others! And guess what Brian....I screamed too! :)
First I must apologize to my husband and children for what is about to be made public! Ah, what the heck! You know you me anyway! :)
This video comes with the disclaimer of....this was 50 lbs ago, thank you very much! And also the confession that I am totally all good with laughing at myself....a lot! I mean, this is stinking hilarious! Insanely hilarious even! Especially the part when my head gets wedged at the bottom! Oh my!
A few weeks ago I got to go to Houston, TX to do a fireside for the Young Women in my sister's ward. So, I thought I would take advantage of my trip there and extend for a little R & R and quality time with my sis and her cute family!
Can I just say, this has to be one of the funnest, most relaxing weeks ever?! I had SO much fun with Kayla and Brian, and I became incredibly addicted to my cute nephews...and they to me, I might add! :) I've gotta show you some of the fun we had.....
We drove to Galveston to hang out on the beach and ride the ferry.
Now some of you may know that NOTHING makes me laugh harder than a man screaming! So, this is why Brian and I are the perfect team. He provides the screaming and I laugh until I can't possibly laugh hard enough! I love dragging them out of him, he may not love it as much, but man do I love him for not hating me for torturing him a bit! :)
Case in point! The first time I forced him to do something that made him a little nervous....hand feed the crazy seagulls your Cheetos....check it out!
The second time was a little more mean! See, this Jellyfish washed up on the beach and Brian HATES fish of any sort. I'm sorry Bri! I couldn't help myself! :)
Oh how I love that! Now as long as he never finds out I am terrified of grasshoppers I am going to be alright! :)
We loved playing on the beach for a bit in Galveston! The boys could have spent the entire day there, I am sure!
My cute David! Oh I miss you!
And crazy little Nathan and his HUGE smiles! Sigh!
Gotta love when your baby feels the need to explore everything in the world with his mouth!
The seaweed did not go over well! :)
My beautiful sister, Kayla and little Nate.
We wore him right out! Isn't that the cutest thing EVER?!
Just before I got to Texas, little David had learned the unpleasantries of swallowing money. Well, I should say Brian and Kayla did. They were instructed to sort through each diaper until the money was retrieved. You should have heard the celebration when Kayla found this penny! She was totally excited and David went around the house saying, "I poop money!" the rest of the day! A talent I am sure many of us wish our children possessed! :)
Then I used my bad influence to get Kayla to pose for this picture so we could send it to Brian at work! I am naughty!
One of the stops on our trip was the Houston temple, where I talked Kayla into more irreverent picture taking! We seemed to be developing a theme!
Afterward we went to Spring Creek BBQ for some REAL Texan BBQ. It was delish! Although, we later realized that there was a real possibility we had led the workers there into believing we were a polygamist family. Kayla was holding David...who looks just like his Dad, and I was holding Nathan, who also looks just like his Dad. Then when they asked where we were from we told them Colorado (Brian) and Utah. Now, we all know that Mormons do not practice Polygamy anymore, but I wonder if they knew that! Brian was wearing a BYU-Idaho sweatshirt and we were getting some interesting looks! We had a good laugh about that one!
At one point during the week Kayla decided it was time to purge her closet of some of the clothes she had had since she was 12. I agreed. She tried on every last bit of clothing she owned and obeyed as I gave her the yay or nay, except for a few rebellious moments when she kept her old lady pleated skirts that she loved! :) I do so love to tease her about those! :)
The consequences of the purge were SHOPPING, and lots of it! We hit the outlet Malls, which ROCKED and scored some sweet deals! Then we came home and Kayla let me give her a make over....what else are older sisters for?! So fun! And educational, even life changing....right Kayla?! :)
And this is where things went South.....fast!
It was about midnight, and I stumbled upon Kayla's gold eye shadow. What the heck else was I supposed to do with it?! Put it on my lips of course! Gold Lips....AH YEAH!
Remember how I mentioned our theme of irreverent pictures?
I wasn't kidding! For over an hour Kayla and I took pictures like this. Some....ok, probably all, but I am rebellious....were to remain in the deep dark recesses of my phone. Never to be seen again. They are hilarious....and unsightly! However, these few had to be shown, just to remind myself how crazy fun it is to goof off with my sisters!
I have to be honest, I didn't know my face could do this! Kayla didn't know either! Oh the talents that can be found when you are exhausted, stupid silly and up WAY past your bedtime!
It didn't take long before our crazy laughter would draw Brian in to check out what we were doing. We wrangled him into participating! That dude can do some crazy things with his chin...but you will never know, cause then they would kill me for showing those ones to you! They are too goofy! :)
Bri and Kayla....I love you guys dearly! Thanks for entertaining this old lady! We are for sure going to do this again! I CAN'T WAIT!!
He is 12 today! Can you believe it? I can't! No seriously, I CAN'T!
I swear just yesterday I was giving him his first bath! It seems only a moment ago I was cruising around on a 4 wheeler trying to wrangle up the cows at the Prescott ranch with my 4 year old little man, making up songs to teach him our phone number! And weren't we just headed to Disneyland the day after his baptism?!
It is crazy what can happen with time! It tends to drag on, until you look back, then it seems that it is flying by impossibly fast. I'm not sure if I like it or not. I loved my squishy little chubby Jakey baby, but this Jake, the 12 year old version, I love that SO much too, probably more than anything thus far actually!
Ry and I are blessed to be his parents! He is kind and sweet. He is HILARIOUS and inventive. He is smart and motivated. He is, at times, well beyond his years. Especially when it comes to spiritual matters. He is incredibly insightful, and so very thoughtful. He is more than I could have ever hoped for!
Tonight we Ry and I are taking him to the temple for his first time! I can't wait to see what he thinks of this experience! I have no question his little brother will be in attendance! This is a big day! Afterward we will take him out for a special dinner with just Mom & Dad.
This coming Sunday is going to be a big big day for him! It is a crazy experience when your oldest son is about to receive the Priesthood. It is really something to look at such a young man and know that he houses the most sacred power on earth, a gift and responsibility given to him through the authority of God! Wow! It really is something to think about!
Then, beyond that, there is mutual! MUTUAL!! Wasn't I just there?! I am thrilled that I am in the Young Women presidency now and will have the opportunity to watch him experience Young Men's, from a distance! No doubt there will be great things learned there! We have such great leadership for our boys!
Today I can't help but think of what I will be feeling 7 years from now when our boy is headed out on his mission. That seems so far away, and yet, I am certain I will look back, when I get there, and remember sitting her typing this post, and feel that it only just happened.
Everyday I hope that I am doing a good job. I hope that he understands how vital his personal relationship with our Father in Heaven, and with Jesus Christ is. I hope that he knows how much he is loved and admired by his family. We tell him, but does he know? I think he does!
Happy Birthday Little Man! We love you more than anything! Thanks for being an example in our home and for always being so darn much fun to be around!
I love dressing up Dawson's little spot! It is such a happy little place! We love to spend time there thinking about our little man, our fondest memories of him and of course, how much we absolutely love him!
She is my little sister Lisa's little girl. Her and Mal are just 2 months apart in age.
I must say that there is not much in this world that can make my heart sing quite like my little sisters little girl and mine walking around holding hands! Lisa and I were just over a year and a half apart in age. We may not have gotten along some of the time, but when we played....my word! We could play Little People and Barbies for HOURS! Good thing now is that we are all grown up and still....well actually, like each other even more! :)
Caroline came for a sleepover.
And I listened to their giggling ALL DAY LONG from the other room! They were so fun to listen to. They got Mal's camera out and modeled for each other, did crafts, and just entertained the heck out of each other!
I happen to love this little girl a whole lot! I swear she came with a bit of her Aunt Amy in her! While her Mom was as sweet as pie and always did what she was told, I was a bit more mischievous and Caroline was cut from the same cloth I was! :) And while she can be a bit of a tease, this girl would do ANYTHING to help anyone! She is the best of both worlds! So glad Mal has her as a friend!
Can I just tell you one of my VERY favorite parts about living back in Utah?
COUSINS!
These are pictures of the kids with their Lindstrom cousins. There are many more on my side, as well!
IT IS AWESOME! My kids are so lucky to have so many fun cousins right around their age. They are their best friends! Living away from them was so hard for all of us. We were sad everytime we had to leave them behind and head back to Idaho. However, now....they get PLENTY of time with them whenever they want!
This is (from L to R): Tyler, Lane, Mason and Jake, on the bottom. SUCH a fun group of boys! Tyler is the oldest. Mason was born just 4 months after him and Jake was born just 4 months after Mason. Clayton is his cousin on my side of the family. He was born between Tyler and Mason. Seriously, how fun is that?! Lane is quite a bit younger than the big boys, but they love playing with him anyway!
This is generally how they spend their time together. A LOT of serious game playing! Looks pretty intense! :)
Now this little group makes my heart sing!
Brigham (Briggy), Mally & Brady have formed a little group they call the "Best Buddies Club". They bring each other gifts, have sleepovers and run through the list they wrote of things to do together, which include things like.... Sleepover at Grandma's, play in the sandbox, tackle the big boys, eat snacks, etc.
These guys love each other SO much! It is pretty fun to watch them play together! They are so much fun!
I work. That work is all done on my computer. I almost always have a little noise going in the background to keep me going. Sometimes it is music, sometimes it is the TV. My favorite is when it is Ellen! We LOVE Ellen around here!
The other day Mal cozied up her jammies, when she saw Ellen was on, and got in her usual position to watch with me. She LOVES Ellen!
(Yes, I am still waiting for the Entertainment Center to make its way to make it to the living room!)
Every time I see Mal in this position I wonder how it can possibly be comfortable.
And then I realized that she was OUT COLD! Hahaha! I guess it is comfortable!
That or she was crazy tired! Poor stinker! Hahahaha!
I can't believe I forgot to post about Dawson Day! January 5th will forever be a special day in our family. A hard day, but so so special!
Last year we had a "flower" bouquet delivery. It was one of those baskets that was all fruit made to look like flowers. Some were chocolate dipped. YUM!
This year Jasmine & Logan sent us another fun basket of "flowers".
Mallory about came undone! Raw Veggies are her VERY favorite!
Isn't it beautiful? Mallory ate almost the whole dang thing....seriously!
Now, my friend Maryon plays a HUGE part in this day! She doesn't even know how much! First part: the cemetery! Maryon has a brother that passed away before she was born. She shared with me a tradition that they have in their family. They met every year at his grave site to sing "Families Can Be Together Forever". She said that this has changed her life and created such a close relationship with her brother that passed before she was born. When she talks about him, I feel the influence this has had on her life. It is totally something that I wanted in our family!
So stop #1 (even in the dark) we stopped to release balloons and sing for D.
When we started the tradition of writing notes to Dawson on balloons and sending them to him, I honestly thought that it would mostly be for Mallory. Not so! It is amazing how serious Jake takes this, and I love it!
I also love Mallory's face in this picture! Smile AND look at the camera....to much to ask!
Then Jake held a balloon so Mally could write her own note. SO SWEET! It is moments like this that just make my heart melt!
Before the release, we sang "Families Can Be Together Forever", by the way, we were missing Ryan. He was working away in North Dakota.
After the song Jake requested that we sing the 3rd verse of "Be Still My Soul". Loved that!
Then we sent some love to Dawson!
It was dark, but we watched the balloons until we couldn't see them anymore.
Next stop was the 2nd thing that Maryon did to make this day a good one. She started "Dawson Day". A bunch of friends and family bought flowers and took them to their local hospital to deliver to parents that had children in the hospital. With each bouquet there was a little note about Dawson and a link to our blog so they could learn more about him.
My kids were so excited to get to do this! They really felt close to Dawson.
And they loved stopping for a bit in the hallway in the kids section of the hospital, to play a little hopscotch!
We miss our little Deiter! However, instead of spending the day feeling sorry for ourselves, we tried to spend the day celebrating his life and the lessons he taught us! Such a great day!
