Princess Parenting?

I thought this article was interesting. I was reminded of what we have been hearing in General Conference about our Age of Entitlement. Please read and share your thoughts:

Princess Parenting Article

Memorial Day 2009

We love Memorial Day. It is such a special time to remember and pay tribute to those who have gone before. Our family enjoyed honoring those who have loved mercy and freedom more than life. We are thankful for ancestors, grandparents, parents, brothers, and uncles who have served or who are serving our country. We could not have enjoyed this beautiful day together as a family as we did if it were not for them.

Jeremy is the best dad. After we visited the State Veterans Cemetary we went all over the city visiting different places. The boys especially loved the bike park where we stopped and watched bikers perform cool tricks on difficult trails loaded with planks, bridges, teeter-totters, jumps, etc. It was impressive what they could do!


I love this picture. We had such a nice day of just being together. The kids got along so well and really enjoyed one another. Owen even taught us his song from his school program. Maybe Avery will be the next star!


Owen is our animal and bug guru. Everything in nature is attracted to this kid. He had everything from butterflies landing on his head to baby geese waddling his way. They just love him! It must be his good natured spirit. He was just born that way.

We hope you all enjoyed your freedom today. We feel so blessed to live in this amazing country and thank all of you who have added to it.

The Real American Idol Winner

Our First Garden

It may be small, but it is our very own first garden! We have planted cucumbers, watermelon, yellow squash, bell peppers, basil, cilantro, chives, tomatoes, broccoli, and some more I can't think of right now. We will soon be adding corn, potatoes, and peas. Yummmm...

All About Avery

These are Avery's feet.

We have been working our new Choffy business at the local Farmer's Market. We are LOVING it! The people there are so nice and two of the sweetest ladies always bring us their fresh leftover produce at the end of market. This Saturday they gave us artichokes among many other delicious vegetables.
We had them for dinner Sunday night and it was the kids' first time having whole artichokes. That night, while the home teachers were here, Avery started scratching her head and neck quite a bit. I was trying to be a nice mommy so I kept scratching for her thinking that she just thought it felt good.
Yesterday morning I noticed a funny mark above her eye and next to her mouth. I looked closer and could see that they were swollen. I scanned her back and it looked like little chicks had been in her bed scratching her all night long. Her arms and legs were next to be examined and sure enough she was covered in hives. These weren't just normal hives (not that any are!) and they were almost to blistering.
I took her to our doctor and found out that she is highly allergic to artichokes and milk together...as in eating them the same day. She rarely has milk and has never had anything besides canned artichokes. The doc said she was lucky that she did not have any breathing problems and Avery says she is never eating artichokes again. She woke up this morning without any signs of new hives but her face is puffy and red.

She decided to take all but the last of these photos for me this morning. Get well soon, Squeaker!

Choffy Frappe'

Do you love chocolate ice cream and shakes? This will blow you away!

2-3 cups chilled prepared Choffy
3/4 cup half and half
1/4 cup sugar
8-10 ice cubes

Blend well, whipped cream on top, chocolate sprinkles! Enjoy!

A M A Z I N G!!!

I Love Being a Mommy!

Avery and I have been working on sounding out letters and putting them together to form words. She turns 5 this August and is much in love with the idea of Kindergarten, reading, and learning. Today we sat down outside in the sunshine and started into our lessons. I helped her with a few words and then she just read 'girl' right off the page on her own! I couldn't believe it! It made my whole day!

I really do love being a mommy and teaching my children good things. Their future is important to me and I am glad that there are good days like this one to help me along this path called motherhood. A happy childhood lasts forever and so do the mommy memories!

P.S. I made the best milkshake tonight:

1 cup Breyers French Vanilla ice cream
1/3 cup freshly toasted coconut
1 TB dry Choffy (roasted chocolate grounds-see Choffy button on left)
milk to taste

Blend well and serve. You can stir some toasted coconut in at the end if you would like larger pieces. Amazingly delicious! =)

Snapshots

I was going through some photos in April and came across some I thought I would share. This one is of a pizza that my Visiting Teacher made for us after my little surgery. It was probably the best and prettiest pizza we have ever eaten!

Owen and Gavin ran the mile in great time and enjoyed their medals and snacks at the end.

Zack, Tanner, and Reagan are three of the top runners at their school. Zack ran the mile in 6:40 and Tanner beat him by a few seconds. These kids are amazing and great friends!

This is my buddy, Cyrus. He likes to hang out with us while we watch the big boys play football. Cyrus always makes me smile! He even planted a flower seed weeks ago for Zack to give me for Mother's Day!

Owen's flag football team was undefeated this year so his coach arranged a limousine to pick them up from their last game. They were whisked away to a pizza party and had the time of their lives! (Yes, Owen still has his mouth guard in.)

Quote of the Day

"You know you're in love when you can't fall asleep because reality is finally better than your dreams."
-Dr. Seuss

Happy Mother's Day!

Happy Mother's Day to all of our wonderful moms! We love you and are so thankful for your loving examples.

Happy Birthday to my Hubby!

Today my Jeremy turns 34! Happy birthday, Sweetie! I wish I could whisk you away to Bora Bora this weekend, but how does the Farmer's Market sound instead?