Field Day

The kids really look forward to this day because they get to get wet and play outside most of the day. There is also a family picnic at lunch time. This year the kids each requested something different: Kennedy - shrimp tempura rolls, Leighton - chicken & cheese quesadilla from Taco Bell, and Jackson - McDonald's happy meal with chicken nuggets. It took us 45 minutes to round up all the food. Crazy, I know. The night before Jackson told Leighton that it was too much work for mom to go all those places. So I asked Jackson if I should just go one place and he said yes, McDonald's. He wasn't about to bend on his choice.

Eric had the day off so we all enjoyed a windy lunch at the school. It was nice to see so many families participating and I was glad we could be there to support our kids.

Burn

Sunday Jackson came yelling out of the laundry room in pain. He had burnt his finger on the iron and was freaking out. I looked at it and told him he was going to be okay. His biggest concern was that it was his "picking finger." Forget the pain. I told him now he could brake his bad habit and he said, "I'll just have to use another finger."

When he was telling our friend Mark Powell about the burn incident and how his picking finger was hurt, Leighton piped up in the background, "AWKWARD!" They are quite the team.

Easter

Could these really be my kids? They are all so grown up! Easter this year was pretty laid back with the Easter Bunny leaving baskets, our own egg hunt and meal. Our church is from 1 - 4 pm so the day was gone before we knew it.

Grandpa Bateman helped the boys build a rocket and we all went to the park to launch it with stinky vinegar and baking soda. It went off before Eric could get out of the way so he reeked of vinegar the rest of the evening (he hates vinegar!). What a perfect ending to a great day.

Spring Break Recap

This year we stayed home and enjoyed friends and family coming to us. It was a full week with movies, the Spring's Preserve, swimming, rock wall climbing, shopping, garage saling, cooking and lots of eating.

We had our dear friends the Beckstead's and Hannum's over for Sunday dinner and after checking out our bathroom (still not done) Kari and Pam decided we were going to seal all the travertine. They were such big helpers and got things done very quickly. The drama still goes on with the bathroom but it is very close to being finished.

I met up with some friends at the Springs Preserve on Tuesday which is a desert appreciation center (in my terms). The kids enjoyed playing at the park and climbing the structures, checking out the "Nature Exchange," and eating a picnic lunch. When it came time to go on a hike, Jackson was concerned it was too hot and that we were out of water so we considered the hike back to the car good enough. No picture because my battery died just as I was getting ready to take a picture.

The Bell Family came for a few days which was fun and relaxing. They're probably the least uptight family we know. While Michele and I took the the older girls and Boston to the outlets, Nate took the rest of the crew swimming at the rec. center and rock wall climbing. I guess Kennedy was the monkey of the group as she was all over the place. Leighton attempted to climb but Jackson was satisfied to watch from the ground. He's very cautious. We also swam in our pool when the weather permitted, enjoyed yogurt at Town Square, pizza at Grimaldi's and other than that, I cooked, and cooked. Everything I made was eaten in a matter of minutes which did a lot for my confidence as I don't consider myself and very good cook.

Grandpa and Grandma Bateman came on Friday and stayed through the weekend. I took the kids to see Hannah Montana Friday evening. It was surprisingly a good movie but even better was the music. Jackson was dancing in his seat he could barely contain himself. On the sentimental songs Leighton grabbed my hand and Jackson leaned his head on my shoulder. They are such softies.

Saturday was a day I've been dreading and Eric and Kennedy looking forward to - a Garage Sale. They spent the evening before marking all the goods and planning the set up. I've decided our personalities are pretty much formed before we get here because you can't teach what these two have - the love of the sale. I don't have it. Because Eric had to work Kennedy ran the show. She was up until 1 am baking cookies (all by herself) and sold out within hours. We had a great turn out and sold everything we needed to sell to get on with life.

I must say today (Monday) I was totally exhausted and took a morning nap, which I usually only dream of doing.

Breath

The other day I was in Jackson's classroom and his teacher told me she's going to be more careful next time Jackson asks her to smell his breath. He walked up to her one morning and said, "Mrs. MacLean, smell my breath. It's really good." So she leaned in close and got a whiff and he said, "Does it smell like sausage biscuit? My mom got me a sausage biscuit this morning and I just love them." She was literally blown away.