May Thoughts

Here we are all the way into May and I can't believe school is almost over. I think this school year went by so fast. Maybe because it's because we didn't have to shut down schools, or wear masks, or wonder who was going to have to quarantine because someone tested positive. It finally feels like things are back to normal. 

This cute girl is just growing right up. She wanted her hair cut again so I took her to Cookie Cutters where she got her hair cut last time. Well the girl who cut her hair this time made it look super uneven on one side, so I ended up taking her to a real salon and having someone else cut it. It looks so much better now and Makayla and I decided she is too old for Cookie cutters now. 

Watching our Number 35 in action. I love Caden's passion for basketball. 

Brynnli is doing so well in reading. She has worked so hard this year and her teacher said she has tested so much higher this year on her reading and summarizing. 

No we aren't sending Caden to the guillotine for not cleaning his room. There is a cute little Colonial ice cream shop that we went to and they had this... kind of random, but the ice cream is really good. 

Baby or dog... sometimes I can't tell. 

We got Bella this little car seat for when we go to Hanna or long car rides. She loved it!!

Baby or 8 year old... sometimes it's hard to tell. 

JK, JK, we love our Brynnie

Grandma Bonnie turned 91 this year. She is doing so well and is just so happy every time we see her. 

Caden's grade put on a Patriotic assembly and we got to go watch it. They sang a lot of great songs about America, the Constitution, and freedom. 

Caden made this picture he is standing in front of. Pretty cool!

Remember how I said my parents were thinking of moving? Well it's official. They are moving closer to us. They put down ernest money on a lot. Hopefully they will be in their new house by next February. My dad is super excited about it, but my mom is not. 

Do you know what makes my little English teacher heart burst with pride? When the kids ask to go to the library and we check out stacks of books. They all love to read and I am so happy they do. 

The Utes Softball team made it to the College World Series and Jo got to host on the radio. Did you know Jo used to coach softball at the University of Utah and she took her team to the World Series two times while she was a coach?

Ok, so this is a cool story. About a month ago Makayla was telling me she was helping her friends in another class with a project they were doing in science. They were making a music video about thermal energy and they needed someone to record it. Then she brought home a permission slip I had to sign saying it was ok for the group project to be on some company's website if they won. I didn't think much about it when I signed it. Well fast forward to the end of May and Makayla and her friends won 2nd place for their video. She got a gift card and a certificate. We thought the gift card had like 10 on it, but we were shocked to find out she won a gift card for $100!! Great Job Makayla!!!

Just whippin up a little dinner in her restaurant. If you ever go to Brynnli's restaurant, she is the server and cook, but most of the time she doesn't clean up. Plus she insists you tip her a lot of money. 

Now that the kids are done with their after school activities, they get to ride their bikes to and from school. 

Tyler picked up Makayla from her friends house and they were taking an extra long time. Apparently they stopped for ice cream along the way. 

Jealous! 

Can you believe summer is right around the corner? I can't wait!!

Bella's 2nd Birthday

Can you believe our Little Muggies is turning 2? She looks so happy to be one year older (well 7 if you count in dog years)

Yes, we are still one of those families who celebrates our dog's birthday... get over it. 

For breakfast we made Bella her favorite... Bread crusts. 

Our kids love toast for breakfast but they hate the crust, so we have to cut it off and usually Bella is right there to beg for a little piece. 

We took Bella to Petsmart to pick out a toy. She already has so many things but we ended up buying her a dog puzzle

Then we watched a dog movie for Family movie night. 

A few days later we had Grandma and Grandpa over for Bella's favorite dinner: Hobo dinners. 

Which she loved. 

And for dessert she got her own little doggie cookie. 

At two years old Bella loves: Sleeping. Seriously the girl can sleep all day long. She loves snuggling with mom and dad in our bed at night (which we swore we would not do when we got her...oops). Bella loves all sorts of human food, but her favorite is "nummy dinner." She knows quite a few commands like sit, stay, come, bang (play dead), party, bark, and our favorite.... High five. She loves people, but is scared of other dogs. Most of the time she likes her walks, but sometimes gets scared if we go at night. 

Oh Bella, we love you so much. You have brought so much joy into our family. 

Mother's Day

Mother's day weekend started out so fun because I got to watch my kids all doing what they love. The girls had their last dance competition, so we watched Makayla do her solo one last time. She did the best she has ever done and we are so proud of her. 

Then Saturday was a fun filled day of dance and basketball. The girls had their team dances and we loved watching them onstage one last time. 

In between dances we went to Caden's last basketball game. They had the best season and took 2nd place in their division!! Caden got a new high score this season and had so many good assists and steals. He is one fierce player on the court, which is so funny, because he is so gentle at home. 

This is such good group of boys and I hope they play together for a long time. 

Then it was back for more dance. 

Sunday the kids and Tyler made me breakfast and got my favorite drinks. 

Then I got to open presents and the kids spoiled me with so many great things. I got new perfume, capris, home made gifts and the sweetest notes. 

After church we were off to Tammy's house for a party to celebrate all the moms in the family and Grandpa Collard's 90th birthday. 

And I can't forget my mom. We celebrated her mother's day and birthday a few weeks ago. 

Thinking about my mom is hard. I miss her, even though she is still here. I miss being able to have someone to talk to and to share all the good and bad things that come with life. I can't remember the last time my mom called me just to talk, and that hurts. I see my friends with their moms and I'm jealous because my mom doesn't know who my kids are and she's starting to forget who I am. Even though I'm almost 40, I still need my mom, and I am just really missing her right now. I try to hold on to all the good memories I have with her like how we would go shopping and to lunch at Taco Time every Saturday. I remember the times we would go to the library and check out a stack of books and then go home and read on her bed. I loved the girls trip down to Mesquite we braved the horrible snow storm and how my mom won $800 that night. I admire my mom's courage and sacrifice as she helped to take care of her mom and dad and sister as they were passing. I've learned a lot from my mom from her example. She wasn't perfect, and there's a lot of things I do differently because I learned from her mistakes, but she is my mom and I love her... and I just really, really miss her.