Summer Vacation!!! (The long story...long.)

As you know, we live far, far away from any family so we rarely get to see new baby cousins, older cousins, funny uncles and happy aunts, and of course, the Grandmas & Grandpas we love! Fortunately, we love to take road trips and visit family! So right after school let out for the summer, we packed up our van and drove straight thru to Ojai, CA - that's 26 hours of driving!! Even though we had planned to stop for the night, the boys were happy and I was just starting to wake up, so Todd & I took turns and made it in record time. We were just too excited to get there!

We stayed with my Mom and Dad for a few days, then Todd & I left the kids with them to have their own little adventure and we went to Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada! It's a really nice city and there was lots to see. We really enjoyed the Capilano Suspension Bridge and the ferry to Vancouver Island where we went to Butchart Gardens and the Royal Canadian Museum. We also went up in a skyscraper with a lookout tower on top - it was a beautiful 360 degree view! We drove through Stanley Park and walked through several small neighborhoods. We spent a lot of our time just relaxing and shopping.

We got back to California just in time to go to church with Amy's family. It was baby Micah's blessing day. It was great to be there for that. He has a ton of people who love him! We also met Ben's baby Sara - I still can't think of what to say about her - she is sooo dang cute!! And she's the chubbiest baby ever - so fun to hold!

So every one from my family was together there for a few days and I loved it!! Emily mentioned that even if we manage to get all of us together once a year, we only have about 50 years until we start dying and that's just not enough times together! I agree! We do have good times together and they just don't seem to happen often enough!

While we were all there, we had an early retirement party for Dad. He gave his 2 months nothice to his boss and Mom's making plans so it's practically official. Tammy and Amy organized a skit about Big Foot and all of the 5 kids & spouses had parts. Mom and Dad and the grandkids were the audience. We were all pretty silly but except for scaring the kids with a real Big Foot running through the yard, it was a hit. Dad said it was the best party he's ever had. (He's easy to please.) So congrats on retiring, Dad! Now don't get too stressed about RVing!

We had planned our trip to be home with Todd for Father's Day, but Todd had work to do in China so the boys and I stayed in California for another week. It was sad to not be with Todd, but we did enjoy celebrating with my dad! Amy's family came to Mom's house for dinner and banana splits and we just enjoyed the day.

The next day, with the van all loaded up again, we drove to the Utah Averetts'. Kimberly took me to 2 stores where I bought half a ton of food storage stuff. The boys had a great time with Uncle Paul, Grandpa Averett and their cousins at Boondock's, a terrific play place if you are 13 and younger. (Thanks to Grandpa & Paul for the fun day!) Since we wanted to get back home before Todd returned from China, we left Utah on Wednesday and drove all the way to Topeka. It's too long of a drive for one person, but I did it! It never felt so good to be home!

So since we've been back, we've unpacked everything and put away our mountain of food storage things. The boys have played computer & Wii games for hours and hours. I've been fighting off a cold with naps home cooked food and naps. Todd came back from his trip jetlagged so he's taking naps too! I wanted to get pictures up to go with my travelogue, but I'm just not there yet. Now we'll enjoy the month and half of summer we have left before school starts. And start planning our next adventure!

Whew!

It's been over a month since my last post! Some days I feel too busy to write about all the stuff we've been doing, other days I think there's nothing to write about! It is spring and we are spending our Saturdays working on the yard and then playing. Justin had his first lawn tractor driving lesson. He's too little to actually mow, but he can really cruise around the yard!

I had plans for a garden this year, but I've given up. Again. But I did plant some berries so I'm anxious to have some fruit! That's going to have to count as a garden this year.

Todd's parents came to visit about 2 weeks ago. We had a really good time with them! We found a museum in Kansas City with all the contents of an old steamboat that sank in the 1850s. It was very cool and we'll probably take any new visitors there too. Afterwards, we went to our favorite burger place, Cheeseburgers in Paradise, and introduced Mom & Dad Averett to chocolate nachos. Yummo!


Ryan also enjoyed playing piano duets with Grandma Averett and all 3 boys spent some noisy hours showing off all their songs. They also had lots on fun with Todd & Grandpa Averett playing hoops in the driveway. It was a treat for the kids.

Thanks to Rich & Elaine for making the trip and staying with us. We want you to come back whenever you can!

Ryan and Tyler have both had spring concerts for their school bands. This was Ryan's 1st year playing the trombone and it's amazing how good those kids sound! Tyler's group has more experience, but we were still impressed with the difficulty of their music! I love that the boys love music.

I finished a baby quilt for my sister Amy's new baby, Micah. His pictures are so cute and I can't wait to see him and cuddle him up in his quilt from Auntie Teresa!

Mother's Day was pretty good. I was asked to speak in Sacrament Meeting & I spent a week worrying about saying the right things. It turned out OK and a lot of people said they liked it. I'm just glad it's over. I had already splurged on a couple of "early Mother's Day presents" (Photoshop Elements 6 & an external hard drive) so I wasn't expecting much but Todd surprised me with roses, some very good chocolate, a new pink cell phone, and a fire pit! The very next day we made S'mores for Family Night and they were soooo good!

I love being a mom! And I love that Todd always makes me feel like I'm a good mom! Thanks for all the great presents! And a late Happy Mother's Day to all the great moms in my life!

Now we are in the last week of school for the boys and then we are going to enjoy a great summer vacation! We have a few trips planned and several family visits here so the summer is going to go a fast & busy one! We are looking forward to seeing some of you during our adventures!

Party Girl

I love to feed people! Tonight I helped do the food for a bridal shower and I had so much fun picking recipes, shopping for the right groceries, making good stuff and then setting it up to look nice. I really liked the cupcakes. I couldn't find cute enough papers so I baked them in plain white papers and made little sleeves for them. They turned out so cute! I also glued together some wrapping paper covered cake boards and some candle holders to make the cupcake stand - genius. I also tried a spinach dip recipe - Yum! I think Todd will like that one. Some friends brought brie with caramelized pears, chocolate covered strawberries, & asparagus bundles. We had so many good things to eat! MMMM. So who's party is next? I'll be there with cupcakes!

Geocaching

We gave our family a GPS toy for Christmas and until today, we hadn't even taken it out farther than our back deck! Since it was a balmy 50 degrees, I took the boys out to find a cache this afternoon. It was an easy one and we found it pretty quick, but I think it was enough to get us started. There are tons to find just within 10 miles of our house! The boys were pretty excited and now maybe we will make our own cache for other people to find.
Before that, we cleaned the house & did laundry and got haircuts. Later, we had dinner at KFC, then did some home improvement shopping - I have plans! We played some Wii games and had ice cream before the boys went to bed. What a great day!

Harlem Globetrotters!

Since Ryan & Justin just finished their basketball season, our whole family has been playing ball and shooting hoops. Last night I took the boys to see the Harlem Globetrotters! I had only seen them do tricks on TV but I knew the boys would have fun watching the game. It was cool. Ryan really got into it and wants a new basketball so he can work on some moves. (I don't know why the 6 balls we already have won't work!) It was a fun night with my boys!

Happy Easter!

We've had a pretty normal Sunday except for the huge dinner requested by my family. Fortunately for them, I love to cook! We had ham, scalloped potatoes, deviled egg chicks, and rolls. We'll be having leftovers all week. Yesterday Ryan was a baking ninja! We made waffles from scratch, then the rolls for today, then this awesome bunny cake. Ryan really likes to cook and it was fun to have someone helping in the kitchen! Now we have to work on the cleaning up... The Easter Bunny hid tons of candy-filled eggs and brought bucket of treats for the boys. I think this is the first year I didn't get a picture of each of them with their stuff - does that mean I'm getting older and don't care, or are the boys just not as cute as they were? I'm sure it's me. We did have a very nice Easter Sacrament Meeting today and I am grateful for the chance to spend a little time thinking about the Savior and the Atonement and Resurrection. Seems like we almost skipped over all the important stuff this year. I learned a few things though, and I am so thankful to have the gospel and a little bit of understanding about Heavenly Father's plan for us. Todd also spoke and he did a really good job. Hope your Easter was full of nice things too!
Happy Easter Everyone!

More of our Texas Spring Break

We did a lot of stuff but only took a few pictures. We were just having too much fun to mess with the camera. We drove to Texas on Friday afternoon. Saturday we went to Six Flags Over Texas all day - too much fun! Sunday we went to the Stockyards - an old-style cowboy area of town where they still have a cattle drive every day right down the middle of the street. From there, we went to an art museum where they were showing a really great collection of Biblical art from the early Christian times. It was so interesting! Then we saw Horton Hears a Who! On Monday (we thought it was going to rain) we went to a neat bakery/cafe for breakfast then the Dallas Museum of Science & Natural History, and an I-max show (I fell asleep) and a planetarium show (I fell asleep again). Then we gave into the boys whining and went back to the hotel so they could swim. Tuesday it really was raining so we went to the Federal Bureau of Engraving and Printing and saw BILLIONS of dollars! (They don't let you get very close to it though!) Then we went to the Dallas World Aquarium - along with everyone else in Texas who wanted to stay out of the rain - it was packed! Wednesday we drove back home and just enjoyed the quiet. It sounds like we did a lot of things, but our days weren't so crammed that we couldn't relax. We like taking trips together but it's always nice to come back home and have a little more space to move around, "real" not restaurant food, and sleep in our own beds.

Texas Spring Break Slide Show

My Piano Men

I love that my boys are taking piano lessons! They had a recital on Sunday & I'm so proud of them! This was Justin's first performance and he was so relaxed and comfortable. He's a ham. Ryan doesn't like to play in front of other people, but he had practiced his song to death so he did great. Tyler picks up new songs very easily, then he likes to move on to another one, but he spent a long time perfecting and polishing his piece.
AAAAAAAARRRHRHHRHRGGGGGGGGHHHHH!!!!!
That is the sound of me screaming in frustration at this marvel of modern life (my computer)! I've tried and tried and the video won't upload - don't know what I'm doing wrong.
So, if you call our house when the kids are practicing, you can hear them making beautiful music!

Pinewood Derby Day!

Friday was Justin's very first Pinewood Derby in Cub Scouts. After watching his big brothers build and race cars, he was so excited to have the chance to do it himself, he could hardly stand it. He designed the car, helped shape it with the Dremel, sanded it smooth, painted it green with a black lightning bolt on top, sanded the wheels and advised me on grinding the axels smooth, lubed the wheels, and glued on the weights! I am proud of how much of the actual work he really did! I only helped some and nailed in the axels for him (which I did wrong). But Justin's car did great! He got 3rd place in a group of about 10 although there were some kids there who had very spiffy cars - there's no way the kids did all that work! I was worried that Justin would be upset about not winning 1st since that's all he talked about, but he is a good sport and is already planning improvements to his design for next year. Watch out, scouts!