Summer in Full Swing... Almost

Once Memorial Day hits, it feels like we're in full summer mode... although it won't really feel like summer until the kids are out of school and we have no schedule to stick to for a few months. A LOT has been going on the last few weeks, so here are some of the highlights:


Father and Son Campout:
Yes, Dallin and Jacob went to it this year and had a blast. Jacob especially loved playing with all the boys in our ward.



School Performance:
Jacob had to sing with his class in their school performance recently. It was so cute because they sang a song about how if you believe in Christ, you don't need to be afraid of things like monsters. And everytime they said the word "monster," they would all make a scary face. Jacob's was especially animated! I loved every minute of the performance!

SPRINKLERS!
Every summer, my kids (and I) spend hours playing in the sprinklers. I've decided that I am a kid at heart because I love playing in them as much as they do. Anyway, now that the weather has warmed up, we've spent endless afternoons playing in the sprinklers. We run through them, fill up buckets and chase each other throughout the backyard, trying to splash each other. I love summer!









The Squirrels
No one can truly appreciate this story except for Dallin's father. We spend lots of time in our yard and garden trying to plant flowers. But to our dismay, we have the most unfriendly squirrels you can imagine and they eat up all of our tulips and other pretty flowers. So, Dallin decided he was going to catch them and "relocate" them to other parts of Reno. When he told me he was going to do this, I thought he was nuts. But he actually got his hands on a cage and not only have we caught some squirrels, but a rabbit too! The kids are convinced that we are going to let them keep one of them as a pet, but I keep reassuring them that I do not want another mouth to feed in this house! So, like I said, our prisoners are taken to higher grounds and relocated far, far away from our backyard.



Strawberry Season
We bought lots of strawberries last week and thus went on a jam making extravaganza last Saturday. Aubrey was elated to be my helper and now we will have strawberry yumminess on our toast year round.



Memorial Day
We stayed around Reno this year for Memorial Day (although we will always remember the good ol' Duck Beach Days!). So, we decided we'd start out the day with a hike up the Tom Cook Trail. We did this last year and it is a great hike for little kids. There are lots of wildflowers for Aubrey to pick, and Jacob had a ball catching butterflies. And he actually caught lots! Evan loves riding up in the backpack, and we all had fun relaxing and eating snacks once we got up to the top, which we've nicknamed "the meadow."


Afterwards, we went to the swimming pool and the kids had fun splashing around. Jacob even went down the slide this year all by himself, which was a big step for him.

The Reno Aces

Last weekend, Dallin and I went to a Reno Aces game. I can honestly say that was the most fun I've ever had at a baseball game. Some friends were able to get seats in the dugout suites, so we were RIGHT NEXT to all of the players at home base. Seriously, we were so close, we could call all of the pitches. It was an awesome game!

Grandmacita's and Goals

OK, life has been very hectic as of late, it seems. So I am going to do a quick post in between errands today. First off, my mother came out over at the end of April to be with jacob on his birthday. She has spent every birthday with my son since his birth -- so jacob was ecstatic and of course EXPECTS grandmacita (aka "Cita") to make the trek out to be with him on his special day! We did a low-key birthday -- just went to chuck e. cheese with 2 friends from school. He had a great time and I have to admit, I had fun too. We've never taken our kids to chuck e. cheese before and I love that I didn't have to do a thing for the party. All of the food, entertainment and games were provided, which meant NO clean up for me (always a plus!).



While my mom was here, we played with the kids, took them to the movies, went shopping, and my mom always watches the kids for us so that Dallin and I can go out too We had so much fun with her here and miss her already. In fact, the week after she was gone, Evan would wake up every morning and ask, "Where's Cita?"


Next up, is Jacob's soccer game and piano recital. Jacob was so excited that Grandmacita was going to be here for both of those events. And while she was here, they won their soccer game. He even scored a goal and assisted in another goal -- his first of the season. So we all were thrilled, of course! And we all went to his first piano recital. I was very proud of him. He walked on stage in front of everyone (and wasn't nervous at all) and played his song by memory. It was all very cute.





And finally, a quick little snippet on Mother's Day. This year on Mother's Day, I woke up and could hear things moving around in the kitchen. The kids had woken up and decided on their own that they were going to "clean" the kitchen for me.... it was very sweet. Then Dallin made me my favorite breakfast (german pancakes). Throughout the day, every one was on their best behavior. And I got some really nice and thoughtful gifts from my kids and husband. It was a great day!