More amazing than an ice cream truck...

What can draw a crowd of children faster than an ice cream truck?

I found out today...

We inherited this on Saturday from my brother, Taylor, and his wife, Amy. The kids begged me to try it out after their swimming lessons today. I gave in and then a miraculous thing happened. As it was filling with air, children began coming out of the woodwork. Children in swimsuits, children fully clothed, children waking from naps...they appeared before our very eyes. Fun was had by all! (maybe with the exception of Owen, Brady and Ashley...sorry my little ones!)

Now I know what you where talking about, Taylor...

This and that...

A little bit of May...

For Mother's Day Rachel, Elli and Ben planted some flowers in our front yard. They were so excited to tell me that they bought all yellow flowers because it is my favorite color. What a happy gift!!


I was sick on Mother's Day and had to stay home from church. I took a picture as the kids were leaving... at least they brought me back a GIANT sized chocolate bar from the ward! :)

Ben went fishing at school. When he got home he pulled a fish out of his backpack...head, tail and all! We cooked it on the BBQ and it was pretty tasty!

June 22, 2009 marked Ben's graduation day from kindergarten. This is one of his teachers, Mrs. Nielsen. All his teachers at Mt. Loafer were AMAZING and we will miss them! Ben will attending Cherry Creek for 1st Grade next year. Can't wait to have him a little closer to home!

They put on such a fun, entertaining graduation program!

One of our dogs, Zelda, dug out of the backyard and was hit by a car three weeks ago. She broke her leg and I'm still feeling guilty for not being a more vigilant pet owner. It was a nasty break and we were worried it wouldn't heal. Had it x-rayed a few days ago and everything is looking good. Thank goodness for the faith and prayers of children who love their dog!!! She kept chewing through the cast, so as you can see it is now a duct tape cast. Duct tape CAN fix anything!!

Caught this beautiful bumble bee gathering nectar.


Elli reminded me that we still didn't have a picture of her in her baptism dress. Her Grandma Melanie made this for her. We love our Elli!

And the wine barrel... I finally filled it with some of my favorite things!

The kids are out of school now... more posts to come!

Citizen of the month...

Elli received an award for citizen of the month for April in her class. This award is for demonstrating outstanding character traits. Way to go, sunshine!!

* * *

Self-proclaimed daddy's girl.

The windy city...

I had a great time in Chicago! Had no idea it was such a beautiful city! Spent the weekend hanging out with my friend, Annette, who lives in Illinois. She was a great tour guide...even if she was completely dependent on her GPS! We saw "Jersey Boys" on Broadway, attended the Scentsy World Tour, shopped, and chatted, chatted, chatted!!

This is a statue inspired from the painting "American Gothic". You can't tell from the picture but it is HUGE.

We were surrounded by stunning archetecture.

The ceiling of a resturant

We spotted these little puffball gooselings at the condo where we were staying. They were soooo cute! I tried to get close, but goosey here on the left kept sqwaking at me and I was afraid he was going to peck me to death.

And the food...

to die for Chicago style pizza!

everything we ate in Chicago tasted amazing!!

freckles...

I love their noses and cheeks of freckles...it makes their faces taste so much better when you kiss them.

Thank goodness they didn't get my ocean of freckles, but were blessed with just a sampling.

*Just a side note...

Yes, this is what I've been doing during Spring Break...taking pictures. It's not all bad for the kids though...we've gone to see Monsters vs. Aliens in 3D, ordered pizza, played Picturequa, played in the snow, had piano lessons, visited friends, and avoided cleaning (just ask Alex). I should be packing for my trip to Chicago tomorrow, but what's the rush?...

two hours later...

Created by elli

Oh, I looked out the window...

I've seen snow in April, but...

this is CrAzY!

At least Molly and Zelda are loving it!