February 17-21. 2010: How to Entertain a 5 Year Old for a Weekend

My parents took a much needed vacation down to St. George so my Dad could attend the Land Surveyor's Conference, and while they were out we took care of my nephew for them. Confused? My nephew lives with my parents for the time being- it's a long story.

Since the grass is always greener, I was suspecting we'd have a weekend full of "When's Grandma coming to get me?" So I tried to think of ways we could entertain him all weekend long- plus keeping him entertained seems to equal less yelling :).

This was a struggle since energy is low at our house as well as money. But I think we managed to have a pretty fun weekend together. Sure we had a lecture here and there, but we still enjoyed having him, and I hope he enjoyed his stay.

I found this to be the one of the best activities. It kept the babies from crying, and it kept me from having to say, "Not so rough!" every ten seconds.



There's nothing like a new pet to keep a 5 year old busy. This is the cat we adopted over the weekend, and this is the only picture I got of it before it left our residence. It was an extremely well behaved cat, and it put up with all of the boys very well. We were sad to see it go, but we also didn't want to keep such a good cat from it's owners.




Welcome to Pirate Island! This is a new little joint in town that Craig and I have been wanting to check out. It was very well done inside. All the workers are dressed up like Pirates, and the decorating is top notch. The food wasn't bad, and the prices are decent. I highly recommend taking a family outing to this place. Very fun!










Nothing like a good ol' fashioned tooth pullin'. On Sunday we finally wiggle-jiggled my nephew's first loose tooth free. And boy was he ever proud of it!

February 16, 2010: We are Stair Masters!

So we discovered yesterday that Little H knows how to climb up the stairs, and after one try, a few falls and a skinned thumb he has the skill mastered.



Big H is still working on it, and he needs a little extra help from mom. He's getting the idea.

Barnyard Sounds!

February 14, 2010: Happy Valentines Day!!!

My Valentines Day celebration actually started at work on Friday. We had a fun little party at school. This is one of my favorite times to be at work. I just love all the cute little Valentines and the kids who have tried so hard to spell my name correctly. I always enjoy looking at the Valentines I've received throughout the years from the kids I've helped teach.

After work I came home and Craig and I gathered the boys and my nephew together for some pictures. It was a bit difficult because Big H was grumpy and kept throwing the flowers and the hat away from him.





On Saturday Craig and I took our Anniversary pictures, and then went shopping for Valentines Day presents.

On Sunday, we exchanged gifts before church. The boys and Craig ate my peeps because apparently they had a strawberry cream flavor. I did not notice this when I bought them, and had I noticed I would have decided not to purchase. I like normal peeps but the strawberry cream did not sound good to me at all.





Later that day we enjoyed a steak dinner at my parents house. It was delicious and left me very full and very satisfied.

Thanks everyone who helped make this a great Valentine's Day Weekend! Happy Valentine's Day!

February 9, 2009: Happy Anniversary!!!

On Tuesday Craig and I celebrated our 2 year anniversary. How far we've come in just 2 years.



We didn't have the money to take a small trip somewhere, so we stayed home. I took 2 days off of work to rest and spend time with my hubby. We were going to try and find some fun stuff we could do around here, but I ended up being sick so we stayed home and played video games :)

We did enjoy a trip to Ikea on Friday, and we went out to eat at Applebee's on Tuesday. The food was yummy, and they ended up buying us a dessert. Just so you know their cookie sundae is wonderful.



We got dressed up and took pictures on Saturday. We decided to make that a little tradition for our anniversary.

All in all I enjoyed spending this special day with the man I love. We've had 2 great years and I'm hoping we have many more.

February 3-5, 2010: Grandma and Grandpa Come to Visit!

Last week Grandpa and Grandma Stratton came up for a visit. The boys were so excited to see them!

We had fun visiting and showing them all the changes we made to the house.

Grandma had so much fun playing with her two babies.


The boys had fun helping Grandpa set up the bed.



Grandpa and Grandma offered to take us to dinner both nights they were here since they know going out has become a rarity around here. Grandma gave the boys these little bottles to play with at dinner time. As you can see they became quite fond of them.



On the last day of their visit we had a pancake breakfast, and Grandpa and Grandma bought us a griddle for an anniversary present. The boys showed off their teeth brushing skills before we ate. They like showing off so much the wouldn't let me put their toothbrushes away. They brushed their teeth for about 30 minutes.



Thanks for everything Grandpa and Grandma! We really enjoyed your visit. I wish I had taken more pictures. I really thought I had more.

Happy Birthday Grandma Stratton!

The boys want to wish there Grandma Stratton a Happy Birthday! Hope you had a wonderful day.

We celebrated by making you cards






and posing for some cute pictures.




Happy Birthday Grandma! We love you!

January 24-30, 2010: Just to Catch You Up!

Last week was a fun week for us.

Craig and I gave talks in church on Sunday. We had to talk on Faith and Testimony. Craig did a wonderful job. I, however, never refer to my public speaking moments as anything close to wonderful.

The boys finally got over their colds, which was such a relief for everyone.

The boys also discovered Ruby's dog dishes. Big H plays in the water and Little H eats the food. Big H has been known to sneak a few bites himself :P

We learned that Little H can crawl up at least one step, and he's starting to pull himself up to the standing position.

On Saturday Craig and I took my parents to the "Sherlock Holmes" movie with some gift cards we had from Christmas. We all really enjoyed the film. Thank you to my Aunt Salonna for watching the boys so we could enjoy a get away to the movies!

We also learned that the boys like fruit loops. . .a lot!

January 25, 2010: Student of the Week!

Last week my nephew was student of the week in his kindergarten class.



We made him a special poster full of pictures



and on Wednesday I went and read a story to his class.



It was fun to create a memory with him. Especially when I still have memories of my special weeks in elementary school.