Special Week

Randy's parents visited us this last week now that they are home from their mission in Iceland. We had such a good time. I always love it when they come and stay. We took walks, played games, watched movies and talked...a lot. Here are the few pictures I took while they were here. (my Memory card didn't work the first couple of days. We found out it is because it was a counterfeit card.) Anyway, I stole a couple pics from their blog and added my own as well. Thanks for coming Rick and Eileen!! We love you!

Lily with her new doll and rocking chair from the DI. I spent only $4.50 for both. The doll retails at about $25 too!

sliding down the slide with Grandma's help.She loves it of course.

Tyler shouting to Jake.

Jake with his precious orange soccer ball.

Grandma and Lily holding hands.

My crazy haired little girl.

Tyler getting ready to run after he hit the ball.

Coach Randy with Ty.

Jake all dressed up for church.

Grandma dressed Lily up in her new dress for Church on Sunday.

My birthday cake is brought to you by...

Cold Stone. Yep, that's right I didn't make myself a b-day cake this year. I have made 5 cakes in the last month and I didn't really want to make one for myself. I decided a store bought ice-cream cake is just what the birthday girl ordered. Randy brought home this little cake called "midnight delight" and boy was it delightful! Chocolate ice-cream with devils food cake with chocolate ganache, what's not to like? seriously so good. By far the best cake I have had in a VERY long time. Yum. Thanks Randy.Tyler asked why it had "cannons" on top. I had to laugh. They really DO look like cannons the way they are slanted on the ganache.

I would have posted my own picture, but my camera is not working properly. So just imagine the same cake with a few pink candles spread around it. Thanks for all the b-day calls and well wishes!

Tyler vs Veggies

this video is a VERY common occurrence at our house.

Jake is such a good eater most of the time and Tyler...well, you can see he has a hard time with certain foods. He did end up eating one green bean. He earned 5 M&M's to play the m&m game with.

Oh. and I threw n a picture of Lily cause she looks cute today.

Yard Work

Well, this is the first year we will actually have a yard, and so the work has begun...or rather continued since Randy's freezing sod laying. On Friday we got to work digging holes for our 15 new shrubs and new tree. I wont tell you how much this little piece of our yard cost, but it is kind of ridiculous. I am glad to get some things started though. the shrubs along our sidewalk will be a natural fence and I am excited to have a barrier there. Randy also had a busy Saturday starting with a primary activity, then T-ball practice (coaching) and Then he rented a trencher so we could trench the backyard for sprinklers. He was outside working till around 9:00PM when I came out and told him since he couldn't see, he should probably stop. He works hard, that's for sure. Here are some pictures of our work in progress.

one of our little "Rose of Sharon" shrubs
Yeah, we still need sod in this area. Our little "burning bushes"

The new Japanese Maple.

Two different views of the backyard

If you have any suggestions or free plants we can have let me know!

Tyler Says...

Tyler and I were playing catch in our front yard this evening. He is playing T-ball this year, so cute. Anyway, we were playing catch and a cop car pulls up to the house across the street from us and talks to the guy at the door for quite a while while pointing at a paper and arguing.

Tyler: "why do you think the cop is over there?"
Me: "I don't know, maybe one of his kids called 911, like you did once."
Tyler: "No, probably not, I bet he got caught smoking in a store."
Me: "Really? you think so?"
Tyler: "I think the cop will arrest him."

I guess he thinks that smoking in a store is a pretty big crime. Big enough to warrant a cop coming to your house to arrest you anyway.

Best Video Ever!

Lily at Grandma's house.

We went to my parents house yesterday to celebrate a late Easter and early Birthday for me, Michelle, and my Mom. We had a blast! I made a cake and the kids had an Easter egg hunt.The best video ever is at the very end of the post (if you would like to skip to it)

Jake and AlonzoMichelle and baby SarahWill ready to hit me with a slush ball

Mom with sleeping SarahLily checking out an egg

the yummy dinnerWaiting to say the prayerThe cake I made. Amberly made a really yummy carrot cake, but I didn't get a picture.

we ate dinner and played a game called "Minute to Win It" I hadn't ever heard of this game. It was really fun though. My parents told us that we had a minute to complete a task and if we completed it on the first try we would receive $10. If we completed it on the second try, we would receive $5; and on the third try $2.50. We only get three tries to do it though. We drew numbers to see what order we went in, and then we drew a card to see what task we had to complete.I don't know why I didn't take pictures or video of the first 4 people (sorry guys), but I got some of the last 4 at least. Randy's video seriously makes me crack up. I can't stop laughing at it. It looks to me like someone is sending an electric shock through him. I love it.Here Ali is trying to stack 4 apples in one minute. She did it on her 2ND try if I remember right.
The videos are kind obvious, but I had to pull out tissues from a box with only one hand ( I completed the task first try). Spencer had to bounce 3 ping pong balls into water glasses (This video is his 3rd try) and Randy had to shake ping pong balls out of the box strapped to his 'booty' (they called it "Junk in the trunk").

Getting Crafty

My sister Michelle and my mom came over on Wednesday for lunch and we made these adorable bags to hold our scriptures and church materials. I am not a very good seamstress, so I'm glad my mom showed me step by step what to do. She is really good at sewing.

Thanks Mom! I had a fun time and it really turned out cute.

Heather's How To

I have had a lot of questions from people about how I do Lily's hair. No, she is not some uber wonderful child that just sits still while I do whatever I want to her hair. I do however, have some tricks up my sleeve that let me do what I want to her hair with minimal heartache (or headache) for both of us.

The 'Before' picture(s):
The tools:
Elastic bands, comb, (water) and detangling spray
The trick:
Put her in something that doesn't let her run (or crawl) away. I have this excersaucer that she doesn't use anymore except while I do her hair. I have also done it in the high chair while she eats breakfast. I like this though cause I can get all the way around her. I usually give her toys or books or something to keep her attention away from me.
the 'during' pictures:
She is still smiling (her snaggle-tooth pose) and we are half-way done.
She likes to feel what I am doing every once in a while, and she takes out whatever bow or clip I put on top of the elastic. Today she took out the pink bow and I took it back, gave her a green one to look at while I sneaked the pink one back into her hair. Can you tell I just told her she looks pretty?

The 'After' picture:
It was hard to catch her once I let her free from the "hair station"

Also, You have to figure out what kind of day it is. Today for example, there is no possible way I would have been able to do the baby braids I did the other day. It was closer to her nap time and she would have screamed the whole time. It isn't worth the trouble if she is unhappy while you do it. So, it was a quick pigtail kind of day for us. The part isn't exactly how I would have liked it and the left side is slightly bigger than the right, but all in all, it is an improvement from the before picture and I still think she looks adorable. I hope I answered all your questions. Good luck doing your little girls' hair today.