A Week or so in Review

Cayden waiting patiently for his turn to dance. Doesn't he look excited?
Cayden's May Day dance was last Thursday May 8, at his school. They actually call it the Spring Dance Festival up there. His class did the Hokey Pokey and finally after the last 2 years of him not doing the dance at all (I even went out there last year to help him and he still would not do it) he did the whole dance and smiled the whole time. He has made so much progress this year! Still not having any luck uploading video to this blog from my video camera but I will keep trying. (don't bet the farm though)

Friday I went on a field trip with Connor to Shark Reef at Mandalay Bay. I go on most field trips with him because his teachers have concerns about his diabetes and them not being totally able to handle it because they are handling their other 35 kids outside of the school setting. I had never been to Shark Reef and it was nice not to pay the $15 to get in. It was ok but a little pricey to take the whole family. The kids had a good time seeing all the different animals and fish that they had-piranhas, a white crocodile, sting rays,) and of course the sharks too. There was even a petting pond where there were baby rays minus their stingers that they could pet. I liked the sea turtles best. They have those tunnels that you walk through and above you is the aquarium with all the fishies swimming above. Makes me think of Jaws. Connor has wanted to ride the bus more and more on these field trips but the bus makes me sick and crazy so I opted to drive Don's car and stop at Walmart on the way home. I used to think (many many years ago) that I wanted to be a teacher but after just being the room mom and going on field trips with my kids these last 10 years has been plenty. I took my camera with me on the field trip but left the memory card in my video camera at home so I spent $15 on a disposable camera and have not gotten the pics developed yet.

The boys wanted to go camping Friday night out to Whitney Pocket which is sort of before Mesquite but out toward the mountains. Because we don't have a trailer it takes all day for Don to pack for a campout and then it takes the whole rest of the next day after they get back for Don to unload. With gas being so expensive and the sheer lack of desire to go sleep in the dirt we decided that the kids could campout in the back yard. They had all the gear and we had a campfire in our firepit, cooked Hobo dinners, roasted marshmallows and then they slept outside in the tents. Actually Caleb chose to sleep on the couch for personal reasons and Don stayed inside with me. Cayden and Connor were both asleep by 10:00 and Cayden stayed asleep until 4:00am when he came inside because he was cold.



Connor was up at sun up taking down camp and he had the tents, chairs and bedding put away before Don and I were even awake. Saturday was one of the few days that we actually had no baseball games. So after a fun-filled morning of trying to get the kids to do their chores Don and I went to the temple to support a friend who was getting her endowments. We went to Texas Roadhouse for dinner-Yummy! That is one great place to eat and then we stopped at Rocky Mountain Chocolate Factory for a delightful chocolate, caramel, pecan covered apple. We went to Costco for a few items and called to check on the kids only to find out that Cody had no idea where Connor was and hadn't seen him for 4 hours or so. Connor had called and told Caleb where he was but Caleb did not relay the message and then he left to go to a friend's house. After Cody looked all over the neighborhood and I called a few of them I was prompted to call Caleb at his friend's house and ask him if he knew where Connor was and he did. Crisis averted but 10 minutes of not knowing where your child is, let alone your diabetic child is a little nerve wracking. Connor was around the corner at a neighbor's house helping the husband dig trenches and shovel dirt-his favorite thing- and was totally fine other than not having a shot all afternoon and being really high. Next topic of family discussion-relaying messages and making sure you know where your brothers are while mom and dad are gone. After we got home I went outside to check on my garden and lo and behold I was able to harvest come cilantro and some basil. The spinach is almost ready as are the carrots. We have lots of flowers on the zuchinni and squash plants so we should have lots to eat in a few weeks.

Zuchinni flowers


Carrots

Pot o' Cilantro


Sunday was Mother's Day and unfortunately we have early church so there was no sleeping in but Don told me that the kids had promised to observe "No whining, no fighting, no arguing" day in my honor. Guess how long that lasted? When I went out to the kitchen my sneaky son and husband had flowers and cards for me. While Cody was home on Saturday Don had the flowers that he ordered for me delivered and Cody hid them in his closet. With my card was a gift certificate for new Maui Jim sunglasses that I could go and pick out myself. I went and got them on Monday. Don put on a roast before we left for church for dinner. After church we had chicken salad on croissants, fried zuchinni-my husband's specialty and my favorite-and then I went for my customary Sunday nap. After my nap, Don was getting ready for dinner with mashed potatoes, the roast and carrots, and yummy rolls from Teaxas Roadhouse. Cody had made brownies for me while I was napping and then after dinner Cody made his yummy crepes. We put peaches and whipped cream in some and then bananas and chocolate syrup in others. Cody is increasing his culinary talents.

My flowers and new sunglasses for Mother's Day.

Tuesday Cody and 4 of his friends went to Grandma Dottie's house for lunch. She used to do this alot for Ashley and her friends when they were in high school and so she decided that it was Cody's turn. She made scones for the group and had lots of toppings for them too. She even broke down and bought some Diet Coke. Don went and picked up the kids and brought them to grandma's and then took them back before the bell rang for their last class. Thanks Grandma Dottie!

Cody and mom posing as usual.

The spread.

Daniel, Jordan, Cody, Allison and Megan-note how there are mostly girls. When Ashley would come she would bring mostly boys. Funny huh!

I spent my Tuesday in a dither trying to get ready for a baby shower that was that night. A few ladies in my ward did this for my friend Serena who adopted a baby 3 weeks ago.
Look at this cute baby girl-Sydney Serena Dorsey
Laurel let me borrow her chocolate fountain and while being extremely tasty and delicious it was a major pain in the booty! Note to all those that use chocolate fountains and use chocolate chips- ***use lots of half and half!
I used almost a whole quart for one big bag (not the Costco bag either) of chocolate chips and it was totally trial and error. I do not think that I will purchase myself a chocolate fountain.
The shower was great and our friend that did the decorations is amazing so it looked so cute in the Relief Society room. We had lots of food and fun and lots of cooing over the baby. We are so happy for Serena and her family.

So are we caught up? Any question? Good, then I will bid you all adieu until next time.