Connor's Sort of Graduation

The 8th grade at Mack Lyon had their 8th grade awards on Tuesday, May 31.  We were really concerned about how Connor would behave and about his anxiety so we opted to just celebrate at home.  This Aspberger's thing totally blows when there are big things like this going on.  After much deliberation as to what if anything to get him as a gift, Don and I bought him new bike and he asked for balloons.  Not many 14 year olds are still thrilled with balloons.  I made him a Skor cake too.  The  next day at school he got his advancement certificate and was really thrilled about it.  I forgot to take a picture of it though.  He had a really great year this year mostly because he had a really great Special Ed teacher named Travis who was such a life saver and great advocate and helper for Connor.  Other than an incident that happened on May 20 that was really not that big of a deal until the administration made a big deal of it-Connor had very few problems this year.  His grades were the best they have ever been and that is again because Travis really helped with modifying his work and getting his teachers to let him redo things when he needed to.  It is practically incomprehensible that he is going to high school next year but there it is.  Another miracle is that Travis is moving to the high school too!  Woo hoo for Connor.

7th Grade Awards

I did not get pictures of this either because I am just that kind of awesome mom but on Thursday May 26 there was an awards assembly for the 7th graders.  I got an email saying that it was happening but Caleb did not think he was getting anything and the email said that not all students would receive awards.  That was the same day that we had all the medical issues so I did not make it down for the assembly.  Caleb brought home 3 awards: 230 Accelerated Reader points, Best Actor and Best Attendance for 4th quarter.  That last one we found super amusing because there must have been lots of kids with worse attendance than him and he had alot we thought. Way to go Caleb!! 

Too Many Medical Issues For One Day

On Thursday, May 26 we had a very doctor oriented day.  I had to see my doctor in Vegas, Don's dad had to have a stint put in his heart in St. George after some very scary and not good test results and Mawmaw went to the emergency room up in Orem.  After Don took me to Vegas to see my doctor, we drove straight to St. George to see his dad in the hospital after his surgery.  We stayed there a while until he was moved up to his room and then we went to lunch with Don's mother and sister at Cafe Rio.  Mawmaw was released from the emergency room after an MRI and some pain and nausea meds.  She was there a few hours and then went home to be with my mom.  Every one is fine and all better thank goodness!  That was way too much doctor drama for one day.

Bakey McBakerton

Cody made this awesome 5 tiered cake for his friend's surprise birthday party today.  Now he gets to mop the kitchen floor!

Major Boo Boo

Well it had to happen sooner or later.  Cody was backing out of his Aunt's driveway and proceeded to scrape the $&** out of the side of the car along her block wall around her driveway.  Ironically Don and I were just talking about selling the car that very day.  Luckily the wall was not damaged and there were no other people involved.  Anyone got an extra $500?  Oh right-he has a job and will be paying the deductible to get it fixed!  As a bonus-we just spent $465 for new brakes, tire rotation and serpentine belt 2 weeks ago.  Awesome!

The Big 4-0

Don and his sister who share the same birthday.

Rainbow Party Chip cupcakes-his request.

30 + 9 + 1 = 40

The sound bar that he has been wanting for months but would never buy himself.

A new camp table.

Don turned 40 on Friday May 20.  He had to go out of town so we celebrated on Wednesday and Thursday.  Wednesday Don and I went to Vegas to go to lunch with his sister Darbie who shares the same birthday.  We stuffed ourselves at PF Changs.  On Thursday I was super tired as usual and so we took the kids to Sugar's for dinner then went to Caleb's play and then came home for cupcakes and presents.  He wanted a banana cake but since he was leaving on Friday I told him I would make it for him next week so he can enjoy it for more than one day.  Lest you think that I am a poo for not throwing him a big party-he did not want one.  I was planning on doing something for him but back in March when we were discussing the numerous upcoming events and I asked him what he wanted to do he said that he did not want a big party or anything.  I threw him a surprise party for his 30th birthday and was planning on doing something again but I did not want to do anything that he did not want.  So in honor of my honey and the big 40 here are 40 things I love about him.
1.  He always helps with the kids.
2.  He has a super high pain tolerance and won't tell me he is in pain unless he is dying or wwwaaaayyy after the fact because he does not want to worry me.
3.  He always puts others needs first-usually mine.
4.  We can't watch TV together because we vary greatly in our viewing selections.
5.  He has a much higher patience level than me.
6.  We have only watched a movie rental once or twice in the last few years because I like watching TV in our bed where he falls asleep and he likes watching movies out front on the big TV with the surround sound.
7.  He has to get his haircut atleast every 3 weeks or it makes him nuts.
8.  He is the only husband that I know of that comes and helps with Bountiful Baskets when I am in charge.
9.  He likes to drive the car when we go places-which is fine with me because I like to sleep in the car.
10.  He lets me pick where we are going to eat out because he will find something no matter where we go and I am so picky.
11.  He is super excited about this baby and calls him monkey boy.
12.  He talks to the baby in monkey talk and makes waves on my belly and tells the baby they are on a boat fishing.
13.  When we talk about names for the baby he automatically comes up with a nickname and if he likes the nickname then he usually likes the name.
14.  He will rub my feet with lotion.
15. He works hard for the money.
16.  He likes to drink Rockstars much to my chagrin.
17.  He also likes club soda with lime.
18.  He would much rather consume large quantities of food than eat dessert.
19.  He does like banana cake and peanut butter rice krispies that he calls "death bars".
20.  He loves Animal Planet and Discovery.  He could watch wildebeasts and  or bears all day long.
21. He likes shows like Cops and I Shouldn't Be Alive and those creepy serial killer shows or prison shows.
22.  He won't come to bed until everyone is asleep.
23.  That usually means he falls asleep in is chair.
24.  He likes to sleep on top of the covers with a blanket.
25.  His cholesterol is better than mine.
26.  He loves working out of the house and would have a hard time leaving this job and having to go back to the office.
27.  He loves the show "The Office".
28.  He is not a fighter or an arguer.
29.  He is the best BSer ever!
30.  He is a great salesman because he can talk so well with people.
31.  He loves golf and football.
32. Caleb likes to stay up late with him on weekends and watch TV and make snacks.
33.  He puts hot sauce on almost everything.
34.  He matches socks while he watches TV-a chore that I hate.
35.  He loves to camp and fish and hunt-all of which he gets to do very little of.
36.  He gets up with the kids in the mornings and gets them to school so I can sleep a little longer.
37.  He is usually hot when I am cold so it is a good thing 2 of our cars have dual temperature controls.
38.  He likes dogs and can tell what most dogs breeds are and knows multiple facts about them.
39.  He is quite OCD when he travels.
40.  He is my honey and the best dad ever and we love him lots and lots.

Another Actor in the Family

Caleb has taken drama this year in 7th grade and this week they put on their play that they have been working on.  There were actually 2 short plays because the teacher has 2 classes of drama.  Caleb was in the second play called "Aunt Maggity's Dark and Stormy Night".  He played the old butler named Humphries who pushed the lady of the house around in her wheelchair-while she kept the brake on.  Caleb did a great job and was perfect for the part.  He actually was one of the better actors and I am not just saying that because he is my son.  He had great facial expressions and inflection in his voice and he was the funniest one up there.  Cody has some competition now!  Keeping with tradition he got a balloon and a bag Starbursts for being a superstar!

Getting Fatter By the Second

My feet are down there!

I am documenting my rather large belly mostly because I don't have any or very few pics of me being pregnant before.  Not that I am thrilled that I am getting fatter by the second but it is interesting to see.  It may or may not have anything to do with the oreos and milk that I am eating wwwaaayyyy too many of.  I actually had to break into the emergency stash tonight-the ones that I bottled a few months ago because the huge box I bought at Costco 2 weeks ago is gone-now hold on-I was not the only one that was eating them there are 5 other people in this house.  I did switch to skim milk though in an attempt to make myself feel better about getting fatter.  Even though I have gained 13 lbs-9 last month 0 the month before and 4 the month before- I had actually lost 10 when I went in for my first visit so technically I have only gained 4 pounds...tell that to my arse will ya!  The bad thing is I am constantly hungry it seems and it is very time consuming to eat healthy when it is so easy to open the box of oreos.  Plus I am soooo tired I really don't want to "make" anything.  I have gotten back into Bountiful Baskets a little more than I was when I was so sick so I do have the fruits and veggies to cook with but I need to get back to menus and more cooking.  I have stuck to the basic spaghetti, tacos and chicken and rice once a week when I have cooked dinner but chicken nuggets and frozen hamburgers have been a mainstay around here since I had the "all day" sickness for 3 months!  Here's to no dieting for a few more months!

Such a Mean Mom

I wanted the boys clean their rooms last weekend and I mean clean!  It took most of the morning but we got it!  Cayden is pretty OCD about his room all the time so his half is usually pretty spiffy. Caleb gets hounded by Cayden daily so clean up his half of the room so Caleb's side was not too bad.  Connor and Cody go weeks without cleaning and since they don't have OCD Cayden on their backs to clean it up they wait until it takes HOURS!!!!!

Can't Even Think What To Call This Post

Cody dressed up (or down) for the Senior Talent Show on Thursday May 12 and performed to "If I Had You" by Adam Lambert.  He is definitely not shy!

Mother's Day

On Mother's Day morning I woke up to this on the kitchen counter.  It was a vase of 5 blue carnations with on pink in the middle.  Don said it was for the 5 boys surrounding me their mom.  It was quite sweet.  There was also a bunch of stuff from Bath and Body Works.  The kids and Don made me strawberry waffles for breakfast.  I have to say this was one of the better Mother's Days I have had not because of the kids or Don because they always try and make it special but I always go to church and come home feeling soooo crappy. This year was ok because there was only 1 talk during Sacrament that listed all the things that mother's are supposed to do that make you feel guilty if your not.  The other talks were fine and there was a cute primary presentation where the kids sang 2 songs and 2 of the older boys got up and told some special things about the different moms that their kids had said.  It was very sweet.  I taught my Sunday School class and then went to Relief Society where that lesson had nothing to do with Mother's Day which was fine by me.  I got a nap when I got home and the house stayed very quiet.  We just had leftovers from Saturday's bridal shower so there was not even a big mess to deal with from dinner!  Cayden had made me 2 cards, a picture magnet and those cute flower pens at school and gave them to me earlier in the week.  It was a nice day!

Never Enough Cupcakes

On Saturday May 7 we had a Bridal Shower for our niece Ashely who is getting married June 4.  I made 175 mini cupcakes most with little chocolate boots on them.  I made strawberry cupcakes with strawberry cream cheese frosting, lemon cupcakes some with regular cream cheese frosting and some with the strawberry cream cheese frosting and rainbow party chip-our standard cupcake favorite.  The strawberry cream cheese frosting was AMAZING!!!! The lemon cupcake with the strawberry cream cheese frosting was the tastiest in my opinion.  The shower was a western theme and we had pulled pork sliders on these super cute mini burger buns, frog eye salad, potato salad, chips and beans.  We made a 'Newly Wed Game" video with Dena interviewing DJ about their (Ashley and DJ's) relationship, an advice game and a "what's in your purse" game.  Ashley also opened her numerous pantry presents.  We know where to go when the end comes because she is stocked up.  I made her 24 quart jars filled with an assortment of things-pastas and sauce, rice and sauce, brown sugar, chocolate chips, and 4 jars just of large candy bars.  Darbie made her an awesome recipe book filled with recipes that the guests sent it.  We held the party and Grandma Dottie's in her backyard.  It was a lovely afternoon!

Prom-o-rama

Sierra Hauver and Brendan Watkins, Heather Cardos and Cody, not sure and not sure, Sam something and Sterling Waite, not sure and Ben Rebman, Jessany Mortensen and Isaiah Boren.

Cody took Heather Cardos to Prom on May 7.  They started with a breakfast at Ben Rebman's house then they went to St. George to go to Fiesta Family Fun, play some games at the park and then to Pizza Factory.  Then they came home to get ready for the dance and discoed until dawn-ok maybe it was 11. 

It's A BOY!

We had our ultrasound on Wednesday May 4 ay my doctor's office in Vegas.  I could not sleep the night before and was very very anxious.  Don and I went while the kids were in school.  The girl put the thing on my stomach and at first neither she nor I could see anything but then BAM there it was.  She checked back a few times just to be sure but it stayed put.  So baby #5 is another boy.  I could not have been more surprised if I woke up tomorrow with my head sewn to the carpet.  We bought blue balloons to take home for the boys.  Cody was at work but I texted him and Connor knew we were in at the doctor and he called every 3 minutes for 30 minutes so we just told him.  I hung a blue balloon out on our sign post in the front yard to alert the neighbors and posted on Facebook that all of those who voted for a girl must have pushed the wrong button.  We are excited for another boy.  To tell the truth I am quite relieved that I don't have to deal with the froo froo hairdos, and fancy clothes and all the other myriad of things that come with a girl.  I know how to do boys and besides now we don't have to repaint any rooms!

If You Can Learn to Do It!

Cody and his friend Megan sang for the Spring Talent Show for the Performing Arts Council on May 2.  The evening was filled with musical performances featuring Disney music.  Cody and Megan sang "If You Can Learn To Do It" from Anastasia.

No This Is Not A Smurf

It's just Cody bleaching and dyeing his hair blue for prom.

The Family April 2011

Spring Break

Don took the boys out hiking.

At Rio

Caleb found the camera.

Cayden and Abby in "jail" at Chuck E Cheese.

Cody got a new phone.

Cayden's only desire from Chuck E. Cheese.

We colored eggs.

 

Connor and Cayden were excited to see that the Easter bunny brought.

Caleb wanted to be woken up later. Much later!

For Narnia!

The hard workers!

 

The very non-fat potatoes.

 

As usual our Spring Break lasted over a week.  The kids got out of school on Friday afternoon April 15 and did not have to go back until Monday April 25.  We did not do much over the first weekend.  Monday I had a regular doctor appointment .  Don took the kids hiking to Valley of Fire on Tuesday. Cody had to work Tuesday and Wednesday.  We left for Provo on Thursday and stayed until Monday because I do not like driving home on Easter Sunday. We went to the movie Rio, went to Chuck E. Cheese, and the boys went for Sushi and Rocky Mountain Chocolate Factory chocolate.  The girls went to a baby shower for my cousin and then Suzanna and I went to The Women's Expo at UVU.  We also spent an hour and half at Verizon getting Cody and Connor new phones.  Connor has gone through almost as many as Cody has in the last few years. Cody wears his out and Connor drops his and scratches it up.  Saturday evening we ordered gobs of pizza and then colored eggs. We got up Sunday morning and saw what the Easter Bunny brought (Cody and Caleb wanted to sleep more than open eggs so they saw their stuff later than Cayden and Connor.  Connor woke up at 7:30 all excited which was ok because we had 9am church) then after church we made a killer Easter dinner, the likes of which we have not had before.  We made a tasty ham, incredible scalloped potatoes. asparagus and hollandaise sauce, an awesome pasta salad, the ever delicious strawberry pretzel salad and rolls.  For dessert we had a super yummy and easy strawberry pie and Grandma Penny made a tasty coconut cake.  We seriously ate ourselves sick!   After dinner Connor and Caleb hid eggs for the littler kids and then we had an Easter egg hunt.  The kids played with bubbles and planted pumpkin seeds with grandma. Connor, Owie and Lexie had to do some digging in grandma's flower beds.  Monday morning we drove home after a stop at Chic Fil A.  It was a very fattening Spring Break.