Don't blink or you'll miss it!

Even though I have a really crazy day planned today, I wanted to take advantage of Brielle's nap time and update this blog.  April flew in the front door and out the back like one of my teenagers! Where it went I have no idea.  I do know that spring is here I am loving the flowers and blossoms on all the trees.  Especially my "Shelly tree"  I call it that because we planted it on Sept. 5th last year which is Shelly's birthday.  It is actually a fruitless weeping cherry tree and I love how it adds to our front yard.

I am not always on top of things when it comes to April Fools day, but this year I found some things online that I really wanted to try.  For dinner we had cupcakes with ice cream and carmel sauce (Meatloaf baked in muffin tins "frosted" with mashed potatoes colored with pink food coloring with potatoes on the side and gravy.)  Then for dessert we had grilled cheese sandwiches with tomato soup. (pound cake frosted with orange frosting in the middle with strawberry smoothie in a bowl)  I should of gotten better pictures of the kids faces because even though they knew what they were eating, it really played tricks on the mind! Fun times!!

Then the first week of April was Spring Break, so we thought we'd run off to Oregon and see the fam!  We arrived on Thursday evening and stopped to see Multnomah Falls with Julie and her family joining us.  We stayed in Sherwood with Dad and Connie!  We went to Omsi for the day and made some stops to see friends.  Here is a picture of Schuyler in front of Schuyler St. in Portland.  Not very far from my High school.

On Saturday we drove to Eugene to visit my cousin Becky.  I asked her parents not to tell her I was coming, it was fun to surprise her.  They have a huge pond on their property and the kids found all these tree frogs.  On Sunday we went to church with Dad and Connie then prepared an Easter feast.  All my siblings came except Ryan, Victor and Nick.  It was fun and crazy as usual.  The kids enjoyed an Easter egg hunt and the adults visited.  It was fun for us to see Brielle meet so many new cousins.  She met her cousin Reagan who is only 5 weeks older than her and they had a great time visiting.  I have to wonder if these two were friends in the preexistence, the way they hit it off. 

 We drove home on Monday and got in our driveway around 11:30pm.  I don't know how the boys made it through school on Tuesday!  After a fun and very short trip things only got crazier.  Kevin and Caleb joined the city Lacrosse team and have practice 3 days a week with games every Saturday.  And by games, I mean we are driving to Pocotello, Logan, Ogden & Roy to play other teams.  And usually they play an early game, take an hour break for lunch then play a second game against another team. All day event here! I am thrilled that the boys have found a sport they are really enjoying, but once I saw them all decked out in these uniforms, I had to wonder what kind of injuries are we about to see?!  This is like football but with a stick and kids are fighting over a much smaller ball!  They are wearing shoulder pads, elbow pads and helmets!

We have been fortunate to have some beautiful weather lately, so I went out and bought Brielle a small swimming pool.  This pool will actaully be used as a sandbox later, but for a couple days I filled it with water and let Bri have fun in it.  She was hesitant at first, but had so much fun once she figured it out.

 

I also made time this month to reupholster a couple dining chairs I had found at the DI.  They were really easy to do and only $5 each.  I love how they match so well with the dining table I also found at the DI for $10.

                                    

The twins also had their braces taken off this month which are much more exciting before and after pictures if you ask me!!

 Before

Kevin after                                               Caleb after

Well, there you have it my April in a nutshell.  Now I am off to take the boys to Lacrosse practice, conduct our ward Enrichment meeting, and leave early from there to go to a parents meeting for Boys State, which Skyler has been accepted to go. (It's one of those nights where everything collides!)

Skyler applied in March for this oppertunity and was chosen out of several applicants to go to Weber State University the 1st week in June to learn more about Political Science.  They have mock trials and debates etc...  The American Legion is sponsering him (no fee for us) to go and by going he can earn a Political Science college credit.  So proud of him to get this chance.  Now, I just have to make it to this meeting.  Planning commission meetings for Mark always fall on the worst days! 

                                 The agenda for May....Potty Training!!!

It's me, Brielle

I caught Brielle outside looking toward Heaven

 and I wondered if she was praying to God. 

I could just hear her asking Him,

"Are you sure you sent me to the right family"?



Junior Prom?!

Yes, it is hard to believe Schuyler is old
enough to go to Junior Prom! 

 This was fun to see him all dressed up and excited to go. 

However, you need to understand Schuyler. 

He was working out the details and
planning the date months in advance. 

I shouldn't be surprised. 

  He asked his friend Tiffany, who is really
a good friend from swim team.

I was glad he would go with someone
as a friend and not a romantic date.

We rented a tux and bought a corsage.
All fun and new experience for both of us!

  Before the prom, Uthans have this thing
called Promenade.  It's so the parents can go and
see all the kids dressed up. They held the

promenade at the high school at 4:30 so the kids
could get on their way to dinner.

All the kids coming through the floral archway
were announced and would do a funny little dance or move.
A lot of boys would spin their dates.  One couple did the Macrana dance.
Schuyler and Tiffany did this cute little move.  It was fun. 

So, I called a friend who has access to a
wedding boutique here in town.

She said I could take anything I
needed to decorate.  Ummm...let's see.
100 feet of tule, check. Silver beads, check. 

Flowers,check.  Table runners, check!
I just needed some balloons

and a poster and I was set. Here are the results.

 After the promenade, Mark and I rushed home
to prepare the dinner.  Mark had made this fantastic suggestion
of having the kids eat here instead of at a fancy restaurant to save money.
I didn't mind, but holy cow!! Pressure!!

I kept thinking these kids will look back in
20 years and they will remember coming to Schyuler's house
to eat before prom.   I made placecards for everyone

and found some great placemats and these cool square plates.

We served chicken Fondue with salad and breadsticks. 

 One of the boys' mothers offered to bring a chocolate fountain

with all the trimmings!  We had it set up in the dining room so they

could start dessert whenever they were ready.

  The girls were worried about

spilling on their dresses,so thanks to my  amazing

Sis-in-law, Toshia, we had plenty of aprons to go around!

 The theme for prom was "Behind the Mask" So it was a masqurade ball. 

It was held at the Crystal Manor in Logan. 
Schuyler had a great time and didn't
get home until 1am!  Even with all the hard work,
I am grateful Schuyler has some pretty great friends!

 

Daddy does hair

You are Beautiful!

Because we have been raising boys for the last 16 years, it often catches me off guard when Mark will take Brielle for me so I can get dinner ready and play with her dolls or do her hair.  This is an example of Mark's handiwork on Brielle's head!  She loved it!

Didn't daddy do a great job?

More is not necessarily better in this case

Honey Candy

A few weeks ago one of my boys begged me to make honey candy. It was not very hard to give in since our family loves honey candy and what a better time to make it than on a quiet Sunday afternoon in the middle of winter.  This recipe is from my sweet MIL and is really easy!

First, you melt 1/4 c. butter and 1 c. honey together in a 3 qt. pan. 
Then you add 2 c. sugar, 1/2 c. of water and 1/2 Tbs. vanilla. 
Slowly boil to brittle stage or 300 degrees on a candy theometer.

While the mixture is boiling set out a greased 15x7" cookie sheet. 
Make sure you have a hot pad under your cookie sheet as your pan will get very hot. 
When the mixture is ready, pour liquid onto pan.  Let cool for about 5-10 minutes.

When the candy is cool enough to touch,
take a small amount and start to pull it in your hands.
We always butter our hands really well so it doesn't stick.

I threw in this picture because I wanted to show off
the really cool aprons that my SIL, Toshia sent us for Christmas. 
They have come in handy several times!

When you can no longer pull the candy because it will get hard,
place it on another cookie sheet lined with wax paper. It's fun to make your own designs.
Allow to cool completely and then cover with another piece of wax paper
and hit pieces with a butter knife handle.  This will create the perfect size to suck on.

You can use the same wax paper to wrap the pieces in.  I like to store it in the fridge so it stays hard.  Even though these are loaded with sugar, these are a great substitute for cough drops.

Best Pre- Christmas gift!

Aunt Candy, Uncle Loyal and Braden
Patti and Rick Stott

Grandpa and Grandma Bradley

Even though Kevin and Caleb recieved their Eagle award in October, we weren't able to host their court of honor until December. This was a great day for everyone.

I consider this a family Christmas gift!

IT's the busiest time of the year...

This picture doesn't do justice to the large head on that prehistoric alligator!

These were great displays, but what the heck is a Longhorn bull doing with the dinosaurs?

Brielle really liked looking at the stuffed animals. Good thing they were behind glass!

The boys were tired of posing for pictures

Turkey treat found online. Caleb helped me put them together.

Our adventure in putting a gingerbread house together.

TaDah!

As most of you know, we were trying to drive to Portland for Thanksgiving. But, because of bad weather along our route and because Brielle had an ear infection and started new meds on Monday, we decided to wait until summer when we could enjoy the Portland area a little more.

After making this decicison, however, we thought we should go and do something fun. So we drove to SLC to tour the new Natural History museum. By new, I mean they just opened a week earlier! It was a beautiful day and we had fun looking at the exhibts. The best part was it wasn't crowded and everything was so clean. We spent most of our day there so when we got home in the evening, I shot off to the local store like a mad woman in search of the easiest and yummiest Thanksgiving meal I could find. All was pulled off and none was the wiser. I even had time to put together these little turkey treats to put on everyones plates. It was great and we enjoyed talking about things we were grateful for. One of the weirdest comments was from Kevin who said he is grateful for piano!?!? Really!?! Wow, Kevin is by far the one child who complains about piano lessons/ practice the most! Huh? Then for FHE the next Monday we put our Gingerbread house together. We aren't as creative as most people, but it was a fun thing to do. Now on to the big day......