The rest of May...

 We FINALLY found sometime to plant the garden. We had been working on getting grass planted so the garden got kinda neglected for awhile.

 We moved the garden to the side yard so we could have way more room and grow more of what we wanted. That meant killing all the grass, leveling it, rototilling it all up, and getting it planted.

 Sarah wanted to take care of all the tomatoes and peppers for a value project and Kathryn planted all the carrots and wildflowers for fun and the rest was for me (and maybe the boys...depending on the day, haha).

 We planted 3 different types of pumpkins and 5 different kinds of squashes plus potatoes. They are all growing like crazy and it so fun to see everything getting so big!

 We had beautiful days in May so we took bike rides. On Mother's Day I made them come on a walk with me...it was wonderful until Captain (the dog) got hit by a truck.

 Or should I say he hit the truck and miracujously was ok. He ran across the road after Sam took off his leash and on the way back ran straight into the back of truck going 35 mph. He came out of with a broken tooth and a banged up nose. Crazy!!

 Sam made me so Coconut Almond Scones...they were amazing!! He did a fabulous job on them and I LOVED them.

 I got new flowers for my pots

 and a hanging basket to put in the front, plus

 all these amazing cards from the kids. So sweet! Love it (: The day was perfect. Filled with hanging out with my favorite people, taking a nap, reading a book, drinking a pop, and relaxing. It was the best!

On another day...a bad day for me....you know just one of those horrendous terrible ugly days, I came home to the best guy ever having bought me flowers. Even though I had been a poop head to him and the kids all day he knew exactly what I needed. He forgave me and even got me flowers. Love that man!!

Sarah's Showcase

 This girl finally got her chance to perform. Her class did a song from Mario Brothers for their dance. She was Daisy and did a fantastic job and looked great up there.

 They sang a mash up of songs for music

 and recited the Declaration of Independence. So cool to hear to all those 6th graders recited such an amazing document. Gave me chills.

 Can't believe this girl is going into Jr High. Watching her up there with all her friends and seeing them so grown up is crazy.

 She, by far, is still one of the smallest kids in 6th grade but man does she have a spunky personality and holds her own with out any issues.

 So proud of this grown up girl!!

Kathryn's Showcase

This girl has some serious style and always has from the time she could dress herself. She beats to her own drum and could care less what anyone thinks.

 They had to dress in neon and like the 80's. She found this hairstyle and was so excited to wear it. 

 The elementary has the most amazing dance teacher. She is absolutely fabulous. Their dance was amazing and was awesome to watch. 

 They also recited The Bill of Rights Rap,

 sang a mash up of songs,

 and played a recorder song...

 And no it wasn't good at all. Poor kids :(

Kathryn's Greek and Latin teacher always does an end of the year party to give them each a certificate and a medal or ribbon depending on how many of the 200 Greek/Latin roots they got right on the test. She gives them the root and then they have to write the meaning of the root, a derivative of that root, and meaning of the derivative. It's pretty impressive.

Kathryn got a medal for missing only 4 of them!! So cool she was so excited and we were so proud of her. Go girl!!

Luke's Showcase

(man am I so far behind...better late than never right?...)

 Luke was very excited to finally have his showcase. BUT he was not excited to wear that shirt. He was suppose to wear something light in color but with a collar. This was the only option in his closet and he was not impressed. We finally got him talked into it and I personally think he look stunning...just a little partial though!!

 This boy can dance. He has great rhythm and keeps track of every dance beat. 

 It was so fun to watch him up there. 

 Next was a poem recitation....and because I took so long to do this neither one of us can remember the name of the poem or the name of the dance song.

 Looking cute up there with his friends!

 Oh the recorder....what memory comes to mind when you hear that name!!?? Me....

 nothing but some terrible sounding music and man this sure lived up to it.

 Luke was not happy about playing it (he knew they sounded terrible and wasn't afraid to tell us..haha) but he did it and it was horrid. But hey...there's always next year to change my mind!!

Rose's Blessing

Sunday we were able to see my newest niece Rose be given her name and a wonderful blessing by her father. She is a doll and we loved taking turns holding her!

 Love watching my kids hold babies and interact with them.

 Warms my heart...but it does have it's side effects...

 there is always an inevitable "Can we have a new baby in our family?"

 Needless to say the answer is "No" and sorry that's allI will answer you at this time in your life.

 Still...these new babies are amazing and stunning and so fresh from heaven I love being near them!!

 Soon after her blessing we had to take off and make the long drive home. The two youngest stayed with Grandpa and Grandma and we took Aunt Emily and Aunt Natalie and headed down the road.

 Seth thought the back seat was pretty awesome. He's very secure and was quite proud of his set up. The drive was great...well except for that part where there was no bathrooms for 20 miles and someone has a small bladder and couldn't hold it so....yeah....

 Kathryn and Luke got to spend one more day in Southern Utah exploring with my parents. They also stopped by my mom's parent's graves and cleaned it up and got to hear lots of stories which I think is pretty darn awesome!!

Zion's Canyon

 At the beginning of May we made the LONG drive to Southern Utah to visit my sister and her husband and their new baby Rose who was getting blessed. On the way down Friday we attended Sam's brother Ben's graduation at USU for his Master's Degree, partied with them Friday night and got to St George by noon. We met everyone in Zion's Canyon and explored for the day.

 Two of my nephews came along for the ride with my parents and Luke was so glad to have them with us.

 It was quite a warm day but we survived and did pretty awesome.

 The views are just amazing and no matter how many times we come, I still marvel at all these amazing creations.

 3 of my 4 sisters heading down a hiking path.

 My super cute family!! Love these peeps!!

 Me and my sisters...just missing Jen!!

 My cute sexy husband!!

 This boy was so in heaven with his cousin. They had so much fun playing in the water at the end of the hike and were in absolute heaven!!

 Sam took all the kids out in the middle of the river to play. He is so adventurous, love that about him!!

 And I got to hold this cute girl. So adorable!

 My parents--awesome hikers!

 Kathryn and Bentley were the first ones to get soaked. They are both water freaks and were completely soaked and they didn't care a bit!

 Sarah with Emily and Natalie!!

 All the wet ones...and the monster in the back (:

 Da girls!!

 Hiking back!

 We had so much fun staying there. On the way back all the  girls made our traditional Swig run while my dad treated all the boys to delicious BBQ. The girls headed to St George to shop for a little bit. The boys swam at the hotel and loved being up late and free. Silly kids!!

Sunday morning we got to see Ken bless Rose and it was so sweet. What great parents they are and so glad to be a part of their adventure in parenthood!!