Strawberries!

Earlier this month, I took Emma out to pick strawberries. It had been so rainy at the beginning of the month and we finally had a dry afternoon! Emma lasted about 15 minutes and then she was ready to be done. I finished the gallon and we headed home. That was Thursday. I had hopes of making strawberry jam. But I have fruit addicts and by Friday afternoon, all of the strawberries were gone. I convinced Mickey to head to the strawberry patch at Browns Farm on Saturday. We had planned on picking a few gallons this time. Unfortunately, the rains started about 25 minutes after we got there and we only got a single gallon. This gallon made it until Sunday and then it was gone! Next week, I hope to take the kids to the "pick-your-own" blueberry farm.

Beth and her odd shaped strawberry.

Emma loved to pick and acts like the expert now.

Jacob found this perfect strawberry.

Oh the memories!

When I was a kid, we had a pool in our backyard. I used to live in my swimsuit all summer. Well...we decided to get a (cheap) pool from Sam's and have something for the kids to do since we are not going to be traveling this summer. Yesterday, Mickey set up the pool. Now, we are in the process of filling the pool and I feel just like that kid again. I guess I have never really grown up! I hope that the kids will make the same happy memories.

Thirteen

Thirteen years ago, Mickey and I were married. I am grateful that I get to spend eternity with him. I look forward to the next 13 years! I adore Mickey and thought I would share with you 13 reasons why. I hope I don't embarrass him. :) 13 Reasons I Adore Mickey

1. Mickey is quick to say, "I'm sorry."

2. He never leaves the house without kissing me goodbye.

3. Mickey would have loved to be a professional golfer but chose a career where he could be at home with his family.

4. He is a fantastic father to our children.

5. He loves Seinfeld and will quote the episode while we are watching.

6. He laughs out loud.

7. Mickey is a hard worker.

8. He knows my fears and tries to keep me safe, physically and mentally.

9. He loves to play basketball.

10. Although Mickey didn't love school, he completed his Masters degree so we could have a better life.

11. He doesn't notice that I have gained weight in the last 13 years. :)
12. He has the best eyes.

13. He knows my faults and still loves me.

Happy Birthday Beth!

Beth turns 10 years old today. She is looking forward to a week of pampering for her birthday. So I am sure that I will be adding more pictures as the week goes on. Beth holds a special place in our family as our first born child. I will be ever grateful to her! She was such an easy baby. Beth slept through the night at 2 weeks and hardly ever cried. She didn't crawl until she was 9 months old and decided to walk around 14 months. She made it easy to be a good mother to her.

She continues to be fantastic child. She is a great reader and loves to play the piano. She tries to be the best big sister to her brother and sister. Beth is counting down the days until she can babysit. She wants to be a scientist when she grows up and find the cure for the common cold. I know that she will be able to do anything that she decides. She also has a growing testimony and I think that is what I am most proud of in her.

I look forward to the next ten years and worry that it is going by too fast. Happy birthday my sweet girl!

Wicked!

Last year, I played the Wicked soundtrack on a trip with the girl scouts and one of the girls fell in love with it. We found out that Wicked was coming to Birmingham, so we thought it would be fun to take our few girl scouts to the musical. We had a fun day! We left early enough to get lunch before the show. The girls loved the musical..as did I. Beth says it was awesome. Unfortunately, Beth didn't look too good at intermission and she complained that she had a sore throat. (She had told me that morning that her throat hurt but I just thought it was drainage from the night before. (Bad Mommy)) For the rest of the play, she snuggled up to me. We made it home and made sure that she had medicine to feel a little better until we could get her to a doctor today. Of course she has strep throat. I am grateful...we have gone almost an entire year without a strep infection for her! I do feel terrible about all the people that she could have infected. :(

Easter

We had a fun Easter celebration this year. When we are in town, we go to Mickey's Aunt Ann's house. There is an abundance of food and fun. The kids have a great time at the Easter egg hunt. We had a fantastic time!

On Sunday, we headed to church where I sang with the ward choir and heard some wonderful talks/testimonies about the life of Christ and His resurrection. How grateful I am for this time of year! We love this time to remember what our Savior has done for us. He has made it possible for us to return to live with our Heavenly Father one day. It is important to us that the kids know the real meaning of Easter. I don't know why but I am always amazed at their gospel knowledge. As we were quizzing them at dinner, they rattled off what Easter meant to them. Oh they make me so proud! I hope you all had a wonderful Easter.

After church.

Crazy Weather Day

On Friday we had some exciting weather in the South. I had gone to visit my friend at the hospital. I knew that there was some bad weather coming but the kids didn't have an early dismissal from school so I thought it would be okay. As I got closer to the school, I realized I just needed to get home and pick up the kids when the storm passed. Emma and I got home during the first hail storm. It was amazing. I didn't take a picture of the hail but we had about quarter sized hail. We had about 4 sessions of hail and watched it pile on the trampoline. My friend called to make sure that all was well out here and just as we were talking, I saw the trampoline fly up towards the house. I quickly got Emma in the closet and prepared for whatever was going on outside. A little more hail and the storm passed. I went outside to find the trampoline and couldn't find it. I thought it was on the roof or in the front yard but it was no where to be found. I packed Emma in the car to pick up the older kids and finally found the trampoline. It had flown over the house, across the street and landed atop a fence at the back of the neighbor's property line. I am grateful that no one was injured and that it avoided anyone's property. I definitely feel blessed. Of course the kids are sad that the trampoline is ruined...I don't know if I feel the same way. :)