Playing Outside Finally

The boys love playing out in the backyard, but most of the time it has been either too cold or too wet for them to play out there.  Last Friday they finally got their chance to play out in the backyard, and they were so happy.  It was a little to hot for my taste, but they would have played out there all day if I had let them.

Justin exploring the around our tiny backyard.  He kept playing with the dandelions.

The boys playing in their sand cart.  Aren't they cute.

Justin had fun until he realized that he had sand all over his hand and couldn't get it off.  He kept coming over to me to wipe it off.

Good Deals

I love getting a good deal on stuff that I buy.  I am really cheap and hate spending money, but if I have to buy something I try to think of the cheapest way possible to do it.  Today I had to buy clothes for both of the boys.  The hot weather is coming on fast, and my boys have out grown all of their summer clothes.

The above picture is all of the clothes that I bought for the boys.  I got 3 pairs of shorts, 3 shirts, 6 pairs of socks, 3 pairs of underwear, 6 pairs of pajamas for Zachary, and 2 pairs of pajamas for Justin.  All of this cost about $85.  I was really pleased with myself.  Now that I feel accomplished for the day, I think I'll take a nap.  I'm worn out.

Another Day at the Ballpark

Baseball season has started, and the men in my life are a little more than enthusiastic about it. After going to opening day, we just had to take the boys to the new ballpark.  Brad's sister came along for the fun, and I was glad to have her help since I get worn out pretty easily these days. We had so much fun exploring all of the new things the park has to offer.

Posing before the game.  They were both so excited.

Trying out the new mini golf course.

Zachary loves playing with Daddy.

Justin enthusiastically watching from the side.

Proof that I was there.

I'm sure there will be many more trips to the ballpark this season.  I will try to go to as many games as I can until I no longer fit in the seats, ha ha ha.  Going to the game is one of our most favorite family activities.

Opening Day

Today Brad and I went to Opening Day at Kauffman Stadium (where the Royals play).  Brad really wanted to go so I got him tickets as an early birthday present.  Brad's mom and sisters watched the boys for us. The stadium was just renovated over the off season, so we showed up early to look around before the crowds got too big.

The new exterior of the stadium

Here's Brad and Me posing in front of the new huge scoreboard.

The huge scoreboard up close.

They have a very cute carousel for the kids, and lots of other fun activities for the family.

We had a blast at the game.  We're going again tomorrow, but this time we are taking the boys with us.  Zachary is going to love it.

Surprise Bathroom Redo

Zachary has some bath crayons that he has really been excited about lately. Usually he uses them to decorate the tub while he's taking a bath. He's very proud of his creations in the tub. Last night after we put the kids to bed Brad and I heard some noise in the bathroom upstairs. When we went up there we discovered that Zachary had put decorations on every surface he could find. Here are some samples of his work.

A wall

Another wall. Notice what the writing says.

The edge of the tub.

The shower wall.

And of course, you can't forget the toilet seat. He wrote "I love Brad" and "I love Zachary".

Well, after seeing this I was getting ready to give him a stern lecture about coloring only on things that are appropriate to color on when he looked up at me with his cute little face and his big blue eyes. He said, "Mommy, I wanted to make your bathroom beautiful. Don't you think it looks pretty?" My heart melted, and I told him that it was beautiful, but that he should keep the crayons in the tub.

I have a big job ahead of me to get all the marks off of everything, but it was totally worth it. This will always be a fun memory we can look back on and get a good laugh out of.

What You Have All Been Waiting For

I have had a really busy week so it has taken awhile for me to get around to blogging about our good news. I had my ultrasound on Monday. Here is a picture of our little bundle of joy.

And the really exciting news is that the baby is a girl! We have our little girl. I'm excited to have a new experience. It will be fun to see how the boys interact with her. We are very happy, and can't wait to see her!

Fun Cake

Tonight the Young Women in our ward are having a dinner and a cake auction to earn money for girls camp this summer. Since I am one of the leaders, and because I love to bake I decided to make a cake to donate to the cause. Normally I would make a plain old cake and decorate it with homemade frosting, but this time I decided to do something a little different. I didn't have the time to meticulously decorate it, and I didn't want the leftover frosting around to tempt me. I don't normally take a risk by doing something new when it is for someone else, but I'm glad I took the chance. I think it turned out well.


This is a Neapolitan cake. It is a vanilla, strawberry, and chocolate cake. On the top is some powdered sugar, white chocolate, pink white chocolate, and semi-sweet chocolate drizzled on top. I will probably have to try it again someday so I actually get to see what it tastes like. It was fun to make, and pretty easy.