Girls night and dogs.

     I enjoyed another fun night with some girlfriends this week. "Just Add Chocolate" was a blast. I may not be a natural at making chocolate treats but I'm definitely a natural at enjoying it even when it's not 'pretty'. And spending time with friends is always fun.

Gina, me, Whitney and Sabrina.

     We also get two weeks with our favorite 'God' dogs. They never struggle to find someone to lay with.

     And of course, we've officially started our summer break! The boys are actually at Father's and sons to start their break off right. Charlie was a little bummed about being left behind but she decided to spend her evening falling asleep at 6:30 P.M.! Now I'm just hoping she stays asleep until at least 6:30 A.M.

Winding down!

    Rain, rain and more rain! I'm done with it but it can make things seem extra green and lush around here. My views during my early morning walks can be quite stunning!

This was my view looking East and then southwest Monday morning.

     There were end-of-school programs this week for Brock and McClane but I failed to take any photos. McClane is really into the singing programs lately and Brock is just annoyed by them. I'm still a little behind and can't quite wrap my head around the fact that school is nearly done for the 2018/2019 school year. Charlie is officially done with kindergarten and had her end of year assessment and is definitely ready for first grade in the fall.

      I had another fun girls-night-out this week with a few of my friends and we even added an activity to our evening, which was a fun adventure. Who knew these tiny little fish would feast on dead skin as their main source of food.

Apparently my feet had less dead skin then my friends because she had about 20 fish per foot compared to my 3 or 4 per foot.

Whitney, me, Sabrina and Julie.

Such a fun time and fantastic company! (What we talk about is top secret though!)

Mark's dream restaurant is a reality in down-town Provo.

Charlie with her favorite kindergarten teacher, Mrs. Jeanette Gehring.

     And did I mention Mark has moved out, at least for the summer months?! Yep, he's sharing a loft space in a condo with Marcus and a couple other friends (girls) in Cottonwood Heights for the next few months unless he changes his mind or determines he's not financially capable of this new adventure. We're also moving forward with his criminal issues and hopefully that will all be put to rest before the summer is over as well.

It's only fitting that these two move out together for the first time. I wish they were headed to the MTC together but my choices aren't their choices so we'll just love them anyway and wish them the best!

    And last night we went on an impromptu visit to Cabela's and realized the two youngest kids don't have memories of visiting this store, that's just up the road, so it felt like being there for the first time, at least for them.

Exploring this place is fun when you're young, or a guy.

     I'm really hoping mother nature will give us a little break in the rain so we can enjoy some of our Memorial Day weekend. For now the sun has fought through the clouds so we'll enjoy it while we can.

Memories!

      It's been a slower week despite it being May. The end of school activities can get crazy but this week has been mild. Sunday we made a quick trip down memory lane with Greg and Josh. They wanted to checkout some of their old stomping grounds from when they were kids so we went on a little adventure after dinner. It was crazy to think what kind of mischief they once got up to as kids. Now our kids know why we ask them to stay away from the nearby creek and I'm sure they're still going to the creek and keeping it a secret from us just like the generation before them. Ha!

Fun trip down memory lane.

     Charlie had her end of year kindergarten program this morning. She's been excited about singing all the songs she's learned for us and all the other parents. She was also excited to wear this fun velvety jumper her sister found for her just yesterday. The sugar cookies at the end were a bonus!

      So those are the week highlights. I can't believe we're down to 8 days left of school and only 3 more days for Charlie. During the middle of the school year it seemed like it would never end but then in a flash we're at the end and I can't remember where all the time went! And just as fast summer will be over and at the end of this summer we're going to have a new baby to occupy our time, CRAZY!!!!

Hope of America!

      This week was a bit busy. We had Hope of America for Brock, which was as cool as always. McClane had to get a second expander and that was placed this week. Thankfully it wasn't as torturous as last weeks orthodontist visit. McClane also had a singing program at school, "Take a Stand", which is always fun. I got a couple early Mother's Day gifts and we've had a lot of rain!

This girl has some cuddlers. 

One of the best patriotic programs! 

     I took video of one of the best songs of the program but it's too long for youtube, which is the only way I know how to put videos on the blog, so I guess we'll just keep it for our personal viewing pleasure.

I would have missed this program if McClane wouldn't have called me three minutes before it started!

Waiting at the orthodontist office with McClane... or is it Melanie. Ha ha

    I went to Kayli's work this week and saw this cute bag hanging on the wall and because it's a Michael Kors bag, even second hand, it's a bit spendy and I wasn't really there for a new purse but her co-worker suggested it would be a great Mother's Day gift, which I agreed with. Well fast forward to later that day when Kayli sent me a photo of some cute things she'd bought for the baby and her house and I see a small section of this bag in the background of the photo and I thought, YES! She bought me the bag I wanted! So when we were there tonight (Greg was helping install their new microwave and oven) I asked if I could have my mother's day gift early and then showed her, her rookie move with the photo she sent me so she had little choice but to hand it over. Ha ha! I love this bag! It's my first 'fancy' purse!

Michael Kors or does it stand for Momma K.?

    I also was giving Isaac a hard time about getting me something for Mother's day, since he just got paid, and after some squawking he came back from running errands and had this $20 gift card to Fiiz for me, AWESOME! I also got two flower plants and some cute cards from McClane and Charlie so it's already been a great Mother's Day in advance!

I'm not addicted but I definitely look forward to my Fiiz visits twice a week!

      So now I can look forward to Sunday because anything else will just be a bonus. I can also look forward to sunny weather for Mother's day, so the weather people say. I'm definitely done with the rain and wind!

Helping & Birthdays

     We had fun this week. We helped Kayli and Tanner move into their new house and we couldn't be happier for them and so proud that they're able to buy their own home so early on in their marriage. We also had fun celebrating Carter and Mark's birthdays.

When you have dogs you have fur, EVERYWHERE! And when you have a piano on a trailer you still play it.

    Tanner and Kayli generously treated us to a yummy dinner at their apartment complex as a thank you for our help. The kids were over joyed at the chance to swim and a little bummed that they only got to swim there the one time.

A rare moment when all the kids are together and getting along.

This cake never disappoints! 

It also served double duty, which is helpful!

19 never looked so tall!

These sunglasses are the sunglasses that sunglasses would wear if sunglasses wore sunglasses, at least that's what the box said. Ha ha Pit Viper are his 'jam'.

    And for really no real reason we bought the princess her own bike. This photo was taken after she took a little spill but she's become quite competent at riding this bike, over the past couple days, even though it's still a bit too big for her and she loves it. Now she just needs a cute little basket attached to the handlebars.

Got to love the banana seat!

     So that's our week. I can't believe it's already May! I sure love warm weather!