School's Out For Summer

We had our last day of preschool on Thursday. Jaxon has loved preschool this year! He has made so many new friends and learned so many new things. One day as we were driving down the road he asked "Mom? What's a worm's habitat?" He loved Miss Amanda and is always so excited to see her. Lucky for him he'll be in her class again next year!

Jaxon school pictures

back row: Miss Amanda, Maddin, Jaxon, Noah, Mason, Liam

front row: Jocelyn, Brynlee, Lerner, Braxton

Absent: Connor

Jaxon and Miss Amanda

His class put on a little skit about The Very Hungry Caterpillar...

It was adorable!

After the program we had cookies and drinks, and chatted with friends.

It was a great year and we are so excited to start again in the fall!!

And what was Ryker's highlight of the day?



Why the swings of course!

Farmington Bay Field Trip

Jaxon's last field trip of the year was to Farmington Bay. The kids had a great time learning about the different birds that stop in at the bay every year on their way to Canada and Mexico. They also learned about what makes up the wetlands and the different things that harm the birds. They were given binoculars and went on a nature walk to see the birds at the bay.

Living

The other day the boys and I walked around the neighborhood delivering flyer's for an upcoming ward party (which we've now had and which turned out to be absolutely fabulous!). During our delivery we saw a neighbor outside with her little 17 month old son who happened to be covered from head to toe (no exaggeration) in mud. This neighbor of mine said "I just figured since he was already dirty I might as well let him live a little. Besides, what little boy doesn't love to play in the mud?"

We continued our deliveries, dropped Jaxon off at school, and then continued home. At home Ryker found the pantry doors hadn't been closed tight. When I first found him he had just pulled out the tub of 100+ cookie cutters and was taking them out one at a time. My first reaction was to hurry and pick them up and remove him from the pantry, but then I thought of my neighbor and her very happy, very muddy little boy and decided that I would also let Ryker"live a little". I stopped cleaning and watched Ryker have the best time playing in the pantry that I think he has ever had, and I had myself a little afternoon snack.

Here's to taking a break from the hustle and bustle and living a little!

Jam

A few weeks ago I ventured up to Perry to make strawberry jam with Brian's mom and sister. In the past I've only made freezer jam. My mom made freezer jam. Brian's mom made freezer jam. Everyone I know makes freezer jam. I learned this year, however, that Brian prefers cooked jam. So, being the dutiful wife that I am (insert snickering here)I attempted to make cooked jam, with Anne's help of course. It really wasn't that hard, the whole process just took a bit longer.

Here are the fruits of my (our) labors!

In making the jam I had two conditions. 1) Brian would come too so that he could entertain the boys while the women worked and 2) Brian would put up shelves in the basement to store the jam. I am happy to report that both conditions were met.



With the help of Brian's dad, we now have wonderful shelves in the basement for our food storage and shelves in the garage for (almost) everything else!

Mother's Day

The greatest gifts I'll ever know

Didn't come wrapped in papers and bows.

Each had ten little fingers, and ten small toes

A sweet little smile and a button nose.

Gifts from heaven up above

Two sweet boys for me to love.

The Gift of Freedom

Our birthday gift to Ryker was a little taste of freedom. He is now free to roam where ever his little heart desires (as long as it's not the bathrooms, laundry room, office, etc). No more screaming "Get Ryker!" before he takes a tumble down the treacherous stairs. All is well when the baby is happy. And this gate, my friends, has made the entire family happy!

Project Nanny Goat

My super talented friend Kathryn over at NannyGoat had this really great recipe idea. The idea is to have 30 of your family's favorite recipes at your fingertips so you can make a meal (that they will eat) with little effort. I didn't know what recipe to submit for the recipe share until I made dinner tonight and Jaxon said "This is the best dinner in the whole universe!"

For the record...I almost always use the canned chicken for this recipe. It makes it super quick and easy. These are ingredients that I always have stocked in my pantry. I like to plan my meals out a week at a time, s when I plan this I usually make rice for a meal a day or two before and make extra so when it comes time to make this casserole I use the leftover rice...even quicker and easier!!

"You Can Get Down When Your Dinner Is Gone"