Cheesy Macaroni...

HOLY SMOKES....I just looked at my calendar and realized that my birthday is in less than one week.  Really?  JUNE is almost over?  This summer is already flying by.  Dang.  

Looking back on the past month and a half since I've blogged, I realized one thing...I Really REALLY love my kids.  They are the cheese to my macaroni, the apple of my eye, the spring in my step, and the loves of my life.  Anyway, you get the point.  So, it should come as no surprise to you that I want to start off this post by bragging about them for a little bit.  

The school year ended and I am so proud of all that each of them accomplished this year. They have each really stretched themselves academically as well as physically! Next year all three of them will be  at school full time.  Yikes.  I don't really want to think about that quite yet.  

Olivia graduated Kindergarten and I couldn't be more proud of her.  She is simply amazing.  She's a friend to everyone she meets.  She is very aware of those who are in need of a helping hand and is always quick to make sure she is there to help.  She is independent, driven, and very determined, or in other words, stubborn.  This has proven to be both very good, and at times, not so good.  Half the time, she walks out of the house looking like this...

because heaven forbid I help her with her wardrobe or hair. 

 I have a feeling she will keep me on my toes when she becomes a teenager!  

She passed Kindergarten with flying colors and is definitely ready to conquer 1st grade!  

Jack also passed 1st grade with flying colors!  He has far surpassed my expectations and this year he really thrived!  

He had a handful of his closest classroom friends come over for an end-of-the-year play-date.  What a difference a year makes.  This year, to my surprise, he is quite the social butterfly.  Especially with the ladies.  He was sure lucky to be in the class he was in.  The kids, especially the girls, really took him under their wings and helped him break out of his shell.  He is an above grade level reader.  Math on the other hand....let's just say, we will have to work extra hard on that subject.  He is ready to be a big second grader!  I hope his next teacher will let me help out in the classroom as much as I was able to this year.  His teacher and I became great friends.  It's nice when you are comfortable enough with a teacher to text them multiple times a day, just to check in.  Or to make sure he ate his lunch.  :)

This is my little muscle man.  Watch out ladies! 

Keaton, as expected, excelled in his 4th grade classes as well.  Well, all but his Music class.  Grrrr.  I hope one day he will appreciate music as much as I do.  I threatened to sign him up to be in the school choir. Hehehe, he did NOT find that funny.  He promised me he would play some kind of instrument next year.  He will be the Big Man On Campus next year as a big 5th grader.  I can't even think about middle school, it gives me anxiety.  Middle school is a nightmare.  Yikes.  

He is really in to swimming this year.  He is actually very good, I attribute it to his huge feet.  It's like he has built in flippers.  At the end of his first swim team season, he brought home four 1st place ribbons and one 3rd place ribbon.  We were so proud of him.  He is quite the little fish and can far out swim me in the lap pool.  He has also been running a lot this summer, he wants to try a triathlon soon.  He wants me to do one with him.  I guess I better start hitting the pavement again...

Can't forget about the baby of the family.  Doug is growing like a weed too! 

WE ALL LOVE HIM!

Even if he does 'think' he's a lap dog.

Field day fun!

In other news over the past 6 weeks...

Olivia definitely has a checkerboard smile.  She just lost #6.  It's hard for her to eat corn on the cob. 

She also decided to make a little of her own $ by doing a lemonade and cookie stand. Who could say no to that cutie pie!?

We had a wonderful Mother's Day!  My kids each made me a beautiful necklace, cards, school projects, brought me breakfast in bed and showered me with love.  

I love being a mom more than anything in the world.  

Nothing compares.  Nothing. 

I was able to take a few snapshots of my newest niece Evelyn.  She is a doll.  

My sister and her adorable kids also came to visit!!!  She let the boys stay an extra few days and it was so nice to have all the 'Smidt' grandsons together.  I think we made some great new memories!  

I wish they didn't live so far away. 

We had a great Father's Day as well!  These kids are lucky to have the Dad they do!  We sure love him.  

 Nana and Pops came to visit!!  We were the last stop on their extra long road trip.  They were able to see all their grandkids in one trip.  Well, all but Jesse, who is living in Brazil.  They drove to California, to Nevada, to Arizona, to New Mexico, to Colorado, to Utah, to Rexburg, and then to Boise!  Sheesh, they are troopers.  I think they said they went 6,000 miles or so.  Amazing.  It was so nice to have them here.  We love them so much. 

And last, but certainly not least....I finally got to meet my little Piper!!  It only took 6 months for that to happen.  Ohhh, she is too sweet and I am so glad I will have the chance to snuggle her now that Britt and Shawn are back in Boise.  Just an FYI...they are back in Boise while Shawn is doing some job hunting.  They just came in to town yesterday.  Although it isn't the best of circumstances that they are here, it is sure nice to have them back.  We sure love their family.  We hope and pray that they will be able to find a good job for Shawn soon.  

That should do it for now!  It's 1:00 am. I'm beat...my super comfy bed is calling.

May Day...May Day...

It's just about the middle of May, which means it's the tail end of the school year, which means life is extra jam-packed full of school functions, volunteering, musical programs, swim team, scouts, field days, tennis lessons, class parties, Mother's day teas, play dates, etc. etc. etc, which makes me extra grateful that I have the opportunity to be a 'stay-at-home-mom' and able to attend all the kids 'stuff'.  I am one busy mama, and I am thoroughly exhausted when I plop in to bed at night....which has been MUCH later than it should be.  BIG props to all those working mama's out there.  I really do not know how you do it.  I applaud your efforts!  I am on a 'night owl' streak and I regret that decision each and every morning when the dreaded alarm goes off.  I have a love-hate relationship with my snooze button.  I think I have made a habit of pressing it three times every morning, three, there's always some justification going on inside my head.  All I can say is, summer vacation can't come soon enough!  I am definitely not an early morning person.  Never have been, never will be.  Believe me, I've tried.  I struggle to pull my covers off EVERY morning.  And I struggle to get the kids out the door, fully dressed (you'd be surprised) and looking somewhat decent, lunches made, homework in backpacks, glasses on the boys (one of them misplaces glasses more than humanly possible), WITH a smile on my face, most of the time.  Right now both boys are wanting to grow their hair out long (against my better judgment) and half the time they end up walking out the door looking like they are either orphan children or in the band, Flock Of Seagulls, they literally have wings on the sides of their heads.  ALL boys should have buzz cuts in my humble opinion.  Boys shouldn't have to worry about 'doing' their hair.  That's a girl worry.  Can you tell I'm all about the low maintenance mornings?  

Enough chit-chat...without further ado, here is what the Howard Clan has been up to the past few weeks:

FIRST AND MOST IMPORTANTLY....I HAVE A NEW NIECE!!!  She is so deliciously sweet, I could just eat her up!  All 6 lbs. of her.  Other than my nephew, Spencer, who is now 11, I haven't been fortunate enough to be at the hospital for any of my nieces or nephews births.  *Sniff, sniff*  I finally got to be the doting aunt and concerned sister and be right there at the hospital on this special day.  Coley had a C-Section, so I technically wasn't in the room, but I was able to be in the waiting room and would occasionally get updates on mom and baby.  Shortly after baby E was born she was taken to the NICU for some breathing/oxygen problems.  She is a tough cookie and is home now and doing well.  Tomorrow the little lady will be 2 weeks old! I fell in love with her the minute I laid my eyes on her, breathing tubes, heat lamps, IV's, breathing bubbles, beeping machines and all.  She is so precious!  Coley is a trooper too!  She is such a fabulous and caring mother!  A double bonus is that I've been able to watch Russell a few times too!  I love that kid.  He'll be a great older brother!

One day old. 

2 days old.

3 days old.

 

4 days old.

My little stud muffin Russ.  He and I have so much fun together!

KJ's highlight of the month would definitely be the trip that he and Dan were able to take together!  KJ earned a trip to Orlando to go to the Wizarding World of Harry Potter.  A trip he has been planning and saving for, for at least 2 years!  I sent an extra camera and reminded them daily to be sure to snap a bunch of pictures for me to see.  Well, they are typical boys and only snapped a few.  Oh, well. Better than nothing.  I will say, that usually KJ is very quiet and doesn't have much to say on the phone, but every time I called him during that trip, he was suddenly a chatterbox, full of exciting stories and I could just feel his happiness busting thru the phone.  The boys had passes for the weekend to both Universal Studios parks and also to Wet and Wild and they took full advantage and spent almost every waking hour at either one or the other. I've been meaning to have KJ help me with this part of my post for 2 weeks now, and it's just not happening, but believe me, he had a blast.  I think having a one-on-one trip with his Dad is a memory he'll never forget.  He's such a cool kid.  I'm glad he had that opportunity!

The airplane, ready for take off!

Hahaha!  This is my favorite, their faces...I can't even take it!   

KJ wanted his portrait drawn by a caricature artist.  I think it looks just like him!  We will have to frame this one!  Such a cute kid. 

 KJ has been waiting to try the official ButterBeer and he said it was delicious! 

While Dad and KJ were away, I took the other kids to play!  We spent the WHOLE day at Wahooz.  A family fun center type of place.  The kids had unlimited passes to whatever they wanted and they did it all.  multiple times.  It was exhausting and I was done after a couple of hours, but they were having a grand old time.  We fit in miniature golfing, bumper cars, bumper boats, laser tag, virtual rollercoasters, 4 games of bowling, go karts, arcade games, indoor play centers, slick tracks, etc.  It was fun and Olivia and Jack thought it was just as good as Orlando. ;)

KJ had his Pinewoord derby race.  He made a flying pickle car.  :)  Let's just say, it wasn't the most aeorodynamic design.  He didn't come in first, but he didn't come in last either.  Next year he has big plans for a super cool car.  Next year will be his last race and Jack's first race. 

The kids are all in swimming right now.  Between all three kids, there are seven, yes SEVEN lessons/practices a week.  We basically live at the Y right now.  But KJ is doing great on the swim team.  They are called the Blue Marlins.  He has his first official swim meet tomorrow! 

Dan had his official ribbon cutting ceremony for his new office with the Chamber of Commerce.  It was exciting to have so many people there!  I love his office and his staff!  

Poor baby Doug had his 'man parts' removed.  He was NOT a happy camper wearing this stupid cone around his head.  He's doing well now!  He is just the best dog.  We all love him and he's a great addition to our family!

My cousin Bradley left last week for Basic Training.  He has joined the Army and we had a little going away party for him.  It was an exciting night because he proposed to his girlfriend in front of all of us!  We are so proud of him!  Be safe Bradley!

Our new favorite activity is exploring the river.  If the weather is nice, we go after school on Fridays.  The kids and Doug just love it.  We are all happiest when we are in the great outdoors.

Olivia's Kindergarten class had a nice Mother's Day Tea Party for all the moms.  They sang some cute songs for us and served us 'tea' and cookies and fruit.  I just love this little cupcake of mine.  I am sure lucky to be her mom.  

That should do it for now!  

XOXO

Also, a shout out to my cute niece...today is her 14th birthday!!  Happy Birthday Shey!  Man, I'm getting old, I remember the first time I met you, you were just a tiny little toddler running around, now you're a beautiful young lady!  

Love you lots and lots! 

A little bit of this...A little bit of that...

I love 'to-do' lists.  I don't in fact love the actual 'to-do's' but I do love the feeling of crossing things off.  Sometimes I even write things down that I have already completed, just so I can cross them off.  I know, I know, I am fully aware that I am irrational and weird.  But hey, to each their own, right?  Anyway...I have had a 'to-do' list on my desk for weeks now and have accomplished everything but one...Blog about Spring break and Easter.  So, indulge me for a few minutes, while I get this 'to-do' done and crossed off!  :)  I realize that I sound like a crazy woman, and I can assure you, judging by the past week or so, I absolutely AM!

Fair warning...there are a lot of pictures.  And pictures are worth a thousand words, so I'll let them do the talking this go around.  

KJ had his 4th grade music program.  It was hilarious watching him because by the look on his face, you would have thought he was being tortured.  He HATES music class and being in front of an audience.  He DID NOT get that from me.  But, he did have an instrumental duet with his friend and he did a fantastic job. 

There will be another little one joining our family really soon!!!  We had a baby shower for Coley and baby Evelyn.  So much fun to see all the little pink baby gifts!!  We can't wait to meet her.  She makes her grand entrance in to this world on April 27th!  SO SOON!

As usual, St. Patty's Day was fun!  Even Doug enjoyed the festivities.  :) 

I had my GI Endoscopy.  It went very well.  While I did have erosions and ulcers, it is nothing to be worried about.  My meds have already helped dramatically.  I am feeling back to my normal 'healthy' self again. I have my follow up appt next week to check everything out.  

Before you call CPS, let me explain this picture.  They staged this, yes, my kids get their weirdness from me.  They had just watched the movie Clifford.  Ever seen it?  If not, add it to your netflix because it is A CLASSIC!  One of my faves.  There is a scene where clifford ties himself up to make it look as if he was a victim of a crime.  My kids thought it would be funny to do the same.  

Hey, at least they were using their imaginations.  Kids will be kids. 

SPRING BREAK SWIMMING!! 

SPRING BREAK SKIING

SPRING BREAK PLAY DATES

My little Skater Chick

 

Camel's Back hike!  We finally got Jack to hike it with us all...TWO TIMES!  Great day!

FINALLY....longer days and warm evenings!!  I love this time of year! 

 I took the kids Easter pictures this year! They did great! What a good looking bunch of kids I have.  

  We had a fabulous Easter this year.  Family came from CdA and Utah and we had a grand old time.  

That should do it for now.  

Now...to cross it off my list...FINALLY!  

YIPPEE!!!  

Try, try again...

My last blog entry was so positive...this one...not so much.  I just need to vent for a minute.  Do you ever have those days where you wish you could climb back in bed and start all over again?  Well, today is day two of feeling that way for me.  The kids (aka Jack) have really been pushing my buttons the past couple of days.  Literally pushing my buttons, this morning Jack thought it would be funny to push every single button on my keyboard at the same time and now as I type, EVERY key I push is audible and read back to me.  It is ultra annoying and I can't figure out how to turn it off.  Even the volume is stuck on high.  And my shift key gets stuck every time I push it.  Let's just say this post will be shorter than usual, because I'm about to throw this computer out the window.  

I must find a magic potion of 'patience' STAT because mine has gone missing.  

This ecard sums up my past two mornings perfectly...

Yes...toilet tragedies happened.

And then, yesterday, there was a mom who had the nerve to tell me I was a helicopter mom because I walk the kids home from school every day and we only live a few blocks away.  She was laughing as she said it, but I knew that she really meant it.  It was a backhanded compliment.  

Then at tennis lessons, I was the ONLY mom there to watch...out of this many kids....

Maybe she is right.  Maybe I do need to back off a little. 

So...I am going to try to give my kids a little more space and independence.  

I do have some Spring Break and Easter blogging to catch up on...but until I get this annoying sound turned off, it'll just have to wait.  

Toodle-loo for now!