Shayla's cute new hair

Shayla decided to donate her hair to Locks of Love--here are the photos!

Before
(notice the missing tooth and the package of bubble tape she bought with her tooth fairy money :)
Going, going...
...gone.
Shayla with one of the four ponytails she donated. I love her new haircut! And she was happy thinking someone in need would have a wig of her hair.

Summer time

Grant's awesome face plant. He just got up, smiled and got back in line for another try.

Tick Season

Sorry to gross you all out, but it is tick season here. Oh, how I love tick season. And this year seems to be particularly bad. And the ticks seem to love Garrett the best.

Yesterday we were sitting in church, getting ready for the sacrament prayer so I was trying to get Garrett to sit reverently on the pew (trying is the key word here) when I happened to catch a glimpse of something black in his ear. Hmmm, that's odd, he had just had a bath an hour before. Upon closer inspection, I saw that it was a TICK!!! I tried not to panic, told Garrett to hold still while I pulled the tick off. Well, since it was inside his ear, I couldn't get a hold of it with my fingers, so we quickly left the chapel in search of some tweezers. We hadn't taken 5 steps when I ran into the gadget king of the ward who upon telling him my predicament whipped out a pair of industrial tweezers from his handy gadget belt. I was so thankful and was able to remove the tick, which was imbedded quite deeply.

Last week we were sitting at track practice when Garrett ran past me and I noticed what looked like a dark freckle on his scalp (I can see his scalp because Tyler gave the boys a buzz not too long ago). Yes, you guessed it--it was a tick. And I count it as a tender mercy that I had forgotten to cut my fingernails that morning and then again later that afternoon, because with my long fingernails I was able to grasp the tick firmly enough to pull him out, head and all (and as a bonus I also got a little chunk of Garrett's flesh--lucky me).

So, why am I grossing you all out by telling you all of this? Because I am so grateful for the Lord's tender mercies and timely answers to prayers. He hears my every prayer and helps me right when I need it, by placing the right person with the right tool in my path, or by helping me to be the tool I need at that time. I am continually humbled by the power of prayer and the whisperings of the still small voice and the daily guidance we are all entitled to. And not just when it comes to removing ticks :)

Track

Last night was Ty's first track meet. You would have thought it was the Olympics he was so psyched about it. Even though it rained off and on all night, everyone had a great time. He competed in the 100, 200, 800 meter dash, softball throw (discus), and long jump and earned three 1st place ribbons, and two 2nd place. Way to go, Ty!
Checking out the competition

Shayla, Garrett and Grant entertained themselves with their own races!

The new summer-do and saying goodbye

My hair has gotten really long lately--by default, not design. I just haven't gone in to get my haircut for 1 1/2 years. Yikes! So I chopped it short and donated my braids to locks for love. Here are the before and after pictures.

The funniest was seeing my kids after the haircut. Here are their comments:
Garrett: It looks WEIRD.
Shayla: It's so poofy (as she repeatedly tried to pat it down to size)
Ty: It's just so...different.
Luckily Tyler loved it, and I'm happy with it, too.
I feel like my neck grew an inch or two and I'm ready for summer!

The best part of the day was getting to spend time with my sis-in-law Emily one last time before they move. She offered to watch the boys while I got my haircut (a mere 3 days before the moving van comes!--yes, she is amazing). I will miss our fun adventures together (at the outlet malls or Target looking for bargains :), our conference weekend sleepovers, American Idol showdowns, special occasion get-togethers, and all of the good talks and laughs we've had over the past 3 years and just knowing she has been so close. And my kids are really going to miss their cousins! We love and miss you already! Can't wait for the cabin to see you all again.

Shayla's Kindergarten Grad

What a tear jerker! Her teacher is the sweetest grandmotherly type and just loves her students so much, she had tears in her eyes as she bid them farewell at the end of the program, which in turn caused all of us parents to cry as well.


Shayla has grown up so much this past year--she is excited and ready for 1st grade in the fall.

(The songs they sung were so cute--my favorite was Willie the Walrus. I've tried for 3 days to upload the video--but it's not working! Any helpful hints about uploading videos?)

Belated Mother's Day Gratitude

I am so grateful to be a mom. And so grateful to have such a wonderful Mom and Mother-in-law, and good moms around me to watch and learn from. My cute husband and kids spoiled me this mother's day with breakfast in bed, flowers, chocolate, homemade cards (my fav!) and notes, and did I mention lots of chocolate? Could the day be any better? We had dinner with some friends and Tyler made everything so I could relax and enjoy being spoiled.

I am so grateful for Tyler. He is so good to me, and so thoughtful and patient, especially through my various mood swings :) He makes life exciting and is always making up some funny song about everything. On April Fool's Day I was trying to sneak food coloring into the bottom of the kids' cereal bowls to turn their milk each a different color, but the kids woke up too soon and I was about to get caught, when Tyler stepped up with an impromtu song and dance number to distract them out of the kitchen. It makes me laugh everytime I think about it.

The icing on the cake this mother's day was being pregnant--knowing that we will have another little one join our family in the next year makes my heart smile. So, there you have it--baby number 5 is due on Dec. 1st. And this time we are finding out what it is, so stay tuned!