It was a lovely weekend! The weather could not have been better in the 70s slightly overcast and we had a great time being outdoors most of the weekend (yes-I continued to ignore the inside of my house that was a colossal mess to enjoy this weekend with my family). We got Ellie out on her bike Friday night and she began to feel much more comfortable and enjoyed riding her bike. YAY! Steve got up early Saturday and went for a bike ride with Matt. They went 40 miles all the way down to the 215 interchange. I was still not feeling too well so I gave the girls a bowl of cereal, turned on Saturday morning cartoons, showered and went back to bed so I was asleep when he got home. When I awoke he told me that he had crashed and lost his phone so we would have to drive down and find it. I was more worried about the crash then the phone. He said they had just turned around and so he looked down to reset his bike computer because they had been fighting the wind on the way out and he wanted to compare the ride home, when he looked up there was a sharp 90 turn that he was going too fast for. He slammed on the breaks you can see the skid marks on the pavement and went down into the ditch, he landed down below those bushes he is standing next to in the last picture. He scraped up his knees, and bruised his arm, but I am so grateful he was not injured worse.
















Since we were almost to Stephanie's house after retrieving his phone, we went down and spent a few hours with them. We enjoyed visiting in their backyard, roasting hot dogs with our fire-pit we brought, and then we let the kids ride their bikes down to the park where we attempted to fly a kite, but the wind just wouldn't cooperate.

On Monday, we slept in and just had a relaxed start to the day. Steve mowed and edged the lawn, then put in a water spout over on the RV pad near the garden (the reason why Lila and I dug out all that rock the other day). Then he worked on reinforcing the loft area in the garage for a bit while the girls and I enjoyed playing in the backyard, we did lawn darts, squirt guns, rode bikes, they talked the neighbors ear off while he trimmed his tree and then we had a little barbecue outside after which the girls raced "rolly polly" bugs across the table. Ellie said, "this was a great day we just got to play." Agreed! Sometimes you just need a play day!

Ellie knew her birthday was on a Tuesday after looking at a calendar a while back, but on Saturday when Mimi said we'll see you on Tuesday for your birthday she got this huge grin and said, "My birthday is this Tuesday!" She had eggs benedict for breakfast and then Steve and I told her we would take her out to lunch, but she wanted us to eat at school with her--so we told her we would get her a cheeseburger and come eat lunch with her. On our way to get the food, I received a phone call from the school.  Ellie was on the line and with a little tremor in her voice, "Momma, you forgot to pack me a home lunch and I don't want to eat school lunch." I giggled and told her we were bringing in cheeseburgers. She was excited to see us when we got there. :)  She also took a book for her teacher and fruit-by-the-foot to share with her class.  After school Mimi and Grandpa arrived and we let her open presents and then she wanted to go out for pizza for dinner so we went to the Pizza Factory where she ordered pasta (is this a tradition of not ordering the requested food when at the restaurant, you remember last year we took Lila to dinner of which she requested breakfast then ordered chicken strips). We then sang Happy Birthday over Tasty's Donuts and let the girls play.




















She got princess polly pockets from us; legos and an American Girl magazine subscription from Mimi & Grandpa; and cash from G&G Moore.

I cannot believe how quickly she is growing. She is a wonderful big sister who sets a good example. We are working on understanding the principal of responsibility and doing what we need to do first and then we can play and have fun, but hey this is hard concept even for me at times. :) She has set a goal to read the Book of Mormon before she gets baptized next year and I have already caught her sitting on the couch reading. So glad she is part of our family! HAPPY BIRTHDAY!

Well, well what a month we have had. Lila got a little cold at the beginning of May and then I feel like it has just kept morphing and being passed back-and-forth. Ellie was next and was out of school for 3 days which is a lot for her. She barely made it back in time for the Moms and Muffins. Then Lila got sick again--poor girl missed 2 weeks of joy school and kept asking me if joy school was over. She had so much flem that she would occasionally throw-up in the morning. Then her eyes got infected and she couldn't even open them in the morning because of all the eye boogies and it kept producing them all day long so I took her into the doctor and he gave me eye drops to help her eyes. Today I went to the doctor because I have the nasty cold that is making me cough, vomit, and all sorts of not so fun things, but mostly the sinus pressure is killing me. He gave me an antibiotic and said if the infection isn't bacterial I have another week of this (note: wasn't bacterial it took another week for me to start feeling better, but I do think the antibiotic helped with the sinus pressure because I have no doubt that would have been a nasty sinus infection). And the fun doesn't stop there. Lila has been having a lot of accidents at night and Steve noticed it really smelled so he asked her if it hurt when she went potty--you got it she has a urinary tract infection and we had to go back to the doctor to get another antibiotic for her. Poor girl, by the time we got to the doctor her stomach was hurting and everything--it also explains the hives she kept getting over the weekend. Hopefully we can all get healthy soon and enjoy a nice summer. This is also why Ellie's birthday (next post) is low key--because I was not feeling good. I had all of these plans again and then just couldn't do it. I told Steve that I guess both of the girls' birthdays will be low key this year due to illnesses.

So I've been working on shapes with Lila. We've talked about squares, circles, rectangles, triangles, hexagons, and diamonds. She loves the shapes puzzles I bought and I enjoy watching her learn. This morning I had a project outdoors that involved digging out some rock so I told Lila I would pay her a dime if she helped me. She was on board. Of course her attention on the project was that of a 4-year-olds, but she didn't cause any trouble and when we got inside she asked for her dime. I got one out of my purse and handed it to her and she looked at it disappointingly. I told her it was worth 10 pennies she said, "but I thought it would be shaped like a dime." I said, "Oh you mean diamond." Lila, "Yeah I want a diamond." She sat the dime on the counter and walked away. Girl knows what she wants and she sets her sights high. :)

I recently read an article where the author thought that Mother's Day was a frivilous holiday and unnecessary. She thinks that celebrating her on her birthday is enough because she wouldn't be a different person just because she has kids. I agree with the principal idea that generally people are either good or bad (I think most of us strive to be good), but you cannot tell me that having children does not change you and your perspective on the world. I am also in full agreement that this holiday is more about celebrating the women in our life who have influenced us because there are those who through no fault of their own do not have the opportunity to be mothers, but greatly influence those around them. I guess the bottom line for me is that I love to have a holiday where we celebrate each other, together. Sure the celebrating is mostly done in a family setting, but I think of all the women who have touched my life and thank my Father in Heaven for their influence and hope they for a moment feel extra love from me even though I may not be able to reach out to them on that day and I pray that I have a positive impact on those around me, my children, primary kids, neighborhood friends, etc. So Happy Mother's Day to all of you!! Enjoy the day, put your feet up and bask in the glory that is womanhood!!

My celebration began on Friday when I got to attend Mom and Muffins with Ellie and her class. Her teacher is such a loving person and Ellie loves to learn. It was fun to spend the morning with her. They were supposed to pick a book to read with us and she chose a dictionary. :) I explained to her what a dictionary was and we looked up a few words and looked at the pronunciation and read the definitions. Good times! :)










Then Steve stopped at Sam's club on his way home to pick up a few items and came home with flowers and a gas fire pit--something I have been wanting for a while. The girls roasted hot dogs that night and made smores. Sunday Steve made bacon and pancakes for breakfast then we went to church and the primary kids sang to all of the moms--we had one week notice so the song was a little unpolished, but all 150 smiling faces staring at you couldn't be better. My Mom & Dad were here and it was fun to have them. The girls made me cards and drew me pictures all week--love it! One card included a special note from Steve, he always knows just what to say! We went up to Nessa's house for some carne asada tacos and relaxed for a bit. Unfortunately I got a migraine and the rest of the day was toast for me, but I greatly appreciate my husband who just steps in and takes care of the kiddos and my parents who just enjoy being with their grandkids. On Monday my Mom & I went to this little boutique we have been waiting to walk through and picked up a few things and then they headed home. When Steve got home I got to open another present that came in the mail a few days earlier. He ordered a whole set of matching picture frames for this wall he knows I want to update with family pictures even though he knows that means more work for him to hang them up. LOVE THIS MAN and LOVE BEING A WOMAN!!