A Blessing

As with many of my posts this one is long over due, by almost a month...

May 1st was Shadrik's blessing and what a fun, special day it was! Our Sacrament meeting doesn't start until 2:20 p.m. The vast majority invited had about a 2 1/2 hour drive, some up to a days drive, so I was feeling a little bummed thinking no one was going to make it. We ended up with so many people coming! What a blessing to have such wonderful family and friends. So I just want to thank all of you who were able to come and share Shadrik's day with us; having you there made it all the more special. Here's a few pictures snapped throughout the day-




Dad dressing Shadrik in his suit, complete with matching father/son ties (I had to make Shad's)












Dad and Shad
















 





Ann, Sandy, Shadrik, Grandpa (Claudon) and Great Grandma (Grace)
















Shadrik with his dad and Grandpa
























Great Grandma (Zelda), Shadrik, Ann and Grandpa (Ron)

















 


 Grandma (Paula) and Shadrik














Tio Ty and Uncle Jer Bear with Shad










Family of Five
Ann, Eliana, Shadrik, Olivia and Sandy















I don't think he could get any cuter!

Fun Visit

My sister and her 2 boys came to see us for a few days last weekend; we all had so much fun! We haven't seen each other since their move to Washington last September so we had been looking forward to them coming for a while now.



Eliana's school was having a carnival one of the days they were visiting so we took all four kids (well, five counting Shad but he slept through it) and they were so well behaved. I was pretty darn proud with how well they stuck together and listened in all the chaos. The cousins had so much fun, from the bounce house and games to the face painting and cotton candy.

Painted cheeks from left to right:
Troy with the Batman sign
Eli and her "Grand Old Flag"
Livi has a purple butterfly
Brock and what used to be a turtle (correct me if I'm wrong Lacy!)







The kids had lots of fun and little sleep; they kept busy all day every day. They enjoyed picnics outside, a movie night/slumber party, games of "Simon Says", picnics indoors, and lots of mud and dirt (and even an overflowing toilet, thank you Livi)!
I enjoyed having some sister time, not to mention just having adult company. It seems like it's always us going to see everyone else so it's nice when we get a break from that and can be the host every once in a while. We are so glad the Johnson's came to see us on their vacation and are already looking forward to the next visit (either here or there haha!).







Eating pizza on the deck















Being silly for "Simon Says"















Enjoying a picnic on a rainy day

New Best Friend

Last week we made a new friend. She is an absolute sweetheart and adores the girls. Of course, the girls have grown quite fond of her as well. We hope this friendship lasts a long, long time!




Eliana and Olivia named her Angel Cake ("because she's so sweet", they said). Angel more or less ended up choosing us; she just showed up out of nowhere one day while the girls were playing outside. I was in the kitchen and heard Livi screaming, waited a few minutes to see if I needed to interject, and sure enough she kept it up. I thought I was going to go out and find her in a fit because of something Eli did (or didn't) do but ended up finding her in the garage hiding and crying hysterically. Eli then came running in proclaiming, "MOM! THERE'S A DOG!!!" and sure enough, right behind her was a dog. This made Livi even more hysterical and she ended up literally jumping all the way up into my arms (okay, it may not be that far of a jump due to my size but for a 2 year old, it was quite the leap). Apparently, Livi wasn't a big fan of the visitor.

I had the girls stay in the house since we didn't know anything about the dog; she had a collar but no tags, and she was really apprehensive around me. Eventually, I deemed the dog safe enough to play with but we avoided feeding her so we weren't encouraging her stay any more than we had to. Once Livi had a while to warm up to the dog it was all we could do to get her, and Eli, to come back inside for the night. Sandy and I thought she'd disappear by morning but we found her on our front porch the next morning, right where we'd left her the night before. We gave her another day to move on but she had other plans I guess. Sandy ended up taking pictures around to all of our surrounding neighbors in hopes of finding her owner but no one claimed her. So now we have a dog.

Sandy and I had talked about getting a dog. In fact, we wanted a Blue Healer mix and lucked out since she appears to be a Healer, Australian Shepherd mix of sorts. Where, at first she was afraid of me, and even more of Sandy (we wonder if she was abused at all due to her reaction to us) she has really warmed up to us after a week of being here and seems to be quite the loyal mutt. She portrays some protective, but not aggressive, qualities and so far, the only bad habit we've noticed is her chewing on things if left out. So far, no one has come around looking for her so I think it's safe to assume she was dropped off, heard the girls playing, and found her way here. Angel fits in quite well with us. We've all grown attached to her so I hope she's here for the long haul!

Oh Livi...

Lately the girls haven't exactly been the most photogenic children. I'm catching even more goofy smiles, closed eyes, and silly faces than normal and this one of Livi is just too good not to share!


I have no words; all I can do is laugh (and laugh, and laugh)!!

Daddy Daughter(s) Date

Last week Sandy promised Eli and Livi some special time away with him and all week long they anticipated the great day of their Daddy Daughter Date. Saturday came, and after Sandy got as much work done as he could he and the girls hit the town. Their first stop was dinner at Micky D's. For whatever reason they love McDonald's. It's a place we try not to indulge in very often so it really was a treat for them.
After eating Sandy took them to the rollerskating rink. It was the first time either of the the girls had been on skates so he had his work set out for him and ended up with a great arm workout by the end of the night trying to keep them on their feet. They had so much fun! One of their highlights there was that the skates they wore fit over their shoes; the shoes I had them wear that night light up so it was fun for them to see the lights on their feet while skating.
When they'd had their fill of wheels they were treated to ice cream, another favorite. And both girls were so exhausted they fell asleep on the way home. A perfect ending to a perfect night for them. Here's a few pics I snapped before they left for the night-

Grins, Flowers, and a Baby Shower

Things are finally slowing down for us this week; I feel like the last few weeks are one big blur. This is just for fun, a catch up post of random things.

Spring has finally started making it's presence more known in our neck of the woods and as a result I've started to see what we have to work with in our flower beds. A lot will have to go (eventually) but I was pleased to see some daffodils surface and so were my girls. There were a few that didn't last long; my girls thought they needed a new home, all over the lawn, but not before making sure mom got some first. They didn't have stems so I had to be a bit creative for watering-


Shadrik has reached the age of many smiles, one of my favorite stages! He is so full of happy faces and has some sweet little grins (not to mention the kissable, squeezable chunky cheeks)! He also has started rewarding our goofy talking with coos and gurgles, and even a yell or two. He's just such a sweet lil guy!


And I have to acknowledge some amazing friends I've made in our ward. They felt we were in need of a baby shower once we had Shad since, even though he's our third child, he is our first boy. It was so sweet of them and we are STILL reaping the benefits of it! People are so thoughtful and I'm amazed at the caring and outreaching in this ward, from the babysitting offered, the girls (and Sandy and I) making some awesome friends, the meals that people have provided, the numerous gifts, and even simple phone calls just to check in and see how things are going. We are blessed!