Preschool Graduation

I have always thought, and still kind of do, that preschool graduations are unnesseccary. But, as I watch my kids grow up faster than I'd like to admit, it's fun to celebrate them any chance I get. And tonight as we did just that. Beckett had an end of the year program tonight and he did so great. I teared up as I watched the boy that would never be torn from my leg, stand like an independent shining star. He is growing into a wonderful big boy.

Don't mind the scary eyes. Beckett had a cute little poem and he nailed it. 

B and his awesome teacher Miss Kymm. She was so great this year. Beckett adores her. 

My three biggest boys. Beckett loved having his brothers there to support him. Tayden especially liked watching Beckett on stage. 

Dad and Kyle were there too. In the back, because Kyle is a terror. A total terror. 

I love my son. 

We went out to Reeds Dairy for ice cream after the ceremony. This picture makes me laugh because Kyle only has eyes for the ice cream. He refused to look at anyone until he had food in his mouth. 

Beckett is such a wonderful addition to our family. I am so proud of him. He works incredibly hard at everything he does. School, speech...play 'work'. Although he has a horrible temper, he is so funny. The other day he told Tayden, "We won't leave you, Tayden. I promise. Unless we do leave, then my promise broke." He comes up with the most awesome ideas and sees the world in the coolest way. He is a huge piece of my heart and soul. 

Wormin'

When I was younger, I always went worming with my cousins. Its when you put a chemical solution on the ground called work squirm and the worms make their way to the surface, free for picking. Then you sale them to a local bait shop and have some mad cash to spend. I was telling the boys about it one day and they have been begging to do it ever since. So, we got the stuff and gave it a go. 

The first time we tried in cold weather and early evening/late afternoon, neither of which are good for worming. It did not yield one worm. And since we tried a couple other methods before the worm squirm, like dish soap, and didn't get anything-- I was convinced we didn't have any worms in our yard. 

I've never been so happy to wrong.

After talking to my Father in law, we decided to try our "garden". It was so wet and muddy that much of the water just sat on the dirt. We had over half our bucket mixed up, so we decided to try once more on the yard. We poured and waited. Nothing happened. Then a minute or two later, Scott said, "See!! I knew we had worms!" And just like that my boys had a new favorite hobby. 

They started picking worms right and left and had a blast doing it. I have good deer eyes, but Scott has good worm eyes! 

We only did two small patches and got a couple of good handfuls. It was a practice run, so we put them under the broken tramp (The wind took it the other day and bent it really bad...that's a story for another day) to keep them safe from the birds so we could pick them again later. 

Our bait shop buys them for $4.00 a pound. I'm hoping this turns into a fun summer job for the boys and they learn to work for a little extra cash. If not, it's still fun picking them. Being a boy mom is so fun. 

Beckett Builder

Beckett is my hard working, builder boy. He has always loved using his hands and working with his dad. Last week, my grandma gave him his very own tool box...to be shared with his brothers.... And he loves it. He uses his tools and works every day. 

I love that he has such a strong sense of self. I hope that never changes. 

Snails

We spent the weekend in Utah helping my grandma get ready to move back up to Idaho. While the grown ups worked, the boys snail hunted. And they were quite successful. 

Having boys is so much fun! 

Mother's Day 2016

Mother's Day this weekend was less than great. And as much as it pains me to say it, it's true. And since this is a family journal, I figure we need to remember both good and bad. So here goes. After Tayden got strep, the others started acting sick. After a few days, I decided to take them in. Beckett and Cache turned up with ear infections. The doctor said it looked like strep as well, but considering the antibiotic for the ear infection, we opted to not test. Kyle checked out okay, but that was soon about to change. 

Saturday morning rolled around and Scott was out working on my grandmas house remodel. I had been taking care of sick kids for nine straight days and was exhausted. Kyle woke up so sick and trying to console him was impossible. He wouldn't let me put him down, and cried a good portion of the day. It was all I could take and my spirit broke. My mom caught wind and came to my rescue. She brought dinner, flowers and laughs. She tucked my kids in bed, told stories and gave me the sanity she knew I needed. 

Poor Kyle laid on my lap all afternoon. He would just cry then fall asleep. It was miserable. 

I'm so extrememly grateful for my mom. She really saved my day. 

Mother's Day wasn't any better. Taydens favorite black church pants had a hole in them and it was devastating. He and Scott got into it and it was a downward spiral from there. We headed to church, but I ended up staying in he car with a super upset Tayden. Long miserable story short, we all left church, I missed my Mother's Day relief society lesson and we never recovered the day. 

But, that doesn't change the fact that I love my boys and I love being a mom. Sunday was real life and that is what motherhood is. It's full of ups and downs, but it's amazing how the love stays constant and even. Being a mother is the greatest  blessing and I wouldn't change it for a million easy days. 

Catch Up

Here's a catch up on the kidlets. 

Tayden. Poor, sweet Tayden. He has strep again. He had a field trip Thursday. I met him at a park for lunch and could tell something wasn't quite right. I asked if he was okay, he insured me he was. He got home and was freezing and immediately laid down to rest. I knew something was wrong when he came upstairs crying and refusing to go to swimming lessons. Sure enough, he had a fever and went to bed early that night. Friday, he had a small sore throat and a slight headache. He stayed home from school, but still played most the day. Fast forward to Saturday night, after a full day of play, he came in with a super goopy eye and was still exhausted. My heart was telling me something was off and as I did some research on pink eye, I came across strep in the eye. I knew it was strep. We took him to urgent care this morning and considering how healthy he seemed, they looked at me like I was crazy when I requested a strep test. Sure enough, it turned up positive. This is his fourth case in six months. Needless to say, we will be heading to the ENT to get his tonsils yanked. 

Luckily, this has been a mild case of strep and didn't stop him from setting up the dinosaur adventure land over the weekend. He and I took a little mid day date and bought some plants and supplies. 

We worked so hard on the river. 

Happy campers. 

And I have to include some close ups, because I love the way they play. 

Tayden took this picture. He is so proud of his work.

And while helping him set it up and get situated...I may or may not have forgotten about my last batch of chocolate chip cookies. Oops. 

Beckett. Oh, how I love Beckett. He is something else. He is emotional. He feels everything strongly. When he is happy, he is happy. When he is sad, he is sad. Mad, he is mad. I feel like these days he is pushing every button I have and some I didn't know even existed. He is strong headed and makes a mess everywhere he goes. He's like pigpen from the Peanuts comic. But, for every tantrum, there are two sweet hugs and smile. There are multiple jokes, and laughs and those bright blue eyes that steal my heart. Beckett has always been and continues to be the most caring kid I know. He gives and gives to brothers, no matter how upset it makes Beckett. He's the first to ask if someone is okay and lend a helping hand. He is kind of like a candy sour patch kid. Sour, then sweet. He brightens my life to no end. 

His preschool teacher warned the parents that she would be taking pictures for a special Mother's Day gift at preschool. I told Beckett he needed to wear something nice and he came out looking so handsome. 

Look at this kid! I could eat him. 

I asked how he was going to smile for Mrs. Kymm. He gave me this...I'm hoping he went a different direction. 

Classic Beckett cold shoulder. 

Beckett is constantly doing crazy things we shake our head at. This particular day he was his bike down the incline in our backyard. He is the silliest. I love the happiness on his face. 

Cache. Will not stop growing up. It's driving me crazy. I feel like he has taken a huge leap and is turning into a little boy. He is phasing out of the toddler stage and it's breaking my heart. He is hilarious and so aware of his surroundings. He copies his brothers and says the funniest things. Two of my favorites are "Are you kidding me?" and "Holy Ka-mokes!" (A combination of holy smokes and holy kamoly) He is really starting to reason with me and is making stronger arguments that are hard to decline. He is an independent cuss and it's been fun watching his self pride increase. 

He dressed himself this day. Oh and he love worms. Really, loves worms. 

This silly pose cracks me up. 

Kyle. Kyle can do no wrong. The baby cliche is strong with this one. The baby really is spoiled. He is babied and gets pretty much anything he wants. Everyone celebrates his milestones and loves watching him achieve new things. He is sleeping like a champ these days. He only wakes up once a night and sometimes not at all. He is napping great, too. It's been a game changer for me. He is so observant. He watches everything a mimics it all. He places socks on his feet and tries to hit a ball with a bat, among other things.I could watch him all day long. 

He really loves the dino adventure land too. 

And eating dirt. 

Oh, and this tongue thing. He's been sticking out his tongue a lot and thinks it's hilarious. And he's right, it's so funny. 

And two random picture for the road because Sunday evening was so great. Baseball and jumping I'm the tramp with my husband. 

So that's the catch up. My kids are for growing and healthy...for the most part. And I'm so grateful.