Coach Pitch

Nate started coach pitch baseball this spring. He has a great coach who holds practice twice a week in addition to his games. We think Nate may have found his sport! He is loving it! He hits really well but is still working on the catching, throwing part. In his first game he was assigned to cover first base. The player from the opposing team made it to first base before the ball was even close. His coaches were yelling at him to "run to second, run to second!" Unfortunately, they were using his first name which was also Nate. So Nate, not knowing that they weren't talking to him, ran to second base! Good job Nate!

Lauren's First Piano Recital

Lauren started taking piano from a new teacher in March. She has really taken off and its hard to believe how far she has come in just 2 short months! She had her first piano recital on the 16th of May at the Brigham City fine arts center. She did so great and definitely had the best bow! Earlier that morning she performed her songs in front of a piano judge at the piano teachers house. That night she received an award for outstanding performer that the judge had awarded her from that morning. Only about 7 of the 25 students received that award! Of course, we already know what a "drama queen" she is. Glad to see she is utilizing this talent in other areas of her life. I wasn't able to video camera the performance that night as our video camera was used for an at home web show (aka the Lauren & Nate show) and was ruined when water spilled on the camera during the cooking portion of the show.

The Yard Brigade

Last night we had some VERY generous friends donate their time to our yard. I love our yard, but man is it a PROJECT! Jason and I are not "green thumb, love to weed and be in the dirt" kind of people. We had made a trip to the nursery this past weekend and came home with 10 trees to plant and 3 more from a previous trip. With the help of our friends, we got all but 4 planted! Our bishop came over with his chainsaw and made quick work of our over grown scrub oak. I wish I had before pictures because even though it still looks a little overgrown, it doesn't even COMPARE to what it looked like before. We have hopes to put a fire pit and stationery swing in there eventually. It was a hard three hours of work but so worth it. We still have a ways to go but it feels so good to have made a start!

Mother's Day

I had a really nice Mother's Day this year. I was awoken on Sunday morning with breakfast in bed and handmade cards from Lauren and Nate. They had woke up at 6:30 to work on them! They even tied Tootsie Rolls to the outside of each card (and then ate the rest of the bag while working on the cards). After breakfast I got ready for church. After we got home I got in my bed to read and take a little snooze. Jason made hamburgers for dinner and Megan (our friend that is staying with us for the summer) made peanut butter pie for dessert. YUM! Beside my 2 dozen red roses, Jason got me a new watch and a exercise device for my Ipod. I was truly spoiled and was sad when the day was over. I hate having to wait a whole year to be spoiled like that again!

Lauren's Dance Recital

Lauren had her THREE hour dance recital on Saturday night. She did really great and had a lot of fun doing dance this year. She loved that she got to put on a lot of makeup for the recital too. We weren't allowed to take pictures during her dances so I snuck back stage to take pictures of her in her costumes between dances. I'm sure she was the cutest dancer on stage. And we've already decided she is going to be safari girl for Halloween this year (we have to make use of that 55 dollar costume, right?).

Bedtime

The other night after reading with the kids, I told Lauren and Nate that I would lay down with each of them for a few minutes. I laid down with Nate first and as I snuggled up next to him I told him...

"Oh, Nate I think I might fall asleep!"

Then Nate said,

"Okay... just promise not to wet the bed."

I guess its a good thing I didn't fall asleep.

The Boy in the Striped Pajamas

Last night after getting the kids to bed, I did something I rarely do. I turned on a movie! Usually Jason and I catch up on shows or reading during this precious quiet time, but Jason was working on charts and I didn't feel like any tv shows. I had rented this movie this weekend but didn't get a chance to watch it. Also, Jason had already seen it, so I knew I needed to find a time to watch it by myself. It was SO, SO good. A little depressing of course, but really interesting. I almost wish I would have read the book first because the book is almost always better. So if you are standing in front of the REDBOX this weekend trying to decide what to get, I highly recommend it.