We had a very fun-filled weekend. While Tim hit the driving range, the boys and I got our swing on with a little miniature golfing. Matthew was his crazy self, of course.

James never allowed the ball to ever stop. The club was kindly directing it to the hole every time.

Matthew got 3 holes-in-one. He was pretty proud of himself.

Matthew is doing a chaka, it only looks like a thumbs up.

They loved the go-carts. James did pretty good. He was a very cautious driver. He reminded me of our "Snow Birds" that migrate this way every winter. Matthew was a speed demon and I'm sure cussing out the grandpa on the track. They even had a collision once or twice.

We capped the night off with a quick romp through the fountains at Desert Ridge and a delicious sandwich from my fave place, Paradise Bakery.

James was freezing.

The boys spent most of the time sitting in front of the big fireplace.

It was a day full of fun that ended with 3 sleeping boys in the backseat, the perfect Saturday.

Spring Flingin' It

I'm back from Spring Fling and had a total blast! We laid out by the pool everyday, ate tons of good food, did a little shopping, and talked into the wee hours of the morning. It was one of my favorites to date. Thanks girls for an awesome weekend! (We're missing 4 in this picture)

Today is this little guy's birthday. I can't tell you how much we love him. There are so many things I love about him, but I'll share just a few and a story or two.

-He has one dimple. It's on his left cheek. Lindsey has one dimple, too. They inherited it from my mom's dad. I love that connection to him. I never had the chance to meet him, so it's fun to see him in my kids. That dimple gets James out of a lot of trouble.

-On Sunday James was throwing rocks over at the neighbors' house. Matthew saw him and went out to tell him to stop. As soon as he got out there, James threw one last rock. It hit the wall, bounced off, and hit him on his lip. you can see it in the picture above. That would be a lesson learned for most kids. James is not most kids.

-This morning on our way back from dropping Matthew off at school James started whining for his doggie and blankie that he had left at home. He kept repeating, "My doggie! My blankie!" over and over. I told him he had to wait to get them when we got back to the house. This didn't pacify him. So I said, "James, I can't magically poof them into the car." James replied, "Don't poop in the car, Mom." Fortunately, I didn't and he stopped complaining about his dog and blanket.

-Everything is awesome to this kid. Everything.

-He is happiest when helping. Hopefully this stays with him throughout life.

We love you, James!

Tim and I coach Matthew's T-ball team. It is quite an experience. Matthew loves it, Tim and I have been on the fence until last night. When we said we would do it, we never thought about what we would do with James and Jacob. At the first game James disappeared and I ran around the park looking for my little guy. I was afraid he had been abducted. Obviously, he wasn't. He had just seen some big hills that he wanted to take his bike down. They just happened to be on the other side of the park. Are you kidding me? We so lucked out on that one. So last night Kristen, Amy, Colin, and Devin came up to watch Matthew's game. They were literally lifesavers, especially in James' case. Tim and I were able to really enjoy the game. We had fun and were not stressed out. Just how T-ball should be. And not only did they watch the boys, but Kristen also snapped a bunch of pictures for us. We hadn't been able to, we've been so busy coaching. So here are some of her great shots.

Matthew is a great hitter. He can really smack that ball.

I'm not sure what he was doing here, but I love how he is wearing his hat.

Tim leading the outfielders out to their spots.

James and Jacob playing peekaboo.

Every time we were up to bat, the kids would crowd around me and ask who was up next.

I love this one of Matthew and Colin! These two get along so well. They just have so much fun together. I love it. They'll be best buds for a long, long time.

Which is weird because they are nothing alike. ;)

James turns 3 tomorrow! I can't believe it!

On Sunday we had a small party with Tim's family that lives in AZ. James requested hot dogs for dinner and I made some rainbow cupcakes, which I did not get a good picture of again.

Blowing out his candles. This was hilarious to watch. He was working so hard. Spit was flying everywhere.

James wore his hat like this most of the time.

Not a super good picture of me, but oh well. I love this little guy! He brings so much to our family. We wouldn't have half the adventure and surprises without him.

James' cousin, Colin. This picture is so "Colin" to me. We LOVE that he lives so close. The boys ask almost every day when we'll see Colin again.

Matthew read James his birthday card from Grandma and Grandpa Blood. It was very cute.

Thanks Ted, Martha, Amy, Brien, Colin, Devin, Kristen, and Donavon for coming down and making it a special day for James. We love you!

Spring Fling Tag

Every year all the women on my mom's side (18 and up) get together for a weekend full of fun. I've even started a blog for it. It's a big deal. I plan my year around it. Seriously.

My cousin Lisa tagged all the girls in our family. She said, "Anyone that knows my family know that in the Spring we go on a vacation with just the women. That includes my mom, my sisters, my mom sister's and their kids and my grandma's sisters and their kids. We call this exodus Spring Fling. In honor of Spring Fling I am starting a tag. Anyone who gets tagged and answers will get a special treat."

So here I go. But to be honest, there isn't much we can share. It's kind of like the Vegas slogan. "What happens at Spring Fling, stays at Spring Fling."

3 favorite spring fling memories/stories

1. My very first toe touch. And it was actually pretty good.
2. Having it confirmed that I am not much fun. I only earned one fun point from that quiz we took last year. But I'm bringing the party this year, ladies. I've taken that quiz again and I now have 2 fun points.
3. One year when Matthew was a baby he woke up in the middle of the night and was crying. Lisa got up (but didn't wake up) and was searching the whole condo for her baby. She didn't have any kids there that year. I laughed so hard as I was trying to explain this to her in her sleeping state.

3 things I am most looking forward to

1. Killing my diet for 4 days or however long I'm in Utah for. Nachos, here I come.
2. Lisa answered, "Not feeling guilty about starting the day with a diet coke, ending the day with a diet coke and drinking one all day long." Agreed.
3. Staying up into the wee hours laughing so hard I might just pee my pants.

4. I'm adding a 4th, getting all of our adorable babies together!

3 things that will definitely be in my suitcase

1. Swim suit. Private hot tub and pool!
2. New Moon. Yes, Lisa, you will be watching it.
3. Comfy sweats to lounge around in all day and all night. Why? Because I'll feel like it.

4. I'm taking the liberty once again and adding another one. My camera. This year we will have fun pictures!!!

Post-O-Mania!

I added a ton of new posts, so make sure you scroll down far enough to check out all of the fun we had this past week.

Easter and Conference and Birthdays. Oh my!

Happy Easter from our family to yours! We hope you enjoyed your Easter Sunday with loved ones. We sure did. The cousins were super excited about their egg hunt.

Jacob even joined in on the fun.

Colin's 5th birthday was yesterday. So we had one action packed Sunday between Easter, Conference and birthdays. We got to choose between cake and cinnamon rolls for dessert. Would it be shameful if I admitted that I chose both?

Molly came up to me and said, "Even though Emily is the oldest, she can't do cartwheels."

Me: "Can you do cartwheels?"

Molls: "Yes, and I'm really, really good at them. Watch." Well, after I watched her, I had to do a few. They are so fun and make you feel young. James is an expert cartwheeler. Or whatever. Somersaults are more his thing.

On Saturday everyone came down to dye eggs, grab lunner (lunch/dinner), the boys went to the "Priesthood session" and the girls went to a Vintage Rose Wrap party, and we finished the night roasting marshmallows.

I love these guys!

For lunner we went to Joe's Farm Grill and ate a delicious meal. The kids loved it because they could run around while they ate.