Homegrown carrots!

I can't believe I actually grew carrots! Bree was so excited to pick some, and wanted to keep playing with them. We haven't tasted them yet, but they look good enough to eat, right?

Random cuteness: when Bree and I were doing letter flashcards today, we came to the A for Alligator, all of a sudden she quickly rattled off: "I don't like alligators or snakes or spiders. I love elephants and giraffes and zebras and ice cream!"

Phoenix Zoo

We went to the Phoenix Zoo last Tuesday, which is about an hour and a half from our house. It was a beautiful day: hot, but not unbearable. It is an awesome zoo--small enough to see everything in about 3 hours, which is perfect if you've got little kids. Bree especially loved the petting zoo, the water-play area, and the carousel. Mason was actually really good, and even took a little nap in the stroller. My only complaint is that zoo food leaves much to be desired. But we planned ahead and ate at Pei Wei beforehand (try the honey seared chicken!) and Red Robin after for burgers and thick chocolate shakes. A quick trip for a blood draw at the OB office for me, and we called it a day (I had to re-check my HcG level, which was really low a few weeks ago, but is up to normal now, indicating a healthy pregnancy!). If we were closer, I would love to get a season pass at the zoo. There are always fun events going on there too. But for now, we're making it to the zoo about once a year, which I think is pretty good.

Wilkinson weekend

Last weekend we went out to my parents' house to spend some time there while Adam and Heather were visiting. We had a blast as usual talking and laughing. Heather was introduced to the game of Clue, which is unfortunate for her, since we are a family of meticulous note-taking Clue players. But hopefully she had fun anyway. And we played the traditional game of Battle of the Sexes with all of us (Chad got to spend Monday with us), and the girls barely won this time. We are all quite competitive! Adam and Heather are awesome with their niece and nephew, and the kids loved playing with them. There was, of course, plenty of great food to be had, including homemade Krispy Kremes. The weather was gorgeous, and the kids played on the make-shift water slide out back (a hose on the slide with a kiddie pool at the bottom). Grandpa took Bree for a ride on the tractor, and took her to visit the animals at the great-grandparents' house. She told her story excitedly: "The chickens pop the eggs out. I put the eggs in the bucket. But the horse might kick me, so I stay back. The horse is very soft." I'm so grateful that it's only an hour and a half from us, so we are able to visit often. If only Adam and Heather were closer (and all of Chad's family too!). But, we happily take what we can get!

What does Daddy do?

Last night we had an Enrichment meeting, where we had three guest speakers who talked about their areas of expertise: past affairs (geneology and personal history), present affairs (financial management), and future affairs (wills, power of attorney, etc.). It turned out really great, and the Strawberry Brownie Torte was a hit. On our way home from the church, Bree said, "We're going home to Daddy." I had to correct her: "No, Daddy's at work." Bree: "Yeah, he take all his guns to work." Me: "What does Daddy do at work?" Bree: "He shoots bad guys." Me: "No, he catches bad guys and puts them in jail." Bree: "Yeah, he gives them a lesson."

Done and done

Today I was outside pulling weeds between the cracks in the sidewalk in front of our house. One of my many talents. I'm sure that all the people who drove by (our corner gets a respectable amount of traffic, and many of the cars hold people we know) wondered why I just didn't spray the little buggers with weed-killer. Well, for one, I'm trying to avoid the chemicals. Two, weed-killer costs money, and my labor is cheap. And three: there is a strange satisfaction to prying stubborn weeds out with an old screwdriver.

Later, after Chad had gone to work I decided I really wanted my new porch light up like, right then. Since Chad hadn't found it in him to install it this morning, I did it on my own. I am so proud of myself! This is my very first experience with electrical wiring. It took me 30 minutes, and that included finding shorter mounting screws that actually worked. And the light is totally functioning! Come to find out, once you read the instructions, and pay attention to how the old fixure is wired, it's not that hard. Yay for me.

There's always room for dessert

Just as a heads-up, this post is not an attempt to toot my own horn. On the contrary, I am letting you in on a dirty little secret (one that may cause serious repercussions if read by the wrong people). Because I am a mother of two (with one on the way), stay-at-home-mom, wife of a cop with a crazy work schedule, and Relief Society president, I often have people say to me, "You have enough on your plate." And I nod and agree wholeheartedly. Yes, I do have a lot on my plate. But I find that as crazy as things may be (or as crazy as I let people believe them to be), and as full as my plate is, there is always room for dessert. I don't care how stuffed I am, I'm always able to stomach a cookie or slice of pie. And I can always make time in my life for stuff that I enjoy.

I'm not going to lie; I'm a pretty selfish person. I don't let my kids/husband/church calling/housework rule my life. I enjoy a lot of time-consuming activities that other people are always saying they don't have time for. "I don't have time to watch movies." "I don't have time to read books." "I don't have time to have a garden/bake bread/write on my blog." When I hear people say that, it makes me wonder if I don't have my priorities straight, because I can easily find/make time to do all those things. Am I neglecting important things? Yeah, sometimes. Could I be a better Relief Society President? Yep. Could my house be cleaner? Oh, yeah. But, like my weakness for dessert, I have a serious need to enjoy some selfish pleasures. Thankfully I have a very supportive husband (Chad's catch phrase is "Who cares? Do whatever you want."), and my kids aren't huge fans of my housecleaning/calling fulfilling/general obsessing anyway, so I take it that at least they're on my side. Thank goodness for that.

Easter news

Even though Easter weekend this year brought crummy weather (Saturday was 40 degrees, windy, and rainy), we still managed to have fun. Our ward had an Easter egg hunt Saturday morning, and we faithfully attended, partly to support my friend Kenzie and her new calling as Activities Committee Chair, and partly because I wasn't going to do an egg hunt with the kids at our house. There were more than enough eggs to go around (the rainy weather deterred the less zealous ward members), all filled with Bree's favorite thing: candy.

Chad and I have never dyed eggs as a married couple. Seven dye-free years. I figured it was high time to introduce Bree to the activity. She got pretty excited about all the different colors, and the little plastic shrink-wrap sleeves that go around the eggs. So yes, we dyed eggs, but no, the Easter Bunny didn't hide them (not much time Sunday morning before 9:00am church).

Sunday morning is always a little crazy trying to get everyone ready for church on time, but the kids found their hidden baskets and ate a little candy before getting all dressed up. Sadly, we were so rushed that I didn't get a picture of us in our Easter clothes, but we looked awesome (especially Bree with her adorable curly hair). The kids favorite things ended up being these lollipops with springy bobble heads that whistle when you shake them (thank you Dollar Tree).

For our Easter dinner that night, I made Honey-glazed spiral ham (Bree loved watching me "paint" on the glaze), Fran's potato salad (which turned out pretty good for my first time, although our generic sweet pickles weren't sweet enough), and steamed carrots and asparagus. Dessert was my mom's famous Strawbery Satin pie, which I have become quite adept at making, and which I can easily polish off single-handedly.

Oh, and our Easter excitement was two-fold, since we discovered that I'm pregnant again! We feel so blessed and are very excited to have a new baby come December!