Family + food + flowers=

Memorial Day!

Well, this year, you also had to add in the rain. Even with that variable it was still a wonderful day! Chad and I had a nice low-key morning at home. Love those mornings. In the afternoon, we headed up to my parents house. We had a BBQ (eaten indoors!) and banana splits. Mmm...I haven't had a banana split in years. My mom even bought the banana boats from DQ...thanks mom for going to the extra effort. I received a personal garden tour from my dad. My dad loves working in his yard. As I've grown older with a yard of my own, I enjoy playing in the dirt a bit as well. It's fun to learn from him and even transplant a few plants from his yard. We headed down to the Kaysville cemetary to visit G'ma Ruth's grave. The kids loved carrying the flowers. They also loved reading names and dates on other headstones...wondering who these people were and what had happened to them. It's nice to have a day to reflect on the lives of those we love so dearly. I am so grateful for the heritage that is mine. I love and miss my g'parents and other family members dearly. I often reflect on the pieces for me and my life that are so much of who they were. From remembering my pioneer heritage, my love of art and even the way I load the dishwasher...all little pieces from them. I am grateful for these little reminders.

Said by Sarah...

Just moments ago as I was sitting at the computer, Sarah sat next to me. She said, "Sometimes it feels like I want to be a kid forever. I don't want to grow up." I remember having the exact same feelings when I was her age. I assured her that we would always have each other, even when she's grown up. I told her the best part of me growing up was having her (and my other kids). If I hadn't grown up I wouldn't have her. With that she said, "I love you, mom. I'm so glad I'm in your family." And I'm so glad I've grown up so I can have moments like these.

Happy Birthday SARAH!

Sarah couldn't wait to turn seven today. She was so "over" being six and knew that seven was just oh so much more cool. We do friend parties every other year and this year was her turn to celebrate with friends. After much deliberating, she decided on a garden party theme. The invitations were little seed packets with the info printed on them and filled with seeds (Nerds candy). Unfortunately, the weather did not cooperate today, so indoors it was. The girls potted their own flower and painted a butterfly to put in their pot. They dug for bugs and worms in the garden (paper clips and rubber bands in a bowl of rice...blind folded). They also took turns unwrapping layers of wrapping paper with garden gloves and tools to reveal a little surprise (a "thank you" of sidewalk chalk). The girls ate finger sandwiches and flower cupcakes. I think Sarah had a wonderful time and really relished her day in spotlight! Mom had lots of fun putting this together, but will be going to bed early tonight! :)

(sorry about the lame photo placement...any tips? The layout options are so limited grrr..)

Sweet freedom for Josh's arm!

Yay! Josh got his cast off this morning. Aside from a dirty hand, peeling skin and a strange tan line his arm looks great! It was really cool to see the x-ray and see how the bone had healed. I was surprised how much of the bone re-growth you could see. Apparently it will take about 6mo for the bone to be completely healed. He has to wear a splint for the next couple weeks, but that's much better than the cast. He's anxious to get back to playing baseball....just no sliding into home!

Ode to Ang :)

How can I begin to say how great it was to have lunch with these friends yesterday? Friends are one of the best things in life and these girls are no exception! I haven't seen Angie (Graham) Hyde for 9 years. I squeezed her so tight when I saw her...I just didn't want to let go....I cant' stand the thought of too much time passing before I see her again. She looked as cute as ever....loved her shoes so much I had to take a picture. Don't you love them? Yea, thought you'd like to see them. ;) I'm sure that anyone that knows her would agree that she radiates a light and love for life like no other. To say I wish we could hangout more often is an understatement. From our singing days in "Silhouettes," to shopping at "Big John's," to snapping self-portraits yesterday, we can always pick up right where we've left off! Trish and Bridgette even came out to see Angie...we've all missed her so and didn't want to miss the chance to catch up. Sweet Bridgette came by even though her twins were asleep in the car. We sat in the parking lot and talked as long as Bridgette dared let her car and A/C run! Trish also made sure she got there in between Dr's appts and taking care of her beautiful new baby. I have to say I'm so grateful I got to see Trish as she is moving to Boise in 2 weeks. So thrilled for Glen's new job and that their house sold so quickly (7hrs in the this market? Amazing!). I love these girls (I guess we are women now?!) so much and I am so grateful they are part of my life!












(would you believe I forgot my camera? Gasp...I know! At least I had the camera phone!)

So exciting...

to watch and help with the wedding preparations for Chad's sister Tammi! We are all so thrilled for her and we can't wait to meet Shep. He sounds so wonderful and we are so glad they've found each other! She will be coming to Utah for a shower in June (she lives in CA). It was fun to make these invitations for her shower...I don't get to play with paper nearly often as I used to. My sister, Heather took the most amazing engagement photos and I couldn't resist using one on the invitations. I can't wait to celebrate with Tammi when she comes out for the shower!

Potty Limbo

We are right in the middle of potty h*e double hockey sticks, umm, I mean limbo. I bet you are all jealous aren't you. Good times. The Medeiros children seem to have the late potty-training gene. All my kids have been 3...maybe I'm doing something wrong? Maybe they just hate giving up the feeling of a wet heavy diaper? Who knows. I broke down and bought the Dora potty. I thought that Jenna might enjoying relieving herself in front of the TV. We've had minimal success....which is actually a lot of success considering I had never gotten her to "go" on the big potty. Last week she pee'd for the very first time on the potty (Dora, not big one). There was much jumping up and down. I promised her we would go get a treat. She pee'd her pants by the time we got to store. Oh well. I obviously missed the mother's class on potty training. Anyone still have their notes they want to share? Send any suggestions and good luck our way. We won't be going far...not in panties at least!

Did I mention I love Spring?

The new blossoms and colors of Spring make me sooo happy! I walked into a store the other day and seeing all the spring colors just made me want to giggle with glee. Here are some blossoms from my cute miniture apple tree in my front yard. Hope they bring a smile to your face like they do mine.

Happy Birthday to our sweet Jenna!

I can't believe our baby is 3 today! (we won't mention that mom couldn't get the day straight and thought it was tomorrow) I can't imagine what our family would be like without Jenna(a little more quiet, yes). She is our little spitfire and is a very busy little girl. She easily keeps up with her big brothers and sister. At the moment, she loves "Little Einsteins," "Scooby Doo," "Goosebumps" (she has an affinity for scary movies, for real), cheese, salad, being outside, being loved and held by mom and dad (she's always been our little koala bear), putting on perfume and make-up. She's a tough little cookie and a pretty princess all rolled into one! We love you, Jenna!

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Love the one on the bottom right...

do you think she's done
with the camera?!

Josh rocked it at State!

Josh and his partner, Tyler, competed last Friday at the State Debate Tournament. They took 5th place! Overall, the negative teams out-debate the affirmative teams. Out of 18 teams on the neg side, 7 got perfect scores (including Josh). Josh and his partner actually beat the team that took 2nd on the affirmative side. So cool. I hadn't seen him debate yet and it was so fun to see him in action. They did a great job. I especially loved watching them whisper and take notes to prepare for rebuttals from the affirmative side. I had to chuckle at his 'rockin' photo...a little scary how easily he does that...guess he's taking after his dad! lol Congratulations Josh and Tyler!