My new favorite salad

Avocado & Strawberry Salad

2-3 cups favorite greens (I used half spinach, half romain)
10 strawberries sliced
1 avocado sliced
1/2 cup nuts (I used cashews, but I'm sure would be great with pecans, almonds, walnuts, etc)

DRESSING!!!
2 Tbsp. olive oil
4 Tbsp honey
1 Tbsp cider vinegar
1 tsp lemon juice

I made this last night and it was a huge hit. Definitely something to be thankful for.

The latest

1. My sister has been called to Guatemala, Guatemala City, South! Kari got her call and we are all so excited for her. My brother Garrett totally called it too. I'm excited because I lived there for a semester and loved it, and it will be fun to have another Spanish speaker in the family. She will be such and awesome missionary.

2. Swimming lessons. I found these incredible private swim lessons through word of mouth. There 10 minutes a day, four days a week for three weeks. This is our last week and I am SO IMPRESSED at how well my boys are doing! It makes me feel so much safer to see them fearlessly jumping into the water and coming up and getting on their bakes to float all by themselves. The whole idea behind the lessons is water safety, so they work on teaching them to do shorts burst of swimming alternated with rests and breathing while floating on their backs. They teach them all this by really watching their head position and through fun activities and positive reinforcement. And because they're only 10 minutes (but its all one-on-one and they are working the entire time) the kids leave the pool at the peak of the excitement/energy level. It's really pretty incredible.

3. T-ball. This is Josh's first summer doing Tball and it is so much fun.

Josh makes me laugh.

The kid is growing up way too fast these days. Two fun stories to document.

1. Frist Crush.

Josh has been on a bit of a Peter Pan kick lately. It started with Kari bringing over the latest live actor version for him to watch. I think he likes it because he feels like he's watching a "grown up" movie. Anyway, when we were at my mom's house he found a copy of HOOK and had to see it. After he watched it he kept saying, I just LOVE Tinkerbell (Julia Roberts if you don't remember). He was laughing and giggling about her and tellling me about when she gets big and breaks her house. Then later he was carrying around the movie cover and I heard him say, "I just can't stop looking at her?!!" It was then that I started to see what was happening. I asked, "You really like that Tinkerbell, don't you?" and he said, "Yes! I love her Smile, her dress, her wings- I just love EVERYTHING about her". Wow. His first crush.

Ha ha. At least he's got good taste.

2. We've had a couple different talks and FHE lessons about tithing in recent months. Nothing huge, but apparently at some point something stuck with Josh, because a few weeks back we were sitting in sacrament meeting and Josh was looking up at the ceiling, and then he said to me, "Mom, I see the money up there!" Confused I asked, "What?" and he said, "Remember how you told me?! You told me that the money we give to the Bishop is used to build the churches. Well I see some sparkling up there and I think its some of the money." HA HA!!! I then had explain that the money is used to BUY wood, lights, windows and all the things that go into making a church- not just used as materials in the building of them. "Oh."

Carnival

We went to the Orem Summerfest Carnival and Fireworks on Saturday. It was SO MUCH FUN!

1. Boys and rides. Our boys are at great ages for stuff like this. Its WAY more fun to watch them go on a bunch of rides than to go on any myself. Seriously. I think Jake and I were grinning from ear to ear watching our boys have so much fun. Jake took them on the strawberry ride and spun them all silly. I was worried it would be too much for them- but they both LOVED it. And Josh climbed way to the top of the huge potato sack slide and went down by himself. He was jumping up and down with excitement when he got to the bottom. We were so proud.

2. Smorgasbord, orgasboard.... (from Charlotte's Web). Jake and I kinda have a rule that whenever were at a fair/carnival sort of thing we have to get some carni food- and where possible- we have to try a new fried item since it seems like they're always coming up with crazy ones these days (my favorite so far? Fried peanut butter and jelly sandwich). So Jake got some nachos and a yummy frozen lemonade and then we got down to the nasty stuff and tried fried twinkies and Oreos. Both pretty good. Very not healthy, but good.

3. Fireworks. Orem City did NOT disappoint. We were all "oohing" and "ahhhing" a lot. I was happy my boys are both old enough not to be scared by the loud bangs and pops anymore- and Naomi only got scared during the finale (probably because she was so tired and worn out by then).

And a few highlights from the WA trip. I really can't give it justice- but here goes a little shout out:

1. The Beach. I don't care that the water is too cold to swim in. I still love looking out over wave after wave, remembering the power of the moons pull and how small I am compared to the giants that rule that space. Listening to them crash, smelling the sea air, feeling the sand between my toes, ahhhh!

2. Seattle. Such a cool city. I love big cities. I love the energy of them.

3. The Aquarium. The Seattle Aquarium is AWESOME. 'Nough said.

4. Great Grandma Blanche. Love her. Loved that the kids got to see her again and Naomi was able to meet her.

5. My big brother. I love that guy. Like Kari always says- he's just so naturally "cool". I honestly don't know many anyone that is as naturally and easily cool as him. And he is such a sweet uncle, he knows how to talk gross boy talk (poo, farts, smells, etc) and make my boys LAUGH- without taking it too far. And he makes such an effort to create meaningful moments with them.

6. Gramma Chris aka my Mama. I love my mom. I appreciate her even more at "home" for some reason. I guess because I'm able to relax more and feel like I can just be a daughter again. She is an amazing cook, incredibly thoughtful, serviceable, selfless, accommodating, and fun. No wonder Garrett and Kari's friends also all call her "Mom", "Mama", or some other derivative of the title. She loves to nurture others.

7. GREEN!!! It rained while I was there. It was cloudy while I was there. But you won't hear me complain. The sun came out for me while I was there too. And there were wildflowers and GREEN trees, ferns, underbrush, EVERYWHERE! The air is so much cleaner there. Literally. I love it. It will always be home.

8. Becca. Couldn't have made that long drive by myself. I'm glad she gave me the excuse to make the trip happen.

9. Missing my man. So maybe it wasn't a great thing while I was gone- but its always nice to realize how much you love and appreciate your spouse when you have to spend some time apart. I'm one lucky woman.

I'm sure there are a ton of things I'm missing..... but I'm done for now.

A good weekend

1. The garden is planted. Friday I spent time during Naomi's morning nap digging up dandelions all over our yard. We still have many- but we got rid of a big chunk of them anyway. The boys helped by picking them up and carrying them to our compost pile. They had fun because I was giving them all the snails, worms, and centipedes I found along the way. When Naomi woke up and we had all eaten lunch we went to Cook's Nursery and Josh pulled the wagon while I pushed Naomi and Dekker in the stroller and they helped me pick out a variety of starts for our garden. We came home, I put Naomi down for her afternoon nap, and then we planted the garden! I'm so excited to see how it does this year. I'm trying sweet potatoes, broccoli, and swiss chard for for first time.

2. Sprinklers are up and running. My sweet hubby doesn't get many days at home. He had one Saturday and what did he spend it doing- getting the last of all our sprinkler issues fixed and working again. What a stud!

3. BBQ with friends. As a reward for our hard work- and to celebrate a usable backyard, we invited the Barrands and Jesus over for a BBQ. It was yummy! After we ate we played PIT- which I've played before, but forgot that I really enjoy it.

4. Sweet siblings. Saturday afternoon my sister called and asked if she could pick up the boys and take them to the BYU baseball game. OF COURSE sweet girl, of course! The boys had a blast with her and Uncle Garrett (who met them at the game a little later). She posted the cutest documentation of it on her blog as well.

5. Sunday. A very sweet learning moment for my companion and I. I don't feel I should share the details, but I'm so thankful for the promptings of the spirit, and for a husband who is willing to do the hard things.

6. Cute Josh quote. Sunday I was in the front room with the three kids. Josh was babbling on about something with Dekker, at some point Josh started repeating some question to Dekker over and over and Dekker was saying, "Huh?!?!". Josh turned to me and said smugly, "Dekker doesn't know what I'm talking about, does he Mom?" and I responded, "Well I don't know what you're talking about either Josh" and then he smiled and said, "Neither do I. AGH! Nobody knows what I'm talking about- even ME!" We all started cracking up. My kids will definitely talk JUST to talk sometimes.

About a month

Has it really been that long? Wow. Time is moving WAY too fast these days.

1. Time moves fast. Although often frustrating, when I realize Jake is only a year away from finishing his MBA- I'm happy.

2. A trip to Moab. We had soooo much fun!!!

3. Grandparents. Jakes mom and dad (and Stepmom and Stepdad) worked together to plan the cutest "cousin camp". They had a "where the wild things are" them and made cute costumes, crowns, wands, etc. Dot made a cute video with pictures of them and all they did and it is too cute.

4. Women's Conference. I didn't get to go this year (no nursing babies allowed)- but it brought my mom to town again. Hooray!

5. Mother's Day. It was sweet.

6. Green smoothies. Jake and I have joined the green smoothie for breakfast club. They're actually not too bad- and we've both noticed a huge energy increase- and I'm down another pound or two!

7. My crock pot. Been using this a lot more lately. Love it. Simple moist meals that I can throw in at my convenience and then not stress about the rest of the day. Yippee!

8. A night without wake-ups. Last night was my first non-interrupted night of sleep for a long while! Naomi's been doing better (she started waking up again at nights after sleeping with us during the Moab trip), and we finally came up with a "deal" to get Dekker to stop coming in at nights. If he stays in bed till morning 5 nights in a row (he gets a sticker each night he does it) he gets to go pick out a new disney CAR. We went through two nights of explaining he missed his chance for a sticker- but last night he did it!

9. the EVO. Sprint finally announced it'll be out June 4th. I can wait that long. I'm SO PUMPED for my new phone!

"Kisses mean 'I love you'"

This is a line I've been saying since Josh was born and I discovered my uncontrollable urge to kiss his sweet baby body. I've repeated it ever since with all my kids. I figure its a good thing to drill into their heads now. That way when they're gorgeous teenagers it might remind them to not go around kissing whomever they please, and thus save a few broken hearts (since I'm sure my kids will all be heart-break material- I mean look at them!?). I was thinking about this this morning and decided I'd better post a blog about all the wonderful kisses (and kissers, for that matter) there are out there.

1. Quiet kisses. Naomi is a pretty wiggly little thing. I mean, you know how they say that you can tell a puppy will be difficult to train if when you put them on their back they squirm and wiggle instead of settling down? Well, if the same thing is true for infants- we're in trouble. The little thing HATES to be held on her back (unless nursing). She much prefers to be up on the shoulder or facing up and out at the world. She doesn't mind playing on her back on the floor- but she's always wiggling and arching her back even then. HOWEVER, one of my favorite things is that every once in a while we have "quiet kisses time". Mostly in the mornings when she snuggling in bed with me. We lay there face to face and she'll close her eyes and hold real still while I gently go in circles kissing her face; forehead, cheeks, nose and chin. It's about the only time she's still when awake. I love it! And if I pause she'll open her eyes and reach out to touch my face and open her mouth like she wants to pull me in and give me some "quiet kisses" of her own. True sweetness.

2. Healing kisses. These are my favorite Dekker kisses. I mean most kids want you to "kiss it better" when they get hurt. Dekker will keep coming back for more though until it really does feel better. And he needs them when he's emotionally hurt too. If I get upset and send him to time out, he inevitably will not come out of time out without asking for a kiss to make sure things are right between us again. He knows I can't give kisses when I'm upset. He does this with others too. He's the kissiest of my boys- maybe because he had such cute cheeks that I used to kiss ALL THE TIME when he was a baby.

3. Fill your canteen kisses. Some people tell prospective missionaries they should "fill their canteen" before they go out, since they won't be getting any kisses as missionaries. Well, as a five year old boy I'll say these are what my Josh kisses are. It's sad to say he's pretty much outgrown kisses on the lips already. I still give him as many kisses as I can though- because it won't be long before he starts thinking kisses from mom are "gross" or "embarrassing". But because "kisses mean 'I love you'" I want to make sure I get in as many now, while I can.

4. Biting, playful kisses. You know. The "you are so dang cute I just want to EAT you!" kisses. The ones that are more like playful bites than kisses, but kisses nonetheless. Yeah those are fun, until your kids try to give them back and end up biting you. Ouch.

5. Mom and Dad smootches. Often, when Jake comes home, we'll do the exaggerated pucker up kiss and wiggle your head and make a "mmmmmwwwaaa" noise kisses. Our kids think its funny now, but I think it'll actually be even more fun when they're older and it embarrasses them.

6. First kisses. Butterfly in the tummy- what's it gonna be like? kisses. Yes!

7. Romantic kisses. enough said.

8. Sweet old people kisses.

9. Lipstick kisses.

10. Goodbye kisses.

I'm sure I'm missing a few... Do YOU have a favorite kiss?