Saturday May 19

Cassi got to perform her song tonight in a recital.

It was a fun recital.

It was mixed with cute little dancers too.

The dance teacher and the piano teachers got together to make tonight happen.

What a great idea.

Both Cassi and Madi take lessons from Mason, who is the son of the piano teacher who put it together with the dance teacher......

And Cassi was excited to be a part of it.

Madi.....not so much.

I don't know if she will ever be willing to perform in front of people.....but she is doing great and i am glad she is at least learning how to do it.

Cassi, on the other hand, has no problem performing.

She had a blast tonight and everyone loved it and told her afterward how great she did.

However, I don't know if I can continue to let her perform.
But I have the WORST headache.....due to lack of oxygen before hse got on stage I guess.

I don't know why I work myself up for when SHE performs.
It isn't like I am going up there at all!

I LOVE watching her and I LOVE listening to her.

I am just gonna have to get a handle on my hyperventilating and headaches.....I am SO GLAD she did not inherit any of that from me.

She has no worry in the world when she gets ready to go in front of a crowd, and I love that.

She needs to keep doing it so that she will hopefully never develop a shyness for the crowd :)
So, if your not sick of listening to her song again....here it is.

Cassi Matthews
'That Smile'

(sorry, sound on the guiar wasn't so great for the video camera...)

*****

This morning we got to go to Ayden's birthday party.

It was a lot of fun.

It was Harry Potter themed and it was a real hit.

Later on we went next door to celebrate 51 years with our neighbor Eldon and Carol (bubble).

According to Bubble, her kids forgot last year, so they threw her a big shin dig this year.

Good for them.

They are so great and we sure love having them across the field.

They have been so helpful and friendly.

I am glad we got to party a little with them.

Then it was off the the recital.

Doesn't sound like much, but it sure seemed like a full day.

Friday May 18

We started to build the barn today.

The tractor was having troubles....so we didn't get as much done as we would have liked....but it is started, so that is exciting :)

Tractor got fixed up....and we got the holes dug for the posts and all the posts set.

But then the sun went down.

More work on that soon to come.

*****

Cassi has her performance tomorrow for all those who take lessons from her teacher and his mom.

Madi is terrified to perform...so she is skipping this time.

We will give her more time to get used to the idea.

She has only been playing a couple months, it is still a new to her.

But Cassi, of course, is very excited.

I had a lot of fun listening to her practicing outside......I look forward to many summer nights listening to her play for us.

*****

Madi and Cassi were good and helped take care of Porter and Elsie so I could help Dad out.

Madi and Port had fun playing super heroes.

Port earned this book of masks by staying in his bed all night.

It was a very exciting night and I look forward to many many more :)

They had to take turns wearing them.....

He thinks he is pretty cool.

Too bad you can't see that huge grin he has behind those masks :)

Thursday May 17

Along with super heroes....Port's other new obsession is Voltron.

This was Dads toy when he was a boy....so it is fun for Porter to have it now.

He thinks Voltron is pretty great.

And I guess today, he and Buzz became friends.

Port kept saying "Hi I'm Buzz Lightyear, to the rescue"

And Voltron would say "I am Voltron: Defender of the Universe!"

So funny, especially when you hear him say it in the video below.

Love it!

The kid cracks me up.

Wednesday May 16

The girls have been reading Harry Potter together.

Aydo is having her birthday party this week, and it is Harry Potter themed.

Cassi thought she ought to read up on it, and Madi was happy to re-read it to Cassi.

She also finds it necessary to quiz Cassi about the facts.

She is so much her Dad :)

And Cassi, well she tried to start the book on her own before Madi offered.

She just couldn't get into it.

That sounds so much like me.

I am glad Madi is willing to read it to her....I love that they love to read.

*****

So, Elsie was up at 4:00 am this morning.

I don;t know what the deal was.

I hope it doesn't happen again.

I jinxed myself last night.

So I haven't slept through the night in quite a long time.

Port still wakes up once a night usually, and Elsie every now and then.

But they usually go right back to sleep.

Anyway, last night I was thinking how nice it has been to get good sleep and how much less grumpy I feel.

Well......guess I spoke too soon.

Cause I was a wreck today.

Bawling while I watched the news......feeling like I was gonna fall right to sleep while making lunches for the girls......frustrated at the dumb sprinkler and then at the dumb dog.

LUCKILY.......I got Elsie and Porter to take a nap at the same time, so that way I could get some sleep too.

When Port and I woke Up, and Elsie was still sleeping, I decided to workout.

I felt so much better.

Sleep really is so wonderful.

Elsie slept for 4 hours!

I hope she sleeps good tonight.

Cause I need my sleep as much as she does!!!

Tuesday May 15

Today after we (Port and I) got Elsie from school, we stopped by to pick up Hallie and Braelyn so they could come over and play.

I was gonna let Port stay up for a bit so he could play, but he was way too hyper and showing off for the girls......

So after we ate our lunches, he had to go take his nap.

The girls spent most of the time outside.

It was nice today cause it was warm enough, but also cloudy.

They started off with painting pictures.

Elsie could paint for hours!!!

The girls did a bit of buffalo hunting too while they painted :)

Elsie would ask them if they could hear 'that buffalo'.

So silly.

Wonder how long this buffalo obsession will last.

I better start planning a buffalo birthday bash for July :)

Anyway....after the painting, they pulled out a bunch of baby dolls and played 'house' for the rest of the time.

I took that time to plant my tulip bulbs that 'bubble', next door, gave to me.

I ended up planting 2oo+ tulip bulbs :)

(With the help of Hallie)

I am excited to see what all the colors will be.

I didn't know exactly where I wanted to plant so many tulips......so for now I just planted them in front of the house and when I better decide what I want, I can dig them back up.

At least I know they are safe where they are in the ground instead of a hot garage in a cardboard box.

*****

We went and picked the girls up on the 4-wheeler from school....and ended up bringing their two friends home with us to play.

They stayed for a while and their mom came to pick them up and stayed for a while to chat so Elsie and Port could play with her two younger ones.

In the midst of all that, Elsie's Speech therapist came over.

So that little Elsie bug went to sleep super tired tonight :)

Hope she sleeps really good.

I hope we all sleep really good.

Monday May 14

Today we spent the day figuring out how to get things watered around here.

The garden drip lines are working great.

So that's exciting :)

We had to rework some things, but I think we have it figured out.

And we stretched to the raspberries also.

So now I think they will do better with some real good watering.

They are doing good, but I want to make sure they do great  :)

Then Brent made a sprinkler system to work for the 9 new trees.

We have been watering them individually every day a couple times a day.

Now with this sprinkler system they will get watered easier......and the apple trees will be getting more water.

Then we decided to see how the irrigation would work.

We turned on the pump and tried it out.

Cassi and Porter had a lot of fun running around and playing in the ditch.

It all brought back very fond memories of me helping my Grandma irrigate.

I am excited for my own kids to have fun memories.

Madi was awesome....as usual.

She is always excited to learn and get her hands dirty.

She is a hard worker.

I know I have said it before....but she is really turning into a great young woman.

She makes us proud.

Elsie didn't want anything to do with that dirty water!

She played on the front lawn with Mater and her baby doll.

After Cassi and Port were covered in mud, we stripped them down and Cassi went in and showered then took care of the little two while we worked some more and while dinner cooked.

She was a great helper and was really great and even loaded the dishwasher while we were outside.

I love these kiddos.

Love our life :)

Sunday May 13

I had a beautiful and wonderful Mothers Day.

I am so Thankful for the sweet little family I have.

This morning I woke up just before the phone rang.....calling extra fire guys to come into work.

Brent didn't take it :)

While Brent was on the phone I peeked at Porter, who was laying on our floor (little rough night and he ended up sleeping on pillows on our floor) and he was just waking up.

I watched him stir and then he looked up at me and gave me a huge sleepy smile.

Such a sweet little rotten boy.

Dad took him back up and told me to go back to sleep.

I tried, but then had Madi bring me my lesson manual so I could plan my primary lesson.....woops.

I am usually better about planning it.....just not this week.

Dad was making breakfast upstairs.

My girls.....they were so helpful and helped Dad make the yummy breakfast.

Instead of having it in bed....which I always have, I thought we should all eat together.

Whenever I have it in bed, I always end up at the table anyway.

Breakfast together as a family was wonderful.

Dad cut some fresh lilacs for the table.

All their smiling faces sitting around looking at me.

Made me a happy mama :)

*****

I don't like having pictures of me.

That is why you rarely see me in pictures :)

But I am happy that at least once a year, I can get a picture of me with my kiddos and usually some individuals with them too.

They are all so unique and so much fun.

I am proud of who they are and who they will be.

I am so Thankful to be their mommy.

My Madi Bell.

She is growing so fast!!!!

That is good and bad......I am gonna miss that little Madi, but I sure look forward to who she is becoming.

Madi is such a great example of honesty and kindness to her friends and family.

My crazy crazy Cass.

This girl can find fun in every situation.

She is care-free and so creative.

She is great at making friends.

I hope she can stay that way as she grows older.

My sweet Elsie Bug.

Look at that smile.

She is so amazing as so strong.

She will always be someone we look up to.

She will conquer this world with a smile :)

My Port man.

This boy.

How can I sum up how I feel about him???

So much love.....mixed in with a lot of frustration.

Lots and lots of laugh mixed with quite a lot of time-out.

He is the perfect exclamation point to our family!!!!!

*****

Daddy made me an awesome dinner and we ate outside.

It was a beautiful evening.

We lost track of time, and stayed out way too late.

The number one reason I am excited for summer.......we can have late nights without me feeling bad for waking them up so early for school.

I have been blessed in so many ways.

I have an amazing husband who treats me so well.

I have an amazing Mom and was lucky to get an amazing Mother-in law too.

(but we can just drop that in-law part :)

They are great examples to me and help me know how to be a better person. 

I am Thankful for my family and I hope I can be the Mom they deserve.

I need to be more aware of them.

I need to spend more one on one time with them.

And I am gonna do it.

I want them to have a strong example of motherhood, of womanhood.

They are great kids, but I want to make sure they are the greatest!!!!!!

Saturday May 12

Oh man.....another jammed packed long full day :)

Today was garden day.

After doing our house work we headed outside.

The big girls and I worked hard to get the garden roads planted.

I really wish I got a picture of them working so hard.

It was a lot of fun.

Yes, they fought.....but they tried to stop after I asked them to......several times :)

I look forward to doing it with them year after year.....(lets home this garden grows so that they will be excited to do it year after year.)

*****

Our neighbors talked us into using the drip system that they use.

They even gave us the hose for it.

And we had a bunch of PVC pipe that we found laying around in the field when we moved here.....

So the whole thing cost us nothing :)

Nice.

I am excited about it all and REALLY hope things grow!

Here the boys are.....busy at work putting the drip system together.

*****

Later on in the evening, the Terry family came over for a little BBQ.

It was so much fun.

We haven't played with those Terry girls for a really long time!

 

I just cannot resist that little smile from Laela Boo :)

Super hero with his damsel in distress.

(Even if most the distress is caused by him.....)

Madi....stuck between being an adult and a little kid.

She is a good kid.

She was a BIG helper today with everything we had going on.

I just thought this shot was funny :)

*****

Here is part of the garden.

We still have to wait for the glue in the holes to dry....so we will check it out tomorrow.

Friday May 11

Today we did a lot of work to get the garden ready to plant.

And when the girls got home from school, we headed to the store to pick our seeds and plants.

We are all very excited.

Okay, maybe the boys aren't as excited as the girls are....but they are still excited :)

So we plan to do the planting tomorrow.

Could be a fun mothers day tradition for the girls and I each year :)

Here is a shot of what the backyard area is looking like.

You can kinda see the retaining wall at the back and all the new grass.

The area for my big garden, it is about 30x50ish.

I hope I can do a good job and grow some good food this summer :)

*****

The boys got a bit side- tracked when things got boring with the garden.

They snuck away to the shop to build themselves, *ahem*, I mean PORTER, a Thor hammer.

Port thinks it is pretty cool (so does dad :)

This is the best picture he would let me take.

Stinker.

*****

So, no answers for Ports room.

We had the water over on that side all day and there was no leak.

But the carpet was bad, and really stinky.

The water must have been seeping in for quite some time.

We had to throw the carpet away.

So for now, Port has rugs all over his room.

It works.

Thursday May 10

Porter was not a good boy today.

He was rotten.

I mean, he has his rotten times most every day....but today, it was almost the whole day.

I wonder if he isn't feeling well, cause it was really weird.

Lots of whining, and not listening, hitting, he even stuck his tounge out at me.

Not good.

There did seem to be a lot going on today.....lots of driving back and forth and such.

Maybe he wasn't getting the attention he felt he deserved.

Anyway.....

While the girls were at piano and guitar lessons today, Porter was playing with the couch cushions.

I figured that wasn't a big deal, at least he wasn't bugging or hurting Elsie.

Well, next thing I know he has grabbed the little vacuum and starts vacuuming under the cushions.

So I guess I can't say he was rotten all day, cause that was pretty cool.

I was proud of my boy.....

Now I have one area in the house that I know is nice and clean.

Oh, and I should say that after he stuck his tongue out I told him that it hurt my feelings and he started to sing me the song they are learning in primary,

'Mother I love you, Mother I do' (that's the only part he knows)

I need to video record it, cause it is super cute.

Dang kid does get out of trouble quick with those sweet eyes and cute smile, but when you add singing....oh man, I am puddy in his little hands :)

*****

When I went to get Porter out of bed this morning his room stunk like a really bad poopy diaper.

But no poopy diaper.

Then walking in to get him I noticed the carpet was wet.

Great.

We have been using the sprinkler to water the sod on that side of the house.....I guess somehow there is some water getting in.

But I cannot, for the life of me, see how any water could be getting in.

Anyway, I unloaded all the stuff in his room and put his bed frame up on it's side and hung the carpet on it, as much as I could.

Wet carpet is heavy....and stinky.

So it has been like that all day.

Guess Port is having a sleepover on my floor tonight.

So Porter didn't get a nap today....

I tried putting his to sleep in Cassi's room.

After about 20 minutes I heard a big thump and he had fallen on his nose.

He said he fell off the bed, but either he hit something on the way down, or jumped off something.

Anyway, so he didn't get a nap.

Later in the day I asked him to get his shoes on to come help me outside, he was running around being goofy, not listening to me, and umped over the armrest of the couch and hit his forehead on the wash basin/blanket holder.

So he got a nice little goose egg for that.

Silly kid, he just needs to do what I ask!!!

Anyway, Dad will figure out the water problem tomorrow.

So now I have a messy and stinky house.....guess I should go do something about the messy part :)