Reed has quite a few stuffed animals. His latest is a little puppy dog that Heidi so kindly gave to him while we were down in the valley (I'll have to figure out a way to thank you). Reed has lovingly named him Alvin(after the chipmunk). On the same trip, Blue got a stuffed kitty that he has named Simon(yes, after the chipmunk also). They have made beds for these little guys out of wet wipe containers.


Reed even mada a blanket for his puppy, you can see it in the above picture.
They were so proud of their creations and I thought it was pretty cute too, until I found out that the boxes used were not empty. Blue went ahead and threw away about half a box of wet wipes because he didn't know where else to put them and his kitty "needed" a bed. Some might say that I am depriving my children of a real pet, and that is okay. This is as close as we are gonna get to a pet, for now anyway.

first piano recital

Today was the first piano recital for our family. Even though I know how to play the piano, I never played in a recital when I was younger. Reed perfomed to perfection! He played Ode to Joy and Shepherd Count Your Sheep. He didn't act like he was nervous at all and then played his pieces without any mistakes! I was so proud of him. The whole family came to support him, which might have been a mistake. Beau had to be taken out of the room practically every other song because he was being too loud and Blue was sooo hungry(surprise, surprise). Towards the end, even Reed was whining wanting to know when it was going to be over. So maybe my kids are a little too young for piano recitals but I don't think we will be attending another recital for a while becuase Reed's teacher is moving to Utah this summer. So now I need to decide if I should teach him myself or if I should look for another teacher. I'm pretty sure it needs to be the latter. It is too easy for me to slack and not give a lesson on a consistent basis and let Reed slack in practicing when there is no accountability to someone else other than me.

kindergarten graduation

Reed has graduated from kindergarten! There was a small program yesterday but he still has a week left of school. He asked me this morning before going to school if he was going to first grade today since he graduated yesterday. I had to explain that he still was going to kindergarten for another week. I think we will be the last district anywhere to get out of school, I am sure it has to do with all of the snow days we had earlier this year. Reed also wanted to know if I had anything to give him that I bought from the store. Apparently a lot of his friends got graduation gifts(who knew even kindergarten graduation calls for gifts). Luckily, I keep a stash of birthday presents on hand. I just told him that I had left his gift at home. I sure dodged a bullet there! Reed had a fabulous year at school. His teacher, Mrs. Roberts was truly amazing.

I am just sad that she is retiring and Blue won't be able to have her as a teacher. It has been fun to watch Reed make new friends and learn how to read. He has learned so much and we are so proud!

b-o-l-o-g-n-a

Since Easter I have bought a spiral ham almost once a week. Blue is quite the porker(no pun intended) when it comes to ham. He will eat it for breakfast, lunch, and snack in between breakfast and lunch. He LOVES it. The last time I went to the grocery store, I thought I would try something new instead of a spiral ham since they are not as cheap and as easy to come by now that Easter is over. I bought a package of bologna. I wasn't sure if my boys would go for it or not, but we gave it a whirl and what do you know?! He likes it, he likes it. In fact, all three of my boys like it. Blue likes it so much that last night or rather this morning at 3:am we woke up because Blue was crying in bed. Colby went to go check on him and Blue told him that he was hungry and needed a piece of bologna. So Colby went downstairs and got him one. After eating about half of it, Blue handed the rest to Colby and rolled over and went back to sleep. That is a true addiction, if ever I have seen one.

arrghh!

On Sunday I got a new calling, actually I got two new callings but wasn't released from my old calling. So I am now Activity day leader(old one), Primary secretary, and ASSISTANT CAMP DIRECTOR! I am so excited! This is why I haven't posted in awhile. I usually try to keep most of my posts about my boys (because who wants to hear about me, right?) but I couldn't tell you what they have been doing for the last four days. I have been completely consumed by my callings. But that is a good thing! The theme for girls camp is S.A.I.L. (sisters anchored in the Lord)- a pirate theme! How fun is that?! I have had so much fun working on this. I am actually glad that I got two callings, because when I come off my high of girls camp I can turn to my primary calling and ignore my house and my kids for another week!

video games

What do you do when it looks like this outside in the month of May?

Play video games and watch tv. For the past two days since it has been snowing/raining have been playing video games. They first started with Guitar Hero, but it wasn't with a Wii. They made their own guitars out of paper and rocked out!

Once they conquered Guitar Hero, they moved on to another "video game". This one was a combination of Mario, Lego Star Wars, and Alvin and The Chipmunks(their latest obsession). Each room of the house represented a level and they had power cards, I'm not real sure what those are but they kept saying it a lot. They even "paused" their game when it was time to eat lunch.

I'm not real sure what level of the game Beau was on in this picture, but it looks intense. These are the type of video games any mother would approve of. Their imagination never ceases to amaze me. After playing video games, they watched tv. But not before they built an fort out of our air mattresses.

first Kartchner Caverns, now this?

Had my grandpa’s family not sold their ranch in southeastern Arizona, Karchner Caverns would be called Busby Caverns. Then I learned this week that Cibola National Wildlife Refuge sits on my grandpa Arnett’s old farm. Just my luck! No rich land inheritance for me. Maybe it has something to do with the syndrome that all of us Arnett’s carry, we just aren’t ready to have that type of success and wealth. After visiting the Cibola Wildlife Refuge, previously the farm of my grandpa Arnett and the livelihood of my dad as a youth, I am filled with awe, sorrow, pride, compassion. I know, how can you be filled with so many different feelings at once? Well, when you know the whole story, how can you NOT be stirred with so many different emotions?
How does one man, with the help of his teenage sons clear 2500 acres of salt cedars for farming and ranching, then dig a canal 7 miles long from the Colorado River to irrigate with? It fills me with awe.
What could be worse than watching two of your brothers go down in a plane crash, then having to pull them from the wreckage before it burst into flames? Imagine the sorrow my grandpa was feeling when he had to do this.
Why did he sign over the farm, the only life he knew and the only life he taught his sons to know, to the bank? Grandpa Arnett was thinking of two widows and eighteen children (those of his two brothers) left behind. I am so proud to come from such a great heritage. Grandpa Arnett was a man of honor, more Christ like than anyone I know; to give up his life/livelihood for those he loved.
Why did my family always have to have cows in our backyard? Why did my dad try to grow colored cotton or corn in the ENTIRE backyard? Why does my dad try to help everyone he meets, when I sometime feel like he couldn’t/shouldn’t give any more? Like father like son. My dad was raised that way. Now I can understand and appreciate all of it.
Now that you have read a book, go ahead and check out the pictures Chea took of our trip. We all know I hardly even pulled out my camera with her around. The pictures are amazing and her story isn’t too bad either:)

this one's for you, Heidi

Well, I didn't buy it for you. But the post is for you, basically so you can covet my new, actually vintage, hot pink samsonite I purchased for $3. It is in great condition and still has the divider with pockets inside. Aren't you jealous?

going bananas

So what do you do the day after a long trip? You SHOULD clean out your car, wash load after load of laundry, try to get back into your daily routine. NO, I decided to bake. I made some delicious banana cupcakes I found from Martha. This recipe is going to replace my banana bread recipe that I make when I have those close-to-rotting bananas sitting on my counter.

My boys actually ate these. And they won't touch banana bread!

Makes 12
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour (spooned and leveled)
3/4 cup sugar
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, melted
1 1/2 cups mashed bananas (about 4 ripe bananas), plus 1 whole banana, for garnish (optional)
2 large eggs
1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
Directions
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line a standard 12-cup muffin pan with paper liners. In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, and salt.
Make a well in center of flour mixture. In well, mix together butter, mashed bananas, eggs, and vanilla. Stir to incorporate flour mixture (do not overmix). Dividing evenly, spoon batter into muffin cups. Bake until a toothpick inserted in center of a cupcake comes out clean, 25 to 30 minutes. Remove cupcakes from pan; cool completely on a wire rack. Spread tops with honey cinnamon frosting (see below). Just before serving, peel and slice banana into rounds, and place one on each cupcake, if desired.
Frosting Ingredients
1 1/4 cup confectioners' sugar
1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, room temperature
1 tablespoon honey
1/8 teaspoon ground cinnamon
Directions
In a medium bowl, using an electric mixer, beat confectioners' sugar, unsalted butter, honey, and ground cinnamon until smooth, 4 to 5 minutes

the ramp

For the past month, Blue has been combing his own hair. He likes to call it "the ramp". He achieves this by running a wet comb(has to be wet, dripping with water) through his hair 10+ times (at least).

As you can see in the picture it requires intent concentration. Not just anyone is allowed to comb his hair. Most of the time, he won't let me help him. But on those rare occasions when he will, he walks me through step by step: Mom, you need to use the comb one more time. I say, How that? He replies, Maybe just ONE more time. This can go on for awhile, but he knows that precise moment of perfection. STOP! he yells.




The end result is very fitting for his personality.

no joke

We woke up this morning to this:



I couldn't believe it either. There was enough snow to have late start at school. For as much as I dislike being cold and I am ready for warm weather, I have to admit, this is pretty cool!

our upcoming summer schedule:

Jump on the trampoline, and then jump on the trampoline some more. Colby set up our trampoline that has been in storage for over a year. The boys have only gotten off of it to eat and sleep since it has been put up. The minute we got home from our family outing yesterday, they played on it till dark (they even ate their dinner on it). Today, they were jumping before I even came downstairs. Then before church, I caught them out their with their Sunday clothes on. I'm not complaining, in fact, I'm thrilled! They can get on and off by themselves, Beau included and we haven't had any major upsets yet. I have noticed, though, that they bring in that wet dog smell a little more than usual...

but boys will be boys, right?

International Petrified Forest

More like petrified desert. Who are they kidding? This was no forest, I should have known better when this national park shares boundaries with the Painted Desert. Anyway, yesterday we spent some quality family time together. We visited the International Petrified Forest. I was hoping the farther we drove into the park we would find this hidden area of trees, juniper pine or manzanita, anything! But instead we saw a whole lot of nothing. The boys didn't seem to mind, though. We took a short, very short, stroll around some of the petrified rocks. Beau had to be in front the whole time. Blue decided then and there that he "needed" ice cream and wouldn't stop reminding us, even when we were in the car on our way to get some of that needed ice cream. Reed was like a mother hen, telling Blue and Beau when to slow down and where to be careful to not get to close to the edge. The highlight of the trip was definitely Dairy Queen. The boys each got their very own blisters (as Reed calls blizzards). Beau's very own was supposed to be mine and I was gonna share with him, but he didn't want to share. They were in hog heaven and pretty much ate like hogs too. Not only did they pretty much polish off their blizzards but ate Colby's chicken strips and french fries also. Like father like sons, for sure. Reminds me of the story Colby tells when his dad bought all of his brothers (3 at the time) hamburgers at Burger King and bought a whopper for himself. Colby was probably five years old and refused to eat his hamburger because he wanted his dad's whopper. His dad finally gave in, thinking he would let Colby eat as much as he could and then his dad would eat the rest. Well, Colby wolfed down that whopper, much to his dad's surprise and dismay!

movin' on up

We set up the toddler bed in hopes of getting Beau to sleep in the other boys' room. The toddler bed was a thrift store find and all the boys love it! Of course, who wouldn't love a bed that looks like a fire engine? Since Beau had never seen the bed before he was so excited to PLAY in it.

But when it came time to SLEEP in it, he wasn't so sure. I tried to get him to take a nap several times in it, but no luck. Finally he fell asleep about 4 hours later than his normal nap time. He really enjoys his new found freedom of getting in and out of bed by himself and playing in the boys' room with the door closed. Every time I checked on him he had a different set of shoes on. I guess he finally decided on a flip flop and Reed's sunday shoe.

He also has easy access to his pacifiers now. They are kept in his bed when he is awake and is only aloud to have them when he's going to sleep. When he slept in the crib, he could never reach far enough to get them during the day. Now I have caught him several times walking around with two of them in his mouth.

I guess I'm gonna have to find a different place to keep them during the day. Last night he slept through the night no problems. Let's hope this is the beginning of many good nights to come.

spider

Spider

has red eyes,

green back,

with a spinner

flexible as paper.

Reed wrote this poem and took second place in the county poetry contest in his age group. Tonight he read it in front of 200+ people at a recognition evening. I am so proud of him! Because Amber so willingly watched Blue and Beau, Reed and I made a date of the evening (Colby was out of town). Highlights of our date:

• 
  
  Eating dinner at Coco's and playing every game/crossword on the kids menu with Reed uninterrupted by other kiddos.


• 
  
  Reed was presented with a $20 gift card to hastings. Since it was just us two, we stopped on our way home. Reed thought he was so cool with his very own "credit card".


• 
  
  Reed bought Shark Boy and Lava Girl, the dvd. Then decided he needed to get Blue and Beau something also. I'm tellin' ya, Reed is the sweetest kid. At six years old, who thinks of bringing home something for their brothers?


• 
  
  Reed told me that this was the greatest night of his life. I'm sure he meant because we went out to eat and he got a gift card, but I can at least pretend it was because he spent it with me, right?

birthday gifts

For my birthday, which was yesterday, my boys gave me an i-pod. I think they were more excited about it than I was. They wanted to make sure that I had all the Star Wars songs on there and I can't begin to describe their excitement when they found out I had games on my i-pod. I guess that is how most people are when it comes to gift giving. You know, you give something that you are into, not necessarily what the receiver is into. Don't get me wrong about the i-pod, because I am excited and now that I have it I didn't realize how much I had been wanting one lately. Anyway, this discussion brings me to my next point, my birthday present from Colby. He told me UPS was to deliver it today. I was racking my brain trying to guess what he possibly could have ordered for me. I put myself in his shoes, and I came up with... a new hunting bow. Not that I wouldn't just love a hunting bow, because I would. But when UPS delivered a box that was quite clearly too small to hold a bow, my heart skipped a beat. It was a new lens for my camera! I was shocked! I was shocked, first, because Colby had planned ahead and called Chea to ask her which lens would be best for me. And my second shock was that Colby took Chea's advice to heart and bought the exact lens she suggested. Thank you Chea and thank you Colby! I love it!

peanut butter blossoms

Yesterday I felt daring and thought I would make cookies with the boys. After 20 minutes of deciding what kind to make, we finally decided on peanut butter blossoms. All three of them had to be as close as they possibly could to the mixer or "it wasn't fair" (their words, not mine). We alternated putting the ingredients in the bowl. It called for 1 cup of white sugar and 1 cup of brown sugar. I gave Reed a 1/3 cup and he scooped in 3 scoops. I gave Blue a 1/4 cup and he packed in 4 scoops. Immediately, Reed informed me that it wasn't fair because Blue got to put in four scoops and he only put in three. So the scrutiny continued. Beau wasn't too concerned as long as he had flour in his measuring cup, which he would pour back and forth from one cup to another until it was no longer in the cups but all over the floor. Finally the dough was ready. The boys thought we were only making one cookie sheet and the rest of the dough was for them to eat. They literally started shoving scoopfuls into their mouths. Now if this was chocolate chip cookie dough, I could understand the need to inhale the rest of the dough, but peanut butter dough doesn't do that for me. Anyway, I convinced them to fill a couple more cookie sheets. But I have to say their favorite part was unwrapping the Hershey kisses to go on top, especially Beau. He tried to unwrap as many kisses as he could and get them all into his mouth before I noticed. Luckily, he only had two in his mouth and was working on the third wrapper when I caught him. All in all, the cookies were a success and killed about two hours of the day. Yes, I was counting down since Colby was out of town.