Mother's Day...

We just had an amazing day today that I count as one of the best, if not THE best Mother's Day ever!

First we had a great breakfast and had a nice laid back morning. Put the little ones down for an early quick-nap and then got up and got ready for the rest of our day.

We went to a Pow-Wow here in Cheney. Here's a similar video clip of what is was like today http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3s9z3IOpH1g It was so neat! We didn't stay for the entire thing as it went from 11am to 11pm, but we were there for nearly two hours watching the dress, dancing and listening to the live music. Even little ones as young as three were dressed up and danced. http://www.ur.umich.edu/0708/Apr14_08/img/080414_PowWow-08(011).jpg The girls brought some of their savings with them and bought beautiful silver necklaces with matching bracelets, each with a different horse medallion. We walked there and back as it was on campus, so the whole thing was almost three hours of our day.

We came home, regrouped and then went out to dinner. There's an excellent Mexican restaurant here in town that I just love, so we went there and split a large meal together; complete with shirley temples, a virgin strawberry margarita and carmel flan. YUM!!

Then on the way home we decided to go on another 'adventure'. That's what we call them, when we spontaneously make a turn down a road we haven't been down before. We passed amazing countryside, horses and ranches. We found a lake with playground, fishing, swimming and a nice bike trail that loops around and back to Cheney! What a find!! We're so excited to go back there this summer with our bikes and fishing poles!

We just got home and the sun has just set on the most perfect Mother's Day for me. A day that I throw everything else out the window and just enjoy my number one desire in life---to play with and love my kids for an entire day! We made such great memories today and perhaps even have started a new tradition for Mother's Day....

May each and every one of you mothers out there experience the sweet joy and peace of motherhood this weekend!

We love and miss you all---and are always aware and ever grateful for the endless support that has strengthened and fortified our family to be where we are today...take comfort in knowing you have empowered us to enjoy such a day as today...

Tasha - Grace - June - Peter

Better late than never....?

Well, I need to find a new way to keep up on this blog thing. Facebook has become SO fast and easy!! But I do have some family who do not have FB, so I need to repent.

There. Done. ;0)

Too bad it's not always that quick and easy, huh!?

So the short of it is, we're in spring semester with a new schedule and are doing well. Here's a few new pics---most are on FB, but I'll post them here too.

Hope all is well with all of you! xoxo

Tasha

School...

After this last week and two meltdowns, I became absolutely certain that there is no possible way that we could ever, EVER do what we're doing without the Lord, His Gospel and the Church (aka our ward). Well, and of course, our family and friends...and financial aide, oh and food stamps! AND...

You get the point...

I have 19 credits again this quarter, including my institute class. Spring will be my last huge semester like that with about 18 credits and then it should taper down a bit---ya know like 15-16. =0) I'm still shocked to realize that I'm a full time college student and that I will be for the next 3 years. It blows my mind. Maybe by the time I finish my BSW I'll be used to it.

Life is still A-MAZING for us. We are so happy, so blessed and so grateful.

So just a couple quick quirks that my children are so good at coming up with. Peter, bless his darling heart, LOVES to find various real and pretend phones and talk on them. However, he has trouble connecting the phone to his ear so he can listen. He simply dials the number and then reaches over his big noggin and lines the phone up against the back of his neck---SO FUNNY---he just chats away. It looks like he's trying to scratch his back with the phone!

Grace came up to me frantically tonight saying over and over..."Mama, I forgot! I forgot!" and gesturing dramatically with her hands, but being very serious at the same time. "What did you forget, Grace?" and then she explains very calmly, "Mama, I forgot my cookie." Of course! What cookie would that be Grace, since we don't have any----you silly sneaky sweetheart! We then discussed the difference between "wanting" and "forgetting". SO CUTE!

June has decided that it is no longer enough to simply tell Peter to not touch the TV buttons, or to simply fix the station or repush the power button or turn down the volume. She has introduced Peter to her backside. She watches for Peter to come into the living room, then as she says "no, no, no, no, no---" she runs over to him and stands between him and the TV. Peter, being the conniving young man that he desperately attempts to be, laughs hysterically and thinks June's invented a brilliant new game. Poor Peter, just pushes with his huge noggin against June's back, as her full attention is locked in tunnel vision and completely unresponsive to Peter's infectious collapsing giggles. It's SO funny to watch both of them.

Anyway---there's a few fun tid bits of the tator tots in Cheney. Love to all...