Make your own pizza fun!

My kids love making thier own pizzas. It is a great activity for them. Plus, my kids aren't the best eaters. I've found that if they help make something, they will eat it a lot better.

Carnival time!

We took the kids to an annual carnival Friday night. They had a lot of fun.

As a background story...Carson has been asking for a helicopter ride for 2 months. It was the first thing Carson asked Ned when he got home. Being the crazy people we are...we actually entertained the idea of taking him on a helicopter tour or something. Then the $300/person price tag made us reconsider. Carson is just in love with helicopters. So he was beside himself when we saw this ride. He got to go high up in the air and was so happy. What a relief that a 2 dollar ride was good enough!

Ned took Carson down this huge slide on a potato sack. Carson is definitely an adventurous soul. He had a great time. Tatum and I watched, both grateful that we didn't have to do it!

A day at the ball feild

Yesterday I took the kids to a little leage baseball game. Our friend, Marcus was playing and it was great to let the kids play for THREE HOURS at the park while Amy and I chatted. Also, Marcus played a great game! It was really fun to watch. Here are some cute pics from the afternoon.

I heart flowers!

I was surprised on Thursday with a delivery of flowers from my dear friend, Sheree. It was so thoughtful of her, I still can't believe it. I absolutely love flowers. They are my favorite and I especially love lots of greenery. Thanks, Sheree. Your sweet gesture didn't go unappreciated!

Something to consider...

I've been meaning to share this quote for two months and keep forgetting! I think of it almost everyday for some reason.


We ask for strength and God gives us difficulties which make us strong.
We pray for wisdom and God sends us problems, the solution of which develops wisdom.
We plead for prosperity and God gives us brains and brawn to work.
We plead for courage and God gives us dangers to overcome.
We ask for favors and God gives us opportunities.


What will you do with today?

Easter weekend...

Saturday we had to drive to Renton to pick up our plates from our Mini Van we bought a month ago. Anyway, it was two hours away and while we were there we decided to take the kids to the Rainforest Cafe. It was a blast. The kids had a great time!! I am really sad that I didn't bring our camera. We got great seats right by the waterfall and it was so nice to have the kids entertained during a dinner out!

Ok, don't laugh. This was my first attempt at a buttercream cake. Wow, kind of scary I know. I wanted to do a special Easter cake this year. But I have felt so bad lately that I can't let the kids help with my fondant cakes. So we tried doing this bunny cake so the kids could help me. Carson did a lot of the coconut around the sides and Tatum helped me do the piping on the bunny. I did make the Easter eggs out of some leftover fondant. I'm sorry...but doesn't fondant just look so much nicer? It's so much easier to work with. It just doesn't taste very good. Oh well.

Decorating some eggs!

There were a lot of tears Easter morning from Tatum. I think she had just gotten to sleep way too late the night before. She woke up at 6 AM and decided to conduct her own, private egg hunt. She burst into our room with her basket and eggs and was really sad when we re-hid them again so Carson could have a turn, too!

I decided not to get Tatum and Easter outfit this year. She has a lot of dresses already and just didn't need one. But she still wore a pretty dress to church! I did get Carson an outfit because he really needed one.

My cute kiddies! Lately whenever I have tried to take a picture of the kids together, Tatum kind of grabs hold of Carson in a headlock...but I think it's still a cute picture.

We ended the day with a nice Easter dinner. I just LOVE getting the china out and making big meals for lots of people. We were lucky enough to have our friends Amy and Dianna over along with thier children. We miss you Paul and Dave!

A couple of cakes...

While in Utah, Ned's Cousin and his daughter came for a visit. It was Emma's 12th birthday so I wanted to test out some new cake pans I got in Utah. They are Paisely shaped and I love them! So I did a quick birthday cake for her.

This is a baby shower cake I did for my friend, Sara. Her shower was Monday morning and it was a great event. I barely made it home from utah...like with 4 hours to spare...but we made it and I hope she loved her cake. I actually added some pink polka dots to the top layer but this picture was all I had of the cake. I am really trying to start doing cakes for birthdays and special events. My goal isn't to make a million dollars, but I would like to start doing it more often. Don't be shy about asking me if you need a cake for a special event!!

Our trip to Utah

We returned on Monday from an 10 day trip to Utah. It's always good to see family again and it was nice to get off the Island and be somewhere with actual restaraunts and shopping. I was really disspointed because while we were there, Carson and Tatum decided to get sick. This always happens when we go on a trip. Carson for several days had a fecer of over 101 and had a double ear infection with some inflamed tonsils. Ned, and I also had terrible colds and Tatum had a bad cough as well. For this reason, we could not see many friends that we had wanted to visit. If we weren't able to visit you in Utah ( Patty...Aimee...) I am sorry and I hope to be back sooner than later so we can try again. The only thing worse than a sick kid is getting everyone else sick because of it and we didn't want to spread our germs around the Valley. I didn't take too many pictures, but on the few days we went out, I got a couple of good ones.

Tatum and Carson with Amy's kids...Ben, McKenzie and Sarah's son Kristopher is by Carson and Ben.

Ned and I did manage to get out for a fun double date with Amy and Scott to Benihana's. It was a lot of fun. Don't eat the salad dressing, though. NOT TASTY!!

On our way for a fun ride on Trax.

Can you see the pregnant belly underneath my coat? I tried hiding it.

Tatum at the Salt Lake Temple.

Carson at the Salt Lake Temple.

Our little family at Temple Square.

Plus tuckered from the train ride!

Tatum with "GG". (Great-Grandma)

Grandma James, Carson, Tatum and GG.

The guys with Grandpa James.