Shhh!

Sam and I are big-time readers. And it's no surprise that books can be found everywhere in our home. For me, there is no happier surprise than stumbling upon one of our kids sitting quietly with an open book.

"Eat me!", said the Marshmellow Man

There is no way our kids would let us get away with a Family Home Evening that didn't conclude with refreshments. So of course, being unprepared and bone-tried, I took a look in the pantry and seized a bag of marshmallows and some toothpicks.

Our imaginations took over and to mom's delight the kids deemed the refreshments a hit!

Spring Cleaning...And the Day I Cried.

I am a big, big baby.

But let me begin at, well, the beginning.

I come from a long line of pack-rats. My mother's favorite thing to tell me and my sisters is that when she dies only we are allowed to look carefully through everything she has saved and divide everything between us fairly. We have already told her that when she dies we are throwing everything into the trash. Seriously, we're not being mean, we're being realistic. My mom keeps a lot of...NOTHING!

Anyway, I should actually thank my mom and grandma because if it wasn't for them I don't know that I would be so determined NOT to save every single scrap of paper, article of clothing, or odd and end that comes my way. And so when we found out that our last child would be a boy, I knew the time had come to part ways with all our storage bins filled with baby girl items.

The task seemed easy enough. Lug it in, open it, sort it, bag it, and heave it off the property. I have plenty of young sister-in-laws to pass things down to, so it was easy to see that all these items would go to a good home.

But when push came to shove, and I had un-earthed all the dainty dresses and teeny-tiny flower print onsies...

well,

I fell apart.

One by one my sweet husband, my girls, and my son stepped over piles of baby clothes to give me hugs and kisses.

They let me have my moment...

to remember...

Each of my daughters was kind enough to stand while holding a former piece of clothing they used to wear. Owen, not wanting to be left out, posed as well.

Iris couldn't stop exclaiming over the tiny hats, and wanted to wear the cap she came home in from the hospital! It still fit-sort of!

I am so grateful for memories, photos, journals, and for this blog.
I'm grateful for my children. When I look at them now, I can see the many days of yesterday, when they were so unbelievably small, and yet I can also see what I hope to be the many days of tomorrow, when they will be big, and mothers and fathers of their own families.

Being a mom is a blessing.
It sure does come with a lot of tears!
But I'm not complaining.

Why we love Home Depot!

So, yes, they take your money in exchange for items you MUST have to improve what you already own, or to build something you didn't have before. But a happy surprise came to the Elmer family during what was supposed to be a quick in-and-out Saturday errand for drainage pipe!

What was it?

A free Home Depot Kid's Clinic!

Within minutes the kids donned awesome Home Depot aprons and we were all intent on building pinewood derby thingies.

Note:
Yes, I've served in Scouts before. No, we moved before the official pinewood derby. And yes, I have a son, but Owen is 22 months and still way to young for Scouts. Hence, the "thingies" comment.

The kids had a blast, Sam got to re-live his boyhood, mom learned a thing or two (for instance this wood is really soft!), and when we walked out of the store we had our drainage pipe and a bunch of tracks and cars.

Not bad for Saturday errand!

Seussical the Musical!

On a recent trip to the Downtown Roseville Library we happened upon a library program to kick-off this year's poetry contest. They had members of the cast from "Seussical the Musical" and were giving out free tickets to the show. Isabella was a lucky winner, and on March 7th we headed out for a very special mother & daughter evening.

The musical was amazing!
My only regret was that we didn't take the whole family!

We ended the evening by making a quick stop in to Starbucks for some hot chocolate and a gourmet cupcake!

Then off to bed! It was almost 10:30pm and way past both our bedtimes!

I love you Isabella!
Thank you for a wonderful evening!

The Best Free Place on Earth!

Who can deny it?
The library rocks!

My Ninja Turtle

At my in-laws house Owen donned this Ninja Turtle mask and proceeded to karate chop in slow motion. It was really gentle, almost like Tai Chi! What I really like about this picture is his bracelet that's shining. Talk about bling-bling!

Pizza Night

On Sundays, since our ward meets from 1-4pm, I try to have something very simple and easy waiting for us at home. All the week prior I had been promising the kids homemade pizza, so finally, on Sunday, I managed to get the ingredients into my bread machine before we left for church, and presto! Delicious dough ready for sauce, cheese, and toppings. Everyone loves creating their own special pizza concoction, and of course, they all look, smell, and taste delicious.

Pizza Dough, 2 lbs. or 2 12" pies
1 1/2 c. warm water
2 T. olive oil
2 t. salt
4 1/4 c. all-purpose flour
2 t. sugar
2 t. yeast

Add all ingredients to your bread machine in the order listed. Select "dough-only" cycle and wait! When done, remove to a floured board and shape accordingly. Sprinkle cornmeal as desired. Bake at 400 degrees for approximately 18 minutes or until dough is a very light golden brown. Note: I don't like baking pizza dough on anything other than stoneware. It really does make a difference in the texture of the crust. If you don't have one, don't sweat it. It will still taste great!

100th Birthday!

On Saturday March 7th my great-grandmother celebrated her 100th birthday party in Los Angeles, California. My grandma went down for the occasion with much of the family, but suggested that we take a family photo as a gift.

The great-grandchildren:
Nick, Katelin, Kourtnee, Olivia (I'm the oldest!), Sophia, & Nicole.
Not pictured are: Devan, Julia, & Ricky.

The great-great grandchildren:
Ava Grace, Lola, Isabella, Iris, Owen, & Taylor.
Not pictured: Jacob.
Ricky and Julia, the oldest two, are also pictured but are great-grandchildren, not great-greats.

We love you Great-Grandma Lupe!

Happy Birthday!

Butterfly Kisses Father & Daughter Dance

On February 28th the girls were escorted by their father to a very special evening, entitled "Butterfly Kisses", at their elementary school. Isabella was thrilled, Ava a little reluctant-at first, and Dad was the complete gentlemen.

Mom's contributions were in the form of refreshments: Lemon Squares & Butterfly Cupcakes. When I took them in and got my first peek at the decorations I had to admit I was a little jealous! The PTC created a truly magical setting for this special event.

There was lot's of dancing and games, and by night's end they were all warm and flushed after all the excitement. It was definitely a night to remember.