Easter IS in May, and don't tell me it isn't!

We had a really fun Easter this year. With all of the egg hunts, the spilling of green coloring all over my counter, and Daddy at the Dunes on official business, it was a super good time! Keira has a fun time with her first Easter. She even got a cute new Easter dress. We had one hunt at Grandma Gail's house....

And one at the Retirement home in Nephi....

And then there were all of the goodies that the Easter Bunny brought.

A few days after Easter, I gave Keira a basket full of empty plastic eggs to play with while I put on my makeup. She started crying, and this is what I found! She was so mad at that basket!

Catch up!

It's time! Time to play catch up. I have a list in front of me of things I need to add, so here it goes!

First is basketball. Branden and Jace both got to play basketball this year. It started in January, but I'm a little slow! They both did really well. Jace is not as tall and strong as Branden, but by the end of the season, he was making shots all over the place! I am not so smart, and forgot my camera (yes, at every game) so these are the only ones I have, thanks to Andrea!

Looks like Jace is going in for a Layup!

Branden pausing to pose for the camera!

Next was Jace's 7th birthday. I am not OK with this whole getting older thing. Seriously, whose idea was that anyway? JERK! Honestly, I can't believe that my perfect little Kerman in 7. He is all independent and opinionated now. Where did that come from? Not from me! (he, he, he!)

We are really lucky, and were able to get a bouncy castle for his party. He decided to have a boys only party, and invited all of his best friends. We played in the bounce house, then opened presents and had cake and ice cream. I don't get it. I decorate cakes, yet my kids all just want a chocolate cake with chocolate frosting. BORING! (but delicious!)

What a goof ball this kid is, I just love him so much!

As you can see, he got all sorts of fun stuff, including an air soft rifle and pistol from mom and dad (lucky ducky). He spends all sorts of time "shooting humming birds". Don't worry, I've watched him shoot! No humming birds have actually been hurt as a result of this birthday present! Funny kid!

My crazy life!

I really just hate May! My birthday sucks, Mother's Day just makes me sad, and to top it all off, I had a really weird wedding cake to make along with baseball games (2 games twice a week for kids, and 2 games once a week for husband) and the end of the school year (trunky kids, and mom) and a teething baby. What an awesome life you say, ummm not so much! I have been thinking that I would catch up on my blogging eventually, but I am going to have to go out of order for just a moment. I need to talk about my little man. It is so wrong that I would have to live in a world without him for 2 whole years. What is this supposed to teach me? That life's a Bitch and I should just deal? Common, honestly? How am I supposed to deal with this? My kids are my life, and without him, life's not right. I spend allot of my time worrying that we're going to forget him. I can't remember his smell, I can't remember what it felt like to hold him, I can barely remember his voice. It's just not right. I can't wait till I can come face to face with the Lord, there better be a good explanation. I really want to believe that it isn't just some joke or punishment. I wish that I could just go on blind faith here, but for being such a loving Father, he sure has left me feeling high and dry. I realize that I have many other blessings, such as my other kids, a home, a husband, the priesthood, even the jobs that my husband has. The absolute and utter despair I feel at the loss of Gabriel drowns those things out. What a downer I am, huh? Welcome to my life! Bottom line? I don't think I will ever enjoy May again.

P.S. The first few songs on my player are my Gabie songs, if you are interested.

Graduation

I have to start this post by telling everyone how proud I am of my husband. The thought of going back to school scares me, and he did it with very little complaint and really good grades! Yup, my husband is a big graduate. He is now officially a corrections officer. 10 weeks of hard work (mentally and physically) paid off! We started off the day with a spouse class. This is what I saw when I walked in. It was an hour of statistics of the probability of law enforcement officers to abuse substances, be abusive, have depression, commit adultery, and commit suicide. They want the families to be aware of any warning signs so that these things can be helped or avoided. Then they had the ceremony. Our County Sheriff (Ryan's boss) spoke, and one of his classmates also spoke. They were supposed to be sworn in, but the guy leading it must have decided that they shouldn't have to repeat the whole thing. Kind of weird! Oh well! The bottom line is, he is a Graduate! Good job Ryan, we love you and are so proud!

AAARRGGGGHHH!!!!!

I am so far behind on this thing, I am not quite sure where to start! I think that cronologically, I should start with oil painting class. There was a grant that was received in our county for some arts classes. The first one was an oil painting class. I am not artistic, but Jace has always loved "drawling" so I really thought that he would love it. Branden, Jace, Jarom (one of the neighbor kids) and I went to the class. I was hoping to paint myself, but had to take Keira with me because Ryan was still at school, so my painting skills will just have to wait dormant till I have enough time and money to discover them. So, here I am with 3 painters and a grumpy baby. I was trying to help relay the instructions (the teacher went much too fast for the little ones), mix paints for all of them, and explain how to use the brushes. By the time we had finished one step, the teacher was 4 steps ahead of us! It was pretty overwhelming! Jace started to notice that we were behind and that his picture didn't look like anyone else's. Not so good for him! He started saying that he was no good at painting, and that his picture didn't look anything like it was supposed to look. I was trying really hard to encourage him, and keep up with the teacher. I told him that every painter will do things different, and that his wasn't supposed to look exactly like everyone elses. At this point, the teacher starts walking around the room to "help" people. She looks at Jace's painting and tells him that he's doing it wrong, and that the gray color we were using was supposed to go around the sun, not on it. That was the end of Jace's artistic career. He won't even sketch anymore. I am so upset! He used to draw me pictures all of the time, now... nothing. He tells me that he is no good at art. I have continued to encourage him to try again, but he wouldn't even go to the art basics class with me a few weeks later. Here are the boys' paintings. I am really proud of them! The first one is Jace's. At this point, he had grandma come and pick him up.

Branden's finished picture. I think he did awsome!

Creative Arts

Branden and Jace both entered the creative arts contest in school this year. In my day it was called the "Reflections" contest. They came up with their idea's and did them almost entirely by themselves (I helped with things like spray paint and hot glue). I am so proud of them. They both did an awesome job. Jace got a participation ribbon, and Branden won 2nd place for his grade and category. He was so excited!

Here is Jace's ultra cool art work. He used my star punch, but the rest was done by tracing circles and cutting them out.

And this is Branden's paper mache' globe. I tried to talk him into trying to make the continents look like the real ones, but it was a no-go. I still think that he did a wonderful job

Here are Branden and his friend Jarom receiving their awards. I am pretty sure that it is the coolest trophy ever! At least that is what Branden thinks! Good job boys! We love you so much! Oh, and for all of you who are thinking, "I haven't paper mache'd in a long time, that sounds like fun" No, it isn't! Just a friendly warning!

Picture princess

My cousin had this on her blog, and I thought it would be fun. Shabby Apple is having a "Picture Princess" contest. I may be a little biased, but I am pretty sure that Keira is the cutest baby girl ever! Keira has brought a light into our home that is unexplainable. Her beautiful blue eyes and gorgeous eyelashes are so perfect. She has the cutest dimples which help to emphasize those chubby cheeks! I love the way that her face lights up when her brothers come into the room, and the adoring way she looks at her daddy. She has a way of grabbing the attention of everyone she sees. There is no mistaking her "Princess" status in our family. We love her so much! The little girls and little girls dresses from Shabby Baby are so cute, I love this one.http://www.shabbyapple.com/p-84-queen-of-hearts.aspx I think it would look so perfect on Keira! I am sure that Keira will always be a picture princess!