Random Fun From May

I came home from running a few errands to find Jared mowing the lawn and Brandon cruising the neighborhood like this, it made me laugh.  What a cool looking kid. :)

 I am so grateful Brandon and Grant a such good buddies I hope they always will be.  Are they adorable or what!!  (adoorabull, can't write that word without thinking of you, mom, and the good laugh you had at my expense when I spelled it like that. :))

 We had a getting to know you tea party with all of my Mia Maids.  It was so fun.  I wish we had tea parties far more often.  I loved that a few of the girls of their own accord dressed up in formal attire.  I love these girls they are so fun, so polite, helpful, and kind to each other and to me.  We had a fun night talking to each other, sharing stories from our past, and getting to know each other even better.

 Grant is my little athlete.  He LOVES sports.  Today he was practicing dribbling a basketball.  I am impressed with his natural athletic abilities, but I am even more impressed that at two years old he is willing to practice dribbling a ball over and over and over again.  I hope this determined trait that he is showing stays with him.  I also find it funny that he likes to wear a baseball cap, even if it is his dads and it is way too big. :)

 LOVE, LOVE, LOVE, LOVE, LOVE, LOVE these boys, how is it possible to love so much?  They just make me so very happy!

 How Brandon convinced Grant and McKell to get locked in the dog kennels is beyond me, but they were sure happy to be there.  Even after I let them out McKell stayed in.  I remember doing the same thing as a child, climbing in Sadies gross dog house, I loved it.  Why do we do it?  Weird. :)

 I pulled out our makeshift sand box a few days ago and the boys were thrilled!  It was such a beautiful and pleasant morning with the boys playing happily and even peacefully, while the birds were singing in full force and I was able to get a lot of yard work done.  What made the day even better was when our friends Karen, Nicole and Daemon showed up to play and then Dana and McKell joined us, and pretty soon Melanie stopped by on her bike ride, and then Bethany stopped by after dropping Abigail off at school.  All of a sudden we had a good group of mothers and children enjoying each others company and then it was late in the afternoon and we were left wondering how so much time could have gone by.  Time flies when you are having fun, and we were!

 Grant is amazing me with his ability to pedal his trike, and he is even learning to pedal this tractor which weighs nearly 50 pounds, it is solid metal, not an easy thing to get around in.  But he is actually pretty good at it, if the trailer is not attached.  Unfortunately he really wants the trailer to be attached.  So imagine his joy when his buddy (idol) John came and sat in the trailer and pushed from the back with his feet.  Grant was one happy camper!  It is pretty funny at our house in the morning when we look out the window and see the Brosnahans outside.  Brandon shouts for McKell, Grant shouts for John (don) and I shout for Dana, okay I don't actually shout, but I do get excited.  We love our friends and neighbors!

On the Sunday of Memorial day weekend we got a new bishopric. Bishop Brosnahan, Brother Hoker and Brother Baird. They are all great men and will be wonderful leaders for our ward, but that did not stop me from weeping when they were called and I thought about the changes and burdens they and their families would experience, particularly the Brosnahans, both because he is the Bishop and because I am so close to their family. I am always amazed when leadership changes occur in the church and how smoothly the transition happens, how the presence of the spirit is so strong and the manner in which the ward as a whole continues serving faithfully and maintains order where chaos would otherwise prevail. It is a testimony to me of the truthfulness of the gospel and the wisdom of our Heavenly Father in organizing His church in such a way. It is also a testimony to me of the priesthood. So grateful for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.

I love the month of May, it helps that my anniversary, birthday and mother's day are all in the same month, and then we get Memorial day thrown in.  Every weekend has something fun to offer.  But I really love that the sun is out, the days are warm, but not hot, the birds are active welcoming each new day, things begin to turn green and people come out of hibernation.  Happiness all around!

I am also thrilled beyond explanation that "Gatherings" are becoming a tradition in our neighborhood.  After my birthday gathering, they seem to be happening each Sunday.  Yesterday was the most unusual and fun gathering I have ever been too.  It began with just us and a few of the Brosnahans, we began talking and realised at nearly 7:30 that neither of our families had eaten dinner and we still had a roast in the oven which had been cooking for nearly 13 hours.  So Jared went in to fix up the roast, gravy and veggies while Dana went home to fix the potatoes (from scratch, yum) and the dessert.  I joked about eating in the front yard where we were already set up with chairs and just use tv trays, but that was too much for Jared, so we went in the back yard and pretty soon one by one the Winns, Dettmans, Hokers and Egberts as well as a few extra kids joined us.  Some ate dinner, some ate dessert, but we all sat around a lovely Sunday roast dinner in the back yard well into the late hours of the night.  When we went to bed I had a smile on my face from the wonderful/entertaining evening.  Why oh why must our house be so small, why can't it just grow right along with us, then we would never have to move from so many dear friends!