Life is just better at the beach

Sunshine, nice breeze, happy kids, and not a care in the world!

Yesterday we spent the most perfect day at the beach. It was one of those days that you kinda want to last forever. It was just so relaxing!!!

Now this is Lake Erie we are talking about, in Cleveland, in May.... so yeah, the water was kinda freezing. (I mean it hasn't been that long since it was frozen solid) But don't worry cause my three little fishies didn't mind one bit. Ethan pretty much swam the entire time we were there. I thought Molly wouldn't like it because it was cold but actually loved it! Even Mitch thought it was great.

He loved how his feet would sink down in the wet sand and get stuck.

Mitch's favorite thing was the sand, of course. But surprisingly he didn't eat it. He was in heaven just picking it up and smashing it all over his chubby legs. The funniest part by far was watching him laugh hysterically as he destroyed every sand castle attempt.

I'm pretty sure this will be a weekly thing and all I can say is YAY for summer!!!

balloons

We went to the blossom festival this weekend to watch the balloons launch. It was too bad that the weather wasn't great so we couldn't see the balloons fly. But the kids had a blast just watching them blow-up.

School's out

Ethan had his last day of school this week and couldn't be more excited for summer. He had a really great teacher this year, Mrs. B, and he made so many good friends. I thought he would be a little sad about school ending, but he is just too excited for summer to be sad. And a few of his friends are on his t-ball team so we will get to see them all summer.

Here's Ethan cleaning the rock out of his shoes, during the game! The team's Biggest fan! He loves to shake the fence while saying "GO GO GO"
Molly Loves to help daddy mow the lawn. That is when it has stopped raining long enough that our yard isn't a swamp.

such a cutie

kids at the rain forest, after being drenched from the never ending rain

This little Monkey turned ONE

My happy baby is growing up! Yesterday was his birthday and it was so much fun. We had a little party for him and he loved all the attention, the balloons, the presents, the singing, and especially the cake. When we gave him his cake he was timid at first. He kept looking at me like I was going to take it away any minuet.

Mitch is seriously the happiest baby. He is always smiling. He is a momma's boy but loves his daddy too. He loves to play with the other kids, and doesn't like being left alone for too long. He is a little bit of a trouble maker and is always getting into stuff (as little boys do). He loves to wave! And he smiles and waves at everyone he sees, especially when we are at the store. He also loves being outside. He thinks it is so funny to watch Ethan ride his bike, and he likes to help molly color with(eat) chalk. He loves peek-a-boo. He hates getting his diaper changed. He loves crawling away from me half way through a diaper change to play peek-a-boo from under his crib. He loves bath-time and swimming. And for anyone that has been around him, you know how much he loves to eat!!! He is so sweet, and he brings so much happiness into our home.

sometimes it's funny when she is bossy.

i DON'T sew

If you know me then you know that I do not sew. That has always been my mothers job! Up until a few months ago I was actually terrified of sewing machines. I never learned how to use one, and despite everyone always making it sound like it's "So Easy," I have always been to afraid to try it out. So anyways last year my mom got me a machine for Christmas and I finally got around to taking it out of the box and figuring it out.......

And I made this Monkey!

I think he turned out so cute and I can't wait to give it to Mitch for his Birthday next week.
I got the pattern online and even altered it to make it boy! Impressive right? Seriously not to brag, but I'm pretty excited that I made this and proud of my newly learned skill. I kinda feel like I can make anything now :) haha

This monkey really was so easy to make and it was a lot of fun. Only problem is that now my "craft-to-do list" is gonna get a lot longer.

Soccer girl

Molly had her first ever soccer game on Sat and to say she was excited would be an understatement. She was thrilled!!!! and had so much fun. She seemed to grasp the point of the game pretty quickly and did a great job of running and kicking. Surprisingly she didn't get board or distracted like I thought she might. But a few times she did get frustrated by the blob of children that surrounded the ball at all times. She would throw her hands up and say "Mom, I'm trying to kick the ball, but there are too many kids in the way." She did see some action when she had her turn as goalie and stopped the other team from scoring 3 times. She was very proud. I think she really enjoyed doing something that was just for her and had nothing to do with her brothers. It should be a fun season.

Look whose walking

Mitch has been "walking" (taking random steps) for a few weeks now. I have tried so many times to capture it, but usually when I get the camera out he just crawls over and tries to grab at it. He is starting to get more adventurous /confident with his steps and is getting better each day. It is very exciting for the other kids and they have been helping him "practice" a lot lately. Molly especially loves to take his Binky away from him and hold it way out of his reach while saying "come get it!" Let's just say he doesn't like that very much. I'm excited for Mitch to walk because it will make this summer and playing outside SOOO much easier for me. But I'm sad that my baby has grown up so fast. Seriously I can't believe that he is going to be one next week.

long time no see

Just short of two years, since I last saw my oldest brother, his gorgeous wife, and darling little girls. And it had been about 2 1/2 yrs. since I had last seen my youngest brother. So me and the three wee ones got on a plane for a much needed family reunion. I was kinda terrified to fly solo with all the kiddies, but it wasn't a complete nightmare and we made it there and back with no major drama. So I call that a success.

First we hit up Las Vegas and got to spend a few days at my brothers house and the kids had a blast playing together with their long lost cousins. The greatest thing was that everyone got along so amazingly and it was nothing but smiles the whole time. I think Molly and her cousin Bella could be twins they are so much alike. And Ethan & Joce were inseparable.

Then it was off to St. George, UT to meet up with the rest of my family at a Gleave Family reunion. My Gleave side of the family has a reunion every other year but this is the first one I have been to since Ethan was a baby. It was so much fun to see most of my cousins and get to see all of their little ones running around with mine. The highlight, of course, was the swimming. But my kids especially loved playing with Grandpa and their uncles. Despite a strong campaign from all my brothers, Grandpa still holds the spot as favorite.

On Sat my cousin Jenna got married in the St. George temple. She look absolutely gorgeous and everything was beautiful. Molly loved having a white dress on just like the Bride and told everyone that it was her temple dress.

Then it was back to Las Vegas for Easter, and all the fun that comes with that!

Then on to California to play at Grandma and Grandpa's house for a few days. The kids had so much fun just playing together, playing with grandpa, jumping on the trampoline, running through the sprinklers, chasing lizards, and most of all feeding the tortoises. I think Ethan wanted to crawl in the hole and live with the tortoises and never come home. He has been asking everyday since we got back home if he can move to CA so he can get a pet tortoise. "Because Mom, it NEVER snows in California!!!" (I think that statement alone says so much about the kind of winter we are just now emerging from.)

It was a lot of traveling but it was worth it. Now I just hope it's not another 2 years until we get to see everyone again.

April Fools

A few months ago we got a book about April fools from the library and the kids thought it was so funny. So of course I had to play a few jokes on them today. This morning I turned the kids cereal milk blue. One kid thought it was pretty funny and the other completely broke down into hysterics and cried for a good 15 min about it. Can you guess who that was?

Then at dinner I gave Ethan and Molly a cup of "Apple Juice," (it was actually Jello) and set a pitcher of it on the table. It was hilarious watching the kids try to drink their juice through a straw, Molly was so confused. After a few tries Ethan said "I think this juice turned into Jello!" Ha ha you got me. We all laughed about it, then Scott picked up the pitcher and tried to pour some "juice" into his own glass! Oh I couldn't have planned it better. It was so funny!!! I mean I figured it would be easy to prank the kiddos, but to have Scott fall for it too, was just too perfect! I so wish I could've captured it on video, but that probably would've given me away. I got the idea for the Jello drink here. They have tons of food pranks that would be fun to try. Maybe next year.

This little prankster is always trying to take his clothes off. If I don't get him all buttoned up this is what he does. He also thinks it's so funny to crawl away from me during EVERY diaper change.

and he plays this joke on me every day, April fools or not. It's called take everything out of the cupboard.

Ethan has been trying to "trick" me (unsuccessfully) all day, but I don't think he quite gets it yet. Maybe he just needs to spend some quality time with his uncle Brad?