1 bowl of ohs cereal and milk
1 bagel and cream cheese
a bunch of gold fish crackers
The only reason he has stopped eating is that he had to leave for speech. Guarantee his first words when he gets home will be "Mom, I'm hungry."
Andrew and I decided that one way to help take care of the earth is to actually touch the dirt and make the earth pretty. This actually was the perfect decision because I was motivated by our Green Thumb church class the night before and Andrew LOVES gardening. We decided to go to Bachmans. As we were getting out of the car, Andrew told me the plan: everything he thought was pretty we would buy. We could not stick to "the plan" because Andrew thought EVERYTHING was beautiful and we brought the Miata.
We both love Hydrangeas. I have two bushes in my yard. They don't look this good though. Not enough sun I think..
Look at all these colors. I wish I had some sun in my yard...and some gardening talent.
Andrew is going to be the gardener in our family. He was so excited to be around so many pretty flowers and plants. He wanted to hold them and he wanted to figure out exactly how much water each plant needed. He takes the gardener role very seriously. 
We decided on a bunch of pansies...because they can be planted now and survive the strange early spring weather around here. We tried to choose some of each color. I am a little nervous for the marigolds. High maintenance plants don't survive around here (it is to early to plant them outside).
Today we were just starting these two long narrow containers. I was not kidding when I told you that Andrew takes his gardening responsibilities seriously. Last year we let him pick out two plants. We put them in our side flower garden. Andrew would check on them throughout the day just to make sure they had sun and water. If they were not in the sun, he would dig them up and replant them in the sun again. These plants actually did not survive very long. So I think movable containers are the ticket for this gardener. Yesterday morning he already had moved around the small milk jug container into the middle of the yard. Better sun. 
As soon as Emily got home, she and Lauren joined in the fun. Emily decided to adopt a Marigold.
Our neighbor Lauren picked a purple pansy.
As you might know, we have a dog named Ashley. We adopted her in 2003. She is a Blue Healer mix. She is an amazing dog. I sing her praises often. She follows me all over the house all the time. Last night, I was reading stories and Ashley followed me into the boys room. As she usually does, she decided to hide under Ryan's bed. It is getting harder and harder for her to fit herself under there, but she made it. We finished up stories and I actually went to bed early too. I thought it was strange that she stayed there all night. She usually sleeps in my room. This morning, I found her peeking out from under the bed. The poor dog was completely stuck. I had to lift Ry's bed in order to free her. This makes it official she is old and fat.
Happy Easter!!
In case you haven't heard, this is a super exciting weekend in the world of a preteen girl. Yes...that's right...it's the Hannah Montana movie opening weekend. Yep, we got to "zig zag, cross the floor, shuffle in diagonal." We also witnessed Hannah find a little romance and understand just how hard it is to lead a double life. Poor Miley. How does she handle it?
We got to go with our friends the Littles. Thank you guys for an amazing night! The Hannah music was playing in the car on the way to the theater, there was candy, there was pop and as much Taco Bell as a girl could want. Our purses were stuffed and the girls brought in the dinner.
I was seriously impressed with the sneakiness of the girls...I dare you to find the Taco Bell bag. They were swift, they were sly. Knowing that the movie would be packed on opening night, we were organized and early...ready to wait in line just to get into the theater. When we walked in we were ready for tons of screaming fans...here's what we found.....echo echo..
The one other early mom was on our same time schedule. Tickets bought days in advance..45 minutes early to the theater.
In case you could not recognize us, here is a closer shot. Can you tell that Emily has the perfect Hannah Montana outfit on? We got to sit and eat our Taco Bell. I even had time to walk back to Taco Bell and buy more. The theater did fill up. There were giggles throughout the movie theater when Miley fell off the chicken coop. There were sighs of relief when Hannah got to sing and get her guy. Wait, that might have been just me. Sigh..
The night was all about the girls. We had so much fun. I think Lori was right when she pointed out that we have to grab these nights of hanging out with our girls now. Before we know it, we won't be invited any more.
I few mornings ago at the bus stop there was a scent of fire and BBQ in the air. Yesterday, Andrew and I were walking Ashley with our friends Erin and Amy. There was a smell of campfire in the air...I casually told her that is one of the marks of our neighborhood. It isn't all the time, but I will say that the scent of campfire can be commonly found around here. I love it. It goes with all the trees around here. (Does anyone remember how much I loved those canyon fires? I am so home)
Last night I came home from work and found a campfire in our back yard. The kids were just out in the yard playing. The weather was perfect, sky was clear. No school the next day...and no work for me. I love these kinds of nights. All seems right with the world. It was sunset. Soon I hear Sam (neighbor) calling across backyards...and then joining us. He brought some marshmallows.
We love a good s'more around here...but a fun burning stick can be a highlight too. We would have stayed out there all night. But then I remembered that ERIK had to work the next day, so we called it a night so Erik could put them to bed (I like to share the fun parenting jobs...and am always trying to pass the bed-time duties).
Everyone brought a sample of their favorite recipe. You should have seen my plate of yumminess, which I might add I had no problem finishing! We talked about different tips for cooking and we also got to spend time getting to know each other. Our next theme is going to be appetizers. I love appetizers..but I really don't have any recipes to share, any ideas? I seriously am excited about these monthly meetings. I feel lucky to be part of these ladies and cannot wait for our next meeting.
