{Marshmallow}

Well the Ashton's finally got a pet....a frog. Cody found it for the boys when he was mowing his brother's lawn but told the boys he brought it all the way from the Grand Canyon for them! He had just returned from a hike with some guys from our old ward where they hiked Havasupai. He had a great time, came back tired and sore but it was a fun trip for him.

The boys could not be more excited about their new frog, quickly naming him Marshmallow. Ethan is the only one who will hold him, while Rhett stands closely by supervising. Kade will bravely give Marshmallow a quick jab and then shriek because he enjoyed it and it scared him also. He stands by our back door calling "og! og!" until we open the door so he can go stare at it. Then he calls "ello! ello!" over and over saying hello to Mr. Frog.

This smile is dangerous...


Cody left Sunday after church and my parents offered to let Rhett and Ethan sleep over at their house. My sisters Ashley and Ally came over to spend the night at my house...not a fair trade but I was happy with it! My mom and dad took Rhett and Ethan on a hike the next morning and they had fun looking for lizards and hitting things with sticks.


Ethan was making a crazy face in every picture, the little turkey. They had lots of fun and ask to go on hikes every day now!

{growing up}

Well I've been waiting to post an update until I got some pics that my mom took last weekend but I feel like I'm getting too behind so I'm going to bounce around a bit the next few posts! Here's what we've been up to this week (last week I'll post about later).

So I'll start with pics from a month or so ago that I took off Becca's blog! Her son Cody had his 4th birthday party and invited a few friends to go out the desert and ride on his fun toys. Ethan had the time of his life for sure!

Yesterday was the Kindergarten program! Here's a picture of Rhett with his sweet friend Porter who's also in our ward: (how cute are they all dressed up!?!)

This is Rhett with his sweet teacher Mrs. Encarnation:

This is Mrs. Kelly, a secretary that Rhett fell in love with and she loved him back too :o).


The program was so sweet, they sang songs and then at the end there was a slide show. It had pictures of each of the kids and their recorded voices telling the favorite thing about Kindergarten this year. Rhett said "My favorite thing about Kindergarten is telling my teacher I love her each day". That is no joke either. Rhett loved her so much and told her she was beautiful almost every day. He is my little sweetheart for sure and is so very sensitive.

Speaking of sensitive - who knew your child leaving Kindergarten could be so emotional? I have cried more these last two days than I ever thought I would over something like this!! Rhett's first 2 weeks of Kinder were so hard for me. I would hold it together until he was behind those gates, then the tears would fall (masked by my big shades of course). I'd drive by the school at lunch time hoping to catch him playing at recess.

How do you just give away your child to someone you've only met once?? Lucky for me, Rhett could not have been matched with a better teacher for his personality. I could go on and on about how much I love Mrs. E, but let's just say she took my place for me while he was with her all those hours at school. Many of you know Rhett was a very late talker, at 3 he was only saying a few words so I wasn't sure how he'd do in full day Kinder. He still is not the most social child, he won't go up to kids and ask them to play with him - but he made many friends and so many sweet kids made sure to always include him. He went from playing by himself at the beginning of the year to making friends and playing in a group by the middle of the year. I don't care if my child is the most popular, or smartest - I just want them to be accepted and feel special.

Today they had a family picnic at school, it was fun and I took Ethan and Kade with me. As we hugged his sweet teacher one more time and walked out of the room and school once again I have tears streaming down my face and my shades on even though we're indoors. It just seems like he is growing up too fast.

And now to get me off this sad subject and to prevent a migraine from crying too much I will post some random pics I've been wanting to post.

Here's Rhett and Ethan in my bed during the week when Cody was gone. I made the mistake of telling them they could sleep with me and I slept horribly the whole week!


I thought this was cute:

My sister Ashley is home from BYU-Hawaii for the summer!! Here we are last week at lunch the day after she got home (thanks Jennie for watching my boys!).

Kade's obsessions: Balls, dogs, Legos (the big ones) and now Don't Break The Ice. I can't tell you how many times I set this game up for him each day! When the man falls down in the middle he says "Uh Oh! Faaa!".

He turns the stick upside down and pushes the blocks instead of hitting them. Genius, I know.

Well that's all for now. If you've read all this you are a true friend!! This was long and rambly but hey I am EMOTIONAL, what can I say.

XOXO

Brooke

{Mother's Day}

I hope everyone had a fabulous Mother's Day!! We had amazing speakers at church and Rhett and Ethan sang a Mother's Day song in Sacrament meeting which melted my heart! I made Cody leave early so he could save us a bench on the side up close so I could see my boys. Our primary is out of control, millions of kids - so you do what you have to do!!

Later after naps we went over to my parent's house for dinner...it was fun and I am so grateful I live close to my family so we can get together so often. We felt bad not being with Cody's mom Cassie today but spoke with her on the phone and she sounded like she was having a great day also.

I could go on, and on about how wonderful the mothers in my life are, but I will try to keep it somewhat short and tell you a few special things about my mom and my mother-in-law Cassie.



One word that describes my mom perfectly? Unselfish. She is always thinking of ways to serve her family and those around her. She calls me asking me to bring my kids over so I can run to Costco or study for my exams. She knows I have a hard time asking for help so she is always offering to help or do things for me!!

She is an amazing cook. She is my kind of chef also, non-fat, low-fat - oh no. You need the good stuff and everything she makes is so delish. I love dinners at her house. She has served in the YW and Relief Society basically since she's been married! You name the calling in there, she's had it! President, Stake President, Camp Director, etc! She loves the youth and puts so much time and effort into her callings.

She will spend all her money on others, we have to either buy her cute clothes for her b-day or force her to buy things when they are super cheap on sale. She always looks cute and put together with her jewelry and she can put the cutest color combos together. She looks so FAB for being 50, you'd never guess she was!

My mom lost her mom before she was married and just thinking about that brings tears to my eyes. I know how much I depend on and cherish time with my mom and just thinking about not having her in my life is something I can't imagine. Her mother was an amazing woman and we love to hear stories about her.

I love my mom so much and I am trying to be like her.

My mother-in-law Cassie is the cutest thing ever!! She raised 7 children and lost one sweet baby Jodi at just 4 months old. I know some people have hard times with their mother-in-laws but I lucked out in this area!!

Cassie is the most loving, sweet person you will meet! She is a great listener, she always has time to hear what's on your mind. She loves, loves babies!! She has a way with them also, she is experienced in that area for sure!! She has a lot of Grandbabies and they are all so special to her.

Cassie had amazing style in her house decor and cute clothes!! She has an eye for color and she knows how to make a room look good! Even if it does take a LOT of coats of paint! The boys used to tease Cassie about her painting because she does not stop repainting until the color is perfect! Speaking of painting, Cassie is a wonderful artist, I have seen some of her past paintings and they are amazing.

Cassie is very unselfish also. She will work, work, work doing things for others before she even thinks of doing things for herself. She loves her kids more than anything and would do anything for them. She raised her children up with strong testimonies and she taught them how to treat their wives like queens. She is the best mother-in-law and I feel so blessed to have her in my life.

{All about Rhett}

Rhett's Kindergarten picture this year

So this post is mainly about my cute Rhett - I just got 3 different cute pics that we ordered from school and t-ball. His smile has come a LONG way! The pained smile still appears at random times..but not too often and for this I am grateful.

A few weeks ago there was a Mother / Son dance and dinner at Rhett's school.

Rhett was beyond excited about it. The smile on his face shows how happy he was all that night. He picked out what he wanted me to wear, instructed me on my hair (long please with one of those black things on the side *bobby pin*). He picked out a flower for me and was the sweetest date. He kept giving me hugs and telling me I looked pretty. There was a DJ so we danced the night away and ate burgers brought in from Red Robin. It was a fun night and I'll remember it for a long time.

This weekend was the ward's father-son campout. Cody wasn't able to take the boys since he was going to work late Friday, and then on Sat Rhett had t-ball and I had my last final. Instead Cody took Rhett and Ethan up to the White Tank Mtns and the built a fire and roasted marshmellows. This pic is kind of blurry because it's from his camera phone.

Well that's what's new in our casa. Hope you all are doing well - I am LOVING these blogs so I get to see what all our friends close and far are up to.

XOXO

Brooke

{Recap!}

Well it's been awhile since I've posted! Cody has been gone all this week since Sunday afternoon so things have been crazy while I try to run around and do everything! What can I say, I miss my MAN!! This pic below was taken last Friday when my cute little sis Ally babysat for us so we could go out to dinner and a movie with John & Kaija and Suzy & Kev.



We had a good time, we ate at Pita Paradise....I thought Kevin was joking when he chose it but it was a nice Greek Restaurant that had several courses that seemed healthier than your average eating out meal. I didn't get a pita though, cause I'm a rebel like that.


After dinner we went to Baby Mama - it was funny. Lots of good laughs for sure. Then on Sat Rhett had t-ball and I took my A&P final - I'm glad to have that over with!


Saturday night my sis Melissa flew in from Vegas where she was doing some training for work also. She arranged a 2 day layover in Phoenix, and we were so excited to see her. Sunday we all went over for dinner - my dad made the most amazing lettuce wraps! Cody had to leave before they were ready though, he was off to Tempe to stay in a hotel, he'll be back Friday night. He's doing some training for work. We miss him lots that's for sure!



On Monday all the girls (including my mom but she's taking the pic) headed over to Mesa where Kaija watched Kade and Ethan for a few hours. We hit up our fav store and also ate at Oregano's..it's tradition and it was so much fun.

We wish Ashley could have come but she is still in Hawaii soaking up the sun rays. Well that's the latest in my crib, what's new in yours??

XOXO

Brooke