{Catching up...}

I'm a little behind on my blog....so here goes a little catch up on what we were up to in May!

Brittany graduated from High School, and I was able to go with Kade and Ethan while Cody went to Rhett's last day of school party. She is off to BYU-I in the fall....we will miss her but know she is going to have so much fun!



We also had a graduate of our own....Ethan graduated from pre-school. He has learned so much, we are so proud of him! He is very excited to go to the same school as Rhett this fall, and can't wait to start Kindergarten.

I took the boys to the city's Memorial Day Parade...we had never been but I recommend it to anyone thinking about going next year! It was lots of fun and they threw lots of candy too!

The Cox's were there and the Turner's (minus Shelby and a sick baby) were also, so we had a lot of kids between us. Jennie and I sat by the kids while Lance and Alan stood behind (Cody works on Saturdays until 2) so it looked like there were only two sets of parents. We got a lot of looks, comments, etc! Even Sheriff Joe Arapaio yelled from his float as he drove by "Are they all registered to vote?".

They must have looked cute because their picture was taken and put in the city paper the following Wednesday....my boys were very excited to be a little bit famous :o).

We also were able to go to a splash park with friends and have dinner together at the park. We love our little city and all the fun young families in our ward. Our kids have so many good friends to play with and we have so many good times together. It seems like there are always way more boys than girls though!!

We also went over and put flowers on the grave of Cody's sister, Jodi. She passed away at 2-1/2 months, and Cody was never able to meet her because she was born before he was. We can't wait to see her someday soon. Cody's family used to live in Arizona, so she is buried in a cemetery in Phoenix.

{Baseball Stars}

Our Baseball season ended a couple of weeks ago....just in time because it was getting hot at the games :o). The boys had so much fun, and we loved coming to all their games and practices and cheering them on!


This was Ethan's first year playing and he had a fun team with lots of kids from our ward. He improved a lot and loved playing first base. His last game was held at the Spring Training Stadium and his picture flashed across the big screen several times. Pretty cool!


Rhett also improved a lot and his favorite moment was when he got someone out at first base. He had a very competitive team and coach, which worried me at first but it ended up being a great thing and pushed him to do his very best. We are so proud of him!

Both boys received medals which they wore to bed that night and are very proud of. As soon as their uniform shirts are washed that's what they want to wear. Ethan wears his pants and socks too....they are both sad that the season ended. They are excited for the next sport though....swim lessons start in a couple of weeks. Hello summer here we come!! I bought pool passes this summer and we have already spent a couple days there, with many more to come I'm sure! I'm tempted to take my camera there and do a "Do's and Don'ts" post about what you should and shouldn't wear to the pool. Yikes there are some crazy (and confident) people out there!

I'm adding one more picture of Ethan...he played basketball in the spring and loved it. I laugh when I see this picture because he was so insistent on combing his own hair. He used a lot of gel and combed it straight forward :o).

PS I am finishing the recipes tonight and will be e-mailing them out! Thanks to everyone who participated, I'm sure you'll love the good ones everyone contributed!

{Mother's Day}

I hope that everyone had a great Mother's Day...Cody and my boys spoiled me and now I am feeling the pressure to make Father's Day just as great :o). On Sunday Rhett asked me "When is Kid's Day?" I told him that everyday is Kid's Day! They always get their meals prepared for them, snacks on demand, playtime with friends, etc!

My kids love all holidays..and so they were excited for Mother's Day since the week before. Ethan came home from preschool Thursday with a little present he had wrapped for me at school, and he ran upstairs to hide it until Sunday. Saturday the kids wanted to make me breakfast, so they sent me upstairs to wait for my surprise. I heard them rummaging around downstairs, so excited to cut something with a knife....good thing it was a butter knife and they decided that Rhett should do it since he was the oldest. When they brought me my plate they were so proud....oh I love these moments!! (it was blackberries, apples, and cheese).

Sunday morning Cody was able to stay home since they didn't have meetings at it was so nice to have him there to help get the kids ready. He made us a yummy breakfast. After church we went over to my parent's house for dinner prepared by my sisters....it was so nice.

I fell so lucky to be a mother to my three sweet boys. They have so much energy, enthusiasm, excitement....every day with them brings something new to laugh about. They keep me on my toes for sure, but I love them so much and feel so lucky to have the life that I do with Cody. Who would have thought that this girl from a family with 5 girls would be a mother to all boys and love it like I do.... Don't get me wrong I have my hard days, my moments when I call Cody in tears because I feel like I am failing as a mother, or am so tired of the fighting or teasing - but all in all they are amazing children and I feel blessed to be their mother.

{Recipes}

I'm puttting the recipes all together that you have sent me, there are so many that look fabulous and yummy!! It's not too late to send them to me, I know there are still some that wanted to that may have forgotten.

brooke_and_cody@hotmail.com

{Spring Fun}

We have have had a nice long spring with great weather, and since we know the heat is coming we try to be outside as much as we can! A part of me is excited to get into swimsuit weather and take the kids to the pool, but I know it's always a long summer full of lots of sunscreen applications and hot cars so I try to keep that in mind :o). The boys are very excited for swim lessons though, and can't wait for Grandpa Flake to take the top off his pool. I finished my semester and it's nice to have some free time in the evenings.

A few weeks ago my Mom and I took Ethan and Kade to an outdoor amusement park in downtown Phoenix. The kids had fun, but it was a bit pricey even with coupons so I'm not sure if I'd go back. When we first arrived the park was full of children from a head start program and it was making me feel claustrophobic. They were "in my bubble" (hee hee Melissa). Luckily they didn't stay for long, and after they left we had the park basically to ourselves so the kids went on the rides over and over with no waits. have had a nice long spring with great weather, and since we know the heat is coming we try to be outside

Kade took his job driving very seriously, he thought he really was steering :o)

This was Ethan's favorite ride, a little roller coaster that went pretty fast.


Ethan loved the spinning ride also.

Bumper Boats

Wheeee!

They were not strict on height restrictions, so when Kade snuck in line for the roller coaster they let him right on. My Mom and I watched amazed as he rode around, even putting his arms in the air when the big kids did. My youngest two have no fear! (He's in the back)

Rhett escorted me to his school's Mother Son Dance a few weeks ago. He looks forward to this all spring, and I love to have some one on one time with him. This year they had a dinner first, and then we went into the gym where there was a DJ and lots of sports games and stations to have fun at.

Playing Hockey together

Busting a move...

Ethan of course was in tears that he didn't get to come too, but next year he'll be in Kindergarten so I'll have two dates :o). My boys are growing up so fast....

I wanted to remind those that wanted to, to please e-mail me your recipes. I know a lot of people have expressed interest but you are like me and procrastinate :o). I have received a couple e-mails so far, but if you want to join the fun please e-mail me your recipe(s) by next WEDNESDAY and then I'll e-mail you back a list of all of them together a few days after that. I have a lot of great ones I'm adding so you don't want to miss out! One of which is a yummy chicken taco recipe that you do in the crock pot with some fabulous corn salsa you add on top! You will love it, I'm sure! Hope everyone is doing well :o)

XOXO

Brooke

brooke_and_cody@hotmail.com

{Easter}

I hope everyone had a nice Easter! We had great speakers at church on Sunday who really set the mood for reflection and thanks to our Savior for the sacrifice he made for all of us. I love that my boys are getting older and can grasp the true meaning of Easter....that it's not about candy and egg hunts but a celebration of Christ's Resurrection.

We do the egg hunts and baskets on Saturday. This year it was raining off and on all Saturday. The big city egg hunt was canceled....luckily Aunt Kaija in Mesa hosted an egg hunt and lunch at her house. She had the perfect backyard....full of trees, plants, and dry riverbeds for eggs to be hidden in. I love being around my cute cousins!!

This is a little backwards but I couldn't move the pictures....the boys woke up Saturday morning to find that the Easter Bunny (Aunt Ally) had left them a clue so they needed to go on a scavenger hunt to find their eggs. It was fun to sit back and watch them run around the house and do it on their own since Rhett's reading so well now. My boys are growing up so fast...

{The Latest}

Here's a recap of what we've been up to.....

Rhett lost his 5th tooth and wrote the tooth fairy a note requesting Sugar Cereal (Cocoa Pebbles) in lieu of money.....

We enjoyed conference weekend....a lazy Sunday in PJ's snuggling with our boys :o)

Ethan and Kade invented a new game of tennis with Spatulas and ping pong balls...


(Kade's potty training....)

We've been building a square foot garden in the backyard...good job carrying that heavy soil boys!

Birthday brunch to celebrate my mom's birthday.....


Cute boys climbing into my bed in the mornings to wake me up.....

Kade getting over an ear infection, and requesting his brothers hold his hands every time he takes his medicine...


Enjoying the windy days by flying Ethan's new kite he got for his birthday.....

That's the latest around here (besides the many days of baseball practice and games!). We love our AZ spring weather and love spending time together....