Early Mothers Day

When I picked Kael up from school today he had a Mother's Day present for me.

I wanted to wait until Sunday to open it, but he could not wait. He wanted me to open it as soon as we got home. When I did there was a potted plant that we will have to water to help it grow. A cute picture of my little man and a wonderful card that stated that he loved me to pieces!!!

I loved it. 

What a great mothers day gift!!!

These are the things I look forward to. Cute hand made cards and adorable pictures of my littles!!

A gift.

there was  a visiting artist at NIU and she did a print while she was here. she ended up leaving the block and so they used it to do a demonstration. Garran thought that I would like one and brought it home for me. Sorry the bottom is blurry. Ayla started to grab it just as i snapped the picture. 

now i will just have to frame it and figure out where to put it!

for my mom

we had our own little family christmas early because we don't like to travel around with gifts. anyways. i told my mom that their gifts this year were a hit. she asked if i had got pictures and i was sad to say that both my camera batteries were dead. i felt horrible. i only got one picture of briea. so here it is. They all really loved all the gifts from the grandparents. This was such a fun year. The kids were so excited. I wish we could  have been with everyone so that they all could have seen the fun expressions on the kids faces. 

Shedd.

this weekend my dad came to visit and it was also garrans birthday. garran has wanted to go to the aquarium for a while so we went. it was so much fun. there were lots of things to see and we even got to enjoy the dolphin show.

 here is the group, minus me outside the shedd.

 these fellas were one of the first things we saw. i love turtles. i don't know what it is about them. i just do.

 i thought this was so cute. everyone checking stuff out and the sign above says discover.

 Kael loved loved LOVED, these little neon blue fish. he asked if i would take his picture by them.

 there was an awesome jellies exhibit there. i was pretty excited about seeing that as well. the kids really loved it. i have tons of pictures but i will probably post more on facebook.

 these were so awesome. cullan was totally amazed by them. he also asked if i would take this picture. i love how he is kind of leaning, like he just doesn't trust standing to close to them.

 the kids really loved the "touch and feel" section. they got to touch some starfish and play in a big bin of water that had all different corals and things.

 after we left there, we went to go see the belugas. they were so much fun to watch. they looked so peaceful and happy. i could have stood there all day. i got a couple of fun pictures, but i think this one is my favorite.

 Ayla and Grandpa Jeff waiting for the dolphin show to start.

 the rest of the gang waiting for the show to start!

 finally it did.

 the kids were amazed. especially Kael. he loves animals any way, so this was crazy fun for him.

 the dolphins were very sweet.

this guy just cracked me up. he was just hanging out. 

i am glad that we got to go. it was fun to have some family time and to do something fun.

Guess What?

I have a secret.. Can you guess what it is.. Be patient..All will be revealed soon!

UPDATE:

Have you been patiently waiting.. Are you dying of suspense?

Here is my secret.. My little sisters boyfriend proposed to her at the Grand Canyon today!

I have been keeping the secret for almost two weeks. It has been killing me.

She called tonight and she said yes!

Congrats Sara and Jeremy, we are so happy for you!

Made a Plan..Packed a Bag... What a Great Surprise!!!

Garran and I desperately needed to have some time to reconnect recently. We love our boys dearly but I am sure that any couple can relate to this. We have gone on dates here and there but have never left the boys overnight anywhere. (Minus my multiple surgeries last year.. I guess I dont consider a dark hospital room and an IV a great date) Well I decided it was time for me to cut lose of my crazy phobies about not being around my kids and suprise my hubby with a well deserved date night and brake!

Here was my secret plan... I called my mother in law in advance and asked her if she could take the boys overnight.. She said she would and was excited when I explained my Valentines Day suprise for Garran. She said she play along if she spoke with him.

I told Garran that my gift to him would be a quiet dinner out without the kids. I told him some friends of ours were watching the boys and that I would meet him at the resturant at 5:00pm. Before he left I gave him the first of many cards that led him on a scavenger hunt and reminded him of things that had to do with when we were dating.

The final stop was at the hotel that we spent our little honeymoon at. We love this place. It is like a log cabin and has fireplaces,hot tubs,and on this night came complete with snow! Completely wonderful for relaxing!

Garran was so suprised and said it was the best Valentines Gift I could have got him! We had such a great time. We both said we could not remember the last time that we had so much fun laughing and talking.. It was great to find the guy that I used to have so much fun dating and bring him back to life. Some times I think the stress of life can make those fun people inside us disappear!

VALENTINES TREATS IN THE MAIL!

Today was a great mail day. We got two Valentines Day cards from my grandmother, and a goodie box from my mom. I Love gettting unexpected surprises in the mail. It is always a nice extra to have something besides the electric bill to look at! Hope everyone else is haveing a wonderful Valentines Week.. Thanks for the goodies Mom ...They were a hit with everyone!

Ohhh I love my apple peeler!

So this was one of my birthday presents this year! I love it, love it love it! It makes things so much easier.... This was my busy day. We had the missionaries over for dinner and so I decided to make apple crisp for dessert. This made it so much easier... I love it.. And then the finished product... It was so yummy! Thanks folks for the apple peeler!