Happy Mothers Day 2016

As usual Andersons came for Sunday dinner. I tried to cook food that mom would like. Meatloaf, scalloped potatoes, cranberry salad, coleslaw, peas, and coconut pie. I didn't think Sam and the boys would be too excited about coconut pie, so I also made little chocolate chip cookie cups. (then we topped those with chocolate ice cream) As you can see, the boys liked those alot :) After dinner there were gifts. Pajamas for mom, a Ninja blender for me (and a Fitbit), "small stuff" baskets for Audrey. (because she loves "organizing", so much...jk.) Mike and Carrie sent "real" flowers. We helped the primary children make paper flowers and I did a cute program insert...Mothers Day Card...for the sacrament program.

Saturday, April 30

We had a couple of the young men and the YM pres. come and help Ron haul branches and under brush from the back hill, up behind the house. This was a work project for "scout camp money". Ron is thinking that he will rent a mulcher and shred up those branches. The pile is actually bigger than it looks in this photo. They worked from about 9:30 until noon, then Ron cooked hamburgers and hotdogs on the grill for lunch. Andersons also came for lunch and then our first swim day of the season. In the evening Andersons went to the Cornyval, in Helotes. Ron and I went to dinner at the church. (Fundraiser for the YW and the cubscouts.) The YW did a "Fiesta" dinner and the cubscouts did a cake auction. I made two cute cakes for the auction.

Baby Bird(s)

At first glance you would think that this nest could only hold one bird. But in reality there were three birds in there. One evening Ron and I were walking around the porch and we saw a big mess of bird poop on the railing and on the cement. We look up and all we can see are three TAILS hanging over the edge of the nest. I could never actually get that photo, but I did get a few others before they "flew the coop" :) As the birds got bigger, I'm sure it was a battle everyday for which bird got the "bottom-of-the-pile" and which one got the "top" :) They are gone now...time for me to clean up their mess.

Friday, April 15

In the morning, Ron and I both worked in the yard. Pulling weeds, trimming, and planting. I have been working for some time now, on the front flower bed and the back flower bed. The back one is inside the pool fence, so that is the only place where I can plant some thing and not have the deer eat it. Both spaces were over run with WEEDS. I decided to tackle those alittle bit each day. (Usually after it rains. Otherwise the ground is too hard, and I can't pull anything out). The back bed now has a lime tree, snapdragons, summer snapdragons, Easter lilies, and mint...lots of mint :) The front bed has the lantana plants, some cat nip, a couple of other bushes (not sure exactly what those are) and lots and lots of weeds. I also expect some four oclocks to come back there. By mid afternoon we were ready for a short road trip to the Salt Lick Restaurant, in Driftwood, Texas. It is a famous barbecue place. We decided we needed to try it. (Actually Ron had been there once before, but a long time ago.)  Two hours to get there, an hour there, and two hours back. The food was good...alittle different than normal barbecue...at least the potatoes, beans, and sauce. Not a very "fancy" place. We got there at 4 oclock, so not really crowded and we didn't have to wait. Great evening to be wandering around the hill country :)

Cousin Time and Kids-Being-Kids

Micah had to leave on Sunday evening, but Al and the kids, and us stayed in Smithfield. Pretty much on Monday, we all sat around the house and talked all day. Of course we had to feed the kids a couple of times. hehe We had FHE on Monday night. On Tuesday evening, Daniel, Mike, Ron, and Jaden went to a Jazz/Spurs basketball game in Salt Lake. The rest of us went to Wendys for dinner and then the kids just played and played...outside. It was great cousin time from Sunday until Wednesday. From Wednesday until Saturday, we were with Al and the kids at her house. Again...just playing...haha. Ron did a couple of inside-the-house-jobs and he tried to pull all of the dandelions out of the front yard. But those are funny little boogers...they keep popping back up the next day. He could barely stay ahead of them. Most of my time, I spent following the kids around and picking up food, trash, toys, clothing, etc. It is a full time job to do that :)

Here are some pics of the kids...fun...fun.