The Not Surprise Party

Megan and I wanted to have a surprise party for our husbands for graduation. It turned out to be too difficult to plan it since we couldn't find time together without the guys being there as well. We decided to just make parts of it a surprise. I made a pinata that was supposed to look like a book from a class that they had together and hated - Accounting for Lawyers. I taped it a little to well and after all of the kids and men had whacks at it and it was still mostly intact we had to help open it and the candy was in pieces everywhere. It was no longer even in wrappers. Now I know I don't need so much tape next time.Nathaniel trying to crack open the book.
JD taking a whack at it.
We had a mock trial for the boys. Megan put it together and it was hilarious. JD and Nathaniel were being put on trial for "fraudulent graduation". We were called as witnesses and Karl was the prosecutor. Kevin was the judge. They were so funny. Karl even called a Lawyer that was a relative of his to get terminology and stuff to sound more official. He did such a great job. The picture above is the boys on the stand. I love the picture below. My favorite phrase from Nathaniel was "all you need to be a lawyer is a J.D. I have a JD." (He says as he points to his buddy.)
Megan on the stand. We brought in evidence and everything.
Kevin didn't want to miss out on the cake so he was multi-tasking. We had to swear on one of their law books.
Nathaniel, Reese, Spencer, Judd, and Cynthia.
Kevin, Allie, Stacy, Sarah, and Lindsay is hidden back there too. Emma and Nash and the kids in the picture. I had a babysitter for my 3 older ones so I could enjoy the trial without them running off the the toys at the park.
A must. The costco cake. Nathaniel loves them, so without it the party wouldn't have been complete.

What a Deal!

I love a good deal, a bargain, a steal. These are a few of the good deals I have found lately. A lady in Yuma gave me bags of boys clothes that will work great for Nathan in the winter. Lots of long sleeved shirts, warm jammies, and tons of socks. She also gave Tanner this cute little hat that will be perfect for the Arizona sun while we are here. The recliner he is sitting on was given to us from our neighbor, Lilian. She is an elderly lady that is so sweet. She brings my kids treats for every holiday and my children love to go and visit her. We have always wanted a recliner but never had had one. I love it.
These bikes I picked up in Yuma for $10. Not $10 each, but $10 for both. Nancy's friend told her they were on craigslist, but Nancy didn't need bikes. She knew I was looking for Eliza for her birthday though so she called me and I snagged them. The girls rode them around Nana and Papa's and to the park with the cousins and we are excited to use them here. Tucson is great for all of their bike/running trails.
I got all of this from various yard sales one Saturday morning. All of this was $17.50! I have only been a few times here in Tucson, but the few times I have gone I have found good deals in Rita Ranch. I don't even have to do any prep work to route where to go. I just head down there and follow signs. I got so much stuff I had to get a picture. Once again, there are a lot of warm clothes for Ely. Only this time it is for the girls. Perfect!

My Husband is NOT Going to be Happy...

but I simply could not resist posting this. Nathan needs his brother to get bigger faster!

Rose Garden

We have been trying to spend more time out of the house in order to keep it cleaner so we stopped by the park, duck pond, and rose garden on the way home from dropping Nathaniel off yesterday. I didn't even do the girls' hair before we left so they look a little rough. The girls LOVED the rose garden. I told them the names of all of the roses and they thought it was so fun. There were names like "Pink Parfait" and "Perfume Delight". Of course my girly girls thought that was so neat. We had never done the rose garden although we have been many times to the park and duck pond. When we were getting in the car Eliza said in a dreamy voice, "weren't the roses beautiful?" I'm glad we took the detour.

It Doesn't Get Any Better Than This!

Don't you just want to eat him up?

Flying Solo

(Tanner on the Love Sac. Everyone loves the Love Sac.)

The stress of keeping the house perfect to show was kinda stressing me out and I didn't want to be the snippy mom always yelling at my kids for being kids and making messes so I decided to get outta town. I really love living close enough to Yuma that we can just head over for a weekend. I left Nathaniel here to study for finals and work on his substantial paper and we, me and the 4 kids, took off Thursday morning. We only have one car so I was leaving Nathaniel with his bike and friends to lean on for rides. He made out like a bandit getting free dinners and rides and what not. People took good care of him.
As for us, I could not have asked for more perfect children in the van on the way over and back. Seriously, UNBELIEVABLY GOOD. We stopped at the Gila Bend McDonald's as always and the girls went potty while I changed the boys. It was so funny to see people smile at the kids and watch us pack 5 of us in the handicap bathroom. Thank goodness it is the biggest handicap bathroom EVER. It was so easy to get in and get things done and get out. Tanner was the best kid. I woke him up to feed him at our stop and he didn't make a single peep until we made it to Yuma and he cried for 30 seconds at a stop light on the way to Nancy's house. With Quentin gone Nancy and I just shared her bed. She has the most comfortable bed. The girls all piled into their room. I couldn't believe how good they were. They went to sleep relatively well. Five girls in one room and they did great. While we were there we played at the park, fed the ducks, went to the primary activity, and had fun just playing around the house and yard. I had a great time learning from Nancy and her family. She is the best scripture reader with her kids. She gets into the stories so much that her kids are at the edge of their seat and Lexi said one night, "Ahh, I don't want to wait until tomorrow, keep reading!" I'm not joking, she really said that. Nancy is such a natural teacher. She was great at the primary activity too. She can just throw things together and it turns out great. She is dramatic and enthusiastic at all the right times. I had a fun time watching her parent and picking up tips from her. Quentin got home on Sat. night at I had fun staying up and talking with them. I knew both Nancy and Quentin before they started dating so I think it is fun to be comfortable with both of them as friends as well as family. We got to see a little bit of Mom and Dad (they were gone at Woodbadge with Quentin) but some time is better than no time. Nathan had been begging all weekend for "Papa". One of the only words he says, and he says it often. We also got to see Aunt Becca, Uncle Matthew, and soon to be Aunt Kamber. I love that I get to see so many of the Sorenson's all in one place. I married into such a great family. I love spending time with them. One of my favorite times when we went to Yuma was going to the park one night with Becca, Josh (her boyfriend), and his little sister Jessica. There were 14 of us all together and we went to the park right there by Nancy's house. We played "sand monster" on the toys (Nancy's game she plays with her kids. She is the sand monster and if the kids touch the sand she gets them.) Watching her chase after her kids inspired me to do the same. I love times like that when you see your kids having such a great time and watching their smiles spread from ear to ear. We fed the ducks and the kids loved having Josh there. He was sooo cute with the kids. One of the ducks would come up and eat the bread right out of your hand. That was cool. Anyway, it was a very fun time. On the way home however we had a little scare when we were crossing the street. Like I said, there were 14 of us all together, hard to miss us, and Becca and Lexi had gotten all of the way across the street and a lady driving her car wasn't paying attention (probably texting or something) and almost hit Autumn as she was crossing the street. It was the scariest thing ever. I was screaming at the lady and she didn't even try to stop, no screeching of brakes or anything. She just tried to swerve away from her last minute. I couldn't believe it. We were obviously being watched over. It gave us all a big scare to say the least.

We came home Monday morning and I haven't been nearly as stressed about the house as I was before. It was perfect timing going to Yuma. Nathan had just gotten over his viral throat infection and I got a cold right after I got back. We really needed that little get away. I had a great time and am looking forward to doing it again sometime. I just hope the kids will be just as great next time as they were on this trip.
Our outing to walmart. 9 children and 2 adults. It was a complete success, until checkout. Nancy had brought a rope with pool rings tied to it that they had to hold on to. Great idea.
Kate never wore anything that was hers. She wore Lexi and Lauren's clothes all weekend...underwear and all sometimes.
The baby boys at the primary activity. I took them for a walk around the church, along with Nathan. They did great and fell asleep in no time.
The primary activity. Kate got to be Laman, Lauren was Nephi building the ship.
The boys got to take a turn and be animals on Noah's ark.
One of the few times the boys played well together. Let's just say they aren't best friends...yet.


Nathan loved chasing the ducks. It was so cute, for me, not the ducks.

This One's For You Laurel

My friends and I got on a bow making kick about a year ago and I had a fun time doing it. I was not the best one in the group by any means when it came to how they turned out, but I still had fun giving it a whirl. I was trying to describe to Laurel, my sister, what they looked like and give her a few ideas for her upcoming GIRL and so I figured this would be easier than talking her through it over the phone. I know these are nothing to brag about...but, hey, it was fun!