Randoms

Joshua has a new obsession. It's Bon Jovi's "Living on a Prayer". He will listen to this song on his mp3 player over and over and over and over again. No exaggeration. It is so funny to hear him with his ear phones in and singing at the top of his lungs. Love it!

Speaking of "Living on a Prayer"...yesterday on the way to church Joshua once again was listening to this song. I told him that that kind of music probably wasn't the most appropriate kind of music to be listening to on the way to church. Braeden, of course, in on the conversation and trying to be funny says, "Why not? After all they are singing about prayer." Not helping, Braeden.

Kate told me a new joke yesterday. Q: Why does a pirate wear camouflage underwear? A: To hide his booty. I thought it was pretty funny.

Only 3 more weeks of school...not that we are counting or anything. :) We are all tired and ready for a long, lazy summer sitting by the pool. But until then we have to get through a jam packed calendar.

Sharkarosa Wildlife Ranch

Kate and I went to Sharkarosa Wildlife Ranch yesterday for her 2nd grade field trip. This was one of the best field trips I have been on, and Kate was in absolute heaven. This place was made just for her.

They have tons of lemurs. We learned that despite what they say in the movie Madagascar, it is really a Queen that leads the tribe not a King....and the position of Queen can rotate among the group. They somehow decide amongst themselves who and for however long has this position. It could be for 6 months or 6 years.

Kate and Harmony on the safari

On the safari there are buckets of food attached to the tram that the animals will run along side and eat. They also make stops along the way for everyone to pet the different animals. They had several Clydesdale horses. This was Kate's favorite.

This part of the safari was a "no petting" zone. They threw the food our around the tram so the animals would come up close so that we could see them better and take pictures. The kids loved this pot belly pig.

I thought this was an odd grouping: a deer, a pig, a goat, an alpaca (he got cut from the picture), and something else...not sure what that big white one is...

This is Thristy the camel. They had tons of camels. We learned that if camels are happy they don't spit and these camels at the Sharkarosa Ranch were super happy which we were grateful for...there was no spitting.

This baby camel had his debut yesterday and was around people for the first time. He was literally crying for his mama. Kate was so concerned for this little guy. At one point I think she was on the verge of tears herself because she felt so bad for him.

This baby zebra is 5 weeks old and has super soft fur. Kate wants this pictured framed for her bedroom.
Sharkarosa Ranch also has lots of kangaroos. Most of them are albinos. They take them in because these kangaroos would not be able to survive in the wild. This baby kangaroo in particular was not an albino. He was super cute all cuddled up in his "faux pouch".
Kate did want her picture taken in front of this sign. I thought it was funny so I bribed her by going into the gift shop. :)
Want more info on Sharkarosa Ranch? Just click here.

in no particular order

These are pictures taken within the last week or so that I had every intention of posting, but life happens and here they are....finally.

Braeden finally learned how to tie a tie. It's not perfect but it's getting there.

Two of Braeden's favorite things...playing the piano and soccer. He has managed somehow to put the two things together.

I DETEST frogs! My darling daughter however LOVES them. This toad was found in our backyard.

Kate actually loves animals of ALL kind. She fell in love with this donkey and a couple of horses at our ward picnic.

Our annual Easter egg hunt at our dear friends, the Flores.

Easter Sunday before church...love this picture of Kate. Such a little lady!

I have decided I can never tell Joshua to say out of the mud. It just won't happen. On Monday after some storms had cleared he wanted to go outside. I specifically told him not to get the tiniest bit of mud on him. I should have known better. He came in covered in mud. The very first words out of his mouth were, "I'm so sorry! It was just to tempting." It's very hard to be mad at that cute little face.

Lucky #13

Braeden is officially a teenager today. These birthdays are getting harder and harder for me as the time just keeps slipping away way to quickly. I want him to stay just the way he his....forever!



A few memories of Braeden....

When he was a baby he loved for me to rub his face. I would lay in bed with him at night and trace his forehead, his nose, his chubby cheeks, and his eyes. With my pointer finger, I would go over his features over and over and over again. I would do this until he would fall asleep.

When he was little he also loved the primary song "We'll Bring the World his Truth". He could be screaming at the top of his lungs and I would sing this to him and he would immediately calm down.

Braeden has always been a talker. He loves to talk to anyone and everyone. He can be in a room full of complete strangers and have a new friend within a few minutes. When he was little he would try to talk to absolutely everyone. So much so that I could tell some people were annoyed and some were just scary. I had to talk to him about strangers and how we should not talk to every single person we see. I remember one day going into the grocery store and he kept asking me, "Mom, can I please talk to them? Please, please can I talk to them?"

Braeden has grown in to quite the young man. He is very intelligent, responsible, confident, friendly, athletic, charming, and a fabulous big brother. He absolutely loves sports. He was the quarterback for his football team this year, ran hurdles in track, and just made the school soccer team. He is always outdoors with some kind of ball in his hands. He also plays the piano very well and loves to charm the girls with this talent.



Love you B.......Happy Birthday!!

DONE

After 10 different post and countless numbers of pictures I am finally done posting vacation pics. I promise this is the last one....

Trying on hats became a game for Kate during our Disney visit. She must have tried on 50 or more different types. By the end of the trip the boys had joined in but never came close to catching Kate. Here are a few of my favorites...

Taking a Dip

This is how the kids spent their time when we were not at one of the Disney Parks. It was still kind of chilly in March for swimming so the pool was heated. These kids were spoiled!









And in the evening after a long day of walking we would come home and soak our sore feet and bodies in this jacuzzi.

I am totally retiring in Orlando!

disturbing?

My usual question to my kids everyday when they get home from school is "Did anything exciting happen at school today?" Yesterday instead of asking Braeden if anything exciting happened I asked him if anything disturbing happened.

His response, "Just Science class"

This made me laugh......They have been learning about the human body and reproduction.

Character Sightings

Animal Kingdom

Yes, I am STILL posting Disney pictures. I am almost done tho...PROMISE! I love Disney and even I am getting tired of looking at these pictures, but they have to be documented for my posterity. So, here is a condensed version of our trip to the Animal kingdom. It is a beautiful park with animals, trails, lots of wooden sculptures, and we could never forget Everest....one of the best roller coasters Disney has to offer.