Mesquite

We went with our friends Heath and Heather to Mesquite for a week in June. It was SO warm (yes Jess, it was warm not hot) and we had tons of fun. It's always nice to get away from the distractions and work at home and just be a family. The boys went to golfing for a couple days and me and Heather had a fabulous day at the spa. I was the only bump on a log that didn't gamble at the casinos. For some reason I have no desire to go sit in a smoke and alcohol filled environment and lose all my money! :) We had an awesome week!

It was a long drive but the kids did pretty good. As long as Kameron had a sucker in his mouth. He actually was quite the little stinker. He sits in the middle of Kaden and Ellie and he would pinch them and pull Ellie's hair and yank on Kaden's headphone cord-- mostly anything he could do to make them scream. What a turkey! Super cute, though!

We took the kids into Vegas for a day. We went to the M&M factory, saw the lions at MGM and of course the Bellagio fountains, which are my favorite. It was a little warm for Jess and the kids so we were pretty wiped out by the time the fountains finally went off.

We went up to St George to Sand Hollow reservoir for an afternoon. My kids are beachaholics. They could stay there all day and still not want to leave. It was windy but so much warmer than Pocatello. I love the red rock scenery.

My wild child. Kameron has texture issues so he didn't really like the sand too much. He mostly just liked to sit on the chair. He never ceases to amaze me with his craziness.

Sigh... he's so handsome. My love.

Kaden and Cooper decided to make sand angels. I think the sand was the exact same color as his hair!

We stayed at a condo with a pool and the kids swam at least once a day. It's was nice to soak up some rays. We have not had a summer yet in Poky. Nobody wanted to come home!

Yep, there's my kids. My two mello, obedient children and then... Kameron. Never a dull moment. We love all the excitement he adds to our family.

Heather and I took the kids to the St George temple while the boys golfed. (This was right before we shopped at the outlets!)

That night we went to the Tuacahn Theater outside St George. We saw the Little Mermaid. It was cute and well done. Ellie absolutely loved it. Kaden and Jesse... not so much. I looked over once and they were both catatonic and slumped in their seats. Kaden said there was too much singing.

We had the lucky experience of getting a flat tire on the way home. We got to spend the afternoon in Fillmore, UT while they fixed our car. We ate at Bucks Pizza and were very ready to get on the road again. But we were watched over and blessed and no harm done. It was hard to come home!

Vegas!

My sister Keri and I decided to get away to Vegas for a weekend in June. It was so relaxing and fun to spend time with her. We were super close when we lived at home so it was nice to spend time and be best friends again. We had lots of laughs (or as Jim calls it "cackling") and just shopped and ate and relaxed and watched Law and Order late at night. Just like the old times. We had a blast! Thanks again Kiki!

We stayed on Fremont Street, which is the old strip. It was cool at night because there's a lighted ceiling that they light at night but it was a pretty rough crowd. We stayed at the Golden Nugget. I know it sounds cheesy but it was actually a nice hotel.

Hands down, the best part of the trip was going to the Cirque de Soleil show Beatles Love. It was AMAZING! We grew up listening to the Beatles so it was that much better. We were total nerds and bought tee shirts for the show and everything.

Me and Harrison Ford!

Wicked, graduations and bikes

Jess and I got to go see Wicked in Boise in May. I have wanted to see Wicked for years and keep missing it by a day or two in different cities when we travel. I LOVED it. But I love musicals. Jess not so much. But he's so madly in love with me that he goes anyway. He did admit it was good and even laughed at some parts. We made a weekend of it in Boise and Tami came with us. She was kind enough to watch the kids while we went to the show.

We barely all fit in the car but we made it! Poor Tami was stuck in the back with the kids!

Our handsome chauffeur rocking out to Boots with the Fur! We missed you Nick!

We took the kids to the Discovery Center. It was a good time.

Tami took the kids to the zoo and the park while we were at Wicked.

And Ellie graduated from preschool! She loves, loves school and was not excited for it to be over. Mom sure is though! I love having my kids home with me. I miss them too much when they are at school. Summer is my favorite!

She was the cutest little piggy for their skit!

Here she is building her house of bricks.

Oh my handsome baby! He always smiles when I pull out the camera!

Then we had Kaden's kindergarten graduation. I actually got teary-eyed watching him walk down the aisle to the graduation march song. So silly. They sang some cute songs with actions then received their diplomas.

Kaden was so funny- a couple days before graduation he told me he didn't want to hug his teacher, he just wanted to give her a hand shake at graduation. So we told him just to stick his hand out and she would shake his hand. When he went to get his diploma he stuck his hand out to shake hers before he even took his diploma. She grabbed him and gave him a hug anyway!

And we finally got the kids new bikes! Kaden has been riding an $8 DI special and Ellie was still riding the tricycle she got when she turned two! They are always outside riding their bikes. It's the first thing they do after breakfast and usually the last before before bedtime. Now if the rain and construction would stop so Jess and I could ride...

Behind again

Here's another catch up post...

Ellie loves to play with Kameron. She chases him all over the house and has HIM push HER on his little car. Once the weather turned warmer she let him push her on her tricycle too. It's fun to see them play and get along so well with the almost 4 year gap between them.

Easter was the usual color the eggs, find the eggs, eat the eggs deal. Most easter egg hunts are over in about 60 seconds so I got tons of eggs this year so they could hunt a little longer. This equated to TONS of easter candy left over. Still it was fun. The Easter Bunny hid Ellie's basket in the shower and Kaden's under the table. She even hid Jesse's in the washer! Sneaky! Kameron's was a little easier to find. :) Kameron finally figured out at the end that the eggs were supposed to go IN his bucket. He never didn't figure out his bucket had a handle so his eggs kept spilling on the floor.

(I really need to use a camera and stop taking so many pics with my iPhone- they're so fuzzy.)

Jesse was so nice and let me go to BYU Women's Conference this year. It was absolutely wonderful to get away and recharge my spiritual batteries. I went with my sister and met my cousins and aunt down there. It was nice to enjoy being with the girls and listening to amazing speakers. We even got to eat at Kneaders. Yum. Jesse was so nice to hold down the fort while I was gone. Work was crazy but he still ran the house and did it all. He's so good to me.

This is a pic of Jess and Kaden at our ward roller skating party. It was the first time we've ever taken the kids roller staking. Kaden had a rough time for sure. I think he expected to jump out there and start doing double axels or something because when he kept falling he was so hard on himself. He kept saying stuff like "I'm the worst skater ever; everyone is better than me". It got old after a while. Ellie was smart and held on to the stroller I was pushing Kameron in. Luckily I got to push Kameron in the stroller most of the night or I would have ended up like Kaden. And in case you were wondering- Yes, Jesse is hot in roller skates.

Finally! Last but no least, Cinco de Mayo! I have never really celebrated Cinco de Mayo. At Ellie's preschool they were doing a pinata at the very end and invited younger siblings to come. Kaden didn't have school that day so he came too. Well, this is what ended up happening..

Kaden didn't get to be a part of it because he was older than all the other kids. So I felt bad and decided to go get a pinata to do at our house later that night. Below is a picture of the face Kameron gave me when I told him he couldn't eat the Sixlet he found on the ground. He's so funny. He doesn't talk much yet but his expressions say it all.

What started with a simple pinata turned into a full blown fiesta! We hung a banner, tied balloons all over the kitchen, hung lanterns, had flags and sombrero hat straws, etc. We invited some friends over last minute and had a good time. We had chicken enchiladas, quesadillas, beans and rice and strawberry margeritas. (Alcohol free of course.) It was a good time. Se habla espanol?

This is our make-shift pinata. I realized after dinner that I didn't have a rope OR a place to hang one if I did. So we improvised with a mop handle and a belt. Worked the same. Kids still got to whack it with a bat and squealed like they had never seen candy before when it broke.

Whew! That's three weeks in a nutshell. I have the best life.

Spring is here

Ahhh. The signs of spring at the Wakley house. Jess breaking out his motorcycle and going to the rodeo.

We had awesome seats this year. Right in the front and center. Thank heavens Kameron had this walkway to walk around in all night or we wouldn't have made it to the bull riding!

Jess took the kids for rides around the block on one of the three nice days we've had this spring. The kids love it. Mom didn't get a turn :(

Kaden is way into Star Wars lately. It's all he talks about and if he's not playing with his light sabers he's playing Star Wars Legos or watching one of the old Star Wars movies (the new ones are too violent.) He is my biggest helper around the house. I can always count on him to do what I ask without complaining. Heavenly Father knew what He was doing when he made Kaden my oldest child. Here's my favorite Kaden quote for the month, "Mom, I wish baths weren't real."

Ellie loves going to preschool. Today she had the option of going to school or staying at home and enjoying a relaxing french toast breakfast with dad (which is rare because Jess is always working before they wake up). She chose preschool. Stinker. She's so mellow and laid back but can be brought to tears in seconds. Usually it's over little things like Jess cutting her pancake BEFORE he put syrup on it. Here's Ellie's quote for the month, "Mom, when I was sleeping my shirt fell off."

Last but not least Kameron. He redefines what I previously knew to be a toddler. He is so different from my other two. He gets into everything, throws fits, makes messes all over the house, empties my shoes into the bathtub (then turns on the water), tackles the other kids and sits on them, screams at the top of his lungs if he doesn't get his way, etc, etc. All this on 62 calories a day because he still doesn't eat a darn thing. BUT with all that being said life would never be the same without our Monster Baby. We love him so much. He keeps us on our toes and makes us laugh every day. Since he doesn't talk yet here's Kameron's monthly moment: Kameron LOVES the vacuum. Whenever I vacuum he follows me around, stands right in front of the vacuum and literally nose dives onto the vacuum. That's my upright vacuum. When I get out the central vac hose, he hides in terror. I don't understand the difference but he seems to see one. This is a pic I took of him hiding and crying in the kitchen while I was using the central vac. Silly baby.

March is almost gone..

I am horrible at posting lately. I can't believe it's been a month. Oops. March was busy but fun. Jess and I celebrated our 8 yr wedding anniversary on the 14th. He brought me home beautiful pink roses! Pink is my most favorite color for those of you who don't know.

I made him muddy buddies (which he remembered when I made them that they were his favorite treat-- I know him so much better than he knows himself :) Then we went to Sandpiper for dinner. Here are eight favorite memories from the past years:

1- Kaden

2-Ellie

3- Kameron (in no special order of course... or are they?)

4- Our wedding day. He treated me like I was the most special person on earth.

5- Our honeymoon. He gave me a tiny white flower while we were on a hike and I still have it pressed in my scriptures in the Bible dictionary under the heading "Jesse".

6- Our first christmas together. We had NO money so we weren't going to get each other anything. He surprised me with tons of presents saying he "wanted our first christmas together to be special for me."

7- When we were taking celestial marriage together at the institute while we were engaged the teacher was talking about how we act when we cherish something. He pointed down at the way Jesse was holding my hand for an example. He was softly holding it between his two hands. Ahhhh. How sweet.

8- All of our vacations. He's always up to trying some new different restaurant or to go swimming spontaneously in the ocean with me. We always have a blast. And even when he gets ANGRY when he's lost I think it's cute. Love you sweetie.

Why are there so many wrinkles on my face?I feel old. I found my first grey hair the other day :( It had Jesse's name on it.

For spring break we decided to just go down to SLC for a getaway. Our trip was cut short when Jess had to work for 20 hrs the first day. One of the construction workers at the new hospital cut all of the internet wires so the whole hospital was down which wreaks havoc on Jesse's PACS system. Needless to say I didn't have a husband that day. We finally made it to our hotel in time for me to take the kids swimming. We stayed in West Valley at the hotel with the water park. The kids had a blast. Then we went back to the room just in time to watch Jimmer and the cougars lose the game. Bummer. We had a good weekend though. We went and had family pics done, ate at my favorite sandwhich place Kneaders, saw Tangled, hung out at Jeramy and Heidi's and went bowling.

Kaden LOVES bowling. It was the number one thing he wanted to do on our "vacation".

Who knew they had these to help kids bowl? Obviously not me or I would have been using one for years. I got THE WORST bowling score out of all of us. Including the kids. I'm good with that though. Bowling is not my favorite thing to do.

Saturday night we went to Jesse's 10 yr misson reunion. (Thanks again for babysitting Jeramy and Heidi!) I love listening to stories about his mission from OTHER people. They never fail to mention how crazy he was (like when he scaled the outside walls of the MTC to take the bars off his window) but also mention just as much how hard of a worker he was. Anyone want to watch my three kids for two weeks while we travel back to Croatia?? Where's Jesse?