Merry Christmas!

Father's Day 2010

We had a relaxing Father's Day here with one of my FaVoRiTe daddy's in the whole world! The kids and I let Todd sleep in while we made him breakfast...french toast (made with Kneader's Chunky Cinnamon Bread), sausage and strawberries. Before breakfast was served, the kids woke him up with their gifts. They got him a shorts outfit, Red Sox hat and some grill accessories. Todd loves to grill and is REALLY good at it. For his special day, he wanted to grill some tri tip and had me make him his favorite macaroni salad. After church we came home and enjoyed lunch with his cousin, Rick. Rick's family is in Japan for a month so he was alone and I didn't want him to be by himself on Father's Day. The boys went and played some ball at the school down the street and when they came home we played some board games and had strawberry shortcake. I am so grateful for my husband and the father he is to our children. I am also blessed to have one of the greatest dads out there. My dad raised us by himself for many years and made so many sacrifices for my brother and I. I wish Dad could have been here to celebrate his special day with us...I pray he knows how much I love him.

Last Day of School

SO for the last day of school, I told the boys that they could have some friends over to celebrate Summer. The boys have done so well with their studies since moving to Utah. I'm so proud of them! I had this vision of all these crazy teenaged boys running around my house, so imagine my surprise when I found out Austin had a few girls on his list to invite. Seriously? When did this happen? Anyways, needless to say they all had a great time playing games, having a water fight and just hanging out while listening to music and enjoying a few hotdogs and root beer floats. We ended up going to 7 Peaks (a great water park. The kids had a great time and I was happy to get to meet the friends that my sweet sons made at school this year.

White Peaks Centennial Bagpipe Band

So this past fall, Austin started playing tenor drums in a bagpipe band. It is soooo cool! He has loved it so much and I am so proud of him and his desire to learn something new and that is not of the norm. I love it that my kids aren't "cookie cutter" to what is supposed to be cool. (No offense--it's just not us!) Here are some picture of my sweet boy at his first event--The Race for the Cure in Salt Lake City.

HaPpY BiRtHdAy MOM!

The kids and I were fortunate enough to go to Boise, Idaho this year for my sweet momma's birthday. It was so nice to get out of town for a while and spend time with her...since she lives so far away we don't get to spend as much time as we'd like with her. We flew into Boise and rented a car for the weekend and stayed at a hotel with a swimming pool, so the kids enjoyed that. We hung out at mom's and then took her to Outback Steakhouse for her birthday dinner. She doesn't go out to eat often, so this was a real treat for her. We then opened presents, we got her a set of pearl earrings, some Bath and Body works, and a book about "Moms" that I highlighted all the sayings that reminded me of her. (She cried with that one, which was the response I was hoping for.) ;) We went and saw the movie, "Oceans", it's a documentary about oceans, obviously. It was gorgeously filmed! We then just hung out the rest of the weekend, going through old pictures and enjoying each others company. I'm so grateful for my mom, she's had a hard life...but I've always known how much she loves me and works so hard for me. I love her so much and was so happy that we were able to go see her for her "Special Day"!

Mother's Day--I know a month late.

I had a wonderful Mother's Day with my family. I am truly blessed beyond measure! MY special day started off with Todd getting up early and making me breakfast. He's so cute, he always closes the door, so he won't wake me up. I usually wake up from the yummy smell and comotion going on in the kitchen, so I pretend to be asleep when the kids and him come in to wake me up. I love my family for that! My kids know how much I love to pamper myself, so they bought me a home pedicure set and a massage cushion to use on my favorite chair--it feels SO good! We went to church and I was lucky enough to hear Austin speak in sacrament meeting on Mother's. He touched my heart so much--it was so wonderful to hear him in front of everyone tell me how much he loves me and how appreciative he is of the things I do for him. I don't think of alot of things as being out of my way--it's just being a mom--but he sees the sacrifice that it sometimes takes. After church we went to Red Robin (shhh...don't tell!) and I enjoyed my beloved Banzai Burger--so YUMMY! Then we came home and watched a movie together and just relaxed. It was such a peaceful day. I am so grateful to be a Mom and to enjoy my wonderful children. Thank you for making my mommy job so easy.

Easter!

So this weekend was Easter/Conference Weekend. I love conference! Sadly, I can't always say that I have loved it. When the kids were little, it was always so difficult to get them excited about watching people just talk for 2 hours at a time. Luckily now, we have the internet with great sites like http://www.theideadoor.com/ to download conference packets to help keep them entertained. I also do a quiz with the kids at the end of conference where they get a piece of candy if they answer the question correctly. At the end of the weekend, whoever answered the most questions right get to go on a date with Todd and me. You wouldn't think at their ages that this would be that big of a deal, but gratefully it is. We also enjoy a big breakfast of cinnamon rolls on Saturday mornings session and Potato Bacon Breakfast pizza on Sundays session. (Yup, I know the way to their hearts--food!) It was also Easter this weekend and for some reason it always feels like a sacrilege to me that we don't get dressed up and physically go to church (this must come from my pentecostal days). I am so grateful for the atonement in my life and for the sacrifice that Jesus made. I used to think that the atonement was just to wash away my sins, but it is so much more than that--he suffered EVERYTHING that I have suffered--physical and emotional. That is so overwhelming to me that HE did that. On Easter we always have a big ham and "Yummy Potatoes" dinner. Todd and I were able to enjoy watching the kids hunt for their Easter eggs and go through their Easter baskets. We always get the kids a new movie to put in their baskets. Kenz got "Alice in Wonderland", Austin got "Sherlock Holmes" and Cam got "Blide Side". I love that they still love being surprised with the holidays. When I think of how many holidays we have left before kids starting getting married and going on missions it makes me so sad. Even though I am happy for them and for their futures, I really think it's a mean joke to entrust us with our kids only to send them on their way. I don't like it much! Anyways, we hope you all had a wonderful Easter and enjoyed your weekend with those that you love.

Seiko!!!

So lately I have been a horrible blogger...just so much going on that this has been the last thing on my mind. For the last month we have had the opportunity to host another student from Japan. Her name is Seiko Kodama and she has the best smile ever! She will always be near and dear to our hearts. We had so much fun teaching her about our American culture and teaching her more English-especially slang. We found out one day that she had to give a speech in her English class about a new word or phrase that she had learned. The night before we were watching America's Funniest Videos and the comment was made about a "redneck". Sooo, of course we had to explain what that meant and had a very funny conversation about trailer parks and rednecks. She thought it was so funny that that is what she gave her talk on. Yes, us Manning's know how to have great converation! Seiko also wanted to teach us a little about her culture and wanted to make us dinner...we ate squid! It actually was pretty good (or at least some of us thought so). We all had such a great time with her and are all very sad that she had to go home. Hopefully someday we will all get to see her again. Thanks for the memories Seiko!