April Fools

 April 1st came quick this year.  At the last minute I threw together a dinner.  We had meatball cupcakes with dyed potato frosting, cheesecake mashed potatoes with caramel gravy and grated chocolate pepper, and corn (yup, just corn).  We also revisited the jello drinks with straw.  Getting it all put together was so worth it to see the smile on Ridge's face when we tricked Daddy.  I really love April Fools dinner.

Let's Talk

One day at lunch Ridge told Rusty that he wanted to Russ to go under the table with him.  Russ asked what for.  Ridge said, "just let's talk."  So that's what they did.  They scrunched under the table and talked.

Yard Work

We don't mess around when it comes to yard work.  We borrowed this tractor from a neighbor to adjust the yard so that the irrigation water would hit the whole yard, front and back.  It worked great.  Ridge sat content for hours on Rusty's lap.  He loved the tractor as much as the big boys.

Daddy Daughter Date

 Kyleigh and Russ got to go the stake "Spring Fling" daddy/daughter date.  Don't they look so cute!  They had dinner and learned a dance.  Kyleigh enjoyed learning the dance so much that she insisted on teaching it to us for family home evening.

Cinco De Mayo

Several months ago I was wandering down the ice cream aisle at Walmart and spotted a box of choco tacos.  Mmmm, choco tacos.  I remember splurging and buying myself a choco taco at the Serv in Arco.  Why they were so good is beyond me, but they were.  So as I passed them I realized I had the equipment to build my own choco taco.  All I needed to do was whip out the waffle cone maker, create a taco shell, and fill it with ice cream, chocolate, and nuts.  Since I try not to eat ice cream on a regular basis I marked it on the calendar for Cinco De Mayo, just so I wouldn't forget my really great idea.  They turned out to be so fun.  Everybody loved them and asked if we could make them again (tomorrow).  Well, no, but I'm sure we will have them again soon.

The Backyard

 I love to watch the kids playing in the backyard.  It still looks a little rough, but the possibilities are endless.  My recent favorite is the leftover irrigation pipe that the kids kick soccer balls through and stand on rolling it forward with their feet.  The sandpile ridge is standing on became part of our new stamped colored slab for the firepit today.  Don't worry, we have more piles of dirt for him to play tractors in.  I love that they can play with their cousins whenever they want.  The front yard is just as great with the huge circle driveway and sidewalk.  They circle it with their bikes, rollerblades, scooters, and ripstick.  I don't think it could get any better.

St. Patrick's Day

I have yet to find a better way to celebrate any holiday than with food.  This St. Patricks Day the star of the food wasn't for us, but for the leprechauns.  As usual we had to find a way to get them to stop at our house and leave us a treat.  We decided to make them some leprechaun donuts.  Some cheerios, sprinkles, and melted chocolate and butterscotch chips did the trick.  We even printed the cute little donut box templates from family fun magazine online.

Kyleigh made a leprechaun house in case they wanted to stay awhile.  Katelyn made a trap because she wanted to see what they looked like.  Ridge taped some green paper together and then taped it to the fireplace stone.  He also asked Rusty to write a note to the leprechauns.  It said each of our names and then...

Please bring us some candy.
We live here.
We like us.

We were rewarded for our efforts with candy rainbows and chocolate gold.

 Wouldn't you stop if you were a leprechaun?

Happy St. Patricks Day.