Our Memorial Day Weekend

We had a BBQ at Kristie and Patty's house. They made (virgin) pina colada's that were insanely delicious! Hudson took over mine and dipped potato chips in it, sweet and salty... I guess it's not that weird. :)

 He was seriously falling asleep while devouring my pina colada!

Monday evening, we went and visited my grandma and grandpa Steele's grave. It was nice to see beautiful flowers on their grave. My grandpa was so handsome and my grandma was striking and classy! I felt so much gratitude knowing that my grandpa put his life on the line in WWII. He was in the air force and was shot down while flying over Budapest, Hungary and then a prisoner of war in Germany for a year. I can't imagine how they endured such trials. But they were such strong, faithful, humble people who left a legacy behind them. I am honored to be one of their grandchildren.

They are truly missed. But I know that we will be together again with the Savior one day. What a comfort that is.

Hope you all enjoyed your Memorial Day and were able to take a minute to pray for our soldiers fighting and those who have fought for our country. I liked a quote I saw that said "Freedom is not free." We have all of those who put their lives on the line every day to thank so that we can be free.

God Bless America!

Future Broadway Star

My cute niece, Gracie (a.k.a. my mini me), played the role of Cosette in Les Miserables and did a fantastic job! She sang beautifully, acted like a pro, and had amazing stage presence! I see a future broadway star in the making, seriously!

Krista and I waiting for the show to start...

 Isn't she adorable?

Good job Gracie! You are a star! 

I'm so proud of you!

Father/Son Campout

Parker went on his first camping trip last weekend with Steve, just the two of them. He was so excited to have his very own flashlight and to sleep in a tent. He wore Steve's hat (an old, small one that he had) and wore it the entire campout. Before they left, Parker sat down next to Hudson on the floor and said in a really sweet voice "Baby, Parker is gonna go camping. You can go next time, okay? Does dat sound good?" and then he kissed his forehead goodbye-- such a sweet, tender moment.

Steve said that he was such a good boy the whole time and had a blast! The next morning at 4am, he looked over to Steve and said "Dad, do you like marshmallows?... I like marshmallows." And they were up for the day. Nobody else woke up in their camp for about three hours so they went on a walk and explored. Steve tried his hardest to keep him quiet but Parker couldn't resist howling like a coyote and singing every song he knew at the top of his lungs. Camping was definitely Parker's favorite thing to do! I'm so glad they had a fun time together. 

And for a potty training update:

I am pleased to announce that Parker went all day yesterday with out one accident and (drum roll please...) he went poo on the potty last night! I was at my parents house and everyone was aware of his pooping on the potty issues. So when he finally went last night-- he had a crowd of people clapping, cheering, and Nana even busted out the candy! Woo hoo! This morning, he told me right away that he had to go and he even told me which one was the "daddy poo" and "baby poo" (okay, that was probably a TMI... but it made me laugh out loud!) So far so good today. I am beginning to think that potty training is successful. Keeping my fingers crossed!

I jinxed myself

Parker did really good the first day and a half of potty training and then something went wrong...

 He pee'd his pants twice yesterday, twice today and pooped his pants after lunch! What is going on?! Right before he did his duty in his underwear, I asked him if he had to go potty. He said no, walked over to our stair case, pee'd and poo'd and then told me he had to go potty (after the deed was done mind you!) Uuuggghh. Okay, I ate my words that potty training was a piece of cake! Any advice would be greatly appreciated, because this Mama is starting to get discouraged!

Good thing he is SO cute!

Potty Training

I finally committed to potty training Parker yesterday (yes, it was me that had to commit because come on-- potty training is harder on the mom then the child, am I right?) Well, I went into it thinking it was going to be kind of hard and maybe I would regret my decision... and to my surprise-- it has been a piece of cake! I guess he was ready! We went to Target and bought him "big boy underwear" (Cars, Toy Story, Nemo, etc.) and he loves it!  He is even staying dry during his 3 1/2 hour naps! And he has had no accidents today! Every time he says he has to go I get all excited and rush him to the potty and he yells "I tell you mom!!" :) He gets to go to Peter Piper this week for doing such a good job. And I told him if he keeps it up, then we will take him to see a movie at the movie theaters! His eyes lit up and he said "I don't want to see a dinosaur movie. It's too scary. What do you want to see Mom?" He's so funny.

This is a picture I took on my phone right after he woke up from his nap and had dry underwear! He was kind of confused/excited/still waking up. :)

I couldn't muster up enough energy to cook dinner last night so we decided to go to Wildflower Bread Company. We love that place! We always order their Carribbean cob salad. Well, last night Steve took one bite and then very calmly slid the plate over to me and said "Look..." There was an entire cricket crawling around in our salad!! Barf! Needless to say, we got our money back and went somewhere else for dinner. I still get the chills just thinking about it. Then as we were leaving, Parker accidentally wet his pants, which was probably my fault for even taking him out in public on his first day of potty training. He just had to hang out in his wet undies because I forgot to bring another pair! *Mother of the year!* 

We ended up eating at Firehouse Subs across the street and it was a much better experience. The boys were excited to get firemens hats. 

And that is our week so far. Hoping Parker continues to do great with potty training so we can take him to the movies!

Monday Makeover: A New Woman

Kim's hair was needing color and shine. I gave her some natural highlights around the face to brighten up her look with seamless layers and round brushed her hair to give her bounciness and shine. As for her make-up, I used my favorite Covergirl coverstick underneath her eyes and used a light foundation, bronzer  a dash of blush on her cheek bones and gave her eyes a pop with shadow, eye liner and mascara! Check her out!

Before:

 After:

 She is such a genuinely fun, easy-going lady. Now her outer beauty matches her inner beauty!

Doesn't she look like a new woman?!

sunshine singers

Parker has been taking a little singing class for the past few months and he had his singing performance last Saturday. It was the cutest! He was kind of in a daze the whole time because he was trying to figure out what was going on and why he was on stage singing for an audience. He took the class with his girlfriend Bella. They are so funny together! There was a part in the show when Lindsay (their singing teacher) told all the boys to stand up and sing their part in the warm up. Bella bounced up with the boys, but Parker was not having it. He kept pointing at her and telling her to sit down. It was hilarious. Then when it came time for the girls to stand up and the boys to sit down, he was in a complete daze, staring off into space and it took Lindsay saying his name twice in the microphone for him to snap out of it and sit down! :) We got it on tape and I'm so glad we did, because it was so funny! 

Parker is such a musically talented child. He sings around the house all day long and has been that way since before he could talk. I am so glad we put him in this class. We will definitely be doing it again!

Best Buds!

"Umm.... you're kind of choking me Bella!"

His favorite song that he learned was "Me and My Teddy Bear." He will sing it for anyone if they ask him to. It's awesome!

Hudson loved watching the children sing! He sat on my mother-in-laws lap and sang E-I-E-I-O at the top of his lungs the entire time! He's such a fun little boy and he loves music just as much as Parker.

We couldn't find Parker after the show was over, and when we finally went backstage, we found him sword fighting with blow up guitars-- a classic "Parker moment." :)

Hudson had fun getting tossed up in the air by Papa...

 ... and taking licks off of Parker's popsicle.

 They had fun eating popsicles after the show!

Parker and the beautifully talented Linsey Maxson! She is an incredible singer and great performer!

So proud of my little Parker boy. He is growing up way too fast, but it is fun watching him grow and experience all of the fun things that life has to offer. 

I hope he will never stop singing to me. He is my little entertainer all day long and makes life so much fun in our home.

Good job Parker boy! You're the man!

Conquering his fear

This is the first year I enrolled Parker in swim lessons. I was a little bit weary going into it because everyone prepared me for the worst. At his first lesson, he didn't cry until about 10 minutes into it and then he screamed, cried, and ran and hid behind anything he could find because he DID NOT want to go underwater! I kept encouraging him (all while he was screaming) and threw him back into the pool when it was his turn-- it was killing me inside but I knew he needed to conquer his fear of going underwater. I told him he would get ice cream but only if he didn't cry and listened to his teacher. Next lesson, he started crying right when we got there, ran and pouted on the lawn and cried the entire time. After the second lesson, I showed him the video I took of him going underwater and told him how brave he was and how fun it is to go under. He watched it over and over about 20 times. Everywhere we went, we told people about his swimming lessons and how fun it was. On the third lesson, I reminded him that if he was a good boy and didn't cry, and I would buy him ice cream. He marched right up to the step with his chin high up in the air, sat down next to his fellow swim students, looked back at me with a brave but still weary smile, and told his teacher he wanted to "kick" (his legs.) He looked back and almost started to cry when I looked him in the eyes and asked him what kind of ice cream he wanted and he replied, with a huge grin on his face: "chocwet (chocolate)!" After that, he pushed his fears aside, and something just clicked. I saw a flicker in his big blue eyes and he did AWESOME! He swam through rings, jumped off the diving board in the deep end, and swam across the pool many times-- all with a huge smile on his face! Talk about a proud parenting moment-- I was so proud of him I could have cried! At the end, he looked back at me and yelled "I get a tweat (treat) now!" What. a . relief. :)

Today was his fourth lesson and he was like a little fish already! Check out how cute he is!

 (Digging in his ear for something...)

 He not only does everything she tells him to, but he does it with a big grin on his face!

 Waiting his turn with his fellow swim friends.

 He jumps off of the diving board without any hesitation! 

He got a well deserved ice cream sandwich for his bravery! 

I love my Parker boy!

P.S. Allison Neville is a great swim teacher! I would highly recommend her!