Will my tulips ever bloom?

Ashlee and Jake's Piano recital!

Today was Ashlee and Jake's Piano recital. Their Piano Teacher had the recital at 10:00 A.M. this morning. It is always a struggle on an already stressful Saturday morning. Anyway, they did a VERY good job, and I was very proud of them!! It was actually a nice way to start our day. I'm always so happy for my kids progress. I guess all the nagging and harping on them to practice is paying off! Oh yeah, I can throw away the ear plugs now. Sorry about the quality of the pictures, the lighting was terrible!!

Picking up sticks!!!

We have trees lining our driveway, most of the time we love them, but they occasionally lose small branches and sticks. Because of all of the wind storms, there were more than usual. So last night for Family Home Evening(much to my kids dismay), we gathered up all the branches and sticks from the yard! All of the kids pitched in and did a pretty good job. They only had to be told a couple of times to pick up more than a few sticks at a time. So, after we finished we decided that we would take the kids out for ice cream. I love bribery!

Say goodbye to your tip!

As you read this story, keep in mind that Don is a very good tipper. The other day Don and I went out to lunch. We often go to this particular restaurant and haven't had any problems in the past. The meal was good, but the waitress was a little to be desired. She was rude, didn’t complete the order as we requested and basically forgot about us. When it was time to pay the bill of $21.79, we gave her a Twenty Dollar bill and a Ten. When the mediocre, if not bad waitress returned, she had brought us only the receipt. She had kept all of our change. A good waitress would have gotten $5.00 from us but, she was not a good waitress, and she knew she didn't deserve a tip. So she helped herself to a nice tip of $8.21 (a tip she definitely did not deserve) hoping that we would forget, or be too embarrassed to ask for the change. Don kindly asked her for our change. When she brought the change, she brought back only the bills and kept the coin. Don didn't want her to think that we forgot to tip her, so he tore the corner off a $5 bill and left that for her. So Instead of getting a $5.00 tip, she got 21 cents, and the corner off a bill!!!!!!

I LOVE my FAMILY!

ASHLEE HAS A BLOG!! CHECK IT OUT!

Hi everybody, I just wanted to tell you all that Ashlee has started a blog! She thought it would be a good way to keep in touch with friends and family far away. She did it almost all by herself. Check it out!

http://ashleenhulet.blogspot.com/

The Best Mom & Grandma Ever!

My Mom has always been a good example. She always stayed close to the Lord and taught us to do the right things.

She always tried to keep the family close.

I remember some of the fun things we did together.

-She always let the grandkids have sleepovers and she would take them to the Rainbow Gas Station and let them pick out their favorite treats.

-She planned fun parties for the grandkids.

-She would let the older grandkids sleep over on New Year’s Eve – They would have a party with lots of treats and they would go outside and bang on pots and pans to ring in the new year.

-Every year she has an Easter egg hunt for the grandkids and great grandkids. She even made the kids bunny ears and baskets.

-One time she hosted a big cousins camp. All the grandkids brought their sleeping bags, tents and other things for a three-day camp. They took the bus downtown and had lunch, and took a tour of the church museum. They made crafts, had workshops, swam, ate, had a talent show and Sunday they all went to Church with her.

-Every year she has a Halloween party. The kids all wear their costumes and go trunk or treating. She also serves one of her famous yummy dinners. The big highlight of the evening is the flaming ghost cake.

-Every year she holds a Christmas Eve party. From the time I was little it was always the big event of the year. She always made new pajamas for all the kids that we all opened on Christmas Eve night. I was impressed with her valiant effort to continue making PJs every year for all of the grandchildren. Eventually there were so many grandchildren from the ten of us that it became impossible for her to continue. But she did pull it off again a couple of years ago.

What a great grandma. I cherish these traditions so much they live on with my children in our home.

Girls Night In.............

So, I always love conference time. I love the opportunity I have to listen to all of the amazing leaders of our church, I love them so much. It's so fun for Don, and my boys to go to Priesthood Meeting, and I get the opportunity to spend some "girl" time with Ashlee. Tonight, we had her favorite dinner, PIZZA. We spent time making them together, and they were so yummy. Afterwards, we went to McDonald's for a Mcflurry, which are another of her favorites. I am so grateful for the time we get to spend together!

Happy Birthday Casey!

Casey and his brother Clifford are turning two! It is very appropriate that their birthday falls on April fools day.