Watch out.... he's on the loose

Tanner has been asking for some time to take off his training wheels but there is always something not allowing us to from our health to the weather we have had to put it off for sometime. Last weekend the sun was out, everyone felt good, so we headed out to the empty parking lot next to our house and let him go. Actually I was pretty worried and made him put on the knee guards and elbow pads and gave him warnings continuously as to what might happen when he gets on without his training wheels. I told him he might fall, I told him there might be blood, I tried to give him as realistic point of view as to the possible outcome and how we need to be brave and get on and try again blah blah blah.

Well that was a waist of breath because literally the first time he started off Eric realized he wasn't even holding him and just let go and off Tanner went. Just like that he went from four to two wheels and he never looked back. It took him about 3 more minutes to learn how to jump off when he was falling and I am happy to say there wasn't a single drop of blood or tears the whole afternoon. In fact it has been over a week now of him riding with two wheels and there still haven't been any spills. Oh sure, I know there will be many to come, but I'll take this skin-knee free time gladly.

Part two of this awesome bike filled Saturday happened on our way home from Ty's morning t-ball game. I love garage sailing, but rarely have a chance to go out. I was in need of one thing so I thought I would drive around the neighborhood to see if anyone was out selling stuff. As I drove up our street I noticed a bike on the curb with a sign on it. It looked about Ty's size and so I pulled over to see how much they wanted. To my surprise the sign said free. I looked at the bike thinking it must be broken or really used or something. But it was just the opposite. The bike looked like it had been used maybe twice.
It was the perfect size for Ty. I couldn't have been more excited, and Ty was bouncing out of his chair! So while Tanner learned his new skill Ty hopped on his new bike and flew around the parking lot. And Austin, well he was happy as could be scooting around on his little car making noises the whole way. It was a perfect Saturday afternoon.

Just Becasue

With everyone feeling better Eric wanted to do something fun this weekend. So Friday night when he got home from work he set up the tent in the backyard, just because. The boys love camping so much, even if it is just in the backyard. And boys weekend always means a good time is on it's way. (Just a side note, I stayed warm in my bed all weekend because I really enjoy my sleep and wanted to take full advantage of this weekend.... I mean, I wanted to let the boys have their time.)




Eric pulled out their mattress, so he didn't have to blow up the air mattress which I thought was a good trade. They had a blast jumping on the beds. And why not take advantage of the fun and have a little wrestling match too.




They ran in and out of the tent all night even though it was a little chilly outside. I thought for sure they would be in before 10pm snuggled together on the couch, but I was wrong. Eric left the tent up all weekend and they had another sleep over Saturday night. Unfortunately a storm made it's way into town, so the tent came down, but I have a feeling there will be many more backyard sleepovers this summer. In fact, Eric is already planning the next one which will be held on the trampoline.

Our New Family Joke

From the beginning of this year our family has been hit hard with bad health. Mainly just colds and ear infections, but it has been non stop. Our typical family phone call starts with, 'We saw the doctor again today.'
Maybe it seems longer than ever because it never happens all at once. No no, that would be too easy. Instead it passes slowly to one member of the family at a time. Sometimes we actually get anywhere from one to three days of good health, and then it takes someone else down. I have been blessed to miss almost all of it, although the two times I have been infected I have gone down hard. The boys really have taken the brunt of it. We have had ear infections aplenty, pink eye, a nasty chest cold that keeps me up as night as I fear one of the boys will actually cough up a lung, the flu, or something like it and Austin kept us all on our toes as he went and had an allergic reaction to medication that the Dr. couldn't control.

Good times, good times. We have spent more in medical bills in the last 4 months then I have on all three of my pregnancy combined.... and I haven't even had this baby yet. We are doing our part to keep Kaiser of Roseville well funded. But really, I am so blessed with good doctors. Especially our kids doctor. She is wonderful and I love her. She has gotten to know my family better than I had even hoped, and with each visit I grow to appreciate her more.
I just pulled up my pictures to see what I missed out on posting last month, and I was saddened by the lack of photos I had, but realized not much happened last month other than movie watching, snuggling, and resting in bed. But right now we are on the up and up. Austin is just getting over (fingers crossed) the last of this stomach bug he has and Tanner and Austin go back to the doctor in two weeks for our final decision on tubes for their ears, but other than that we are hoping this will end our ill fate and we can return to the world as the full of life family we are.
We have a busy May so I am getting my fingers warmed up as I prep to post lots and lots of fun things that we have planned. We will looked back on the beginning of 2010 and laugh some day as we recall how many load of laundry we did, trips to the doctors we took and the many creative activities we did with our sick little ones and how grateful we are for each day of good health.

Keep Those Eggs Coming!

After we hit the hunt in the morning in GB we came back to Roseville for a picnic with the ward at a near by park where they also had a hunt for the kids. This one was a little more relaxed and the kids knew how many they could get, so there was no stress or strategies involved for me. I actually just sat in a blanket and watched the fun unfold before me. It was a beautiful day and I loved just soaking up the sun for a while. I say that now as I look outside my window and it is grey and overcast and the wind seriously sounds like it is going to knock my trees down! I wish I could go back to last Saturday. Oh well, I'll look at the pictures and pretend I was there again.









We have another hunt tomorrow (weather permitting) and of course the big one at Grandma and Grandpas. That bunny is a tricky one, but brings the best candy! Can't wait to share the findings with the boys!!

Flash Backs to good times at my Jr. High

When I was a little girl I remember doing awesome Easter egg hunts at Cavitt, which became my Jr. High School when I was older. Who knows how good the hunt really was, but when your a kid... anything is fun, right? So anyway, they are still doing hunts there yearly and Eric and I always seem to remember it the week after it happens. They typically do theirs a week earlier than everyone else does. But this year, we remembered and I am so glad we did. It was really fun. They had a bounce house and alpacas and firetrucks and the Easter bunny of course. The place did fill up by the time we did the hunt, but before that, we had very few other kids there with us.

When we got there, Tanner made a bee line for the alpaca. Big surprise, right.

Austin got a balloon and that is all he needed for the rest of the day. He was so in love with it, it was cute.


He wasn't as thrilled to meet the bunny. Very curious, but not much excitement at all.

Ty on the other hand was having a blast rocking out with the bunny. He got right in there for all the song and shook his booty like it was going out of style.

Eric and Austin even got in on the movin' and grovin' when the hokey pokey came on.
But Tanner, he choose to stay with his new friends the alpacas from most of the morning.


Then it was time for the hunt. We called Grandma down for some back-up. My mom and I are both super competitive even over things like this, so we tried to prep the kids as best we could as to strategies to get the most eggs. Ty was taking none of the advice and just wanted to do it his way, and when I did the count down for Tanner to start, he started screaming, 'I don't want to do it!!!' and basically refused to pick up eggs. I did grab a few for him and he caught on at the last second before all the eggs disappeared. Ty did pretty well. Eric said the little kids group was scary as they had parents, apparently worse than me, who scooped armfuls for their kids and Eric just had to grab a few and get out for safety reasons.
We looked to see if we had the golden tickets, but we had no luck with that.

But the experience was a blast and the kids had such a good time, it was all so worth it.

Cinnamon Roll Goodness

Quick confession..... I am obsessed with The Pioneer Woman. She is everything I wish I could be... and I would kill for her kitchen. It is beautiful. I honestly don't know if I personally could make it as a ranchers wife, but if I could trade lives with her, I would sure try. Sigh.

Anyway, the point of my little obsession confession is because Ree is an amazing cook and has great stuff on her site all the time. I have tried variations of her stuff, but there are always things that I want to try that I never get around to. Well, last week, I got around to it and made her super amazing, to die for cinnamon rolls. Oh my goodness they are soooo good.

Of course nothing I do is as easy as it should be, but I have to put a Nicky spin on all things I do right. I started out trying this Friday afternoon. It didn't seem that hard. I can make bread, and a lot of this is doing just that, but as the first attempts lump of dough just sat there with no action at all I knew something was up. I started over. I was talking to my Grandma this time who I often call for cooking advice. Neither of us could figure out what was wrong. I told her it appeared the dough seemed to dry, not as sticky as it should be and I kept adding more milk. Well, I didn't want to add too much more because I didn't want to kill the recipe. The second one turned out much like the first, a dud. So I gave up for the night and thought I would try again tomorrow. It was really bugging me all day why I couldn't get it right. At about 10:30 Friday night I jumped online again and studied the recipe over and over.
• Dough
1 cup whole milk
1 cup vegetable oil
1 cup sugar
2 packages (4 1/2 teaspoons) active dry yeast
9 cups all-purpose flour
1 heaping teaspoon baking powder
1 scant teaspoon baking soda
1 tablespoon salt
Yep, everything looked right. Wait a min.... read that first line one more time. OHHHHH. Not one cup of milk like I thought it said, it was one QUART of milk. That would explain A LOT. (and reaffirm that I am a true blonde.)

So Saturday morning I started again with a Quart of milk and all the other right stuff. A few hours later the most wonderful smell filled my home as 8 pans of the best tasting cinnamon rolls filled my kitchen. (Yes, I said 8, another part of the recipe I forgot to notice. Next time I'll freeze half the dough).
You should totally check out her site and try the cinnamon rolls. www.thepioneerwoman.com Oh oh, I just looked at her site and she had homemade glazed doughnuts right now. YUMMMMMY. But first I'll read the recipe 6 times to make sure I get it right.

Batter Up!

Monday night was Ty's first t-ball game. He was super excited! I am so glad he was feeling well enough to play. There are lots of pictures, but I put a few in a slideshow to show ya. There are 21 games total this season, so be ready for lots of game recaps :)

The best part was getting him all suited up. I made Eric do it for a few reasons but mainly because it is mandatory league rules that all boys wear an athletic cup and I really thought that first experience should be something between a father and a son. He wasn't a fan as most almost 6 year-olds probably aren't. You'll see him in one of the shots adjusting it. :) I thought it was hilarious and I just know in a few years those things will be all over my house and the boys will be wearing them around on their heads. I love sports!