Spring Break Begins With Easter

     Easter this year was a bit different. It started off with a trip to Reno to get Natasha's friend Taylor from Boron. I know that the two girls were super excited to see each other but I tell you, I think that I was almost just as excited! Taylor is such a sweetie and a super good friend to Tashee.

     That evening when we were decorating eggs all 3 of the older  girls decided that they would rather go out with their friends and leave the little ones home to do the eggs. At first that seemed ok to me because they are growing up and I can understand how dyeing eggs isn't exactly up there on the top 10 things to do on a Saturday night, but I can tell you all, it will never happen again! From here on out everyone will be at home to dye our eggs together as a family. And thats final! The little kids had a good time, I even got into it a bit more this year. I bought a camo egg kit so I was having fun trying to make camoflouge eggs, there was gray dye and army green! It was pretty cool! Chelsea took charge and got the dye ready with her sisters while Clayton tried to stay out of trouble.

Clayton had tons of fun, he loved the whole concept of coloring eggs and was far too impatient to even bother with using a wire or spoon or anything for that matter to get the eggs out of the dye, he just used his hands!

Heres our annual Easter Egg in front of the Eye picture!

Family Togetherness in a Barn

Yes, I said in a barn. We spent St. Patrick's day evening out at the pig barn watching Myles sow Berney farrow 8 piglets. Not everyone was there the whole time, except Myles of course, but we all came out, sat, watched and went back inside at our leisure. There was no arguing or fighting just quiet awe and excited expectation as we witnessed the miracle of birth. Sweet family togetherness. Funny how the sweetest miracles seem to happen in barns!

We did begin the day with our traditional accessorizing of the green; beads, head bands, t-shirts, hair dye and shamrock stamps.

We then ended the day with our traditional corned  beef and cabbage dinner with our Green velvet cake to top it all off in honor of Grandpa Betts whose birthday it is and the reason for which we have developed the family tradition of going all out for a holiday that most don't even notice is there.

     You just gotta love that Clay smile!

A Valentines to Remember

Someone gave me the great idea to post something that I love on everyday for the month of February in honor of Valentines day on my FB page.  I wanted to add to my family blog the loves of my life that I had posted on FaceBook during the month.

Day 1 of Valentines Declarations.

     I love my husband more than anything!!!! He is kind, forgiving, respectful and a great provider for his family. He works hard for us, esp. for me so that I can do what I need to do and be a stay at home mother and wife.












Day 2 of Valentines Declarations.

 Minnie is an amazing young woman. I love her with all my heart and am amazed at the courage, love and strength that she possesses. There’s so many times I look at her and think WOW! How lucky I am to be blessed with such a great daughter and friend, I'm truly a rich woman!

Day 3 of Valentines Declarations.

     Natasha is awesome. She has so many talents and abilities, more than I think that she knows. She is good at art and has great organizational skills. She is so good to her brothers and sisters and I love her companionship. I Love you Tashee!!!!!






Day 4 of Valentines Declarations.

Kylee is a unique young lady. I have enjoyed watching her grow into a beautiful young lady. She is very talented and can succeed at anything that she chooses to. She is the first to jump up and help when help is asked for. I'm so glad that I have Kylee as my daughter and my friend.

Day 5 of Valentines Declarations.
      Chelsea, my pink monster, can do anything. At least that’s what she used to say! I still think its true. Chelsea has quite the sense of humor, she loves to cook, loves the little ones and is a true blessing to have as a daughter. I love having such a beautiful, intelligent, talented and funny young lady growing up in my home.

Day 6 of Valentines Declarations.

    

Maddie is quite the girl! She is great with her little brothers, esp. the monster. She is kind and loving, my little snuggler always ready to give me a back rub or a hug if I've had a hard day. She is always attentive to my needs and those of her little brothers and goes out of her way to help me when she feels that I need it. I appreciate my Maddie and adore her tremendously.

Day 7 of Valentines Declarations.

  Lindy, my last daughter is quite the girl. She has a wonderfully unique sense of fashion. She always looks great styling her hair, clothes and accessories to make a fabulous ensemble. She also is a budding artist with a great ability to work with color within a scheme. She cares deeply for her family and does her best to help her mom. I love you Lindy Poo!

Day 8 of Valentines Declarations.

     I just adore my first son, Britten Jones. He is so amazing and everything that he does is an adventure being as he is my first child to do things like a boy! He is super smart, takes very good care of his sisters and brothers, super sweet, super brave, loves soccer and the animals, I'm very proud of my B, He's the best son a mom could ask for!





Day 9 of Valentines Declarations.

     What can I say about Clayton, the 9th love of my life, my 2nd son... Well for starters, he's a monster! Which is ok because that’s who he is. He is growing up fast and actively exploring his world, he loves to crack eggs! He loves to cook, paint and anything Scooby Doo. He is becoming a wonderfully independent, loving little boy. As much frustration and anger as he causes me, I love him with all my heart. He’s my boy.

Day 10 of Valentines Declarations.

     Allen, my third son and my last baby, you are a joy in our home with your sweet baby ways, knowing that you are the last I have spent the extra time to enjoy your sweet baby days. I love your sweetness, your pudgy belly, the quiet clap of your plump little hands, the pitter patter of your little baby feet as you run across the floor, your grin, your laugh, the stories you tell, your serious looks of contemplation, the way you put us in our place, your snuggles, your loves and open mouthed slobbery kisses. I love the look you give me when I'm telling you that you're short knowing that someday you'll be telling me that. I could go on and on about all of the little things that I love. Allen, I love you, Thank you for being the little light in my life.
Day 11of Valentines Declarations.

     I owe so much to my parents. I am so Thankful for good parents who love me and my family to no end. They are the best and I couldn't ask for better.








Day 12 of Valentines Declarations.

     Tillie, Myles mom has given us a wonderful Husband and Father, we will be forever grateful.

Day 13 of Valentines Declarations.

"Make new friends but keep the old, one is silver and the other gold."

     Good friends make the world brighter!

Day 14 of Valentines Declarations.

     The gospel, my Lord and Savior and the scriptures. This is my mom and dad in 197? in front of the Idaho Falls Temple.

Britten, the Bakugan Battle Brawler!

Britten turned 7 this year! He is growing up so fast, only one year until his baptism and he is looking forward to this special event already!!!!! I have been able to help out in Brittens classroom again this year and I love it. He is not too old or too cool to run up and greet me with a hug, its great! He does so well in school, he works hard and is very smart. I love being able to witness his achievments. Whenever I go into the classroom with the two little boys for a special occaision like for p.e. parents day or holiday parties he is so mindful of Clayton and does everything that he can to make sure that Clay is included, even if this means giving all of his attention to his little brother instead of his friends! For example, when we took Brittens cupcakes in for his birthday Britten took Clayton around the whole entire room and let Clayton dispense the germ buster (antibacterial gel) to everyone, even though this was a privledge that the teacher reserves for the birthday kids! Then Britten made sure that Clayton had a seat with his very own cupcake. It was an awesome sight for a mother to see!

 Britten is very sensitive with a strong sense of right and wrong. He works hard to make right choices by being honest and kind. He loves to help take care of his baby brother and he is overjoyed that Clayton is finally reaching an age where they can truly play together and have comraderie! I love the fact that Britten can sit down for hours at a time drawing and writing in his notebooks. When he draws a picture he can tell every detail of every little thing that is in his drawing! Its amazing how much thought goes into it all! Overall Britten is just an amazing little man who is totally into Bakugans at the moment! Goodbye Spiderman, goodbye Bumble Bee and Optimus Prime, Hello Bakugan Brawlers!

Our last munchkin is 1!!!!!

We all celebrated Allen's first birthday today. The funny thing is that we were all excited and he didn't have a care in the world. It didn't matter to him that is was his birthday, saturday or any other day. All he knows is that his family loves him and thats all that matters!

He is just such a cutie. I love watching him grow up and do his little baby things. I love the little pitter patter of his baby feet walking or running along the floor. I love how short and wobbly he is. You know what I mean, weebles wobble but they don't fall down. Thats what he reminds me of when he walks, its so adorable. Watching Allen grow up always makes me a little sad, because I know that he is our last baby so I try hard to cherish every moment of his babyhood, which is disapearing rapidly. I love how he jibbers to me and he truly believes that he is talking and that I understand. He has entire conversations and laughs and smiles or is extremely serious depending on what he is discussing, which I must always guess at. He's great.

He had a lot of fun opening his presents, it took a while of course but once he understood that we were letting him rip this paper and that there was something else inside the paper he got going and had a ball. He loved his cake! We let him pick at the frosting until dad got tired of trying to stay clean then we cut the cake and let him go at it in his chair. He was pretty messy! He got two baths all in about a 1 hour period, being as spaghetti is just as messy as cake! I have so enjoyed watching this precious little boy grow up and I am so priviledged to have such a little sweetheart for a son. He gives the best hugs and kisses. Allen is a true blessing in our lives!

"I'm the Birthday Boy!" and "I'm Free"

When Clayton woke up on January 6th, he greeted me with "I'm the Birthday Boy!".
"Yes," I replied, "You're the Birthday Boy". This was an awesome greeting considering that my miniature monster usually greets me with a grump. One morning during Christmas break he actually greeted the girls and I with a boot! What exactly does that mean you say? Let me explain, the girls and I were all sitting at the table eating breakfast when out of nowhere this cowboy boot comes flying at us and lands on the table. We all sat there in shock, wondering what we did, as we listened to tiny feet pattering down the hall back to my room. Granted not all mornings are as memorable as that one but that pretty much sums Clayton up; he is not a morning person!



For me to recieve such a happy greeting was a very pleasant, unexpected joy! As a matter of fact my miniature monster managed to suppress the monster in him for most of the day and was almost completley angelic. He was very excited about today being HIS birthday! He loved his hat and did his very best to be careful and not tear it as he wore it most of the day. He was ecstatic about his Scooby Doo birthday cake. And quite honestly, I was too. I traced and free handed the decoration and I think that it turned out pretty darn good!!!!

He did jump the gun and unwrapped all but one of the presents in the privacy of my bedroom. I managed to do a bang up job on not freaking out and handled the situation very well, making it a fun time for all of us.


We ended the day with cake and a Scooby Doo movie. When he was talking to his Gramma on the phone he told her "I'm Free." My thought was that most days, I would give him away for free, but today, I'll keep him. What we like most about Clayton is 1. We love his big grin of a smile. It's great! 2. We love the way he greets us when we get home like we are the most important people in the world. 3. We love the way he wants to do everything we do. He tries his very best to be like us, feeding and taking care of the pigs, vaccuming and sweeping the floor. 4. He loves his brothers and sisters or as he as come to calling them 'the girls'. 5. He love his friends and especially his nursery leaders. 6. He is a bundle of energy and constantly keeps us all on our toes. 7. He makes the terrible two's for other parents look easy! How lucky they are.
Already Clayton has grown up a bit and has become a three year old. I'm looking forward to what this next year with my miniature monster will hold.

A Clayton Story

October 29th, Clayton chose a football to buy with his Christmas money last year. He chose it all on his own, no help needed at all. It was the best buy any kid has ever made, he plays with it a lot and used to call it his feet ball. We, Myles and I, often sit in the living room with him and toss the ball back and forth. Last night as Myles and Clay were playing ball together, a whole 10 months since he bought the ball for himself he declares to his dad, "I bought this ball with my money." Some of the kids were starting to argue with him after all what does a 2 year old know right! He was very happy and satisfied when I was able to confirm to all that he did indeed buy his feet ball with his own money. "Yeah, its MY money ball"