Mother's Day

The Saturday before Mother's Day I got to spend a good part of the day cooking with Jett. I've been signing Jett up for cooking classes at Harmons over the past couple of months. He has only taken 2 or 3 classes, but has learned a lot in that time. I signed the both of us up for the special Mother's Day class so I could spend some time with my middle kid (because really, the middle one has it rough) and see what he had learned.

The teacher, Freida, is super sweet and just loves Jett. She kept asking me if she could take him home with her, but I told her I had grown quite fond of him and just couldn't let him go. He volunteered to help a lot and I got to watch him confidently slicing, dicing, mixing and whisking. It was so cute to watch him and I was amazed at just how good he has gotten at all his cooking skills.

 We got to make lasagna (Jett's favorite), salad with a really nice vinaigrette dressing, and neapolitan no-bake cheesecake. It was all so delicious and I really enjoyed spending that time with Jett. He deals a lot with competing for attention with his two brothers, but I try my best to let him know that I see him and that I love him.

On Sunday, Cruise and Jett woke me up with breakfast that they had made just for me. Apparently Cruise was up and making it when Jett woke up and wanted to help as well. They brought me waffles, toast, and the leftover cheesecake. Oh! And three pennies. LOL! Love those two.

After church, they gave me my presents!

Jett had made a super cute book at school that I just adore.

This was my favorite page:

"This is my mom having fun (picture of me playing my drums).
The thing she likes best to do for enjoyment and relaxation is resting.
Of the things she values, I think she likes my brothers and me best."

Cruise made a really nice letter and a handprint butterfly that was missing an eye. Probably at the bottom of his backpack somewhere.

"Dear Mom, Thanks for being the best mom in the world.
You have always made lunch for me, Jett, and Miles.
You have always cared for us, thanks for paying for our food and keeping our home.
Thanks for keeping us safe (also on Black Fridays), and thanks for the hugs.
We love you very, very, very, very, very, very, very, very, very much!
Love, Cruise" 

Dave had taken pictures of the boys for me and had them each fill out a cute questionnaire about me. And Dave wrote me a really nice note as well.

"My Mom's name is mom.
She is 3 years old.
Mom and I like to buy treats.
My Mom really loves me.
She likes to eat chicken.
She likes to drink water.
My Mom's job is work in a boat.
If she had time, she would like to go swimming.
Mom is really good at playing games.
If I could go anywhere in the world with her, we'd go Legoland.
I love my Mom because 7."

"My Mom's name is Emily.
She is 32 years old.
Mom and I like to cook food.
Mom likes to say, "I love you."
My Mom really loves to sleep in.
She likes to eat snow crab.
She likes to drink soda.
My Mom's job is to take care of us.
If she had time, she would like to sleep.
Mom is really good at cooking.
If I could go anywhere in the world with her, we'd go to Legoland.
I love my Mom because she is nice."

"My Mom's name is Emily.
She is 32 years old.
Mom and I like to go out on dates.
Mom likes to say funny things.
My Mom really loves drumming.
She likes to eat salad.
She likes to drink water.
My Mom's job is cooking food for us.
If she had time, she would like to play with us.
Mom is really good at drumming.
If I could go anywhere in the world with her, we'd go to Italy.
I love my Mom because she gives hugs and helps our family."

Here's the note from Dave that as I'm posting this is bringing tears to my eyes. Sometimes you just need to hear this stuff.

To top it off, I got a red iPod shuffle I had been wanting to use while exercising. It was one of those "I'll pick it out and put it in the on-line shopping cart and you buy it" kind of gifts. Ha ha! The inscription on the back says, "Suck Up the Wisdom", which is something Cruise had come up with years ago when he was trying to get Jett to get up enough courage to jump out of the boat. So now we say it a lot in our house and I thought it was fitting for something I would use while exercising.

And that was my Mother's Day! 

Cruise's Class Fishing Trip

Cruise and Dave went on the annual class fishing field trip a couple weeks ago. Cruise always likes these trips because he is guaranteed to catch a fish. The class took a bus down to Salem where they got lunch and then caught fish. Cruise took some pictures of the ducks he saw, which I posted already. He said he had a lot of fun and Dave enjoyed spending the day with Cruise. 

On the way back to school, Cruise thought he had seen a rare bird but wasn't able to get a picture of it, so he was a little upset. His teacher snapped this picture for me.

Getting Warmer...

I decided Utah wasn't allowed to freeze anymore this season, so I finally bought my flowers & herbs. I bought some mint to put by the front door to keep bugs out. I don't know if it will work or not, but the kids sure like grabbing a couple leaves as they come and go and pop them into their mouths. I also got a rosemary and basil: the two herbs I use the most in cooking. They smell sooo good!

I am really excited for my roses to start blooming, but until then, I planted some petunias around them. My lilac bloomed and it smells divine! I am so glad I planted that right by the front door. In my big planter, I put lavender to keep the bees happy, some African daisies because I just liked them, and some geraniums. I think it turned out pretty good.

Dave was really excited to finally take all of us out on the boat a couple weeks ago. He has been working hard on restoring the boat he got last year. He completely swapped out the motor, built a wakeboarding tower, reupholstered it himself using an old Singer sewing machine, sanded down and stained the wood parts, and re-carpeted it all. It was a lot of work! But it works perfectly now and he is really happy with how it turned out.

We went out on it a little over a week ago with the boys when it was about 85 degrees outside. It was the first time we tried out the inflatable hot dog we had gotten them for Christmas, and it turned out being a huge hit! I don't think anyone loves it more than Miles though.

The water was glass that day, so Dave decided to wakeboard a little. I will say, it's a little nerve-wracking to drive the boat and record behind me at the same time.

Dave found out quickly that he isn't 17 anymore. But hopefully he and I will get into enough shape that we can wakeboard without wanting to die the next day.