April Showers!

The absolute best months in the South are April and May. Beautiful weather, lots of sunshine, blossoms and flowers everywhere, the humidity is still low, and the bugs aren't out yet! I've come to look forward to spring as my favorite season here, and so far we've had some glorious weather to fully appreciate what a particularly nice spring it's been.

My little crew joins me at the gym a lot so I can teach my class. I thought I'd snap a quick picture of us before we went in. I will really miss Zach and his silly sense of humor during the day next year, but I think Leah will miss him even more!

Lucy's spring break was late this year-- normally it's sometime in March, but this year it was the second week in April. We didn't mind because the weather wasn't very nice in March, and this gave us a good chance to be outside and do some fun things we normally don't have time for-- like meet friends for lunch at Chick fil A. We played at Sonic, went to the park several times, drove to the museum in Rockingham, and played outside with Josh and Luke. It was a nice preview of what summer will be like.

 I also got to take Lucy and Zach to a movie on Friday night. We went to Rio 2, while Jon took Leah on a little daddy-daughter date to Purple Penguin and the Dollar store. It was nice to be able to sit back and relax with the older kids, and be treated to a movie in the theater while Jon put Leah to bed!

 After debating whether or not she'd like to grow out her hair some more, Lucy finally decided to get it trimmed on the last day of spring break. Then a week later both of her front teeth fell out--one day apart from each other! I catch her looking in the mirror sometimes and she says, "I just can't believe how different I look!" I love the little jack o' lantern grin! 

 Leah is still up to her usual antics-- being extra naughty, and a drama queen about everything! Sometimes I wonder if Heavenly Father knows that if he makes them extra cute, they can be extra naughty and get away with it.

 We had the missionaries over for Sunday dinner and somehow she weaseled a cupcake out of me before we'd even eaten dinner. Sigh. I've lost my ability to do battle and I give in too easily!

 She is SUPER smart-- she can count to three, basically dress herself and put her shoes on, pick up her toys, bring me a diaper and wipes when she's poopy, and knows our schedule and routine by heart. She absolutely loves the movie "Frozen," and we probably watch it at least twice a day. She of course doesn't really talk yet, but she's heard the songs and script enough that she can repeat certain words and sounds right in sync with the movie, like the song "Let It Go." It's crazy! 

Her absolute favorite thing to do though is be outside and SWING! She loves the swings at the park and is very peaceful while the older two run and play as long as I stand there and push.

I'd been without a calling in our ward for the last several months, and just got newly called to the Enrichment committee in Relief Society. The first activity we planned happened to be a gardening one, which I really know next to nothing about. Somehow all of our gardening experts fell through, so I ended up teaching everyone how to plant herb gardens, thanks to some info on Pinterest. It should be fun to watch them grow this summer-- along with two tomato plants we're crossing our fingers with. I just hope the bunnies don't get to them first!

I mentioned how lovely everything is in the spring-- and I finally figured out what the beautiful purple flower is called that grows on all the trees and in the kudzu around here: WISTERIA. Finally. It was a mystery for the longest time, but it is really beautiful.

And true to my word, I let Jon have the weekend after his birthday off so he could go backpacking with his Air Force buddy Dr. Boh. They went to Grayson Highlands State Park in Virginia, and had a great time. Luckily Dr. Boh took some pictures so I could get a peek of what they were up to, while I was holding down the fort by myself with three wild Indians. The scenery looks beautiful!

Apparently there are wild ponies all over the park, and you're able to get quite close because they're not very shy.

The one and only Dr. Boh! They nicknamed him "Brother" because the girls at the clinic think he and Jon look so much alike. I guess it's the bald head.

I'm really glad he got to go have a manly "timeout" to recharge the ol' batteries. I think that's probably one of the things I miss the most about living so far away from family--just having helpers with the kids every now and then! I have a really hard time asking for help anyway, and then add that to the fact that we just don't have much of a network of friends and neighbors, so the brunt of all childcare falls squarely on our shoulders 24/7. I have to take my kids everywhere-- my doctor appointments, grocery shopping, visiting teaching, etc. I keep reminding myself how we'll probably look back at these four years as a time in our lives when it was JUST US and nobody else, and we'll miss that simplicity, but it is easy to get burned out! We're sure counting down the days of this final year.... Only one April left!   

Favorites

I challenged myself last year on the blog to record all of my kids' current "favorites," and it's been a year since the last one-- so here's the new round of what's popular in the Cardon household for 2014! 

Lucy Debora, age 7

TV Show: Scooby Doo, My Little Ponies

Movie: Harry Potter 1 and 2

Song: Taylor Swift

Food: Pepperoni Pizza, Steak

Least Favorite Food: Meatloaf, Sloppy Joes

Treat: Smarties, Cupcakes, Popcorn

Color: Purple

Toy: Harry Potter wand

Activity: Play with Josh and Luke (neighbors)

Animals: Swans, Flamingos

Store: Claire's

To Do With Mom: Go Out to Dinner 

To Do With Dad: Daddy Daughter Dates

Best Friends: Luke and Josh

Zachary Jonathan, age 5

TV Show: Batman, Avengers, Justice League, Ninjago

Movie: Despicable Me 2, Spiderman

Song: Techno (Body Pump songs)

Food: Hamburgers, Steak, Pancakes

Least Favorite Food: Anything with Tomato Sauce

Treat: Cookies, Candy, Cake, Ice Cream

Color: Orange

Toy: Legos

Activity: Play with Josh and Luke (neighbors)

Animals: Shark

Store: Toy Store

To Do With Mom: Help Make Treats

To Do With Dad: Play Outside

Best Friends: Luke and Josh, Carson, Hudson

Leah Gene, age 1

TV Show: Sesame Street, Curious George

Movie: Frozen

Song: 5 Little Monkeys, Let It Go

Food: Cheese, Yogurt

Least Favorite Food: Veggies, Meat

Treat: Smarties, Suckers, Ice Cream

Color: Pink

Toy: Baby Dolls

Activity: Play with Lucy and Zach

Animals: Dogs and Cats

Store: Wal-Mart

To Do With Mom: Be Pushed in the Swing

To Do With Dad: Wrestle

Best Friends: Lucy and Zach

Happy Easter!

I love Easter. I love its meaning, and our traditions. I love the beautiful spring weather that helps symbolize the new life that's beginning all around us again. This weekend we had a great time celebrating Easter!

 First up, we spent a very rainy Saturday morning in Cary so mom could go to the temple. Jon ran errands with the kids while I did my session, and then met me for a quick lunch at Panda Express and trip to Target. Once home later that afternoon we dyed some Easter eggs. 

 Leah loved it-- she had the best reaction and was so much fun to watch when we'd pull out the colored egg. She'd "ooh" and "ahhh" and say "pretty!" each time we showed her a finished egg. 

 Zach made a couple of "Halloween" pumpkin eggs, and could hardly wait to finish dying them so he could peel and eat them. I'm glad my kids all like hardboiled eggs, but it sure makes it hard to know how many to boil. By the time we'd all eaten a few, we only had 5 or 6 left to hide the next morning! 

 Sunday morning the kids woke up to baskets from the Easter Bunny. They were pretty excited to get some yummy candy and fun new treats.  

 Leah got some Minnie Mouse jewelry and some fun new bathtub crayons that all three kids had a great time drawing with in the tub. She has a major sweet tooth and loved the candy too! 

I bought all three kids some much needed new pajamas, and Zach wasn't so sure about his fish jammies because they looked kind of babyish. Once I told him Grandpa TomTom would be jealous of those cool fish jammies he decided they were okay, ha, ha! 

After church (which we survived all three hours of for the first time in months! Leah is only 2 weeks away from being 18 months and old enough to be in nursery. Hallelujah!), we had a little impromptu photo shoot outside in their new Easter finery.

 

 Lucy trimmed her hair this week, and it looks so cute! She is my little fashionista and one cute seven-year old.

 This handsome little guy needs a haircut, but he sure looked snappy in his new blue shirt and tie.

 This little girl was screaming bloody murder before the pictures, but as soon as we pulled the camera out and told her how pretty she was, she hammed right up! She loves to wear pretty dresses!

 Cute sisters! It's funny how they look so much alike, but have such different coloring at the same time. We had a great Easter dinner, and then Zach taught us an Easter lesson he'd learned in preschool for FHE. Hopefully in another year or so, we'll be able to finally spend Easter with extended family, but it was nice to celebrate together with just the five of us. Most importantly, we are so thankful for our Savior, and the gift that His life, death, and resurrection provided us all! Perhaps the most important scripture in history, "He is not here: for He is risen, as He said." Matthew 28:6. Happy Easter y'all!

Two Birthdays in Two Days!

Happy Birthday to Zach-O!

Who could forget this sweet little guy? Since day one those big blue eyes have killed me. Our funny little preschooler officially turned FIVE on Sunday, April 6th. Right after I delivered Zach I had to be stitched up from some pretty bad tearing from the final push, and since the epidural was wearing off the doctor wouldn't let me hold him until she finished because I suppose she was worried I might drop him (or worse, pass out) if the pain got too bad. I was so disappointed I wouldn't get those first few minutes right after birth to finally just look at him before the nurses whisked him off to do their tests. After all that work my arms were just itching to hold him! One of the nurses had bundled him up really quickly and must have seen my face, because she came over and put him right next to my face so I could see him. He had been screaming, but as soon as I said, "Hi Zach!" he immediately stopped and turned up his little face with those big blue eyes and just looked at me. It was almost as if someone had pushed a button and turned him off; he just froze and we looked at each other for a few seconds, and all the nurses just kind of froze too-- and were like, "Wow! He really recognized your voice!" Then he started wailing again and he was off to get his vitals checked. But that's how I met my little Zach for the first time. 

 We decided to have Zach's first ever friend birthday party on Thursday right after preschool. I thought it was a pretty genius idea, since Saturday was General Conference, and most people are busy on Saturdays anyway. We had five little boys come, all from his class, and Zach was absolutely thrilled to be the center of attention as the big birthday boy!

 There's a great park right across from his school called Camelot (it's a wooden castle), so we met all the moms and boys for a birthday playdate. We brought pizza, fruit, juice boxes, and "Lego" brownies for lunch. Best of all, Jon was able to get work off so he could come and help me, and see Zach at his first party.

 The best part of any birthday party is getting to open presents, and for Zach it was no different. He couldn't wait to tear into them! He got some really fun gifts, and all the boys bounced back and forth from pizza and brownies, to playing in the castle, to playing with the new presents!

 Poor Lucy was in school, but Leah got to come, and this is her working on probably her third brownie. She'd climb up, nab one, then walk around and drop it in the pine needles and go get another one. Good thing the frosting coordinated with her outfit!

 He had the absolute best time with his friends-- Hudson, Carson, Padraig, Ezra, and Jeremy. When the party was over and we were driving home he said, "That party was totally wicked!" It's good to be five!

 It only got better too! On his real birthday, he woke up to a table full of presents and cards, all from mom and dad and his grandmas and grandpas.

 All he wanted were Lego sets, so Lego sets were what he got. He got a Batman set, two Star Wars sets, plus a new Razor scooter so he could keep up with the neighborhood scoot crew. Not a bad haul! Poor Jon will be putting together/fixing legos for decades to come.

 I made a yummy birthday breakfast for both birthday boys of red velvet pancakes with cream cheese icing, scrambled eggs, and bacon. Yum!

Blowing out all FIVE candles on his super cool Batman cake! Oh yeah! I don't know what we'd do without our sweet little boy to help even things out in this girl-dominant household. He makes us all laugh so many times throughout the day, he is so thoughtful, kind, and protective of his sisters, and he is just a peaceful, mellow kind of guy to have around. Our family would not be complete without him. We love everything about him-- from his superman undies, to his crazy bed head, to his little giggle. Happy Birthday Zach! 

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 Happy Birthday Jonathan! Five years ago the nurse told me to hold out for another 4 hours and Zach could have shared a birthday with his daddy-- but she obviously wasn't feeling what I was feeling at the time!

 Our beloved Dad celebrated his 32nd birthday the following day. I've just decided birthdays kinda stink when you get older, because just like any other day, he had to wake up early, drive in to work, work all day, and then teach PT before coming home. Once he finally arrived we were excited to have him home to wish him a Happy Birthday! He opened his cards and "presents" (not really presents, since he got his new car), so the only thing I could truly "give" him was permission to go backpacking this weekend-- no strings attached! 

 Luckily we were able to find a babysitter so we could share a special birthday dinner date at Bonefish Grill that night. That was a gift for me too! We dined on his favorites-- coconut shrimp, tillapia, and au gratin potatoes. Yum! 

 Back at home we whipped out his all-time favorite birthday no-bake cheesecake and sang him a rousing rendition of "Happy Birthday" (which you can see he is really getting into!). Not sure what he made a wish for, but it probably has something to do with: "Finding a successful practice to buy this time next year and then making millions of dollars! Cha-Ching!$$" We love him SO much. As flighty and brainless as I was throughout most of my college days thinking back on the boys I dated, I'm not sure how I managed to luck into the greatest husband, dad, and best friend ever-- and not sure I deserve him. It was certainly an act of divine intervention, as Heavenly Father knew I needed HIM to make me be a better wife, mother, and person. Happy Birthday Jonathan!   

Jon Visits Hotlanta (And leaves the rest of us poor sops at home!)

Jon recently attended the Hinman Dental Conference in Atlanta at the end of March. The conference is from Thursday to Saturday, so he left early Wednesday afternoon and got home late Saturday night. Before he left me to my doom, er, I mean, to the world of single parenting, I made him take me out to lunch at the brand-new Buffalo Wild Wings in town. 

 Out of necessity we took Zach and Leah as our rowdy lunch dates, but since it's a pretty low-key, casual place they didn't stick out too much and the food was alright. At least they provided complimentary iPads for the kids to play with, which entertained this little rascal for a few seconds.

 Id' never been to one before (Jon had been once in Fayetteville), but I would describe it as bar food, which may come as little surprise to you since it IS basically a bar. I don't care as long as it's one more restaurant to add to our ever growing rotation of dinner date places! I get sick of the same 5 restaurants all the time. Jon got the fish tacos and I had a buffalo chicken wrap and an extra large diet Pepsi. I knew I'd need it!  

 To the person who left in the comment section: "Does Leah always smile?" (Ahem! Cough! Dad!) Weeellll, funny you should ask. NO, Leah does not always smile. In fact, when she's not smiling she is screaming, crying, throwing a tantrum, or doing all three at the same time. She is absolutely convinced she is the Queen Bee (just ask the kids at the gym! Apparently she bosses them around and steals "her" favorite toys from anyone daring to play with them), and when she doesn't get her way she is quick to assert that it is HER way or the highway. So! Ha! Ha! Does Leah always smile?!? Surely you jest...  

Just picture this face for four days straight with no relief pitcher waiting in the bull pen to come relieve you at night... The kids and I made the most of our time away from Jon by visiting the playplace at Chick fil A, spending a few afternoons at the park, shopping at Aldi, frequenting the Kids Center at the gym, and spring cleaning the house! My floors never looked so good! Lucy came down with a bad cough on Friday, so she stayed home from school which was actually a big help. In fact, I bribed the kids that if they'd help me take care of the house and Leah, and be super good while Daddy was away, I'd buy them a new pet fish to replace our beloved deceased Blueberry Sparkle.  

And they did it! Saturday evening we ventured to Pet Smart and picked out this new little guy, dubbed "Rainbow Dash." Zach was convinced he ought to be named "Goldie," which makes no sense, but I love him all the more for it!

They are desperate for a pet, but since most of the pet care falls squarely on my shoulders, I'm not ready for a dog, a cat, or a hamster. Right now we like our little fish very much-- he likes to stare at me while I cook dinner which is kind of funny. He fits in already!

Meanwhile Jon was sleeping uninterrupted, enjoying the benefits of a maid to pick up after him, attending intellectually stimulating lectures, avoiding all poopy diapers, and eating out at awesome restaurants, all on the Air Force's dime! A well deserved break for him! Here's some yummy Indian food he sent me a picture of.  

He also got to eat at "The Spence," which was my one requirement for him while in Atlanta. It's the brainchild of Top Chef winner Richard Blais, and has some great reviews online. When we were in Atlanta last year we tried out his burger joint "Flip" which was excellent, so Jon had to go back and try this place which is fancier and more gastronomy based. I think he thought the food was good-- not mind-blowingly good though, and overpriced. Oh well. Next year I've convinced him the kids and I get to go with him!