Watermelon, Watermelon

This is why you should NEVER leave a slice of watermelon unattended in the Hill home! All of our kids are CRAZY for this stuff this time of year!

Chini Sitters

Here are a couple of the best Chini sitters I know. We were lucky enought to have Miss Merwin as a house guest for a week while our friend Bekky went on vacation. It was a blast having her! She has such a fun and spunky personality. Justin was sceptical about having another animal in the house (we do have 2 crabs and a dog and a cat already!). But guess who was tending her and giving her loving care by the end of the week? We were all sad to see her go but it was a fun week!

Happy 4th Birthday Mr. Ethan

This is such a special child. He is a child that does things HIS WAY. He loves Super Mario Brothers above all else. He makes us laugh non-stop. He is the child that 4 years ago, I went to Labor and Delivery and said, "I think I might be in labor." I was dilated to a 10! He's missing his front tooth from a little escapade with his brother. He rations kisses...only 1 per month for mom and dad may have one whenever he would like. He pretends to be a 40 pound infant every Sunday at Church. He loves Abby's purses and will fight her on occasion to get his hands on one. He likes Chocolate as much as I do. Dad is his hero....after Mario. I am eternally grateful to have this "difficult" child in my life for he teaches me about the mom I need to be. A mom that doesn't yell or loose her patience, a mom that waits for that one day a month when I am his chosen friend. I love him and all the memories, laughter and nail biting he brings to our family.

Finished Product Of Our Breakfast Nook And A Story

Here is our masterpiece, but Justin would agree it is mostly MY masterpiece. He was kind enough to put the muscle behind tearing down the beloved MAP. I chose the colors, did the painting and even taught myself how to re-texture the wall. I got tired of waiting on the guy to come do it, so I learned to do it myself. I have to brag that when he finally did come to look at the wall, he couldn't believe that I hadn't paid someone professionally to do this! The true blessing in this story is as follows:

In January I was called to be a Sunday School teacher to the three year olds. I had very mixed feelings about both my ability to teach others about Christ as well as the ability to add yet another thing to and overflowing plate. Then I was asked and had the opportunity to head up a 60th Birthday Party for Weldon and Gean. This was the same weekend I had hoped to finish the kitchen....Justin and I managed to somehow go to Layton on Friday night, prepare the food, throw a wonderful party (with the help of Der & Nickki) and come home Saturday afternoon. I was able to get my grocery shopping done, church clothes ironed, my lesson prepared and get the kitchen re-textured and painted. How did I do all that???? The awnser lies in the opportunity to give service. I feel there have been more blessings of time in my life since I received this calling. It's as if the Lord has given me 36 hours to the 24 hours others get in a day. I am grateful for the chance to serve others, especially those 12 wonderful Sunbeams that light up my life every Sunday!

Sad News

I came home from lunch today to find sweet Isaac sitting in the corner crying. It seems that crab #3 AKA as Nemo has passed away. Nemo was a special crab that the boys had in Pre-school this entire past year. Isaac has been working on his own "consiracy theory" as to how this has happend. Nemo has always been a sweet little guy, unlike that of his roomies Spiderman and Superman. Spiderman happend to take the skin off of the top of one of Abby's fingers yesterday. So, we had a crab funeral right there in our own garden today. We sang songs and said a prayer and everyone got to share a little something about this crab of ours. We even called the Pre-school teacher so she could share in our tears. I love the tenderness of these little children of ours and the appreciated the reminder today to be compassionate of all of the Lord's creatures. RIP Nemo........

T-Ball

Go Isaac! He had his first t-ball practice this week and is sooooo excited!

Sushi Night

To celebrate my 32nd birthday, some of my friends and I went to the Happy Sumo to sample some sushi...Some of us were more adventurous than others. The truth is, Abby tried everything and liked it!

Our First Garden!

Here is our first garden! We are so excited to be growing tomatoes, peppers, carrots, cucumbers, zucchini, watermelon and peaches! I love making homemade salsa and zucchini bread. We will have tomatoes and zucchini coming out of our ears....Any takers on the extras????? I love fresh vegetables. Some of my fondest childhood memories were of my grandmother sending me out to the garden to pick things for a salad. She made the most unforgettable wilted lettuce salad with hot bacon dressing! We thought that since her grave in Missouri is too far to visit very often, we would plant a garden in her memory instead. I know she will be smiling down us from Heaven each time we tend our garden. I love you grandma and miss every moment you aren't here. I thank Heavenly Father daily to have been blessed my her life and her uncountable talents!

The Kids of Summer Are Back!

Wow! Are we thrilled for nicer weather, although it has been yucky here the past couple of days. The kids are so happy and excited to get out and breathe fresh air and soak up some rays! We have enjoyed working in the yard and getting lots of household projects done lately!

CRABS!!!!!

We've been invaded by three crazy crabs at our house. They are the newest addition to our family. The boys went and played at a tneighbors house recently and came home telling Jus and I how "lame" we are because the Listons have a turtle, frog and three fish. We reminded them that they do not have a cat or a dog. We still ended up going to the pet store and adopting 2 crabs. Isaac took them to preschool yesterday for show and tell and we ended up with a thrid crab! They have had one all year as a classroom pet and the teacher felt that their crab would have a more eventful summer sharing his habitat with two fellow diggers! I awoke the other morning to a blood curdling scream! Ethan had gone and opened their cage and got them out. Well, one was hanging from his thumb and refused to let go! It was actually quite comical. I reminded him to wait for mom and dad to help get them out.

Happy 60th Birthday Grandma & Grandpa Hill

We had such a fun time in Layton this past weekend throwing a combined 60th Birthday Party for Weldon and Gean. Thanks to all of you who came and celebrated with us!

One Little Box Can Be SOOOO Much Fun

I am grateful for the simple things in life. Who knew a little box would bring so much joy and laughter to our little family? I have come to realize that is what our children will remember when they are grown. How clean our house was, or how quickly I put the laundy away probably won't matter much. But squeezing into a box and getting stuck and laughing until your guts hurt I think will stay with them for a long time. I am going to try to simplify my life and remember that things like this are what real memories are made of!

Rub A Dub Dub...Three Sillys In The Tub!

Mickey Girl

I had the joy (really and truly) of staying home with the children a few days while our Super Nanny was on a well-deserved vacation. One of the mornings I went in to Abby's room and this is what she was up to! She had her Mickey ears on as if to say, "I'm all ready to go to Disneyland mom!" Then I took her to the kitchen to make breakfast and she was hiding in the cupboards. I just love her and feel grateful for the extra "MOM" time I got with all three of them!