I didn't get this into April's post, but it needed to be included! Travis taught Collin how to take notes during conference for Grandma's quiz session. I die. They are cuter than puppies
Someone had a birthhhhdayyyy!!
Travis turned 33!!
He had a very special day of going to work. ;)
At least Marcie watched Olive for us so we could have a lunch date. We tried Worth Takeaway and it was decent. I won't rave, but I won't complain. It's just going to take a very special restaurant to knock Mangos off the top rung for downtown Mesa.
These three handsome boys make my heart swell!
He requested soft tacos for dinner and I was going to make brownies for dessert but we had this cake leftover from a BBQ with his friends the night before. It was a tres leches cake. You know, Cinco de Mayo worthy. I felt really bad because it was kinda awful. Unless you like soggy cake. Then this is for you. But very characteristic of this guy...not a word of complaint.
The moment Olive felt shamed for taking a bite out of the candle. The boys were fighting over them and I guess she thought it was candy. Sorry, baby girl.
He got.......
A Speedo!! And Jammers!!!
It was a spandex kind of year.
Time to take up biking. KIDDING.
They are under-the-swimtrunks wear. ;)
He also got a hot-air balloon ride for when we're in Colorado with his family in July. I'm going to be reallyyyy nice to him in hopes that he takes me as his +1. ;)
He's been playing softball with our ward for the past 6 weeks and that night was the tournament so we went to cheer our dad on!
He only felt a little pressure when up to bat for the first time and Olive's sweet, little voice rang out across the field, "Go Daddy!! Hit it hard!!!" Hehe. Luckily, he did just that!
They made it to the championship game, but got second. We had a lot of fun watching him, playing in the dirt and catching over the fence balls. One might say this guy right here is loved. We are lucky duckies to have him!
The next night we got our real birthday date! I scheduled a couples massage at A Touch of Tranquility. It was his first ever massage and his face was really funny when it was over. Like maybe he wasn't quite sure what to think of it. I'm a big fan. Since my first one I always said that if one day we had the money, that is something I'd put in the schedule on a regular basis!
Afterward we continued with firsts and tried out Flemings. Well now! That's a fancy place. Certainly amazing at service and the whole "experience" thing. I just didn't love my steak. In fact, I sent it back and I HATE doing that. Makes me feel so snobby. But when you pay the $$, it should be good, right?! Trav and I ordered the exact same steak and his was tender and yummy and mine was cooked too long and chewy. Alas, I don't think we'll be back anytime soon.
But let me tell you the GOOD news!! We got Sammies for dessert and that place has my heart. I'd probably eat anything on a donut but coupled with their delicious ice cream?? Oh heavens. Just start ordering me XXL tees.
Travis had gone golfing at a fancy course that morning with Austin, David and Trevor, so after having a fancy massage and eating a fancy steak I think it's safe to say this was the hoity-est toity-est birthday ever! And he deserves it!!
Cue the Olive pictures!!!
I curled her hair one Sunday and she had admirers all through church! Miss Shirley Temple incarnate.
At every stage I just want to freeze time!! We seem to be managing the terrible two's tantrums a little better and I just love how much more she is communicating.
She begins her prayers with "Heavenly Dear".
When doing eenie meenie miney mo she says, "Eeni meenie paca fo"
When I give her a compliment she'll stick her thumb in her mouth, lower her eyes a tad and coyly smile, saying, "Sank you mama".
I just.love.her.
Fitting into another one of her mama's dresses!
Baseball season ended!!
We scored with a short awards ceremony after Collin's last game instead of having to attend some manner of pizza party. Coach Hitt was great and he learned a lot. I'd say his highlights were several home runs hits. After his first one, the team bombarded him with high fives and hugs but he clearly only tolerated them as he made a beeline to us with the biggest grin on his face. It was adorable. I hope we're always the ones that he wants to share his victories with. :)
Weston was on a different league (I9 Sports) that only played on Saturdays, which was really nice to keep the boys' games separated. I guess they actually kept score all season and Weston's team got 3rd! Only if you placed 1st, 2nd or 3rd did you get a trophy. The rest got ribbon pendants. Three cheers for that!!
Mother's Day
Travis made a delicious Mother's Day breakfast of French Toast with homemade buttermilk syrup and sausage! It was deluxe and super yummy!
I'm the biggest Kindergartner and got such a kick out of painting these cards for my mom, Grandma and Aubrey.
I requested food storage for my gift and it was delivered! Along with a raucous, impromptu, Mother's Day song, topped off with some wrestling.
Collin made a booklet at school for me titled "My Super Mom". In it he said, "She loves my family and choclet chip cookies and vegys vary much." Also, that I love to eat my favorite foods, "Salad and enchiladas." Haha. Well he got one right! My favorite page was this one... That I am best at cleaning and loveing.
This page, Weston filled out at preschool. My age is depressing but the weight cheers me up a bit. ;)
I must say though, Olive's card from nursery takes the cake. Be still my heart. I will love this forever!!!
Pictures are not always what they seem and this one is a good example. It took multiple attempts, scolding and begging and much patience from Trav (although he wouldn't say so). But we'll pretend we all lined up cheerfully, smiled and got it on the first take. Regardless, I want to squish each of these faces, give Eskimo kisses and hugs and tell them how grateful I am that they chose me. They put up with a lot from their easily stressed, prone to yelling, perfectionistic mother. So I apologize a lot. Say I'll try harder a lot. Beg Heavenly Father to help me. A LOT. And just writing these words makes me want to cry in shame and give up. I WISH so badly they had a perfect mother. That I could keep it together and do everything with a smile. I just hope they never stop forgiving me. Right now their childlike personalities are quick to give second chances. And thirds and fourths. That. That is a blessing. If they can keep doing that, I can keep trying. And praying for grace to make up the difference. Because I really do love this calling. I'm so grateful that I get to wake up every morning to these faces. That we get to read together, eat together, play together. Do it ALL together. Drive each other crazy and melt in happiness together. Mom life really is the best life.
Oh, that Pipster!! Still tolerating our walks together. And in red dress style! ;)
Kevin and Nicole were in town so the whole gang got together for a BBQ in our neighborhood. I think it's been at least 8 years since the last time. This was the most mature picture I got of these high school friends. ;) Isn't it great that we all get to grow up and not be 18 anymore?
Someone must be loved around here! Olive is the best when Trav gets home. She always squeals, jumps up with the biggest smile and runs as fast as she can into her daddy's arms. She's climbing to the top of our will, no doubt.
This month brought one of the HARDEST decisions I've EVER made. It would take hours to write it all out, but suffice it to say I had the opportunity to go to Africa with a close friend for a humanitarian trip and I didn't know what to do. I always thought I'd be pregnant this summer and it would be out of the question. But.... I'm not. Soooo, all of a sudden I found myself contemplating whether or not I should go. I've never been anywhere out of the county besides Canada and Mexico and neither of those even really count. It was going to be for almost two weeks and I couldn't fathom leaving Travis or my kids that long. I worried about my anxiety. (The irony.) But also recognized this as a once in a lifetime type opportunity. So I fasted and prayed and went to the temple and prayed and got a blessing, AND PRAYED. There were a few meltdowns in there too. The night before I had to decide, I couldn't sleep. I didn't even know what to do when I spied my old journals on a shelf. I don't know what I was expecting to find, but I started reading. No miraculous answers manifested, BUT I did find a treasure nonetheless!! I found that I had written about my first date with Travis! I hadn't even remembered doing this with him, but lo and behold, there it was! It was before his mission, so we were just friends then. Until I found this, if you had asked me when our first date was, I would have said it was this time after his mission when we went to a Diamondback's game. I guess we have a lot of baseball to thank for the beginnings of our relationship. ;) I'm so grateful for my journals!
Anyway, with no answers coming from my diary, I went to bed thinking I wouldn't go. Then the next morning, I spoke to my Aunt Carla who has gone to Ghana for humanitarian purposes, as well as multiple times to South America. Talking to her was exactly what I needed. It gave me the courage and the right perspective. And all of a sudden, my answer was yes! It felt surreal filling out the papers. I was super nervous and hesitant sending them through and then paying the fees. But once it was done it was done and I could finally breathe again!! So that's that! I'm going to Tanzania, people!!
Me and my food. I swear. ;)
Travis took the kids to swim with Bron and his kids one Friday night so I got a date with my seester!! The pregnant girl was craving sushi and I was happy to oblige! Then it was off to Sammies with us! Ohhh yeahhh.
Speaking of Bron! Haha. I joined in on Saturday for the fun. This time around we were at Gainey Ranch. The zero entry beach side was a nice touch. And I think I went down that slide with Weston no less than 15 times. I discovered if you lay completely back and relax, you get some G's with those revolutions!
We got to go visit Grandma Ann and Grandpa Jess one morning and someone found the Paddington Bear boots! Great Grandma Olive brought the bear back from a trip to London and I think every grand and great grandchild has tried them on since! I told Grandma Ann that I thought Grandma Olive's namesake really ought to inherit them one day. ;)
Rachel and I started a health challenge and this my first dinner. Quinoa, caprese salad, baked tilapia with a dollop of pesto yogurt. Not the biggest hit with the kids, although Collin was gobbling up the fish!
Time to vote! And run into high school best friend's dads working at the polls. Seeing Gene Lines is always a fun time.
Anjane had a birthday! Thanks to school, summer camp and a friend offering to have Olive over to play, I found myself kidless on a weekday morning! Perfect!! We met at Henhouse Cafe for brunch and had an awesome time!!
And only partially due to the MOST AMAZING MEAL OF MY LIFE!!! I'm not even kidding, people. This Texas style Eggs Benedict was life.changing. I couldn't even believe it. With each bite I thought surely this can't be real life. It was like shoveling heaven into my mouth. I'm not exaggerating, I have never eaten such ridiculously amazing food in all my days. When I told Travis, he scoffed just a tad and reminded me I had been dieting. NO!!! That had nothing to do with it! I promise you! I know good food and this was award winning. The eggs were poached to PERFECTION. The pork carnitas were as tender and flavorful as I ever known meant to taste. The cornbread was not cornbread, OK. It was the soft, fluffy, sweet bites of DREAMS!! And the hollandaise!! OH the hollandaise!!!!! Completely balanced, creamy and cooked to make you want to die in a vat of it. I can't even handle thinking about it. It's was like winning the lottery and not even knowing you bought a ticket. Some days you just wake up and think it's going to be a normal day.... then you walk into a cafe and your.whole.world.changes. God is good.
After our brunch, I had 30 minutes to kill before picking up the kids and needed a few things from Target. Walking in I realized I really had to pee. Offff course. I almost never have to use a public restroom to just pee, but the day I do is right in the middle of the thick of Target going genderless when it comes to bathrooms. Flippin' Target. Grrrrr. This was actually my first time back to a Target since the hoopla. Well. I held it.
Marcie wanted to know what I was wearing to our cousin's wedding dinner. So of course, Olive and I showed her with the our best kissy faces.
One Saturday, I thought it would be fun to go on a bike ride to Jamba Juice. It was about 3 miles away so we put Weston and Olive in the trailer and let Collin ride between us. I had my mama senses on high alert navigating the busy roads, but I didn't really need to. It was pretty smooth sailing minus the high winds wanting to blow us away!
After we got our smoothies, my favorite quote was from Weston. He wanted to know if we could stay and eat lunch at a restaurant since we had ridden all the way out to the city. Haha. Nope, we'll be having lunch back at our house on the farm, kid.
One morning, I noticed Weston had disappeared, until I spied him on the back porch, all cuddled up with his stuffed animals and smoothie. Just sitting. Thinking, I guess.
Not something I'd have ever caught Collin doing.
I follow a food account on Instagram that recently featured Rehab Burger Therapy in Scottsdale. I showed Travis the pictures and we salivated for a good while. The next day, guess where we were?! Date night! I think I'll just copy what I said on Instagram...
"My attempts at healthy eathing took a dive last night but I"m not sorry! I would have never ordered a PB&J burger but it was highly recommended so you know...YOLO. It also has Sriracha sauce and the most amazing bacon (yes this is Stephanie still speaking). We also got the Beefstro burger- 5oz burger topped with havarti cheese, shaved rib-eye and roasted poblano peppers and onions. Omg guys. Finish that off with a tower of homemade ice cream, macaroons and a toasted mallow at FatDaddys. And I dont'n even love macaroons but this was an inspired combo. And all with this hot guy by my side. Good night, nurse!!! We'll be back!!!"
Just to elaborate on how happy I am with this man.... the HAPPIEST. :) Our dates are always my favorite hours of the week.
My cousin, Trellany, got married!! Between the dinner, the early morning set up, the actual ceremony, the reception and the late night clean up, it pretty much ruled the whole weekend! But it was so fun. I was really excited to be invited to the sealing. And her reception was incredible. Just look at that wooden backdrop the line stood in front of! So unique and beautiful. Trellany deserved every last incredible detail. They had a big dance for the second half of the reception and we all had a ball gettin' down on the dance floor!! It was fun running into Olivia there (she's going to Africa too!) and Trav and I also made good use of the photo booth in the VW bus. The only unfortunate part was that the caterer was grossly unprepared so when we realized none of the food was getting replenished, Shelley, Marcie, my Dad and I ran to the kitchen to help. We were literally running back and forth from the tables to the kitchen for over an hour. I remember my Aunt Tava being a big help at my reception so I was really happy to be able to repay the favor. I've said it before and I'll say it again, weddings are just some of the BEST stuff life is made of!! Especially when it's joining two such incredible people like Trellany and Lucas. BIG things in their future for sure!
Time for end of the school year stuff!!
Weston graduated from preschool!!
They did the ceremony before their water day so that's why they're all in swimming attire. They walked out in a single file line to the graduation music then sang some songs for us before getting their certificate and gift. JaNae Leavitt was an answer to prayer!! I was SO happy that Weston finally got the cute, preschool experience. He loved going and made great friends there... particularly Van. Those two were inseparable. He learned tons and whether I'm ready or not, here comes Kindergarten!!!
His teacher had a fun, summer camp the week after preschool ended that I signed him up for. Mornings filled with the park, sprinklers, crafts and popsicles. What's not to love?!
Collin had his end of the year concert on a Monday night. For as energetic, animated and attention seeking he is... he's not much of a stage performer, haha. He kind of had a deer in the headlights look on his face the whole time and only halfheartedly did the actions. We loved watching him nonetheless! He did have a speaking part at the end though that he did awesome on.
We got Dairy Queen afterward at San Tan mall and the kids played around on the toys outside. A very simple night that felt very happy together as a family.
Lucky boy got to have lunch with Aunt Marcie at school!! Marcie is SO good to do this with all her nephews. I told him beforehand to remember to say thank you a lot and Marcie said he did indeed and was very polite and fun to be with! Yay! It's always nice to hear your kids actually listened to you!! ;)
That backdrop. But really. How are we so lucky?!!
From the get go, Collin has told me that the girls always chase him at recess. I shouldn't be bothered... but when it came to them trying to kiss him I was ready to grab my bat! Geez, girls! And get this. One day I told Collin, "Oh, Collin. You're so cute. I just love you!!" To which, he kind of shrugged his shoulders and replied, "That's what all the girls say."
Pffft!!
Collin and Howie were fast friends. Cut from the same, silly cloth, these two.
Miss Crismon replaced his other teacher for the second semester and she made a world of difference!! I am SO grateful for this woman! She was patient and kind and had a good discipline and reward system. She really cared about Collin and told me multiple times how much she loved him. We had an incident a couple months ago where Collin admitted to doing something dishonest at school so we made helped him make it right and Miss Crismon was wonderful throughout. I'm so sad to see his year with her end!!
How cute is this picture?!!!
I'm going to need to figure out a system for saving school work, but of all the papers he came home with when school ended, these were my favorite.
I got an email from his teacher that made me laugh and warmed my heart.
"I just have to tell you how funny Collin is! He can make any story or sentence relate to candy or penguins and it crack me up. He is hilarious. And a sweetheart. I have a story he wrote I'll send you home that is all about candy land and penguin man. 😂 Sure do love him!"
A sweet picture he drew for us recently...
I don't think he'd mind terribly, being an only child, haha.
Memorial Day Weekend!
I had no plans to try and dress patriotically for church but one thing led to another and well, suddenly we were taking family pictures in the backyard, lol!
But that grin on Olive's face!! Swoon!
The Shaheens were in town again and this time Megan and Ivie came too!! We met up with them at FireSky on Saturday to swim then back again on Monday at the Doubletree.
Before we headed out on Monday though, we stopped in at the Henhouse Cafe for breakfast. Now, I KNEW the chances of my Eggs Benedict being as amazing as the first time was probably wishful thinking. Andddd I was right. I don't know if it was the different location or what, but the eggs were undercooked, the Hollandaise wasn't creamy and the pork seemed old. Bah. Lightening don't strike twice... even in good ways!
But how about these pancakes we ordered for the kids to share?! I think they MAYBE ate a fourth. Maybe.
This pretty lady filled my cup! I love talking with her. It's like a warm, comforting bowl of chicken noodle soup. (HER legendary, homemade kind, no less. ;)
And that Miss Ivie. Oh, I love snuggling her! She was sleepy at one point and allowed herself to cuddle on my shoulder for a while and I was gobbling it up.
These two chefs cooked us up a yummy grass and flower salad!
The way Steel says "Olive" might be my favorite thing on earth. I love how he loves her. He's so aware of her and does things like this...
finds her when he has a yummy apple and wants her to have bites too. :)
When it was time for them to pack up and drive home, we headed over to my parent's house for some more swimming and In'N'Out burgers! Getting back to real life after this weekend was rough.
