What Makes Sam Smile?

Anyone who knows my husband knows that he's a pretty serious guy who rarely really gets super happy. On the bright side of that he rarely ever gets super mad either. That comes in handy when you wreck the car, buy $100 shoes, or get paint on his favorite sweatshirt. I love to see him get super happy and actually smile. He's got a nice smile. This weekend he was glowing with happiness and I just had to take a picture. We bought a jetski about a month ago. He's home for the summer for the 1st time in 3 years and we wanted to make the best of it. He took the jetski into the shop to get tuned up and ready for summer a few days ago. Then on Saturday we hooked up the hose and started it up. Boy did he smile! If it's got a big engine and it goes vroooom then Sam's going to smile! I told him I absolutely had to go into the house and get the camera to capture this moment because it was so fun to see him so excited and happy about something.

Entire Month of May!

Wow time has passed so quickly this last month. It's been really crazy. I even thought about taking a picture of my dry erase calendar in my kitchen. The end of the school year crept up fast and along with it came all kinds of obligations. I like staying busy but this was a little out of control.

Come to think of it April was a little like that too!

I promised my friends that I would post a picture of Sam and I the night we went to the Army Special Forces Ball. Unfortunately as always the picture of me is yuk! I am not photogenic! Anyway, I'll post a picture....from the waist up. :-)


We had lots of soccer in the month of April and then the last games in mid May and the end of year parties. That was a little crazy. The boys played much the same as ever. They are the "bees" outside of the "beehive". I think they are afraid of getting stung. Even though Ethan said one day as we pulled up to his soccer game..."today I'm going to float like a Cadillac and sting like a Beamer!" That same day Ryan was being a stinker and I said if you don't hurry up we'll be late! His response was "that's o.k."

The next big thing in April was the Pinon Elementary Art Show. Ethan had a piece of art displayed during the show. He was so proud of himself when people would ask him to show them his art. He would walk them over to his "piece" and say "here it is...my work of art!". I must say I was impressed too! They also had an end of year art show at the school where every child had 2 works of art displayed in the hallways. I thought they'd have the same piece but no two more really good art pieces were hanging up. I've been really impressed with the Art teacher and the "Art in a Suitcase" program they have at the school.

Then came May! The month started off great hearing from my best friend Allison who now lives in England. She had baby #3, another little girl. She was a little unexpected but still welcome. Although she says her other girls are more interested in playing in the orchard then holding the baby. Should be a lifetime of her chasing her sisters.

Ethan learned how to ride a bike this month! We took him to Broadmoor Valley Park and put him out on the grass and away he went. He did amazing for his first time. We still need to work on actually turning the bike but we were super impressed with our "little" guy.

Then I had a wonderful Mother's Day. I woke up in the morning to flowers which Ryan informed me were brought by Santa Claus. The boys were super nice to me. Ethan tried to brush my hair for me because he said he loved me and wanted to help make me look pretty. Ryan wore my church shoes around the house because he said he wanted to be like mommy and Sam freaked out (of course) "boy get those shoes off, those are for girls!"

In the middle of May I played in my first ever "real" golf tournament. My partner and I finished in fourth place for our flight and she got closest to the pin on the 8th hole. I actually didn't play that great and was really upset with myself on a few holes but still had fun. I decided years ago that golf was something that I was going to have fun doing or I wasn't going to do at all. I tend to get a little to competitive even with myself and ruin the fun of things. This is a picture of my partner Diane and our other friend Nancy who came along just to ride in the cart. These are the two women I play golf with just about every Tuesday. They know more about me then most people because we spend 4+ hours a week together on the golf course! I did recieve a huge complement that made up for my average golf game. One of the women from the other twosome that was playing with us asked me how old I was. I told her I was turning 36 soon. She said she absolutely did not believe that and thought for certain I was younger then her daughter who just turned 29! YES! Then Nancy and Diane both said they also thought I was in my 20's!!! I've been feeling exceptionally old these days, even shopping for anti-aging lotions and potions. That made my day. The weather was horrible that day in fact on one hole I literally had sleet and hail hitting me in the face when I tee'd off. Oh well, at least I look young. :-)

And last but most certainly not least!! Kindergarten Graduation! I can't believe it. I literally feel like just a month or so ago I was taking pictures of Ethan on his first day of Kindergarten. Man the year flew by fast. Ethan has really changed and matured this last 9-10 months. He's my little helper and super great kid that says funny things ALL the time. I should post some "Ethanisms" just for kicks and giggles. Then all of you could giggle like Sam and I do.

I will post this one Ethanism that just happened a few days ago....we were talking about last names and how we all have the same last name. I told him that when I was a little girl then my last name was Wood because I belonged to the Wood family. He thought about that for a second and then he said...."yeah, then you married a handsome young man named Samuel and I'm sure glad you did because he's a great guy! Someday I'm going to marry a lovely lady like you and she'll be a Walker too!" Have I ever mentioned that Ethan talks about being a teenager or getting married quite often? He's a little man in a little boy's body.

Sam has skills....

We went to a friends house for a BBQ and I volunteered to bring a salad. I told Sam that we were bringing a green salad and he says "Oh I can make a mean salad!" I'm thinking to myself "really, hmm". So he gives me a few things to buy at the grocery store. I helped him chop up some lettuce but then I got busy helping the kids. When I came back to the kitchen this is what I saw!! It was a piece of art! And very good to boot. I had to compliment him on his "unknown" talents.

Wii love it!

This is our families newest entertainment. Quite unplanned really. The story goes like this....Sam kept telling me that if I was out shopping and saw a Wii that I needed to make sure and buy it because they are hard to come by and the guys he works with are always talking about playing Wii games and there are a few guys at work that really want one and can't find one. Of course, I've never looked for a Wii. :-) Today Sam was at Target and got the last one they had. He called me and said I needed to look on e-bay and see how much we could sell it for. However, once he got home we decided to pull it out of the box and see what all the excitement is about. Our entire family (including the boys) spent 3 hours playing Wii games and designing our Mii characters. The boys (and me ;-) had a blast playing golf, baseball, and bowling. I'm absolutely amazed by the technology that is involved in this game system. Insane!!

The boys can hardly wait to wake up tomorrow morning and play the game some more and literally at this very moment Sam is out buying more accessories for the game!! Who'd a thunk it???

Hogle Zoo!

Spring Break in Utah. We had tons of fun visiting the zoo. We're just a bunch of animals!!

Trip to California Slide Show

March 14th Snowman

What did you do today? Did you make a snowman? Well if not then you're day was not complete!! It was the most perfect snow for making snowmen that the boys and I could not resist getting out there and making our first snowman of the season.

She sews!

This is a very proud moment in my life...my first ever quilt! I learned how to sew back in December when Tagan ever so kindly took the time to show me how a sewing machine works and how to sew a simple pattern. Now I have the entire basement as a sewing room (yes I own a sewing machine, and several other sewing "necessities" now)!! Sam moved up into the living room and I moved my sewing machine and music downstairs. The other day I sat down and sewed a fun little baby quilt for my nephew, Otto, who was born last Saturday. My mom and I are headed to California on Sunday to deliver it!
I'm really excited about sewing. Had you known me when I was 15 years old you'd be surprised that I actually enjoy plugging in my Zune (that's the Microsoft version of the Ipod for those of you who didn't know...like myself until my husband got me one for Christmas) and sewing for a few hours! I've also sewed new sheers for our master bathroom. I will say that both the quilt and the sheers are less then perfect. I fact it's really best if they are viewed from a distance!!
I'm encouraging all you others out there who've ever wanted to learn how to sew to just do it!! It's something that our ancestors had to do and it's something that our generation really should do. TRADITIONS! (I like that movie...can anyone name the movie? :-)