It's that time of year...

 It's that time of year again where I have a million different lists going, my mind is racing & I am running around crazy trying to get all of the groceries bought & anything that we might need packed (my family always teases me that I pack everything... But the kitchen sink!). We leave Monday for Redfish Lake! As soon as Christmas passes my boys start asking how much longer until Redfish! 

 It's a very special year for this little man! McKay will be baptized at Redfish this year!

James isn't able to leave with us... We both decided that it wouldn't be fair to the boys to make them miss out on part of the trip. And in all honesty it would be as hard on me as it would be on them! Sooooo... that means that I will be leaving at the crack of dawn Monday morning... pulling a trailer... with three kids... for 6 hours... By myself!!! You don't need to read that again! You read it right the first time! Wish me luck! My saving grace is that I will be traveling with Megan & Greg. Now I just need to figure out how to sneak Cannon in their car with them!

Thank you's

This is my very first attempt at photoshop! I have had photoshop for years & it has always scared the living daylight out of me! It's my goal this year to get more comfortable with it! With the help of my friend Lindsey (thank you Lindsey!) & a LARGE bag of peanut M&M's this is what I made! If you by chance get one of these in your mailbox... look on the back because there will be a personal message from McKay!

Summer Bathing!

Summer Bathing! This is what happens when Mom says it's time to leave the fire at Grandma and Grandpa's and go in and take a bath...  And the big brother offers the little brother $2 to get bathed in Cannon's pool! I have to admit he was a sport because the water was pretty cold! He was very quick to collect his $2 and then cuddle with Grandpa again by the fire.

Summer Utensils

How stinkin' cute are these to have in your picnic basket! I'm going to head to the thrift store this week and pick up a bunch of odd's & end's utensils & paint them up to put in our trailer! Here is the tutorial :

Colored Utensils.

Rock Candy

Seriously, How can you not think that Rock candy is fun & cute! They are perfect for a candy table & birthday parties! I think that we might have to make some up this week & when we get home from Redfish they will be all ready for the boys! Then I don't have to have them ask me a bajillion times if they are done yet! I found this tutorial on how to make Rock Candy at Mom's Crafty Space. But, I am totally lovin' the mason jar too... I just might have to paint me a couple!

Temple Square

 It was only a matter of time before he dipped his head in the water!

 Piggy back ride!

McKay has been asking to go to Temple Square all summer. The only time he has been there is to see the light's at Christmas & he wanted to go when it wasn't freezing cold! We have our friend's the Randall girls here visiting us this week so it was the perfect time to go! I was afraid that I was going to have to fish a child or two out of the fountains... But, for little boys they did pretty good! As always the grounds were absolutely beautiful!

Mac

This little man just turned 8!!! And I have to admit that it has been quite an emotional little milestone for his Mother! He is a pure joy in my life.

Here are a few things about Mac:

* He has always called me Mama

* He LOVES bacon cheese burgers

* He has the most contagious laugh

* He loves to try & scare his Dad!

* He Never cries when he gets hurt... If he does you better move it to check on him!

* He is my Mr. Social... He can walk into a room full of stranger's & have them all as his friends within minutes.

* He is a spender... Money burns a hole in his pocket! But, he will quite often spend his money on other's.

* He loves Mustang's & loves when his Uncle Jason takes him for a ride in his. He can seriously spot them miles away!

* He absolutely adores all of his Uncles & truly looks up to each one of them. He's a lucky boy to have such wonderful Uncle's!

* His Dad is his Hero & they truly have a special little bond. Probably because Mac is a little James!

* He comes and cuddles with me every morning... It is our special time & I always make time for it when he wakes up.

* He can't eat soup... Don't even try! He throws up every time!

* His favorite color is green.

* He fall's asleep as soon as his head hits the pillow... It drives Carter crazy!

* He loves Michael Jackson.

* He likes a little girl at school named Zoe!

* He is very in tuned to my feelings... I have to be careful because he can sense when I am upset. If he thinks that I am sad he won't leave me until he knows that everything is ok.

* He LOVES his cousin's!

* Addy Beattie has a very special place in his heart!

* When we are eating breakfast he asks what is for dinner!

* He can hear a song or a movie line once & can remember the whole thing! He has an amazing memory.

* Rocky IV is his favorite movie.

* His favorite place is Redfish Lake! It's in his blood!

This year Redfish will be extra special to our family. McKay will be Baptized there this year! We have hoped that this would be possible since we found out he would be born in July! Yes, I have truly been planning this for 8 years!

Oh How I truly love this little man! He has truly blessed my life & fills it full of joy everyday!

A Tree Is Like A Magnet To Little Boys...

As a Mother I have learned that there is no way to keep little boys out of trees... just like a muddy puddle... it's just not going to happen!

Toothless...

I have to admit that I love this little toothless smile! McKay can't stand loose teeth. If they wiggle a little he works at them and works at them until he pulls them out. He even pulled his last one out in class at school & just put it in his pocket and brought it home! He does question the reality of a Tooth Fairy... He's not quite sure what he thinks about her! But, he doesn't mind the money that she leaves under his pillow!  

Little Man...

It's the simple things that keep this little man happy!

Lemonade Jar's

 Sooooo... i have been obsessing over these jar's lately... I thought that they would be the perfect little jar to go along with my Old Fashioned Lemonade recipe.... And in all honesty I thought that the $36 for 12 jars wasn't too bad of a price... I'm still thinking about them!

 But, then I saw this way cute idea and tutorial at
 A Bit Of Sunshine
 and think that it is a darling alternative... And as a mother of three little boys that is constantly cleaning up spilt drinks at the dinner table... It's also a really cute alternative to a sippy cup!               

And they are not quite as cute without the straws.... So, you can find the cute paper straws here at  
Hey YoYo's Etsy Site.

Old Fashioned Lemonade

 So, I have a TO DIE FOR fresh squeezed lemonade recipe. It is simply de'Vine! And so simple to make. But, I warn you... If you make it once... you WILL make it over & over again!

Old Fashioned Lemonade:

1 Cup Water

2 Cups White Sugar

1 1/2 Cups Fresh squeezed lemon juice

8 Cups Cold Water

2 Lemons Sliced Thin

In medium sauce pan combine 1 cup water & 2 cups of sugar. Boil on low, stirring constantly until sugar is dissolved, for about 5 minutes. Remove from heat and cool for 10 minutes. Add lemon juice to sugar water and stir well. In a large pitcher, combine sugar & lemon syrup with 8 cups cold water & add sliced lemons. Serve over ice.

It takes about 6-8 lemons (depending on the size) to get your 1 1/2 cups fresh lemon juice. I have actually been adding closer to 2 Cups of fresh lemon juice which takes 8 lemons.

And check out these cute ideas for using Mason Jars to serve that fabulous lemonade after you make it!

A Little Chore Chart Love!

My boys list of chores changes with the days... So, when I came across this free printable at
Brought To You By The Letter B
 I thought they kinda looked perfect... and cute! But, you don't tell little boys they are cute or they will just turn their little noses up at them. Because if there is one thing I have learned... that is that boys don't like cute things! Unless they are girls & then they seem to not be able to help themselves!

A Story I Never Want To Forget...

McKay and Carter got home Monday from spending a week in Idaho with Grandma & Grandpa. They were truly spoiled in every possible way! They got to spend a lot of time with their cousins & have sleep overs, go swimming, go to movies, spend a day with the Beattie's, go on special dates with Grandma & Grandpa, go out to dinner, go camping.... Like I said... They were spoiled!

They spent the weekend camping up at Palisades. My Dad's friend owns Palisades Park & they were up there helping him get flowers planted & projects done for the summer. My Dad provided the boys with endless willows to carve which gave McKay an idea...

We have a friend who is here at Shriners Hospital. I have mentioned him before. Ned, is a young boy who has scoliosis & had surgery on his back yesterday to try and straighten his spine. It was a very intense surgery as you can imagine and lasted 11 hours. McKay, loves Ned. McKay worries about Ned & tries to do anything he can to make him happy.

So, back to McKay's idea... He decided to carve willow sticks and take them around to all the other campers and try to sell them. He was selling them for .25 - $1 a piece depending on the size. He told each camper about Ned & that he was trying to earn money to buy Ned something really special for after his surgery. Seriously, how can you turn a little boy away that has that sales pitch!!! McKay ended up earning $7.75. Later that afternoon he asked my Mom for some paper and a pen. He then proceeded to write each one of the campers a thank you note for buying his willows & hand delivered each one! (Yes, this is where the proud mother tears enter!)

When I met my Mom in Malad to pick up the boys the first thing McKay did was give me the money for Ned. It truly touched me so much! He has something that he is really wanting right now & instead of keeping the money to go towards that he wanted it to go to Ned. He realized that $7.75 wasn't enough to buy much... But, I assured him that it would be enough to buy him whatever he wanted to!

I am so honored to have this little man as my son. He has always had the most compassionate little soul & never ceases to amaze me. I love you McKay!

Ohhh... How I Dream!

Ohhhh.... How I dream of doing this in my house! Once we finally get settled this will be one of the first projects I bribe my Father to come from Idaho & do for me!!! I love all of the color & character that it gives to a room! I LOVE children's books & think that this is just dreamy! I found it at Ohdeedoh.

It's What's For Dinner!

White Chicken Enchiladas with Green Chile Sour Cream Sauce & Spanish Rice

We have a friend that we have been having over for dinner on Saturday nights. His name is Domingo & my boys LOVE Domingo!!! His son is here in SLC at Shriners Hospital waiting to have a surgery done to straighten his back. He has scoliosis. It has been a very humbling experience for my little family as we have been able to be apart of this with them. I asked Domingo last Saturday what I could make him this week. He asked for Mexican food! The only problem is that Domingo is from Mexico & it's very intimidating for ME to make HIM Mexican food! In all honesty I seriously considered getting take out at the Mexican restaurant down the street! But, Domingo looks forward to home cooked meals after eating cafeteria food all week... So, this is what I came up with... we are going to give it a try! Here are the recipes: Spanish Rice & Chicken Enchiladas.

Coach Thank You Treats

I am always grateful for the coaches that take so much of their time to coach my boys. I grew up watching my Dad coach my brothers & saw all of the time it took. I'm making these cute little Thank you's for the boys to give their coaches at their last baseball game. I found the cute idea at eighteen25 - and the lovely thing is that they have the tags all ready for you to download! It can't get much easier than that!

Stink Bug

This is what Cannon does when he doesn't want to give McKay his football back... he uses it as a pillow... There was no getting him to let go of that thing! I even tried to bribe him with a Ring Pop! Stubbornness is for sure a Turley trait! He might look ohhhh soooo cute... but, he was being a little stink! It's a good thing he has McKay wrapped around his finger... Because Carter would have yanked it right out from under him!!!

Band Aide?

This is why I bought 5 boxes of camouflage band aides at the store a couple weeks ago... they are just way too cool to wait for a injury! And he is just way too cute to get mad at for waisting band aides!