Aidan's Baptism

I cannot believe that my sweet, little, baby boy is 8 & baptized. What a wonderful day it turned out to be. Aidan was unbelievably excited & happy for this very special day. He was able to feel the love of his family as they gathered together to show their support of him.

It seems like only yesterday we were dressing him up for his blessing.




Aidan was very blessed to have his Grandpa Rick baptize & confirm him.

Thank you again, Grandpa!

Aidan, Mom & Dad are so proud of you. You have always been such a compassionate & loving son. We have always been deeply grateful for the strength & desire you have shown in being true to your faith. You are a wonderful example to your younger brother & your entire family. You truly are a blessing in our lives. We love you sooo much, Aidan:)

A very special thank you to our family members who traveled so far: Grandma Pat & Grandpa Ken, Kristen & Isabelle, Grandma Sherrie, Grandpa Rick, Uncle Jer, Uncle Luke, Aunt Andrea, Gabrielle, & Cal...you guys are AWESOME & we are so grateful to be able to call you family.

Hooray for the Farrand Girls!

We were so excited to have

my big sis, Kristen, &

hip-hop dancin' niece, Isabelle,

come visit us.

They have not been out to visit us since 2002!

That's okay, all is forgiven....especially in light of the fact that I told them that it would be nice and warm (keep in mind it was 68 degrees when I said this) & then the temperature dropped into the 40s when they got here. Needless to say, our little visitors were more than a little chilled when they got off the plane coatless & shuffling in flip-flops. YIKES! If it is of any consolation, I did not have a coat either.

We went into SLC to grab a bite to eat & had a good time diggin' thru the back of my car to find warmer duds for all of us to wear.

At one point, Kristen & I both tried on an extra coat of the kids I happened to have.
Again, needless to say, we struck out. Alas, I have been cursed with what I have dubbed "ET arms"...argh! Oh well, such is life. Silver lining: we were laughing so hard it didn't matter very much.

*****
The next day, true to its absurd weather patterns,

Utah gave my sister & niece the gift of snow.

We were going on Dylan's fieldtrip with him & his kindergarten class to the barn up at Thanksgiving Point.

Normally, this would have been a grand adventure full of lots of cool sights & activities...well, we'll just say it was truly an adventure.

I rode on the bus with Dylan (I was in charge of a few of the children), while Kris & Isabelle followed the bus in my car. I will say, when we got on the bus in Pleasant Grove the air was crisp, but the sun was shining brightly. Well, that came to an abrupt end 5 mins into our drive. The wind kicked up & the snow started comin' down (technically sideways because of the strong wind)....yes, I said SNOW! Next thing I know, I am getting a frantic call from Kristen basically breakin it down that she is more than a little freaked by the crazy storm & should she be worried about black ice. Yeah...tons of fun. However, again, within 5 mins, the snow stopped & the sun burst thru the clouds. Oh don't be fooled...the wind stuck around along with the arctic temperatures...okay, not arctic, but low 20's is pretty cold people!


Here's the crazy thing, they didn't cancel the fieldtrip! Holy Cow!(No pun intended).

Apparently, Thanksgiving Point doesn't give refunds, so we all pressed forward. I guess I failed to mention I was trying to let my sister & niece fully experience the depths to which the pioneers went thru in order to settle the great state of Utah. Alright, alright, I know I'm exaggerating...and no, I am not in any way, shape, or form trying to downplay the trials of the pioneer saints...I'm just sayin it was freakin' cold!

We started off inside the building where we got to see some cool stuff including a cute little lamb wearing a sweater. Isabelle loved this. Heck, I even held a chicken...okay, it wasn't real, but we won't focus on that.

Then we took the show outside. YIKES!

We got to go on a very quick hay ride, & walked around outside for a bit. The kids got to go inside a jail & the guide had them sing Twinkle Twinkle Little Star to get out. They thought that was hilarious. The best part, Isabelle sang the loudest :)

I felt so bad for the little kindergartners, most of which had nothing more then a sweatshirt. They were all troopers, but it was understandable when some of started to cry. For the record, Dyl didn't cry, he just was ready to go home.

I reiterate, IT WAS COLD!

However, we survived, but I do believe we all ended up with colds...nice...

Apparently we got over any ill-feelings towards the weather quickly because afterwards we went to lunch at JCWs & enjoyed one of their wonderful ice cream shakes.

I'm not saying it makes sense, people. I'm just tellin' it like it happened.

By the way, lunch was DELICIOUS!

You gotta love JCW's!

Happy Easter!

The boys had a super full day. They started off with an egg hunt at Dad & Donnie's. Then they went to church with me. After, Dad picked 'em up to go to the annual Wiseman brunch at Riverside country club where they had lots of good stuff to eat & got to visit with Grandma Sherrie & their aunts & uncles. Later, they got to go to ANOTHER super fun hunt with Donnie's family at Grandma Gwen's & Grandpa Chip's. Aidan even found a can of Cheetos in a TREE!!! Dyl& Aidan couldn't stop talkin about it. And finally they got to come home to mom's house where they went on a scavenger hunt.



This year in an attempt to alleviate the annual melt down where Dylan gets upset "'cause Aidan runs around & grabs all of the eggs first!" (yeah, no breaks for his younger bro, Aidan is way too competitive), I set-up a hunt in which the boys had to find a certain # of eggs & various surprises on their lists.

While my intentions were good, they basically dropped their lists & went on a mad dash (to my credit the lists actually had pictures of the different eggs with a number telling them how many of each they were suppose to find). While it seemed to be effective & worked out really well, Dyl told me after, "um...yeah, the scavenger hunt was lame. Next year, I hope the Easter Bunny just hides the eggs like normal so we can just run around & grab them"...so much for my effort....and,um, yes, that is a skeleton sitting in my kitchen...what? Who doesn't keep a skeleton sitting out all year? :)

Happy Easter, everyone!

Happy birthday, Dr. E Vil Aidan!

For Aidan's 8th birthday we had a Mad Scientist party.

You all know me, I LOVE planning a party...let alone a kid's party.
Like always, I had a ton of fun decorating & coming up with fun things
for the kids to do. Also, as you know me, I went way OVERBOARD...oh well...).

The kids all got to get their hair colored, pick out cool "Mad Scientist" names to put on their lab coats, & put on some silly glasses.

Then, we had a real scientist from madscience.org came to our house.

He showed the kids some really cool things with fire, lights, electricity, & rockets.

The kids played a fun shocking game called
"Don't Break the Link",
got to make glow-in-the-dark slime, and launched 2 rockets...that part was WAY COOL!

Next, we went in for pizza & punch!

However, I think the kids had the most fun when it came time for the cake.

I had every intention of making a really cool cake, but ended up being so last minute that we just had 2 small cakes. This actually turned out to be a major bonus. Aidan asked that since we had TWO cakes, could he PLEASE slam his face into one of them...hmmm...
well, it is your birthday...sure, go for it!


I'll just say the boys had fun again, and again, & again smashing their faces into the cake. :)


,

The day was also extra special since Grandma Sherrie came all the way from California to celebrate with us. Lucky for us too, Uncle Matt, Aunt Alexis (with baby Alivia in her belly), & Aunt Amy also came to wish Aidan a happy birthday.

I also need to give a special thanks

to my pal, Kylee. She drove over on the spur of the moment to help me out.

Thanks so much, Kylee!

You are the BEST!!!

All in all, I think everyone had a great time.

Happy birthday, Aidan. I love you! :)

Eggsellent!

We had so much fun decorating our eggs this year.

Our theme...SPORTS!

The kids love to color eggs.

The problem is that they wanted to eat the eggs

before we even started.

Thank goodness for eggs that crack during the boiling process.

After we finished eating eggs,

we decided to get started...

First, we got the colors ready.

Aidan liked this part,

except for the

stinky vinegar.

Then we bent that little metal thing
into shape for dipping,
but first the boys thought it was funny
to make it into
a monocle.

Dyl REALLY liked coloring the eggs:)

After, Dyl got so excited about
all the
cool sports eggs
that he ran upstairs
&
changed into his UTAH attire.
He wanted to show me what you do
when you play football.
"You go like this, Mom!" :)

I can't wait to see what we do next year:)

Yippee Skippy! Aidan is turning 8!

In case these don't arrive in time,

you are all invited to the

special event

of

Aidan's Baptism.

We will be serving refreshments after in our home.

We hope you all can join us on

Aidan's special day!

So I took this little quiz my friend sent me. Turns out I am "Elizabeth Bennett". Weird! So does NOT sound like me....okay, okay, so the whole "sharp tongue" & "hasty judgments" thing might sound a little familiar...silver lining: hopefully there is a handsome Mr. Darcy (accent incl.) in my happy-ever-after.

Anywho, I thought this was fun. So, for all the literati that reads this humble, little blog...feel free to see "Which Jane Austen Heroine Are You?"




Create your own quiz
Elizabeth Bennet
You are memorable, lovely and clever, the life of the party... you always have the perfect thing to say in every situation. Your honesty, virtue, and lively wit enable you to rise above the nonsense and bad behavior that pervade your money-seeking and often spiteful society. Nevertheless, your sharp tongue and tendency to make hasty judgments often lead you astray... if not careful, you can display qualities that you despise - pride and prejudice. But if you can get past negative first impressions, your life and love story will be epic!!!
take this quiz again see more quizzes

You say it's your birthday, da na na na...

So, it's my birthday...the best gift I've got are my boys!

They truly are the biggest blessing in my life. They were both so good to get up right away & get ready without the normal madness that ensues in our mornings.




Aidan was johnny on the spot

with practicing piano,

while Dyl was up, dressed, & smiling...

trust me, this is a BIG deal.

But that's not all folks...

My fantastic coworkers elected to all dress in black in honor of my birthday.

Luckily, I too felt the color was appropriate, dawned the sad hue myself.. No, it wasn't all that bad. Lori & Kim went all out & gave me this fun basket of goodies & an extremely, fluffy sheep:)

We also celebrated with having lunch brought in from the JCW's You gots to love the deep-fried food! Yum! Yum! Heart attack, anyone? :)

A special thanks to Mrs. Hays & her 2nd grade class @ Grovecrest Elementary who so kindly had flowers delivered to me at work. I'm the sponsor for the class & she always goes above & beyond to thank me again & again for my donation...whatever! I should be thanking her.

She's awesome!

Teachers rule!!!


I also received a HUGE balloon & flowers from my boss, as well as, lots of other blooms, gifts, & calls from several other thoughtful friends & family members.

I topped the night off with going to Tepanyaki with lots of my gal pals.

We've kind of made this an annual event since there are about 5 of us with March b-days.

Against all of their protests, I made them take pictures. They HATE that I carry my camera in my purse. Hey man! You never know when you're going to need picture proof:) Plus, I might add, Aimee & Gwen both had their cameras too.

Anywho, I so wish that I got the pic of all of us with our hands on our hips pretending like we were a cheer squad. LOL! Especially since, I do believe Melissa was holding up her finger while yelling, "We're going to Nationals!" Holy crap! I got some funny friends! :)



Thanks again everyone for making this a very SPECIAL DAY!:)