fast fact friday

Yes, I realize I'm a day late.  I stumbled on a blog that's purpose is to help you tell your story.  I'm really good at talking about stuff we've done, but not necessarily about who we are.  So, let's see how this goes.

Week 1 Questions:

1.  How long have you lived at your current residence?

2.  What is the exact shade of your favorite color?

3.  How much sleep do you get at night?

4.  Have you ever been able to do the splits?

 5.  What is your favorite breakfast?

My Answers:

1.  We've lived here 2 years, 4 months.  Our plan was that we weren't going to be here very long, and in reality, this is one of the longest times we've been in one place.  Funny.

2.  Fire Engine Red.

3.  I require a lot of sleep to function.  I'd like to get at least 8 hours.  For some reason (since Christmas), the boys have had a hard time sleeping, and we've been up every night with one, but usually both, boys.  

4.  Actually, yes...but only on the right side.  I was on the dance/drill team in high school and did them all the time.  For some reason, after having knee surgery, I could never get all the way down on the left side.  Weird.

5.  I really like slimy hashbrowns that are crispy on top. 

a fun week

We've been celebrating Kaden's birthday for a few days.  Since there wasn't school yesterday, we got to go into his class on Thursday.  His teacher had a hat all ready for him, along with a special chair in the front of the room:

We talked about how great Kaden is and how glad we are that he's in our family.  We took pictures with us, and talked about some of Kaden's favorite things.

We took treats for all of the kids too.  Kaden requested maple bars, served on Army napkins.  I didn't take a picture of it, but believe me when I say they were great donuts.  The Army napkins were super great, too.  

We also took Army guys (4 green, 4 brown wrapped in cellophane), so that all of the kids could have their own Army battles at home.

Friday morning, I spent 3+ hours working on his cake.  I'm the first to admit that usually I'm all about quick and easy, but I saw something similar online and decided to go for it.  

Best. Cake. Ever....according to Kaden.  

Homemade chocolate frosting.

Watch towers made from rice crispies treats.

Fence surrounding the base made from pretzel sticks.

Rock border made from sugar cubes, spray painted with edible paint.

Dirt on cake and around bottom made from crushed graham crackers.

More on the cake in a minute.

Kyle had to work, so Kaden got to open his gifts before Daddy left for work.  He was so nice about letting Bosten help.

We hung out for awhile, and headed down to Herriman to swim at the rec. center with all of his cousins.  It was so, so fun but I didn't take any pictures.

After swimming, we went to Rock Creek Pizza.  

After we sang and he blew out his candle, he informed me that he was so full from eating pizza that he didn't want any cake.  Not one bite.  Funny kid.  He missed out, because it was really good.

We're still not done partying for his birthday!  Tonight we're going out to dinner with Uncle Ryan, Aunt Kerry, and the kids.  So excited.

Its been a pretty fun few days for a pretty great kid.  Happy Birthday, buddy.  We love you!

happy birthday...

...to one of my favorite people.

Its crazy how one phone call changed everything.

We love you Kaden!!

the big truck came to our house

I don't know why, but both of the boys love seeing RC Willey's trucks out on the road.  They always scream and point to it when they see one.  This week, one actually came to our house.  Pretty exciting!  

 Believe me, we got a lot closer than this to look inside the truck.

They brought us a new washer and dryer, and that was pretty exciting for me!

rose tutorial

This post is mainly for my grandma and Kamie...or anyone else that's interested.

Here's the stuff you'll need:

 -cellophane paper cut into squares (dollar store)

-sticks or dowels (Michael's)

-leaves off of a stem of flowers (dollar store)

-floral tape (Michael's)

-Hershey's kisses

 Take 2 kisses and wrap a square of cellophane around it

Stick one of the dowels up along the kisses (inside the square) and hold tight

Start wrapping the floral tape around the bottom of the Hershey's kiss, while holding everything together

Add a leaf or two (if you want) as you're wrapping the dowel with tape

 Wind all the way to the bottom, cut the tape, press firmly at the bottom to make it tight and stick together.

You then can arrange them however you want.  This year I wrapped mine with ribbon and a bow.  

Easy peasy, lemon squeezy...and super cute too.

another trip to the aquarium

Kyle was home on Saturday, so we thought we'd go see some fish.  Kyle's never been to the aquarium (well, this one that is),  and the boys were excited to show him around.

There were tons of people there, but we still had a great time!

Kaden thought it was pretty cool to see the penguins up close, especially since they just talked about them at school.  

We can't wait to go back, but will probably make sure its not a Saturday afternoon next time!

its still all Army

Last week, Kyle and Kaden went to the local Army recruiting office to see if they had an posters for Kaden's room.  They were out and Kaden was bummed, but it wasn't a total loss.  They hooked them up with a couple of hats, a water bottle, and some pamphlets.  Score!  

Kaden loves his hat.  He's worn it all week, and even fell asleep wearing it that first day:

He is a good brother, and shared the other hat with Bosten:

Funny boys.  I don't know about you, but I'm about ready for a new obsession.