{Father & Sons}

Every year Kenny takes the boys on a Father & Sons Campout.  He goes along with all his church buddies and they do boy stuff.   This year they went camping at San Clemente beach.  The boys look forward to this camping trip every year and were even more excited that they were going to the beach.

They had a blast staying up late with friends, eating cobbler, swimming, and playing games.  The highlight, or at least the part I heard the most about, was the catching of a rattlesnake!  Drew loves snakes and thought it was cool to see it, but he didn't love it enough to want to eat it!  The boys were eager to tell me how the men grilled up the rattle snake and dished it out for everyone to try.  Kenny tried it and was not that impressed!

My boys are growing up way to quickly!

 Ian and his best buddy Max!

So while the boys were away, Mya and I were left to play!  

We danced...

Mya is sporting my dance costume from when I was a girl.

She begged to take pictures of me dancing...I tried my best to be as graceful as the Barbie ballerina!

 And of course we ate Cup Cakes!!!

We invited over several moms and their daughters and watched Princess movies, ate lots of food, and painted nails.  

We had the perfect weekend!  The boys were kept safe, which is always my fear when I send them off with a bunch of men, who I'm sure do not watch them as well as we women do, and Mya and I had some much needed girl time.  I can't wait for her to be old enough that we can spend the day at the spa when the boys go off camping!

{A Mother's Day to Remember}

I have been blessed with an amazing mother and mother-in-law!  I look up to them so much and appreciate their strength, knowledge, and love.  I continue to learn from them and appreciate all the sacrifices they made to be the mothers that they were and continue to be today.  My hope is to be as good of a mother to my children as my mother was to me.  Not a day went by where I did not feel loved and supported.  Thank you MOM!!!!

I feel truly blessed and grateful to be entrusted with the sacred duty to be a mother to my children.  Yes at times it can be exhausting and difficult, but it is so worth it!  

I love this quote!!!!

My kids mean the world to me and make me want to be the best mom that I can.  Today was a wonderful day.  I was smothered with hugs and kisses in bed this morning and then the gifts started coming.  The best gifts are the ones that come with thought, creativity, and love!  I definitely was showered with love from my kiddos today.

Mya chose some fun flowers for me!

 Owen made a beautiful card that reads, "Mom, my love for you grows and grows."

He also made me a coaster and was very proud of his heart he made!

Ian made a lovely card.

 His note read, "Dear Mom, Let me tell you some things I love about you.  I love when you make homemade bread.  I like your hear (hair) and you are really nice.  I like when you rub my back.  Love, Ian

He also made me a dazzling bracelet that I wore to church!

Drew made me a card. 

 It read, "Dear Mom, I love you so much.  You are the best mom I've ever have.  You are so nice and kind.  You're the best, and I hope you have a great Mother's Day.  From, Andrew Summers

 He also made me a book mark

 And he wrote me a POEM!!!!

It brought tears to my eyes as I read it, yet I could hardly stop laughing!  It was so thoughtfully written and I could not have felt more loved than I did as I sat in my bed with my beautiful children all around me!

Kenny surprised me with speakers to hook my i-phone up to so we can sing and dance all around the house!  He also made me steak and homemade chocolate chip oatmeal cookies.  He also allowed for me to take a nap, which was HUGE!

The feeling I felt today was AMAZING!!!  I wish everyday could be Mother's Day!

{The Fresh Loaf}

 Growing up in Kansas, I had the wonderful opportunity to experience harvest!  My memories go way back to riding in the combine, sitting up high on my grandpa Elliott's lap, watching as all the long rows of  golden wheat were cut, and then poured into the big red trucks.  My favorite part was when we were allowed to "swim" in the truck full of cut wheat!

 Me at age 3!  I can still remember the feeling of the wheat between my toes and all the hidden wheat in my clothes!

 Even as a teenager, my sister Carmin, and I still loved playing in the wheat!

Well 32 years later and my passion for wheat is renewed!  My great friend Darcy, started grinding her own wheat and making homemade wheat bread.  After going to her house and smelling the amazing smells of fresh wheat bread in her oven and tasting some of her bread, I too wanted to start making bread for my family.  

I remembered as a child my mother making homemade bread, so I called her up and she informed me that she still had the wheat grinder and Bosch that she used to make bread, but hadn't used it in years.  I quickly let my request be known of how much I would love to inherit the Bosch!  The next thing I knew, I had a wheat grinder and Bosch delivered to my door!  I am so grateful for my parents who gave me this amazing gift!  For some reason, this sweet gesture brings tears to my eyes!  I could not be more excited to start making bread out of the same mixer that my mom used to make bread for me as a child.  

I enlisted in two of the cutest helpers to be my assistants in the kitchen.  I wanted to share this bread making experience with my little girl!

 These two girls chose the boys' Iron Man and Hulk aprons instead of the girly ones.  Being a Super Hero makes baking more fun!

 We purchased 50 lbs of wheat and started grinding!  Mya and Elliott were amazed to see the before and after process of the wheat being ground up.   They too were playing in the big bucket of wheat before it was ground up.  It brought back good memories!

So my bread might not be the most sanitary!  It was hard for them to keep their hands out of the ground wheat too!

 Then the mixing began!!!  They giggled as they watched the batter spin and spin and spin!  Then they started eating the batter and licking the spatula.  It was so yummy I just let them go ahead and enjoy the dough.

The finished product!!!!

My whole house smelled like a bakery and the loaves where devoured in a matter of minutes by the kids and their friends.  I have sense made more loaves and have been passing them out to neighbors and friends!  I really enjoy the whole process and feel a since of pride that I can make a fresh loaf of bread.

I am so grateful for my wonderful memories of growing up in Kansas and the beautiful wheat fields that I took for granted.   I am thankful for my generous parents and all the love and support they give!  They mean the world to me!  I am truly blessed!

{Another C-section}

Mini Dr. Summers, Owen, loves watching daddy perform c-sections and thinks he can do them too!

Owen told 'Pregnant Mya', "I can get your baby out really, really, easy!  I will put you to sleep and then use my ax!"

{Welcome to the World}

Watching Kenny perform c-sections is one of my favorite things to see him do at work.  He called me and told me he was performing an emergency c-section on a goat whose baby was stuck.  He invited us to watch and we quickly made our way to the hospital.

 Prepping the momma goat, who was having a hard time delivering her babies.  She had been pushing for several hours and the baby was stuck.  See the hoof coming out?

 Kenny opened her up and pulled the baby out.  The momma had a total of 3 baby goats.  Unfortunately,  the one who was stuck was not alive when Kenny pulled it out

The other two baby goats were cleaned off and swung in a towel to wake them up.

 Such a cute little face!

 Mya was proud of her daddy and eager to meet the babies!

 While Owen grips his starburst in one hand, with a glove, he touches the soft hoof of the smallest baby.

 The smallest goat weighed 1.8 lbs.  They were so soft and cute!

Taking its first steps!

Momma goat and her two babies are doing well!  We are planning a visit out to the farm where they live to go and visit them and to go horseback riding!  

{Foamy Fun}

It is my turn to teach Mya's preschool group at our home.  I enjoy teaching and am reminded why I got my degree in Early Childhood Education.  I love the kids excitement when they play with something new!  The philosophy to learning at this age is through play.  In my opinion that is the best kind of learning!

Mya dug right into the shaving cream!

The kids favorite thing to do at our house is to play in the sand box.  

 I'm not sure who had more fun with the tunnel, the kids, or Leo!

When Ian and his friend Max got home from school, they too wanted to play in the shaving cream.  

They took it to a whole new level of fun!

 Next time I will make them play with it outside!

{Silverwood Lake}

Our friends, the Westbrooks, invited us to go with them to the lake to play on their new boat!  After spending the morning outside working, the lake sounded like bliss!!!  We had a blast!!!!

Getting everyone ready with life jackets was a chore.

After listening to some instructions on different hand motions to give, to let the driver know if he should go faster, or slower, or to stop, we were ready to go!!!

Drew was first up to go out and ride on the inflatable tube.

He was a natural and loved every minute of it!!!  He was standing up and kept putting his thumb up to go faster!

Ian was surprisingly nervous for some reason!  He did not dare stand up and never requested to go faster.  He was done after only a couple of minutes. 

After watching Ian, Owen decided he wanted Chandler to ride with him.  You can tell by his face that he too was a little leery.

Owen is giving the "STOP" signal with his hand!!!  He did it the whole time he rode!  Of course Kenny said, "He's fine" and they just kept going!  We just cheered him on and waved at him!  We tend to push our kids :)

Mya takes after Drew (and me)  and is adventurous!!!  She did NOT want anyone to go with her!

She kept giving the thumbs up signal to go faster!

Then she surprised us and stood up!  She loved it and the attention she got from all of us on the boat!

It was my turn next!!!  I wasn't going to let all the kids have all the fun!  Ryan encouraged me to try knee boarding, so after he got in and showed me how to do it, I jumped at the chance.  

It was so much fun!!!! It was a thrill!  However, when I put up my hand to stop, just like Owen had, the adults just started waving to me too!!!!   My dismount, or lack there of, sent me flipping through the water and hurting my neck!  I realized Ryan never told me what to do when I was done and I didn't just let go of the rope like any normal person would do!  Kenny thought I was saying I was ok with the speed.  He obviously didn't listen to Ryan's hand instructions!

 We found a cove to park the boat and let the kids swim. 

 We discovered a great rope swing that sent Drew swinging in the air and splashing into the water!

 I didn't go on the swing because of my sore neck, but I wish I had!  I guess we will have to go back!  Next I want to go water skiing!

We had such a fun day playing with the Westbrooks!  Our kids all want to go back and ride on the tube again, so I guess even though they were a little skeptical, they still enjoyed it!  I'm so glad we have friends who have a boat!!!