3-16-2010 The past 36 days Part 1

During the past 36 days I haven't found time to write down the fun and entertaining things that I don't want to forget. I started making a section in my "notes" on my phone that I would open up and jot down anything I didn't want to forget and that I wanted to write about later. This seems to work great for me but I don't want to wait 36 days in the future because my list has gotten long. So here we go - starting with 3 :

1. AVA - We all adore Ava!! Jaxon likes to receive Ava kisses so he gets up close to Ava and with a big smile on her face she grabs the sides of his glasses in her little fists and pulls him close for a big wet one. Jaxon laughs and laughs and Ava thinks it is lots of fun too. Bath time has become a very entertaining past time. Ava LOVES to splash and kick in her bathtub. She cries when we take her out. Madison, Paul, and I have had the pleasure of Ava snuggling up on our shoulder and going to sleep. This was something new - when she was really tired she would lay her head down on our shoulder, start making her going to sleep sounds and konk out. (Her going to sleep sound is like a happy groaning). I just LOVED it!! Mostly she wants to be cradled in your arms and that is the only way she will go to sleep so this change was fun. She is a creature of habit and is back to wanting to be cradled close most of the time.

2. Madison & Greta had their first clogging competition of the year. Greta's dances where first and she got a 1st place in her freestyle and solo. Her team got a 1st in their dance also. Greta was dancing on a cloud the rest of the day. She only took her clogging shoes off for a few minutes. She was either outside the auditorium watching all the other dancers practice, watching the competition, practicing clogging with anyone available (strangers also), or dancing to her own music. I loved seeing her so happy! Madison received a 2nd place on her solo which none of us understood. Everyone in her group received a 2nd place and her instructor Jana said she couldn't think of one thing for them to improve on. Becky and Madison were very sad about their duet because they felt like they messed up a lot. But....they got a 1st and it made their day!! Literally!! Madison's team also received a 1st on their group dance. Wil was tired by the end of the day and left with Grandpa & Grandma Ingram before the awards. It was a fun day and the whole family is looking forward to going to Pocatello next month for the next clogging competition. We get to stay in a hotel, with a Pool, and Dad is coming! Yeah!!!!

3. For the Blue & Gold Banquet (Scouts) all the boys make a dessert and it is auctioned off to earn money for day camp in the summer. Last year Jaxon was soooo excited and said that he had to make the dessert and only Dad could help. Well Dad was gone and Jaxon decided to make chocolate chip cookies. He made them all by himself with only a little supervision. He was very proud of them but when he arrived at the Blue & Gold and saw all the detailed cakes and fancy desserts he was bummed. The family that bought his cookies told him they were very yummy! They were!

This year Jaxon decided he was going to make a cake and he wanted it to be fancy. I looked through a Hershey's recipe book for something he could make. He chose a Chocolate Raspberry Cake from the choices I showed him. Jaxon did such a good job!! It was from scratch and after baking the cake he glazed it with Raspberry preserves, dusted it with powdered sugar and then made Raspberry whipped cream to put in the middle. I had to take a picture of him with his "fancy" cake. Again he was a little bummed (unfortunately) because he wanted his cake to make the most money. I thought it was AWESOME!! He made it all by himself!!

The kids also love buying a dessert so with the budget we are trying to stick to I gave Jaxon a $20 bill & told him to get us a dessert. The boys were so cute!! Jaxon & Wil would pick out a cake, bid $20 and then watch to see if they got out bid. (They were getting up constantly to check the bid sheets) If they did get outbid they would move on to another cake and so forth. They got the 3rd cake that they bid their $20 on. This will be a tradition from now on for the boys. I will give them cash and let them take care of it!!! It is so fun to watch and hear their reports each time they check!