Leaving....

on a jet plane....tomorrow night.  Well, technically Wednesday morning.  But the kids are being dropped off and we are driving to Edmonton tomorrow evening. 

SO EXCITED!

But a little nervous too.  We've never gone this far from the kids or for so long....
It helps that I know we are leaving them with such great people.  Thanks Paynes!

So why am I on the computer blogging instead of packing?  Because I hate packing.  Can't wait to get there but seriously wish I had a wand, or a maid or some other means of having all of us packed and ready to go to without me having to do it. 

The lists are made, the laundry is almost finished....I can only put this off for so much longer.

It doesn't help that Cliff is home and already in vacation mode.  Makes me want to sit and do nothing as well. 

However, I will soon be sitting on the sunny beach of Mexico and enjoying myself immensely!

Don't miss me too much!

Uncharted Territory...

I know I promised pictures....but I can finally share some news.

No I'm not pregnant.  NOT happening, so all you hopefuls, quit hoping. 

What I am is......the new 2nd councilor in our ward's Relief Society presidency. 

I've known for 2 weeks but today it became official. As I looked around the chapel this morning during the sacrament it really hit me that we as a presidency are responsible for all these women, and I was humbled and grateful for the opportunity.
And after a quick meeting with the outgoing presidency we were on.  It even worked out that this month is the 2nd councillors turn to conduct so jumped in with both feet. I was barely nervous while I was conducting - it felt natural and fun. 

I'm really looking forward to this calling and to working with the sisters.  I've never served in this capacity so I'm sure I'll learn LOTS!

Someone is FIVE.......

Can you guess who?

If you guessed this handsome lad, congratulations! You are correct! Rhett turned 5 on the 4th and was sooooo excited for the day to finally be here. He had been counting sleeps for a long time to get to his birthday! We started the day off with opening his gift from us - a huge remote control monster truck. He was excited for the truck but disappointed that it needed to be charged first. Note to self - ALWAYS assemble/charge toys before revealing. (And don't let Cliff go shopping by himself anymore!)

Zane and Daddy went off to school and work and the remainder of us hung out doing whatever it was that Rhett wanted to do. We have a tradition around here of "birthday waffles" for breakfast on your birthday. (Homemade waffles with whip cream and a bunch of sugary goodness piled on top). But since Rhett's birthday was in the middle of a busy week we declared birthday waffles for supper that day. They were a hit of course. And then we headed to the park to run off some sugar before bed!

Thursday Rhett and I were out doing errands when I noticed that his bottom teeth looked a little more spacious than usual. When I tested my theory we discovered to our surprise that Rhett had 2 loose teeth! And even more surprising....by bed time one was ready to come out! He was a little traumatized at seeing his tooth and the blood, but was quickly convinced that losing teeth is a good thing because the tooth fairy comes. He was ALL smiles Friday morning when he woke up and found a toonie under his pillow! He couldn't wait to show his friends his newly acquired hole!

Friday brought his friend party with his hot wheels cake. He was very insistent that his cake be a hot wheel cake so I made a sheet cake, iced it brown, used licorice strips to make lanes and start and finish lines and lined up 5 new cars at the end. He loved it. But let me tell you, decorating cakes is NOT one of my talents!

On Saturday the celebration continued as Uncle Jamie and Grammie S were both able to come for a visit. We had a great supper for birthday/Mother's day and lots of good fun.

So, Rhett at Five:

- is super tall for his age. He's as tall as some as Zane's school friends, and everyone always thinks he's at least 2 years older than he is just based on his height.

- is my most sensitive boy. He picks up on everything. Can be easy to cry, or just as easily frustrated by his brothers.

- is also my most cautious. He doesn't like going into new things on his own, but is getting better at adjusting to them. We went to his kindergarten orientation a couple of weeks ago and he wouldn't say boo to anyone, but the next day we went back to the school for a fun fair and he had a blast. The first couple weeks of school could be interesting, but I know he'll be fine eventually.

- decided not to play soccer this year at the last minute. He claims he's not good enough. I think this comes from always playing against his older brother. No explaining or cajoling could change his mind so he is watching from the side lines again this year.
-builds extraordinary things out of Lego. And has an imaginary world to go right along with it. I think it's awesome!

- goes through phases of what he plays with. Right now he's definitely into cars and he and Brock spend the majority of the day roaring around the house with the infinite number of cars, trucks, monster trucks, hummers, tractors, police cars...well you get the picture.
- thinks that learning to ride his bike this year is a really bad idea. And I'm not even talking about a two wheeler. I'm talking training wheels. Remember when I mentioned he was cautious? Yeah, his reasoning is that he can just run while the rest of us ride. His mother disagrees. Last year he still fit in the bike trailer with Brock so it wasn't an issue...this year he's too tall! Going to be an interesting couple of weeks.

- has no interest in coloring, writing, scissors etc. Loves to do things on the computer, build, run and play. Could make school a little interesting as well.

- still asks for cuddles. Love that!

- is so great with Brock. And is starting to include him in his play sometimes now that Brock is getting bigger. But does get frustrated when Brock goes on a seek and destroy streak and destroys the elaborately set up pretend world that he is currently engrossed in. Can't say I blame him.

- is very helpful....usually.
- is the reigning Uno champ in our house! He wins way more than the rest of us - and we don't cheat to let him win. He's just that lucky/good.

- is only 1 1/2 shoe sizes away from Zane. He looks like a teenage boy sometimes - all elbows and knees and giant feet!

- favorite color is red

- favorite movie is Cars

- favorite ice cream is vanilla

- favorite primary song is I Love to see the Temple

- favorite hockey team is the Canucks

- favorite sandwich is peanut butter

- favorite chocolate bar is Aero

I love you Rhett! You are such an amazing boy! You make me smile every day and bring happiness to the people around you. Keep being your special self and you will always find joy.

Love, Mom

*Sorry, for the lack of pictures in this post. Blogger and I are not agreeing as to where they should go....so stay tuned in the next while and I'll do a post of pictures!