Babysitting, fires, and mutts

Well, life has been pretty busy the past couple of weeks. We've spent a couple of days babysitting, today we "Strutted our Mutts" down at Sugarhouse park (Its the official walk of "No More Homeless Pets" in Utah). And we hosted our first barbecue at our house last night for Ashly's going away party. Granted, it was a veggie barbecue but Eric still cooked hot dogs with the veggie burgers. Although, I don't have the pictures from the barbecue on my camera, I guess Eric was using his so I'll have to wait to post those 'til later. I feel like this summer is going to be a great one. I really love having my own place now that there's actually stuff to do. Our yard is still a work in progress... but then again, so is our house but even that work is just enjoyable. From the moment I made plans to have Ashly's barbecue last night, Eric started getting all worried. He said, "Our yard is nowhere near ready to be having people over!" He works really hard on it and even an hour before the barbecue, he ran to the store to buy some more flowers to plant in the backyard. In a few years, I can just imagine how it'll look. Anyway, at least it makes the mortgage a little easier to pay each month!

But onto photos... This was our first babysitting gig and you can see how well it turned out. Whitney actually wanted to get into the dog kennel but Frankie was not too happy about it. He just went up to it and kept pawing at it trying to get the door to open.


Taylor is terrified of Frankie in this picture. That boy can sure scream!

After Tay saw how fun it was to be in the kennel, he decided to try it out too. Who knew it'd be such fun?

This is the first time we lit our firepit in the backyard, after a Bees game. Zach, Riley, Meg, Russ, Eric & myself were the participants and despite our best efforts, the fire lasted about 15 minutes before it was out for good due to a problem with wet wood. It rained all day so everything outside was soaked.

I think Frankie & Roscoe really liked "Strut Your Mutt". I was worried about their social skills but alas, they're pretty popular as dogs go. They made lots of new friends and only barked at a couple of outcasts.
This dog is so cute! He is available for adoption if anyone is interested. He only has two hind legs and then the wheelchair. I don't know why he is in this condition, but he is cute and sweet and needs a good home!Now onto our second babysitting attempt. We tried cupcakes this time which were a lot of fun.

Brice ate more of her cupcake than Ashton did! She is so cute and chubby!
Ashton loved playing with Frankie & Roscoe. I'm not sure they reciprocated his feelings all the time. After awhile, Roscoe started acting like he was afraid of Ashton and it was because Ashton would hit him to get him to drop the ball. I don't think Ashton has been around many animals so its good training to learn how to act around them. But they look like they're having fun here!

Brice is so cute! She actually slept almost the entire time we had her but when she was awake she was so happy.
Precious! There are certain times I actually can picture Eric as a father.
This is one of them.

Roscoe got really worn out today between "Strut Your Mutt" and Ashton. I should do this more often!
And last but not least, I finally got my coveted lawn gnome. Jealous?

Happy Mother's Day!

Just wanted to say Happy Mother's Day to all the moms in my life. I have so much to appreciate on this day. Starting, first with my own mom, who is without a doubt the most giving person I know. Also, you are Eric's favorite person in my family (not counting myself, of course)! We both really love you, mom!

Ann, thanks for all you've done for me & Eric. You are definitely my second mother and I love learning from you and growing closer to you. You are an amazing person and are always doing something for someone and I can't believe all that you can accomplish. I have so many great examples of motherhood in my life and I just wanted to tell each of you that I really do love you and you have taught me about motherhood in some important way. Grandma Barb, Grandma Carver, Stephanie, Mandy, Teresa, Brittany, Andi, Mahina, Brytten, and last but not least, Gretel... Happy Mother's Day to you all!

"A mother is the truest friend we have, when trials heavy and sudden, fall upon us; when adversity takes the place of prosperity; when friends who rejoice with us in our sunshine desert us; when trouble thickens around us, still will she cling to us, and endeavor by her kind precepts and counsels to dissipate the clouds of darkness, and cause peace to return to our hearts. " ~Washington Irving