Tyson's Graduation

Ok, here are some pics from Tyson's graduation last week.

It seriously poured the entire night!

Yes, we even brought an EZ Up to huddle underneath.

You better believe we were the envy of the rest of the crowd!The football stands were still full of people and lots of umbrullas too! Here are the grads walking in...can you find Tyson?!

Sometimes being 6'4'' has its advantages.Right when the 800+ grads started walking onto the field my crazy mom went right up to the fence and started jumping and yelling Tyson's name. She had a little light up toy that she waved in her hand so Tyson could see her. We couldn't stop laughing! Atleast Tyson knows he is loved by his mother....and all of us for that matter! The entire fam came to cheer him on even with the cold and rain. It made for a graduation night not soon to be forgotten!

Congrats Tyson!!

Sno Cones and Hot Chocolate

Yesterday we had some crazy weather! It was meant to be our preschool water fun day, so we were all decked out in swim suits with slip-n-slide and water balloons ready to go. Keep in mind, it had just hit 110 a few days ago and even just the day before we had gone swimming at our friends' house. It ended up being cloudy and a little chilly for our preschool water party, so we all mostly just played in the backyard and did some beach ball bowling and tie dyed t-shirts. We still had sno cones, but opted to eat them inside even though my kitchen floor ended up a big sticky mess! The kids and I all ended up having a great time anyways.

Then we went to pick up Benson from school and as we drove home, a few sprinkled started to hit the windshield. A few minutes after arriving home it started pouring and pretty soon it even started hailing! Since rain in AZ is a big novelty, we all had a great time watching the storm. Benson even collected some hail in a ziploc bag and saved it in the freezer. It pretty much rained the rest of the day. We were really enjoying the open windows and cool breezes. We put a little thermometer next to our kitchen window and at 1:30 pm at the end of May, it showed 57 degrees! Wow! That never happens here, but we'll take it!

The only problem was that it was graduation for my brother and a ton of other kids across the valley of the sun. We went in to my parents to have a dinner for Tyson and still weren't sure what they would do about graduation, which was planned to be held on the football field at the high school. Well, the show must go on, and since there really wasn't room for it to go on indoors anywhere, we all braved the 50 degree pouring rain and cheered on TYSON!! It really turned out to be a memorable occasion. We set up an EZ Up in the in zone of the field and piled all of the clan (including 6 kids) underneath to sit through some barely audible speeches and long lists of names. It was so worth it though! We then went back to my parents home for some brownies and hot chocolate. I took some great pics, but apparently my memory card was still in the computer and not in my camera, so oh well. We are so proud of Tyson!

So, any day that starts with swim suits and sno cones and ends up with blankets and hot chocolate is sure to create some great memories! What a fun, crazy day!

Salad Recipe Exchange

My cousin Katie wants to start a recipe exchange via blogs, so as requested, this is a yummy salad we had for dinner the other night. Hope you enjoy!

THE SALAD
Mixed greens (we used romaine and spinach)
Bacon, cooked and crumbled
Egg, hard boiled and sliced
Green apple, diced
Fresh grated Parmesan cheese (use as garnish on top of salad)

THE DRESSING
4 T. red wine vinegar
2 T. balsamic venegar
1 1/2 t. dijon mustard
1 garlic clove, minced
3/4 c. olive oil
1/2 t. salt
1/2 t. pepper
Combine all ingredients in blender.

I also baked some chicken tenderloins, sprinkled them with 1/2 packet of Good Seasons Italian Dressing Mix before baking and added it to the salad (grilled chicken would also be good). It was really yummy!

More than...

Last Friday Benson's class had a little program for the parents. They sang a few songs, made us a sweet card and had yummy refreshments. On our cards, Benson said that he loves me more than the universe and he loves his dad more than Christmas! The love in our family runs real deep! I love what kids come up with!

Here is the class singing. Benson is hiding behind the girl on the right.

Benson gave me a tour of the room and here is him as an astronaut.

The refreshments were scrumptious!

Fiesta!

I don't know why, but I really love Cinco de Mayo. It has become a tradition in our little family to make a party of it every May 5. We bust out the old Mexican dishes and tablecloth that we have as souviners from our few trips to Mexico. I love making chicken tacos with lots of lime, avocados, and homemade salsa. To make it even more of a party, we always make up some pina coladas and strawberry daiquiris. Mmmmm! Last night we even made a some fried ice cream sprinkled with a little cinnamon, chocolate syrup, bananas and whipped cream. Then we play some Spanish music that Byron bought when he was fresh off his mission. Elvis Crespo and Mana are our favs! It is the perfect finishing touch to make the night a hit! Last night Byron's parents came over to join in the fun and we had a great time. I think Benson even beat Grandpa at a mad game of Uno! It made his night! Happy Cinco de Mayo!!

Huge Smiles

Yesterday I took the kids to Chuck E. Cheese so Byron could get some studying done before finals this week. We had a great time! We had a coupon, so for ten bucks we had 80 tokens to burn. The biggest smile of the day was when Benson put a token in a game, hit the button and landed right on the jackpot. He was so excited watching 60 tickets pour out of the machine. We cashed in on our tickets and the kids were so happy. Then we went to McD's for happy meals, since I'm not too fond of the over priced pizza at the other place. And you know its a special day when they each get their own happy meal instead of sharing. :) We all had a lot of fun and hopefully Byron got some good study time in with a quiet house for the entire afternoon!