Trail of Destruction!

"I'm on the move, Mom!! Where to next?"

What I prefer

-Having a husband that is not out-of-town. (3 weeks down, 1 more to go!)

-Sleeping with my husband and not 2 little weasels that find their way in my bed every night.

-Making a balanced and nutritious dinner that is worth making every night. I'm getting tired of sandwiches, chicken nuggets, pizza and pancakes. I usually make myself something different, but it's still pretty basic.

-Not having milk expire and consequently having to put it down the drain.

-Being able to run all the small errands without dragging the kids with me. (Thanks to a great friend that watches my kids and still allows me to accomplish this feat without a husband.)

-Looking forward to the weekends.

-Having Tyler complete the "Honey-Do" List instead of me!

I know there are so many wives out there who have it worse than I do. And evidently, I will have it worse as time wears on. Tyler will be gone for 3 months this summer, but luckily we will be at home with extended family for 2 months of it. Then, of course, there is the dreaded "D" word (deployment) that the Army may choose to give to Tyler after he is done with his residency in 5 years. I'm not even going to think about that right now. With technology these days, it's amazing how much we really are able to stay in contact with each other. On Sunday we had had a 2 hour web cam visit. That was better than any movie I could have watched.

I don't prefer having a husband gone and I'm sure Tyler will attest that he doesn't prefer being away from home either. Going to medical school and being a doctor is a sacrifice. Being in the military is a sacrifice. I'm so grateful for a husband who works so hard to provide for his family. We love and miss you!

And for Tyler's viewing pleasure... (and everyone else's)

Makenzie made herself a dog house using anything she could find outside and in the garage. Notice the baby sun shade... aka the doggy door.





Gavin loves hanging out on Makenzie's bed and looking out the window.

While the husband is away...

I've had to find something to fill the time. Really I've found that I haven't had much extra time and these projects seemed to take a lot longer than I expected.

I've been saving these sea shells since our honeymoon in San Diego. I finally decided to use them with our 2nd bathroom. I plan to do some more with the shelf, but this is what I have so far. I had some other star fish and sand dollars, but they stunk sooo bad. As I did some research, it turns out I picked them when they were still alive. There is quite a long process in cleaning them, so I just threw them away.


I recovered the baby's car seat! We still have 2 years until it expires. But after going through the first two kids, the cover was stained and faded. Sorry I didn't get a before pic. I don't usually blog about my crafts. I told Tyler on web-cam that I got a new $200 car seat. It was funny to see his reaction... it was really only a $10 makeover honey.


I got this idea from here. Makenzie is our little artist and heaven forbid I throw away ANY of her art. Our fridge gets covered pretty quickly, so I figured this would be great for her room.

Popcorn popping on the apricot tree!

Spring has brought us such a nice surprise! All the blossoms are in bloom on the trees. This one is in front of our house.

I had to get pictures of the kids in their church clothes today. We make it a yearly tradition in getting us new Easter/Spring church clothes.




Makenzie's bangs are looking a little shaggy right now as she is growing them out. She has always had bangs, so we are going to try something new.



I won't tell you how much it took me to get Jordan in the church shirt. I tried doing the top button and tie as well and knew quickly that it was a battle I did not want to even try to win today.


This little guy finally broke his first tooth today! It's seems like it's been months in the making.


AND in other news... what seems like it's been months in the making as well, is getting this guy out of diapers! It's been a successful 2 days. As part of his reward of doing his duty in the potty, he gets to do a few rounds on his new Jack-in-the-Box toy, along with a sticker and a piece of candy too. He's been running around free willy. (Hence only seeing the top half of him in the picture).

Let's go fly a kite!!

We enjoyed some family time of kite-flying and playing at the nearby elementary before Tyler headed out-of-town.

Full House to Empty House

It's been a busy week here at the Sherman house. Tyler and some classmates made their way back to Missouri do some testing for two days. We welcomed Meynard, the dog, to our home while his family was away. We also welcomed Tyler's brother, his family, and their new puppy here for the week. We had a full house with 4 adults, 5 kids, and 2 dogs.

The kids had way too much fun with the dogs around. The poor dogs were dragged everywhere and were included in much of the imaginative play of the kids.


The technology craze has even hit the kids. They found themselves very lucky to each be able to play on an iphone or itouch. Here are Makenzie, Jordan, and cousin, Cameron, on the stairs lost in their own little worlds...


The Easter bunny dropped off eggs and baskets for the kids on Saturday. We had beautiful weather. Here's everyone in action:




I tried to get a post-hunt picture and this is as good as I got:


Tyler and I were able to sneak away for a date and saw the Dodge Mansion. We, of course, tuned into General Conference for the weekend. It was so uplifting and inspirational! Sunday was a day of mourning for us... We took Tyler to the airport so he can do an ENT rotation in Cedar City, Utah for the month of April. Some of you may see him around there! I now feel our home is empty-- not really with 3 kids still here--but there is an empty space here without our Daddy and Husband.

Gimme FIVE!

We had another birthday this week! Makenzie is now 5! I guess you can call it one of those milestone birthdays. We celebrated on her actual birthday as a family on Wednesday. Jordan is also showing us he is three. He has mastered holding up the fingers since his birthday.

She had a special day at preschool and much attention was given to her there. She got a sandbox (so she stops playing in the neighbor's flower beds) and piano books to start learning the piano. I have toiled over the last 2 months to make a BLUE Sleeping Beauty dress. I made it big so it will fit for a few years. I took the picture right after she opened it, but I already adjusted the straps so it doesn't fall off her and drag on the floor. She also got a crown and jewelry to top off her new princess dress.


On Saturday we let her have a little friend party. It turned out well and all the girls got a long. They dressed-up as princesses, painted their nails, and played in the new sandbox. We gave them each a Barbie as their party favor, which was a big hit. Makenzie has been so excited for her cake. I was a little nervous making it (and having it turn out). Makenzie and all the girls approved (and Gavin also)!