Dueck's Roost

And to finish off May we have ...  The kids car!!! Favorite family pastime (aka, the made up game of "Tips") Fun with the Mariner's  (thanks to a super awesome friend!!!) The brothers;) ... I will seriously miss these days. Chess Jamboree. (lotsa thinking going on here) (and Porter for the win!!!) Piano time. Mae bakes some more:).  (including this amazing Pokemon character cake for cute little Keaton's b-day) Mother's Day!!  (thoughtful gifts as always, including a cool climbing picture and poem from the hubby) And, last but not least, kayaking season has definitely arrived!!! Moving on!!

I feel like Memorial Day Weekend around here is pretty touch and go. Sometimes it's amazing and beautiful, and other times (much of the time actually) it's cloudy and wet. Yuck! This year was one of those amazing and beautiful weekends when living in the Pacific NW is definitely THE BEST (trust me, I don't always feel that way)! The weekends enjoy-the-great-weather festivities were ...  Fun at Dash Point Beach!! Family hike to Tradition Lake-- good one if you're looking for more of a nature walk than an intense workout.  Yearly church run/walk/bike + breakfast event. And kayaking at the neighborhood lake!! So ready for summer!!

I love Mae's knack for art--probably because it's a skill I have NEVER possessed. She submitted a piece for our annual city art contest this year, and won 1st place in her age group! Woot woot!!  The theme was What Liberty Means to Me, and all the winning pieces are displayed in the city courthouse. Pretty cool. What else was pretty cool, was that winners and families got invited to a special gathering and city hall meeting where the artists were presented with their awards. PLUS they got to take a tour of the court house with our super amazing city judges, and even got to try out the seat of honor--mallet and all;). Future judges maybe??!!

I feel like it was just yesterday that I was the young mom with a gaggle of little toddlers trailing me around the house. Yet somehow I celebrated my 37th b-day this year (What the heck!??). Not exactly old, but certainly a far cry from 21--my age when I had my first baby. That's okay, though, I'm actually kinda loving my 30s!! Which I guess means I'd better enjoy my final three years before the big 4-0 hits, cuz who knows what that's gonna bring;). As always I was spoiled for my big day with handmade cards, sweet hugs, and thoughtful gifts.  Oh, and new iPhone from my hubby, which was pretty much awesome! What more could I want?!!  Other than maybe brownies ...  And some extra love from my family! Bracing for 38!!

And to finish off April we have ...  Kevin's last days at Weyerhaeuser.  (It was a great 10+ years, but time to move on to something new!!) **photo courtesy of David Boyd (WY co-worker) Sleepy Easter morning!!! (don't all get up and look for candy at once) (Mae's delicious key-lime Easter cake) Brothers play chess! Brooks track season. Family ping pong. Porter goes driving (with his learner's permit). Here comes May ... 

This seriously awesome kid turned the big 14 this year. James is extremely resourceful, responsible, kind, hard-working, tough as nails, and just all-around fantastic.  The whole family was excited to get together to celebrate!!  He got a few little prizes, and of course some cash for his big day. Not too mention some yummy s'mores brownies. The main thing he was hoping for, though, took us all out to the garage, where a box was waiting for him ...  With this little beauty inside!! (can't tell who's more excited here;). Love you, James! Thanks for putting up with all of us. 

Beware! There are a ridiculous amount of photos in this post. And I promise, there are a TON of pics I'm not even including. St. George is just such a fun place for our family--the picture overload couldn't be helped;). That said, I really will try to keep the post itself very brief! For the second year in a row, we were super lucky to get to spend Spring Break visiting family and having fun in St. George, Utah.  We again flew in to Las Vegas, so were able to make a favorite pit-stop at IN-N-OUT Burger. This year we all rented a beautiful home at Paradise Village at Zion, just outside of St. George in Santa Clara, UT, so that we could have plenty of room to hang out with the extended family.  We had fun catching up. Playing Games! Being with cousins. (which was extra awesome in the downstairs "kid" space) And watching LDS General Conference with all these lovelies (including our own little Bay Watch babe).  The kids (e...