On Friday I took our kids to the zoo and Lisa and her kids met us there. It was a lot of fun. I haven't been to the zoo for awhile. The morning was cool with a breeze and just perfect, by mid afternoon it was so hot, so we headed home. We rode the train, went on the carousel and looked at all the animals. I brought the wagon and the kids did great the whole time! Here are a few pictures.

All the kids by the Gorilla!
The Giraffe. Kim I have decided it is the giraffe species that you get your tongue from :)

Marshall and Addison. They are such great friends, and have such a great time together. I hope they stay friends forever, and I hope Kam and Brianna grow up to be good friends like them. Sorry Connor that I missed a kid in there :)

I don't remember what I took, but I sure ticked Kambria off at one point. It was beyond nap time!

We love the Lions, they are so pretty!

Here we are watching the elephant show

Kambria almost fell off backwards when I was taking a picture. I would have got the best Mom award.

Thanks for going with us Lisa, it was a lot of fun! and thanks for stopping at Jiffy Lube!

More Cakes

I really want to get good at making fondant cakes, and I have a long way to go. I really want to take a class, I think it would help me ALOT. So I am hoping there is a class in August that I can take, once the summer slows down a little.

My niece turned 8 and I made her cake. It turned out pretty good, and I had fun making it, and learned a lot from it!

My sister-in-law had placed an order for a cars cake with a friend from work for her nephews 2nd birthday and at the last minute the gal cancelled on her! She asked if I could help her and I said I could try. I was a bit disappointed, but it turned out okay. I really need help with a good Marshmellow Fondant recipe and then help with how to lay the fondant so I don't have stupid creases in it!!! Kim gave me the sketch the two of them had come up with and we made it happen. The Yellow fondant I just couldn't get smooth, it was so frustrating, but I'll figure it out!!

Marshall's Preschool Graduation

Marshall had his Preschool Graduation last night and it was a lot of fun. He has been so excited for it and so excited for me to hear some of his most favorite and some of his most special songs. Let me tell you, he did awesome and he is so animated. I was laughing so hard at the expressions he pulls on his face!! We are proud of Marshall and all the many things he has learned these last two years at Small Wonders, I almost cried last night though, because i can't believe he will be going to Kindergarten!!
He really has learned so much. The last two years he has learned: How to write his name, and he writes it very well. He can write and recognize all of his letters and numbers. He can count past 200, he can read the learner books, and loves to read. He can color while staying in the lines and can cut things out with scissors super well. He has memorized a new poem each month and has learned tons and tons of songs. He has also developed his social skills and has made a lot of friends. He is a good friend and helps all the time. His teacher stated to us, "Marshall is a great friend to all his classmates and enjoys doing al his work! I can always count on Marshall to help a friend!" He is very smart and loves to learn, we are so proud of Marshall!! We are excited for him to begin kindergarten and we know that he will do very well.

Fun Weekend

Our weekend started out on Thursday. Alison and I took the kids to Wheeler Farm to the Kickoff for Summer Reading with the Library. It was a lot of fun. On our way we stopped and got some Chick-Fil-A and then headed over. Because my kids I watch didn't leave till 6pm we got there a bit late, but we were still able to sign up for the program and then do the little craft. Afterwards we walked around and saw all of the animals. The kids loved it!! There was a band playing, so on our way out we stopped and listened while the kids danced to the music. I only have pictures of Wheeler Farm, the rest is just a story!!

Friday we set up the water slide and two of the kids I tend and Marshall played forever. Lisa and her kids joined us and later Natalie and her kids headed over. It was a nice warm, overcast day! I think this summer I am going to set that up more often. What a fun cheap activity for the kids to enjoy!!

That night my Mom offered to watch the kids so that Jake and I could go to dinner. I took her up on that offer. Jake has been so busy at work. On Tuesday they had a shooting so he has been working long hours trying to investigate and find his shooter. On Tuesday he worked13.5 hrs, Wed he worked 14 hours, Thurs 15 hours and then Friday which was his day off he ended up working 17 hours, and today Sunday he is at work doing reports and booking evidence for who knows how long. So Jake and I were eating dinner and he got a call saying that the van they were watching was on the move. He had to leave so he could go follow and hopefully pull the guy over and arrest him. I stated it would be lots of fun to go with, he said I could, and my Mom agreed to watch the kids for a while longer.

Metro Gang was helping him in arresting them, he is a big time gang member. So there were probably 12 undercover cars in the area of where the van was, it had stopped at a house so everyone was just scattered watching what they did. The Van then left and they were pretty sure the driver was the shooter so they followed, the Van then realized it was being followed and made a U turn, they pulled into a gas station at which point all of the Police vehicles turned on lights and sirens and surrounded this vehicle (boxed them in) ... all the officers jumped out with guns drawn running towards the suspects. They all fled into the gas station so they all ran into the store after them. I am left in the car shaking like a little girl, I reclined my seat backward so no one could see me. I was afraid someone would come out the other door and see me and take me hostage LOL. It was so cool to see and so scary at the same time. It makes me realize how dangerous Jake's job is and how much Law Enforcement works together!!!! Two of the men in the Van were the two suspects Jake wanted. After interviewing him for two hours he admitted to the crime!! Way to go Jake!! Jake is dedicated to his job and he is so good at what he does. He is a very good interviewer.

Saturday Marshall had soccer where he scored 1 goal and then dribbled the ball all the way down and went to score but another team member kicked it in, so we counted it as a goal as well, because it would have been. We came back home and we cleaned, bleached our house, it was so clean and what a good feeling to have such a clean house!! That night we went grocery shopping and then just hung out together and went for a walk.

Disneyland Vacation Day 1 & 2

We started our vacation by going to Las Vegas so that we had a stop in between the drive. Jake's Dad recently moved to Vegas for his job, so we left and went down a day before my family to spend some time with him!! We left early Friday at 5:30am hoping the kids would sleep most of the way, nope they stayed awake the entire drive.


When we arrived to Vegas we met up with Jake's Dad for lunch at Taco Bell. Afterwards we went and checked into our hotel. We stayed at Tahiti Village Condos, they were so nice. They had a super fun pool. There was a super shallow area and an area with a beach and a lazy river. So after we checked in we played in the pool for some time and then we went and got some dinner. Marshall has been excited to go to the Big M&M store, so we headed out to the strip. It was a Friday night so it was super busy out. We made it over to the M&M store, we looked around forever and Marshall bought some overpriced M&M's and a cup with a fun straw. We then went back and went to sleep!


M&M factory .. I told Marshall to stand in front for a picture and Papa lifted him up on the table part.


There was no way Kam was coming out of her stroller she would have torn everything apart!Jake, Papa and the kids



I told Jake he was irresistable and to hold this shirt up to him, he would not, and then he made me and he would not give it up until I did. I'm a nerd!!
The beautiful stip on Las Vegas.
We went on a chocolate tour and I loved this sign :)The Botanical Gardens full of Cactus

Watching the planes land! It was actually really cool.

Saturday Morning we woke up and ate Breakfast at Denny's. We then went to a chocolate factory, unfortunately they were not working that day, so we got a glance of the machines, but didn't get to see them in action. We did get some chocolate samples, they were yummy. Next to that is the Botanical Gardens. There is cactus and such kind of plants. We walked around for a bit and Grandpa Cutright told us all about the plants. On our drive back we stopped at the airport landing zone. You can park and get out right next to the landing strip, you see the planes coming in and landing and can hear the noise. You can also tune your radio to hear the radio traffic, it was pretty cool!!! After we went shopping and then swimming when my family arrived.

Disneyland Vacation Day 3

Sunday Morning we got up and packed and headed for California. We got checked into the hotel ate some lunch and then headed over to Disneyland. This was such a fun vacation. It was my Mom and Dad. My sister Ary, her husband Kurt and then the kids, Madison, Makayla, Makenzie and Karson. Our little family and then my Brother Casey, Erin and their daughter Avery. It was a blast having everyone together. I love Disneyland, the atmosphere, to see the excitement on the kids faces, it is so much fun to me! We started over in California Adventure and our first ride was the Tower of Terror. Marshall wanted to go, it was the first year that he was tall enough, so we let him. He was so scared and closed his eyes the entire time. He said he liked it, I didn't believe him until he went on it another two times throughout our trip. He said it was his 2nd most favorite ride. We then spent time in Bugs Life area, and then went on Toy story and the Roller Coaster. We had got a great deal on some coupons for House of Blues in Downtown Disney District. We paid $2.00 for a $25.00 gift card. You had to spend $35.00 to use it. You could only use one gift card per party, even if you were at different tables, so we pretended we didn't know one another and headed there for dinner. The food was great and we had a fun dinner. It was pretty funny, our family ended up being seated near my parents and two of Ary's kids. Marshall was walking around the table and Kenzie said hi and Marshall said, I don't know you ... Kenzie was so confused. Silly that you can only use one per party, even if at different tables, but we made it work!!!
Kambria is a climber and had to climb on everything!!

The kids were sitting back with Jake watching the people on the tower of terror as they dropped.

Love my crazy Kams

On the ladybugs

Love Jake

My mom and the grandkids on a ride.

Dad and Kambria

Marshall and Daddy on Buzz Lightyear

The three of us going on Space Mountain. My favorite ride.

Kambria with her glasses.


Pirates of the Caribbean

Whatever ride this was kinda scared Kambria

Fairy Godmother

The famous Sword and the Stone