May Update

For Mother's Day this year Justin took me to a nursery in I.F. and I picked out any and all the flowers I wanted/we could fit in the car. We had all the kids with us so we crammed everything in every corner to get it all home, but I got all the peonies I wanted for some of the final additions to my flowerbeds. I think these will actually bloom which is so exciting to me! They are my favorite flower.

Mom helped me with my front flower bed. I scrapped my fall plans and started over new. Thanks to Mom I only had to buy a few things and she gave me everything else. <3

Mother's Day with my crew <3 I wrote on facebook and I believe it: We're in the thick of it, but I'm convinced we're in the best of it. <3 <3 <3

Speaking of yard stuff: after a ton of research and pondering, Justin decided on a lawnmower. He went with a "roomba" of a lawnmower - so it runs itself by GPS! It was about the same price as one of the fancy turning ones so he thought he might as well save himself three hours each week and let the robot do it for him. The mower honestly works so well. The lines are perfectly straight and it runs almost silently. It is equally hilarious and inspiring to watch. He also fitted himself with a push mower to get some of the grass behind and around the tree line. Watch out other dads - Justin has this yard thing locked in.

The rest of May was pretty chill for us until it got toward the end... 

I volunteered to help with field day at the elementary and ended up helping the 1st grade teacher because they were down a teacher for both classes. This was wonderful because Emmett got to hang with all his buddies from Kindergarten for the day. Logan was Mr. Independent and didn't even want to bother with me when I tried to reapply his sunscreen midway through. It was extremely windy, but it was full sun and the middle of the day so without the breeze we would have been roasting. I came in my full "Shelley" garb with a long button down shirt and wide brimmed hat with zero shame. I'm in my 30's now and I don't want to mess around with unnecessary sun! Don't get me wrong - if I'm at the beach I'll soak in all the happy rays, but field day is not when you cash in on your little sun allowance. It was a great day and it was great when it was over - you could start to see it especially on those younger kids when it was wrapping up that they were done. Overall it was a wonderful experience.

first time making Chicken Pad Thai...yummm

I finally agreed to give this guy a haircut.

Much better

Soon all four will be at the counter for morning breakfast <3

Our first family bike ride to Granny's

Beckham the chicken whisperer

Logan got to run a leg of the class race on field day. He rocked it! He's got that Beal Blood

Two days later I jumped in Mom and Dad's truck with them and Trisha and McCoy to head to Boise. We were on a mission to help Mitzi with her yard. She just began her surrogacy journey and can't lift anything - I mean ANYTHING - so we helped with digging holes for trees, grass for flowerbeds, and by Saturday afternoon  Mitzi had a whole new backyard! Trisha and the brothers and Dad worked on her shaded gazebo the entire time. Alex and I planted all the juniper trees on day one, then had to replant them on day two because we did them too deep - woops! I helped Mom dig out grass to make a new flowerbed which she designed and got all her flowers in. It was the perfect Beal gathering - something to do and time in between to hang out.

Dad the perfectionist: with his measuring tape and pencil ready to get it just right.

The school year wrapped up for public school which meant Kindergarten Graduation for Logan. He absolutely loved Kindergarten with Mrs. Reynolds. We'll see what we have in store for next year. I am taking this homeschool thing one year at a time, but the plan for now is to homeschool both boys for 1st and 2nd grade. Those who are confident in their decisions don't feel the need to justify them to others, so I won't go on and on with why I think this is the better choice for my kids. But at the same time, I give myself permission to change my mind as things evolve, so we shall see. 

We kicked off summer for mutual with a fire and kickball at the shelter. 

I was sick for a few days, and when I was finally feeling well enough to fold the laundry Justin had already done it. I don't deserve him! He's amazing <3

I stayed home sick from church with these two. Beckham was my buddy watching T.V. the whole time while Colby mostly napped. Tomorrow's Memorial Day. I hope to be well enough to get in the outdoors with the family.

Legoland

At the end of April we flew Justin's parents down to watch Colby and Beckham so we could take the big kids on a trip. This was SO fun! Our lives revolve around the little boys' needs so to take life at the pace of the big kids for a change was awesome. We drove to SLC and flew to San Diego. Our first night we stayed in the Legoland Hotel in Carlsbad. Our kids were in kid heaven - the hotel was all fitted out to feel like a kid castle adventure. Our room had a separate quarters space for the boys to sleep with really fun medieval features. There was a treasure chest with clues that the kids could solve all around the hotel which unlocked a Lego set for each of them. So fun!

The next morning we hung out in the hotel's courtyard that had a playground, swimming pool, outdoor theater, the works, while we waited for the park to open. Since we stayed at the hotel we got 30 minutes of early access before they let the public in at 10:00. We had absolute perfect weather and didn't have to wait in line for any ride longer that 10 minutes. It was amazing! We were able to hit all the rides in the park (try doing THAT in one day at Disneyland, just saying) along with hitting a few of our favorites multiple times. We ate their famous BBQ for lunch and enjoyed their famous churros for a treat. By 2:00 we were tuckered out so we let the kids pick out a new Lego set at their store on the way out and headed south for San Diego. We checked into our new hotel and then headed out to Coronado beach. The kids loved looking at the navy ships in the harbor, and I loved watching them collect seashells and other miscellaneous sea things. For dinner we hit In and Out! A crowd pleaser and a must for us lowly rural Idaho folk.

We did a late night "magic" show...it was awful but it was for the kids, right?

Day two was all about the Zoo. We got there early (as Justin's Reddit threads all suggested) and had a great spot to view the zookeepers release the macaws at opening time. Similar to Legoland, the crowds were spare. We didn't start to feel the place fill up until lunch time and by then we were almost finished. We hit the reptile section first and headed straight for the Komodo dragons. Emmett is slightly obsessed with them. The male was hiding but we got a great look at the female and lots of fun info from the zookeeper there. The Galapagos tortoises were right next door which was my favorite part of the day! These were absolutely massive, and I was convinced one was a fake because I couldn't believe a living creature could sit so still while drinking water. Logan most enjoyed seeing the big cats - the snow leopard and tiger were at the top of his list. The snow leopard was kind of hiding out but thankfully the tiger came through for him. We spent way too much money on vendor snacks and lunch but aside from that we had another successful day. We saw the whole park in just over three hours.

We took a break at the hotel then headed to another beach and playground to kill time before dinner. We headed to Old Town for some authentic Mexican food. Yumm I had been looking forward to this moment for the whole trip! Our kids are picky but they will weirdly eat fish tacos so we were able to enjoy what we wanted on the menu without them going hungry. We treated the kids to ice cream then let them swim until bedtime to prep for our early flight the next day.

We arrived home and had the whole day to spend with Justin's parents before they left the following day. Logan and Emmett were happy to have some grandparent time. Jon and Judy saved the day by agreeing to babysit two rambunctious toddlers for three whole days. Justin and I agree we'll have to do this same trip with Colby and Beckham when they are the same ages because it was the perfect getaway at the perfect age.

Back home with these hooligans <3 

Some other April happenings were frist: Karina's wedding. I got to hang out with my bestie Rachel for a whole day helping with her reception and it was so wonderful being around her lovely family and seeing Karina finally marry a man worthy of her. It was a day full of absolute joy! Second was I chaperoned for Logan's field trip to the Artitorium and Aquarium in I.F. It was fun to spend a whole day focused on him and see him interacting with all his buddies. 

Colby's way of saying: "Put me down for a nap!"

I read about King Benjamin - the kids went nuts with the hot glue gun and popsicle sticks to create their King Benjamin towers.