Cup Cake Wars

We love watching "Cup Cake Wars" on the Food Network. So we decided to have a little cup cake challenge of our own. The kids each picked a cup cake and we started baking. My kitchen was a complete disaster and we had way too much sugar, but it was definitely a fun event we'll try again sometime. Ellie picked Rocky Road Cupcakes with Rocky Road filling. Yummy!
Thomas picked Oreo cupcakes with whipped cream Oreo frosting, garnished with, you guessed it, an Oreo. Super yummy!
And our winner of the event was Jackson with his raspberry lemon cupcakes with lemon buttercream frosting and garnished with raspberries. Super summery and super duper yummy!

Lagoon

As part of our visit to Utah we took the kids to Lagoon. They had been anticipating it for several weeks and they were soooooo excited. My kids are major roller coaster fans--Ellie especially. She loved all the roller coasters, but her favorite was Wicked (hello, straight up and then straight back down again!). Luckily, Grandma and Grandpa came with us so we usually split up, two of us taking Jakey and Thomas and then the other two taking Ellie and Jackson on the more intense rides. It was such a fun day and we were exhausted by closing time that night.

I think Thomas was a little excited in this picture =)

Thomas and Jakey on the carousel--happy boys!

Ellie and Thomas on the Lady Bug Drop--pretty intense for Thomas.

Dad, Thomas, Jackson and Ellie ready for take-off on The Bat--one of the few coasters Thomas could go on. He said once was enough =)

Cotton candy--perfect ending for a fun day!

The next morning we packed-up and said goodbye to Grandma and Grandpa. It was a fun trip, but we were sure glad to be heading home.

Visit to Utah

On the last day of school, we packed up and headed down to Utah for a long over-due visit to see family. We had a great time--especially having the cousins spend so much time together. After spending a few days at my mom's and celebrating Jacob's birthday (see previous post), we spent the next day in Salt Lake with Ashley and her kids and Breanna and Seth and their boys. It was so fun and the kids had a great time. Then we headed down to Saratoga Springs and Cedar Hills to spend a few days with David's sisters and parents. It was a great start to our summer!

Here is cute Jacob at the petting zoo at This is the Place Park. He loves animals! Then below is my sweet sister, Breanna with her husband, Seth and their new baby, Campbell. This was our last visit with them for quite a while as they are moving (actually as I write this) to Houston.

Here are two little nine-year-old cuties--Ellie and Madeline. They are looking pretty grown-up!

Ellie, Erika and Natalie trying to win at tug-o-war at Saratoga Splash. Girl power! The girls kept dominating at this event.

Pictued below: Thomas showing off his cool tattoo; the boys in the tug-o-war (we couldn't get away from that thing--we kept getting sucked back into tug-o-warring!!!); an exhausted Jacob; all the Stewart grandchildren; Jackson, Madison, Will and Jacob (four beautiful kids)

Then here are David, me and his wonderful parents. They are amazing people of faith and I hope to raise my children in righteousness as they have done and continue to do. Wonderful examples! It was a great visit and luckily we are going back next week to drop off our kids for another visit with their cousins and grandparents.

Jakey Turns One!

My little Jaker-Jake turned 1 on June 9th! We were in Utah visiting family, so the festivities took place at Grandma's house, but he seemed to love the cake and presents. It's hard to believe that we've had little Jakey in our family for a year now. He is genuinely loved and adored by all of us and he keeps us all laughing with his wrinkle-nosed smile, adorable babbling and pretty much every little thing he does. There is always a captive audience around here. What a joy and a blessing he has been. Happy Birthday, big one year-old!

End of an Era

The last day of school marked the end of another great year at Siena K-8. Since moving here in 2008 and its opening that fall, we have loved Siena and have had a great experience with the teachers and programs. This was Jackson's last year at Siena as he will be moving on to Lake Hazel Middle School next year (tears from his mom). He was privileged to have Mrs. Lenon for the fifth grade and I was so impressed with the wide range of interesting and fun projects and topics their class covered. Jackson was always bringing home a new project to work on. We had an earth model made out of fruit, various book reports ranging from cereal boxes and commercial to paper sandwiches; he had to memorize all the states and their capitols (a personal favorite of mine), and study U.S. History. She was a fabulous teacher for Jackson. Jackson also received the Presidential Award for Academics. Way to go Jackson!

Ellie had the party class this year. For the 3rd Grade Ellie had Mrs. Logsdon. She is a very fun teacher and their class earned many parties this year. They were seriously having pizza almost once a month! They also worked hard to earn those parties. Their class walked over 900 miles collectively to win the Mileage Club award! They also earned several awards for the most donations, participation, etc. Ellie had a blast with Mrs. Logsdon and did great in her school work. Ellie earned an award in the elite 25 miler club--those students who walked 25 miles or more during the year. Way to go, Elle Belle!


This was Thomas' first year in elementary school--Kindergarten! He has Mrs. Bott and we were a little nervous at first because it was her first year teaching Kindergarten (she has taught 7 years of Special Ed. before this). My worries were completely unfounded because she was fabulous! She had high expectations for the little kindergartners, but Thomas quickly found out what he needed to do and made sure he did it! He is now my most responsible child about homework and other items that need to be returned to his teacher. He had such a fun year, making lots of new friends since he only knew a few kids in the class when the year began. Thomas also made it into the 25 mile club! Way to go, Tommy!


Right after we had our annual last day of school picnic lunch at Siena, we ran home to load up the car and leave on a trip to Utah to visit family and go to Lagoon. See next post for details of the big trip and Jacob's first birthday!!

Memorial Day

We had such a fun Memorial Day! Despite forecasts of somewhat questionable weather, we planned a hike and it turned out to be absolutely gorgeous. The kids had a great time roaming the hills around Boise and playing in the water and mud they discovered. There were lots of rocks collected, flowers picked for Mom, a few scrapes, but mostly a lot of fun and laughter. Here are a few pics from our adventure.







That evening we went to the Field of Honor in Eagle. They had over 600 flags representing servicemen/women from Idaho. It was a good way to end the day and focus on what a blessed nation we live in. I am so grateful for those who serve our country and protect the freedoms we are blessed with.

Spring Break and Conference Weekend

My heart is full of gratitude today for the spiritual feast of general conference. There is so much to ponder and study, but mostly I just felt encouraged to be more loving and to constantly find ways to serve. As I was thinking about serving, and wondering who and how I could serve, I realized that every interaction with another person is an opportunity to serve. I am going to try to be like Elder Scott's sweet wife, as he described her constantly praying for and finding ways to serve, even when she was very sick. What an amazing couple!

Spring break also came to an end this weekend. Our family didn't go anywhere fun or exciting, but I tried my best to fill the days with fun for the kids. Besides starting our Avatar marathon (still not finished with that one) we went to several fun places, played in the sunshine with friends and family (we even got sun burnt!!!) and I even got to read a good book. Such a great week and now the final push 'til to the end of the year.