More fun decorating!
Zach actually decorating! and enjoying it! I think its only cause he gets to eat it in the end!

Allicat posing with her cupcake! getting ready for the frosting!


Pepper, we gotta watch out with this one, if you don't watch her all the frosting will dissapear!!

hmmmm where to start, chocolate chips, or white chips?

maybe both....

so the next time you are bored on a tuesday.... maybe you should make cupcakes!!!!!!

ok so I had a bad tooth a long time ago, and I have been babying it for a while, well, a few months ago, it couldn't be babied any more, and I had to have it pulled, so because I refused to walk around for the rest of my life toothless, I have been looking into all of my options, while my self esteem has taken a major blow! I decided to have an implant put in, to look the most natural,and not have to worry about it anymore! Well, I had that done yesterday. The actual procedure was not that bad, other than the fact that to save a few bucks, I opted out of the sedation, so I totally knew that they were putting a screw into my jaw!!! Not cool, but it didn't hurt..... till I got home, and the local wore off. Now on day 2... holy moly, me and my chipmunk cheek and my bottle of ibuprofen. I feel like a walking bruise! One of the hardest parts, last night after I had it done, they told me, don't eat, drink, or talk for at least 4 hours, well hello, I have 5 kids and a husband who are curious, they kept coming in and asking me questions, checking on me, Jason totally couldn't handle it, he needed his momma!!! And now today, I may be feeling worse, but my house looks worse, oh well no rest for the wicked right??? so this pic shows that when I am totally losing my mind, I just might have a screw loose!! Kinda gross I know and I can't wait to heal its already feeling like forever, but hopefully soon I will get my smile back!

chuck-e-cheese!!!! where a kid can be a kid, and brian can too!

Alli's birthday was the midldle of May, and she told Grandma and grandpa Carroll that she just wanted to go to jungle jims. well, we realized that it is made mostly for kids under 9, and now she is in double digits, so she decided to go to play with chuckee cheese! pizza games the whole works! It was so much fun! Here are salt and pepper playing a game, collecting the oh so coveted tickets.
Jason and daddy playing the water squirting game. ( I think jason acutally won! sorry b)

here is pepper playing the bowling game! She absolutly loved it!!!

Joey and Alli racing in the motorcycle races!

Alli loving her late birthday celebration! It may be late but worth the wait! Thanks so much Grandma and grandpa!

southern utah family reunion

Jason being his crazy self on the drive playing with the slinkys. what a nut! The theme was for our family reunion was fiesta! So they had dress up things for us, we had so much fun! And yes even the adults got in on the fun. This is me and my sister Kami posing with our cute hats and moustaches! we had so much fun! although it was hard to be serious with moustache hair tickling your nose! I don't know how men do it!!!
Alli and Joey, so cute! I especially love Joeys crooked moustache It just fits his personality so well!

And Zach with his serious face just looks so good!

But this one is my favorite!!! They all look so serious! It was so funny! I was busting a gut laughing! We had so much fun! The weather was great, the food was yummy, the family was awesome! what more could we ask for~!

warm swim meet, big owie, new dryer, old friend

Swim meet in Draper Ut., this was a fun meet! It was warm, and beautiful, and Joey did awesome! Here he is getting ready for the backstroke! And here is the whole crew! Well we just had a small portion of the swim team at this meet, but we had fun anyway! Go Lava Heat!!!
And here is peppers big owie, she wanted to ride Jason's big boy bike, she got going just a little too fast, and CRASH, road rash. She said she decided to just ride her littler bike, I told her that was probably a good idea. ( by the way, the owie totally went away, to scar at all thank goodness)

ok, so more drama in the carroll household, my dryer bit the dust! On the upside..... I now have the dryer that matches my washer! YEA!!!

And more fun for me, I as able to meet up with my friend I grew up with! Those of my family that read this blog I am sure you all remember April! We met up with my friend Jennie (yes there is a long story there) and all had breakfast the other day! It was crazy and so much fun! It is so wild what a small world it really is! But wow it was amazing to see her again. And the memories it brought back!!!

A day at the park

We decided to hang out at the park the other day while Joey was at swim team practice. The kids had a blast. It was so relaxing, and fun! Alli literally hanging out, upside down.
Alli striking a pose, while pushing salt and pepper on the swings!

Jason getting ready to cruise down the slide!

More swinging! weeeee.

pepper filling an empty water bottle with sand.

What a relaxing evening! It was great weather (for a change) the kids loved getting out of the house for a while, the change of scenery did us all good!

lol

I realized yesterday that I have not laughed out loud for a very long time! I think everybody gets in funks, I have been in one, sure times are rough all around, everybody is broke, beinga a single mom is not what I signed up for, I run from sun up to sun down, and beyond, it seems I am always telling the kids do this do that..., medical issus with the kids, alli getting her tonsils out this summer, alli and joey getting glasses, zach getting braces, salt and pepper starting kindergarten, my own medical problems I am having a hard time with, things have been turbulent in the carroll household, Well, we were heading out of town the other night, Zach was in the front passenger seat playing his D.S. surprise surprise, Joey was directly behind him, playing gameboy, both boys had their windows down, Not even thinking I drove right by a sprinkler, and sure enough it went right in the window and got both boys, the looks on their faces were so priceless!!! I LAUGHED OUT LOUD in fact we all laughed out loud! we couldn't stop! we were all so shocked! It was so funny! So thank you to the person who was watering the road on the way out of town!!! You made my day! It felt so good to laugh again.

easy dinner recipe

Ok so I usually just do desserts, so I thought I would throw everybody for a loop, and do a dinner recipe. This is one of my go to recipes when I can't think of anything to make. It is so easy, and it tastes good.

BEEF BURRITO SKILLET

brown 1 lb. hamburger in skillet (check out that steam in the picture pretty cool pic huh), then add 1 pkg taco seasoning, simmer 5 min. Then add 1 can beans (any kind, kidney, or black, or pinto, whatever you prefer) 1 cup salsa, and 1 cup water mix that all together. simmer that for another 5 min.

Next you cut up 5 tortilla shells into 1 inch pieces, throw those in the mix, add some yummy cheese about 2 cups, put the lid on and let the cheese melt and get all gooey and delicious!
And of course if your helper wears your cute shoes it makes any meal better.

this is the final result! dinner in one pan!!! Now is that easy or what! And it tastes good! Bonus.

Here is my cute helper chopping up some lettuce to put on top.

And voila~~ Add a dollop of sour cream, you can add some chopped up tomatoes too, but my kids won't eat them! Enjoy!

preschool graduation

This year was so much fun in preschool. Salt and pepper learned so much, and had a blast. The graduation was cute, they sang songs, and danced for us. This song was chickachickaboomboom. salt is the one with the 'J'on him. He was laughing so hard he could hardly stand up! It was so stinkin cute!And here are the graduates showing off their diplomas! What a proud moment!
I loved this pic. Pepper had such a cute look on her face, then when salt looked over at her the look on his face was priceless!

And of course their wonderful teacher Mrs. Zee. Handing pepper her cap, and diploma. She was so excited.

And of course salt getting his cap and diploma! And off to elementary we go! I sure hope they are ready for us!

New big boy bike! We came across a great deal for a bike for Jason. Jason has needed a bike, Abby got one from her cousin, but Zach and Joey had destroyed all their little bikes, so we needed to buy jason a new one. Well we found this one, and bought some training wheels for it, brought it home for jason and surprised him. he loved it!
Here he is helping dad put the training wheels on!

We let him ride in the house, because he has strep throat, and it was cold and raining outside. he went in circles around the house for hours!!

I have quite a few black marks on my kitchen floor I am going to have to scrub off the floor, but that smile is so worth it!

swim-a-thon and dance recital

Wow another marathon weekend for the Carroll's and its only Saturday afternoon!

Today Joey participated in a swim-a-thon for the Lava heat, the swim team he swims with. And for those of you who pledged $ for him today THANK YOU!!!! thank you so much we really appreciate it! This helps him coninue to compete, all year round, and helps but the team whatever they need! so thank you for supporting us! There were 20 kids that swam in the swim-a-thon today, and only 5 of them completed all 200 lengths of the pool.(that is 3 miles) Joey is one of them!! YEA! GO JOEY YOU ROCK! He was the second one done. They had 2 hours to complete the 200 lengths, and joey completed his in one hour and 32 min. ! I was totally impressed! This pic is of him right after he finished. He was pretty tired. But the half a pizza after the swim-a-thon helped him to regain some of his energy!
Here he is during the swim-a-thon swimming like a champ! He was concentrating so hard He never did stop for a break. The rules were he could stop and get a drink or get a snack, as long as he didn't get out of the pool. He did not even stop for anything! He just kept on going till he was finished! I was so impressed!

I know my pics are backwards, one of these years I will figure out when I am uploading them how to do this, but this is right before it started, when the swim team is all together, getting their instructions, sure they look like they have energy now!!!
They all did good! I am so proud of all of them. And to their coach Karen! We have a couple of fun meets coming up, I will keep you up on what is going on as I figure it out!



And on to the dance recital!
Here is Abby in her little costume for her song, goodnight my angel, she loved dancing this year, and did so good!



and allicat! getting ready to go do her dance what I like about you!
This is the end of the dance year this year Abbys dances both took first place at lagoon and malad this year, and alli's took first place at lagoon and malad this year, and her solo took second at lagoon and malad! I am so proud of both of them!
I am so impressed with alli for doing a solo this year, it takes so much guts, and determination, and practice, she pulled it off, and did wonderful! I am so proud!

And we got another one!! YES! Happy birthday to my little girl! Alli turned double digits yesterday. And not only did she get spoiled with lots of girl stuff, she got whipped cream in the face, yep, we got her good! It was so much fun! I am telling you, this parenting thing is a blast! Here is Alli modeling her birthday presents.

sis blowing out the candles on her birthday cake! blow baby blow thats a lot of candles. Jason ready to offer any encouragement if she needs it.

Lagoon!!! This was towards the end of the day. One of our last rides, Rattlesnake rapids, Kim, Chelsea, Zach, Alli, and Jason (abby did not want to go on this ride) all heading for the water! You can tell by the look on kims face that she is heading straight for the water!!!

Alli after her solo! She did AWESOME!! And she looked so beautiful! I am so proud that I have a daughter who is brave enough to get up in front of hundreds of people and dance her little heart out! and do so good! She took second place! Her group took first place, and Abbys group took first place, The recital is next week and I will post pics of both girls then! (I forgot to take pics the second day of the groups! bad mom!!!)

It was so crazy! I vow to do better in the future! I promise!

Also as a side note, Joey swam in a meet in Boise Idaho this last weekend. He did pretty good, It was a more advanced meet, and it challenged him more than the meets in the past. But he held his own. (minus an arm cramp that hurt him in one of the races) I will post what he place when i get the official places later this week. He also had a great time bonding with his dad the whole weekend. And got to visit with his aunt and uncle and cousins by boise!! what a wild weekend for the Carroll's!

mothers day

The ramblings of a sleep deprived, frustrated, use to be sick, now-I-am-feelingbetter, rebanned mothersday mom!!!

Ok so this last week has been crazy! After suffering from a kidney stone, I came down with strep throat, I quickly got on antibiotics so I could go on with my week, but sleep has been here and there if you know what I mean! I have been stressed with my subruban in the shop. And it just seems to go downhill from there. I run around like a crazy woman taking the kids here and there, (of course I love it, but I have to complain when I can) It just seems crazier some weeks like this one. Then mothers day comes.... Mothers day has always been a touchy subject in our house, since it has never really been celebrated I have always tried to just pretend to ignore it, and act like its another day. In fact several years ago I banned mothers day so that I simply didn't have to worry about being let down. I know I should't need gifts or a lot of recognition or stuff like that, but if we are all really honest with ourselves I think we all deep down really want that. right??? That extra pat on the back, the extra mom you really are doing a great job,, and we DO love you! sure we all really love the homeade cards and gifts, and hugs and kisses, I know we all do, I am NOT putting those down at all I love them too. I live for them every day of my life, I really do! But this is the one day made for US!!! Now I am not telling all of you this to make you feel sorry for me, please do not feel sorry for me, I totally brought this on myself! I did not train my husband in the first few years of marriage correctly. I have always heard you have to train your husbands if you want them to behave a certain way. I was sure mine would just know. But I was wrong :( So last year I stomped my foot (i do that on occasion to get a big point across) and said I have been a mom for 12 years!!! I am lifting the ban, and I am expecting a really good mothers day next year! I am a good mom, I deserve to be spoiled rotten!

Well here we are on mothers day weekend! Now to be somewhat fair. Brian is working all weekend. (but the guy has had a whole year you know) and this is what I got..... I broke my favorite baking dish! I cried and cried and cried!!! this was acutally a wedding present! And then I made a big girl decision. I get it!! I totally get it. Thats why my mom bought herself christmas presents every year, wrapped them them put them under the tree, it solves all the problems. The ban is changed. from now on, I will by my own mothers day present I will get something faboulous! it will be exactly what I want. it will be just a little too expensive so that I know I totally deserve it. It will be wrapped so pretty. then I can give it to the kids to give to me! I think this solves everybodys problems. I will get what I want. brian gets out of the doghouse. I no longer have to pout. I think it may work!!! I am actually looking forward to next year, I don't know but I have a sneaking suspicion i may be getting new mountain bike :)

And to be fair to my darling babies, Alli worked very hard to make me a darling card, and Joey carved me a heart out of wood! they worked so hard, and I am so grateful for them! And salt and pepper made me cute picture magnets at preschool. thank you babies!
Ok mothers day would not be complete with out a recipe~
Grasshopper cupcakes

cupcakes

1c sugar

1c brown sugar

1 3/4 c. flour

3/4 c. cocoa powder

1 1/2 tsp baking soda

1 1/2 tsp baking powder

1/2 tsp salt

mix together then add

2 whole eggs

1 c milk

1/2 oil

2 tsp vanilla

mix together then add

1 cup boiling water

the batter will be very runny. pour the batter into a mearsuing cup to make filling the cupcake liners easier. when I made these they acutally made 24 regular cupcakes, and 24 mini cupcakes, you do not want to over fill the liners. only fill them about 2/3 full. bake at 350 for 12-15 min. cool completly before frosting!

FROSTING

3c heavy whipping cream

1/2 c. powdered sugar

8 drops peppermint extract

6-8 drops green food coloring

whip the heavy cream till stiff peaks form, then add the powdered sugar, extract, and color. place cream in decorator bag. I use either the 1M or #22 tip.

Spoon 1 spoonfull of hotfudge on the cupcake do not warm up the hot fudge sauce it will drip all over and make a huge mess! Then pipe frosting on top, and just for fun, top with a thin mint cookie. enjoy!

Ok with the BIG day coming up this sunday, I figured I would let all my blogger friends and family in on a little more info about moi! Feel free to copy and paste on your own blog with your info so we all can get to know each other better !

***********FOODOLOGY***************

What is your salad dressing of choice? Ranch, but I don't get to eat it anymore because it has egg in it and I can't have egg! figures huh!
What is your favorite sit-down restaurant? I have always loved olive garden! It is my go to place, but I would be willing to go anywhere that gets me out of the kitchen for a night!
What food could you eat every day for two weeks and not get sick of? PASTA – breakfast, lunch and dinner!!!! mmmmm mmmmm mmmm!
What are your pizza toppings of choice? pepperoni and cheese, but I like to take the pepperoni off and just have the flavor of it left on the pizza! kind of weird huh.
What do you like to put on your toast? . butter , cinnamon and sugar.
***********TECHNOLOGY***************
How many televisions are in your house? 4 (family room, living room, bedroom and one downstairs)
What color is your cell phone? gold, I just had to get a new one, cause I broke my old one, oops! they don't call me gracie for nothing!
Are you computer savvy? somewhat, I can blog, I can facebook, I can shop online, I can print my sunday lessons, I guess I can get by. but other than that, don't push your luck!

***************BIOLOGY******************
Are you right-handed or left-handed? Right, but I think I am left footed.
Do you have any children that are left – handed? I don't think so
Have you ever had anything removed from your body? yes, my tonsils, my appendix, and some stuff from inside my knee, and of course 4 lovely children :)

What was the last heavy item you lifted? well this is a thing I plan to correct over the summer, but jason falls asleep on the couch every night, then I have to carry him to bed, after he is asleep. that is 46lbs of pure love right there that I am lifting every night!

Have you ever been knocked unconscious?not that I remember???

************BULLCRAPOLOGY**************
If it were possible, would you want to know the day you were going to die? I want to say yes, but really I don't think I would.
If you could change your name, what would you change it to? I don't think I would change it, but if I had to, it would have to be a food item like brownie or something like that, that way I wouldn't forget it!
Would you drink an entire bottle of hot sauce for $1000? No way, I can barely handle mexican food, a bottle of hot sauce would surely do me in, $1000 would not be nearly enough!

************DUMBOLOGY******************
How many pairs of flip flops do you own? 3 pair - but they are all old, and I totally need /want more for the summer!
Last person you talked to? Myself…..technically it was the kids, but since they ignored me, I guess it was myself!
Last person you hugged? my babies as they went off to preschool! they are getting way too big!

**************FAVORITOLOGY****************
Season? Spring (if it will ever officially get here)
Holiday? Christmas
Day of the week? Tuesday. its not monday, and I still have most of the week to get things done!
Month? June, the kids get out of school, its not too hot, things are not too busy yet, its perfect!

***********CURRENTOLOGY*****************
Mood? tired, (is that a mood) nervous, (I don't exactly know why I guess it comes from being a mom) happy too!
What are you listening to? the dishwasher running, and my t.v. in the background.
What should you be doing right now? laundry, mopping, vaccuming, etc...... you get the pic.
Current favorite TV Show: well, I am a reality tv freak! so you name it I probably like it, I love dancing with the stars, surviver, biggest loser! and I love lifetime movies.
Worrying about? hmmm lets see... everything!!

***************RANDOMOLOGY*****************
First place you went this morning? besides to the bathroom (hehe) I haven't left the house yet!
What’s the last movie you saw? The last movie I saw in a theatre was the princess and the frog cute show, bad theatre, gum on the floor, and other random sticky stuff, but at the dollar theatre, what do you expect right!
Do you smile often? YES of course! I love my kids!! they make me smile all the time!
Sleeping Alone Tonight? Well.... hubbys at work:( of course jason sneaks in with me.

***************OTHER-OLOGY*****************
Do you always answer your phone? pretty much yes, there are very few times when I don't.
It’s after ten o’clock in the evening and the phone rings. Who will it be? brian or jennie!
If you could change your eye color what would it be? my eyes are brown, but I always thought it would be cool to have blue eyes
If you could have a body part altered, sucked or botoxed, which part would it be? Brian always makes fun of my flat behind, so I guess if I could get something fixed I might get some junk in my trunk.
Do you own a digital camera? yes, and I love it! I would love a really expensive, cool, do lots of things for you type of camera, but that will come later!
Do you have a pet?no, I opted for children instead.
Favorite Christmas song(s)? I do, but at this moment I can't think of the names, my mind is not on christmas!!!
What’s on your wish list for your birthday? Oh the list is long, but some of it includes...apple ipod touch, new long bread pans, a tea kettle, and many more things.
Can you do push ups?Yes, but not many. I work out a few times a week, and I swim twice a week to keep in shape, swimming is very good for the arms!
What are you looking forward to? to life getting a little bit easier. I am not expecting miracles here, just for things to not keep getting thrown at me right and left! maybe just one at a time!
Does the future make you more nervous or excited? My life right now is good . . . I’m blessed, so I rarely look too far ahead.
Do you have an accent? nope!
Do you cry easily? No! maybe I should cry more, but I tend to hold everything in!
Plans tomorrow? I don't like to plan too far ahead! j/k not yet, but I am sure my day will fill in soon.
Have you ever felt like you hit rock bottom? Yes, a few times, the last couple months have been really hard. and several years ago when all my babies were babies. Thank goodness I believe the way I do, and that there is always tomorrow.
Name 3 things you bought today: the only thing I bought today is my taxes (well the service to get my taxes done)
Have you ever been given roses? yes, but it has been a LONG time since I have!
Current worry? oh wow, how much time do you all have..... I am always worried about my kids, are they happy, do they have enough friends, do they have good friends, am I a good parent, am I teaching the right lessons the right way, what will they come up with next?.... the list is so long, I will leave you all for now.
This is a small glimpse into my crazy world. thanks to you all for reading about my wonderfully crazy family, and loving us anyway! Happy mothers day to all you moms out there!!!!