Swimming upstream...

Or swimming at a swimming pool, either way, there's been a whole lotta swimming goin' on in the Bohn's life right now! So I put my oldest 4 boys into swimming lessons...it feels like my oldests has been in swim lessons forEVER!!! I first got him enrolled when he was 5, and he took his first lessons out at the SJ Rec Center when we used to live out there...so I guess it really has been forever with him, lol!! My mistake was taking too long of a break inbetween with enrolling my kids, so I'm going to try and stay on top of doing them every 6 months so they can get passed off and be done with them :)

I've had to put up a fight with my boys over taking lessons, though...let's just say their aspirations are NOT to become competitive swimmers, to say the least. But I've stuck to my guns and told them that once they pass off level 4, which is basically in the deep end learning all the different strokes, etc., then they can be done. If they want to continue on, great! If not, well, at least I can rest easy that they could probably survive in the water if they ever happen to fall into some form of deep water that they couldn't get out of otherwise.

So Jaeden and Teagan have been in the same class, which is nice, and they are both going to be taking level 4 one more time, then they should be done...SWEET!

Cameron passed off level 3 this last time, but I think I'll keep him in there one more time, just to make sure he masters those skills they teach.

Braxton passed off level 2, so I'm going to put him in level 3, as there isn't much of a difference between those levels and level 3 will give him those more challenging skills to work on he passed off in level 2.

So here are a few pics I took of them in action:

Jaeden doing the front crawl


Teagan doing the backstroke, for what its worth :)


Cameron learning the physics of a proper kick :)


SHARK!!! Oh that's just Braxton creeping along in the water :)

Stink-pot!

Ya, a stink-pot got into my flower pot!! From the look on his face, you can see he's pretty sure he's gonna get in trouble :-/ But I couldn't help but just laugh at the condition he was in, so I told him to say CHEESE!! And here is what I got...I thought it was interesting how the dirt formed a curly pattern inbetween his eyes, so funny! So cute, I couldn't help but post this :)

Jason turns 35!

Jason and his brood of boys :)



Whoa, 35?!? Yep folks, you read that right, the big 3-5...I have to say Jason is a little bit freaked out that he's only a handful of years away from 40, meaning he can count those years on ONE hand, heehee :D

That's ok, we've had a good, long run together and I'm glad I can say that I'm still at his side, even if he is nearing the ripe, old age of FORTY!

We got him a little cake from this bakery called Dipidee in Am Fork...with 1 candle, mind you...35 wouldn't have looked so pretty on this tiny, little cake!



My mom came over on Friday so Jason and I could take the whole day to just do whatever he wanted to do for his birthday. I was hoping we could do an overnighter somewhere, but Jaeden's baseball super-league schedule prevented that from happening, boo :( So we did the next best thing and went up to Park City for lunch, shopping and then later on we went out to dinner at Wabi Sabi over at Daybreak, and ended it with some gelato that was good, but way overpriced...then we did some MORE shopping! It was a fun day to spend together, I sure do love and appreciate those moments with just ourselves :)

Payton turns 2!

Could it be? My baby boy is 2 years old, already?? My, oh, my...time stops for no one! The memories are still vivid of the labor and birth of our 5th son, our last baby! It was a relatively quick and easy labor and delivery...I had him in a birthing tub, at home, and aside from the very hard labor towards the end, I was able to tolerate the pain just fine. He came out and hardly made a sound, to the point where I was asking if he was alright? He was so mellow and sweet :)

Aside from some complications of my uterus not staying contracted after he came out, and having it all turn out ok from a miraculous priesthood blessing, and having his bilirubin levels really high the first week after he was born, and having to go to the hospital to have his levels checked daily and having a catheter put in to check for a urinary tract infection, and having to have the bili-lights on him at home...phew!...it was a lovely, miraculous experience and I am so grateful he decided to make sure we allowed him to become a "BOHN", forcing his way in as another boy to add to our mix :)

He has NO reservations...he will talk to anyone and loves to put on a show for people...loves to dance and make funny faces, loves to do things to make US laugh! He is very strong-willed and definitely uses his position as "baby" of the family to get what he wants! We had a family party at our house and I decided to decorate his cake "Thomas the Train-style"...I ran out of time so I couldn't use my most awesomest cake decorating skills, but I thought, what the heck...it'll just be eaten up anyway...better luck next time :)

Time to open presents!! Lookin' a little peeved, are we? Getting some help from big brothers and cousin Clay :) Payton loves his Nani! Elmo!!! Payton loves Elmo...and I love that HE loves Elmo!!! It brings me back to when my oldest baby, Jaeden, was a wee little lad...he loved Elmo, too, and it's nice to keep Kevin Clash, er--ELMO, in the family :) He got a stuffed Elmo, as you can see, and a DVD of Elmo that Payton loves to watch over and over and over again... Last year we were opening his presents and he had a hard time understanding just what was going on...this year, well, a totally different story!! :) No better way to end a great birthday other than some homemade birthday cake, yummm!!

Elton John impersonator?

I THINK NOT!!! But I can't help but see that flamboyant rockstar sporting his glasses jamming out on the piano, when I took this pic, so I just had to post...Payton takes center-stage with these on! Elton John ain't got nuthin' on him :)

Mom's birthday!

We celebrated my young-at-heart momma's birthday which is March 28th...I wanted to make it somewhat special for her so I decided to take the time and use my professional cake decorating kit my auntie Koo had given me years back...and I just now decided to take it out and give it a whirl!



I don't know if I was scared to use it, or just plain lazy, or I never seemed to have the time to figure it out; maybe a little of all three?

Anyway, I've just used those cake mate cake decorator tips you attach to the frosting tube if I wanted to write or add something to a cake, but WOW~ this Wilton professional cake decorating kit, literally takes the cake on decorating!! It was wonderful to be able to add the small details I wanted that you just can't get with that cake mate crap.



I know the biggest rave right now is the fondant everbody seems to be using to make their daring, creative, amazing cakes.



I just haven't given in to that dark side yet...you see, I'm a bit of a rebel and when something becomes all the rave and everybody's doing it, I have a hard time giving in and jumping on board to the next biggest thing...I like to be an original, and while decorating a cake sure isn't originial, I guess I like to use my talents of cake decorating without the perfectly neat, cut edges fondant can give to the look of a cake...there's just something more natural about decorating a cake with frosting vs. fondant, but you definitely get 2 totally different looks from the two decorating mediums. I know if I did get to know how to work with fondant, I would be amazing...maybe too amazing for my own good and I don't have time to be over-the-top amazing right now, LOL!!

Who knows, maybe one day I will give in to the dark side of decorating with fondant, but for now, my freelance maneuvering of my frosting bag and my spatula are all I am willing to give my limited time to :)

So here is the finished product!




Definitely not 'professional grade', but I'm happy...and I think my mom was pretty darn happy that I took the time to decorate it extra-special for her ;) But how could I not? She has sacrificed and put up with so much crap from me and my siblings, I wish I could financially do more for her, but a cake would have to do, haha!

Gramma with our boys, she's feelin' the love (and crying as usual)!!