Assembly Day

Today, Spencer came and did an assembly at the kids school. They were all so excited to show off their amazingly cool uncle (B actually came upstairs yesterday wearing 6 shirts. Every UofA and Bronco shirt he had. He was so upset when I made him cut it down. We compromised at 2). There were actually 3 assemblies that he did, each around 25 minutes. The first group was k-2, so the twins group. There is actually another relative in their class. Spencer's Cousin's son is also in B&L and Zach and Anna's class. At the start of the assembly, Spence asked for anyone related to him to stand up, and all the kids in the gym proudly stood up. Here is a picture of the 5 that actually were related.


During the assembly, CK got upet with me because I wouldn't let her have some snacks. She got mad and went off to pout. I snapped teh picture just a minute too late because her real pout face was gone, but still... here she is after she had secluded herself from the rest of us.
The 2nd group was 6-8. Here is Scottie who was proudly representing the family in that group.

3-5 was the final group. It was a 1/2 day so my mom had picked up my little brothers to come and watch the final group. This is Spence, Vasa (who celebrated his 15th bday today! just over 4 years since he's been here), Roman, Josh, and D
Here are the little kids who sat through all 3 assemblies. While they did get restless, they did pretty good. KL, Spence, Sam, CKThis is just a quick pick of him with the kids. He got 2 volunteers to come up and he let them try on some of his equipment from UofA. He had them put on his helmet, shoulder pads, etc and before each thing he put on, he said it represented one of the pillars of "Character Counts" (trustworthiness, fairness, responsiblity, etc... the big focus in our district).
After the assembly, he signed about a thousand autographs as kids were grabbing anything they could (literally, clothes, shoes, candy wrappers from their pockets, etc...) to get signed. He was a great sport and we are so thankful that he was willing to do it! Thanks, Spence!

Busy Little Girl

Little baby has been quite busy. She has figured out how to push kitchen chairs around to where she wants... or should I say where the candy is kept--or was kept. It is a cupboard next to the microwave. I once walked in and found her there after having eaten (not chewed) a whole pack of trident... wrapper and all.

Yesterday, my neighbor brought me this delicious cinnamon/sweet bread with cream cheese frosting (which wasn't made with eggs or milk. It used some sort of soy product, so it is good for food storage, and it was definitely good for the tummy!). I had it sitting on the stove. This morning, I was downstairs cleaning the bathroom. She was with me most of the time, but I let her wander off just before I finished. When I came upstairs, this is what I found: (yes, that is what is left of our delicious bread)

Here she is trying to get a sippy cup.

Funny, Cute, Baby

Many people have already seen her do this, but none the less, every time KL does this, we just laugh and laugh. She has been doing this for months, but she is doing it more and more now just for the attention. We are quite happy to give it to her too!

Strange Noises

We all remember how funny bodily noises can be when we are kids. Well, tonight, L was telling me how she kept burping, lots... loud. I told her to just try not to be as loud as she could. Then she asked, "Mommy, is burping important, or is just something Jesus added for fun?"

Gotta love the things kids say.

Happy Valentine's Day!

I have never been on who ever really thought much of Valentine's Day. It always seemed like sort of a made up holiday to me. However, last year, my mother in law told me that it was her favorite holiday and when she told me why, I have to say that it made me like the day better too. She said that she just likes the idea that there is a day to celebrate love. How simple and true! I have always done a little something for it, but now, I an trying to make it an even funner day for our family.

Last year, I stole a tradition from my sister. She always has a big special dinner with fancy/festive dishes and a great set up etc. This year, I made seafood with linquine, asparagus, biscuits, strawberry guava punch, strawberries, and shrimp.

Here are the loves of my life as we sat down for dinner.

Here is a shot of the decked out table while it was all set.

I just had to do a quick zoom in on this... This is our shrimp. My sister has heart-shaped ice cube molds, so I made red heart shaped ice with food coloring to mix in with the regular ice to keep the shrimp cold. It was mostly fun for me, but the kids noticed at the end and thought it was cool too!

Anyway, I hope you all had a wonderful Valentine's Day and were able to think of/ see the ones you love best!

Field Trip

Last week, CK went on a little field trip for preschool... and let me tell you! This is my kind of Field Trip!!!! They were studying the letter "O" for the week, so they went down to Krispy Kreme Donuts and watched now they make doughnuts. Unfortunately, B had a dentist appointment that morning, so I by the time I got there, they had already finished the tour of the back. Of course, on the bright side, I got there just in time to eat! Yea!

Here she is with her cool hat

Here she is with the girls in her class

(of course, the boys were at a different table).

Here is KL. She had a great time too!

DBacks Fan Fest

On Saturday, Jared and Andria took D and L to the Diamondbacks Fan Fest. The original invite had been for D and B, but when the got here to pick up the kids, B decided he would rather stay and play with his friends. L was quite quick to jump up and volunteer to go in his place. They had a great time and were spoiled rotten, coming home with all sorts of fan memorabilia. D's favorite is a signed picture of Steven Drew (I think?). They rode in on the train and also got to eat dinner at Alice Cooper's Town. They come home with little tattoos on their face from there. They were a little sad when I said they would have to wash them off that night before church the next day!

Anyway, here are some pics of their fun day.

D and L on the field

In the dug-out with a very happy Ethan and the other kids that they had gone with.

In the locker room

D leaving a message on the message board in the locker room.

I will assume this is outside the US Airways Center... but I really don't know. (Obviously, it was after the trip to Cooper's Town... note the lovely face tattoos! :-) )

Anyway, the kids had a great time and we want to thank Jared and Andria for taking them. That was so nice of you!!! We love you guys!

Does The Punishment Fit The Crime?

Am I the only mother out there that feels that sometimes, it just isn't worth it to teach those darling children a valuable life lesson? As I try to teach my kids to be valuable, responsible, contributing citizens, I often feel like all I'm really doing is driving myself crazy!!!!

I have been trying harder to get my kids to take some responsibility around the house. How fun. Ideally, before school, the kids will get dressed, make their beds, clean their rooms, practice their piano, finish their homework, eat, brush their teeth, and help clean up the kitchen. That may sound like a lot, but please be aware, that I am doing most of the work... making lunches, doing dishes, doing hair, constantly remind them of what is next up on their to-do list, etc. Also, when they are moving like they should, we can get it all done with time to spare for cartoons. However, when they are not moving like they should (which, is a majority of the time), I spend most of my mornings yelling and making threats. Yesterday was just such an unproductive morning.

After begging, pleading, and whatever else mom's do in the morning as they try and get the kids ready for school, I finally told them (and by them, I mostly mean the twins) that I was sick of them leaving their work for me to finish. Therefore, if they left for school without the kitchen being clean, I would have to clean it, but that would mean, I would run out of time to do my jobs, so they would have to do it. As it happens, yesterday was laundry day. So, true to my word, I spent all day washing the clothes so they had a nice big pile to fold when they got home. I told them they didn't have to fold mine and Dave's. After hours of weeping and wailing, and an occasional fold, B announced they were done. I would like to show what he considered done:

I think the only clothes that had actually been folded were the ones that I had walked by and taken care of. When I told him this wasn't done, he let loose telling me that I never help, etc. I reminded him that part of this exercise was to show him that I already do plenty around the house so that when I ask him to do small jobs, he shouldn't complain because it is still nothing compared to my jobs. I then started looking at the "folded" piles and noticed that 1/2 the clothes were in the wrong piles. When I told them they needed to go back through them and make sure the right clothes were in the right piles for each person, L quickly jumped up and yelled, "You don't do it right either. One time you gave my panties to CK and now she won't ever give it back, so you do it wrong too!!!" I then told her that if I do such an abominable job, she clearly felt like her skills were better so she could take over. She stopped with that argument, but it didn't get her working again.

Finally, at 7:30, I was done and sent them to bed (they got home from school at 3:30 and that's when they started--and yes... they got sent to bed early). I then finished folding the other 2 loads, and cleaned up their mess. I know I really should "teach" them another lesson today, but I just don't think I have the strength! I remember when I was little my mom and her friends talking saying it was always so much more work to have us help her than to just do it herself. I could never believe it because after all, if it really was easier, why was she making us do it!?! I can now understand, of course, and so I thank my mom for her life lessons. I guess I can just take comfort in knowing that in 20 years, my kids will appreciate all these "playless" days as they were forced to slave away. I think I will also enjoy seeing them have these struggles with their kids!!!

Farewell, My Sweet Friends.

Today was a sad day for us. We had to say good bye to our company. We have so much fun this last week with Aunt Katie, Maile and Kaila. I can't believe it was a whole week! It went by so fast. It still seems like they just got here. Thanks so much, Jon, for sharing your family. I know you must have been very loney without all your girls, but we really appreciate your sacrifice. We just wish you could have been here too!

Anyway, here are just a couple more pics of their time here.

Sunday night, we were at my parents house for dinner. The 2 little girls walked outside together to go and play. I went to chase after them with my camera. I ran outside, just to find them sitting on this little log bench right outside the door. They looked so cute just sitting there.
Here they are with Anna who was pulling them around in the wagon which the loved!

What more can I say, but cute!

Here's CK, Maile and L helping me make Grandma Shirley's special orange rolls.

CK, Maile (and 1/2 of L)

This morning just as we were getting ready to head out to hte airport. I let the big kids stay home this morning for a big breakfast and get a little bit more play time in.

Kaila, Katie, CK, Maile, B, D, L

We dropped by DAve's office on our way to the airport so he could say good bye.

Kaila, Katie, Maile, Dave, KL

My turn to get in the pic.

So, we are now very sad and lonely because they are gone. We would love to invite them, and anyone else who would want to, to come and visit us!!!

Imprinting

For any of you who have read the Twilight series, you know what imprinting is. I have to asked the question, can you imprint on your cousin?

This summer, Dave pulled me aside and told me we may have a talk with my sister and brother in law because my nephew Z has clearly imprinted on KL. Since the day of her birth, he has always paid special attention to her. For his birthday this summer, she gave him a picture of herself in a little frame that says, "I Love Zach." His mom has told us that sleeps with it every night still.

Last week, when at the park, I had the camera out and decided to take a picture of him with her. Please keep in mind, there were plenty of other boys his own age to play with, but he chose to sit in the sand with his 20 mo. old cousin so she could throw sand at him. He really is cute to watch with her!

I just love this picture because you can really see how cute they are together!!

The Amazing Disappearing Tooth!

B is really bad about wiggling his loose teeth. It makes me crazy. His 2 front teeth have been loose for MONTHS!!! I was so happy when a week or 2 ago, he hit his head at school, and knocked one of his teeth loose (don't worry, he wasn't hurt). I tried to bribe him to get the other one out, telling him I would match whatever the toothfairy brought if he got it out by a certain time. He didn't even try.

Needless to say, it is an interesting look to see someone missing 1 front tooth and the other so loose it is crooked. It was starting to get to me and I decided to take matters into my own hands. Friday night, he went to bed like always.... nothing amiss. But, Saturday morning, I was in my room, when he comes running up the stairs yelling, "What the heck?!?! Look!!! Look!!! I just put my hand under my pillow and I found this!! [holding up an envelope and $1] And Look Mom!!!" It was miraculous! His tooth was gone! I am thinking the Tooth Fairy may have hit on something big!! He has two other loose teeth. She may have to seize those as well.

Fun Week!

This week, my sister in law, Katie came to visit bringing with her her 2 adorable little girls, Maile (who is CK's age) and Kaila (who is KL's age). We have been having so much fun with them!!

Here is Maile:

... and Kaila... who can NEVER be found with out a beautiful princess dress. She had a really hard time going to church today with just her regular Sunday dress. She followed Katie around for 30 min before we left with a frilly dress-up crying, "Dess!!! Dess!!"

Here are all the girls one morning as the kids were getting ready for school:

Kaila, L, Maile, CK, KL

One morning, these 2 girls came running up the stairs like this, hand in hand! Such cute little girls!

Andria dropped by the other day to see the visitors. Her cute little Max fell asleep on her like this and it was too cute not to take a picture!