SUNSHINE

 Today was a beautifully mild, sunshiny day! Ben was so happy to be outside again after so much snow and cold. He played in the courtyard for a while with a bucket of soapy water and lots of little jars and then moved out to the driveway to dig up the planters and "organize" a few rocks.  I swear, this kid is a tidy one!  Check out these rocks:

Just for the record, he does it in the bathtub, too:

It was fun watching him play and fill his little monster rain boots with rocks and them happily haul them all over. Kids are so stinkin' cute.

STORY TIME

One of the best times of the day is story time, right before the kids go to bed. We don't do it every single night, but most nights. I just love it. Sometimes we read from The Friend magazine and sometimes Livi reads to us, but usually the kids pick from their books and I read them. I tell them they have to snuggle in really close or I won't be able to read very well. (It's totally legal for a mom to way whatever she has to in order get a cuddle from her kids...) They cuddle in with blankets and stuffed animals and we read. Tonight it was "Dinosaur Facts," "Griswold," and the "Three Little Pigs". Ben laughed every time I did the high squeaky pig voice and Nick liked the part when the little pigs told the Big Bad Wolf to "Go ahead, blow your head off!" My favorite part was, of course, the cuddling! Hope we can do this forever, guys!

HIGH FASHION

Ben is runway material. And we're not talking the "Back to School" style show at Rushmore Mall ....think NYC during fashion week. This kid has fabulous flare and a real talent for accessorizing. He raises eyebrows and has people talking wherever we go. This weekend he caused a ruckus at a car dealership with his dinosaur rainboots and just yesterday, he went to holler at the neighbor's barking dogs wearing nothing more than a t-shirt and a soggy diaper. I call that Fearless Fashion. He's gonna take this world by storm.....
Thankfully, Olivia doesn't mind sharing her hair accessories...
Safety is always in style...
"Ta da!" A simple leather belt and flip flops does wonders for this casual pirate t-shirt...
Ben is "Bare Escentuals"

RAINBOOTS

Wear 'em, loud, wear 'em proud.....

TREATS

This family loves treats. You name it, we like it, as long as it is sweet and delicious and easy to make. We all enjoy baking, so it doesn't take much to get someone in the kitchen to whip something up. We probably average 1-2 treats a week, not nearly often enough if you ask the kids! On Monday night, after playing basketball for Family Home Evening, we sat down to warm chocolate cake with chocolate frosting and lots of cold milk. The look on Nick's face in this picture pretty much sums up how we feel about our treats. (Note the frosting on his shoulder...) Just for fun, we created our "Top 10 Most-Loved Treats", in no particular order:

 1-Chocolate chip peanut butter cookies
 2-Applesauce cake
 3-Liv's Lemon Poppy seed muffins
 4-popcorn with candy mix-ins
 5-strawberries with whipped cream
 6-ice cream with hot fudge and cherries
 7-Nick's "no bake" cookies
 8-Brownies with frosting
 9-Grandma's carmel corn
10-crepes

PRE-K

Nick is the proudest "pre-K" kid in the world. He started out the beginning of the year not real sure about the whole school thing, but now he absolutely loves it and looks forward to his twice-a-week classes. He attends Cinnamon Hill Preschool, a neighborhood Montessori-type school that has been around for more than 35 years. The teachers are wonderful and the projects and songs and programs are adorable. I love it when Nick comes home proudly singing a new song or telling me about something he "tried to figure out in the work room!" He has made so many friends and has learned all kinds of interesting things about the world, animals, and cultures in addition to the regular math and reading work. His teacher pulled me aside last week to tell me just how "wonderful" Nick is to have in class. She said he is "a bright child, consistent and obedient and so good with the other students....just a perfect school boy." Ah, I could squeeze the little rugrat!

Friday was open house at school and Nick was pleased to show his dad and Grandparents around his school. Lots of artwork, work stations, a couple of treats and a trip to the drinking fountain were the highlights of the morning!

NICK'S SCHOOL

Nick is quite liking his preschool these days. Some weeks he doesn't want to go at all, other times he goes and loves it. This week was Parent Week and the kids get to show their families around the various classrooms and do special activities. Chris' parents were in town and Nick was so excited to take them, along Daddy and Ben, to his school!

drinking fountain, highlight of the tour for both boys...

GRANDMA JEN

Grandma Jen and Grandpa Randall are here for a visit and the kids are in heaven. They love their grandparents so much. I thought this was a darling picture of Jen and Ben playing legos. The kids love her because she will just play for hours and hours. Whether it's craft projects or legos or puzzles or wrestling, she is right in the mix of it, laughing the entire time. I hope my kids can always remember the special moments they share with their Grandmas and Grandpas!

EASTER

We had such a nice Easter! Earlier in the week, the big kids and I had fun dying eggs. I remember dying eggs every year when I was young- clear into highschool, really- so I always look forward to doing them with my kids. We had about 14 different colors of dye and the kids made very creative designs. Just as we were finishing up, Nick dropped his prized egg and burst into tears when he saw all the cracks on it. Through the tears he said, "Mom, can't we fix it? Can't we tape it or something?!" When I told him there was no way to fix it but that it would be fine, he informed me that "okay, this is YOUR egg." Thanks, Nick. Olivia made me a special yellow egg with the inscription "Mom you rock" and Nick gave me a cracked one off the floor...

The Easter bunny found his way to our house on Sunday morning, too. It took Nick and Olivia a while to find their baskets, they were hidden so well! Eggs were hidden all over the house, filled with candy, Teddy Grahams, fruit snacks, and quarters. Ben loved his dinosaur rain "boops" from the bunny and has worn them every time we go out! Chris' parents arrived the night before so they were here for all the excitement, too. Chris was the breakfast man in the kitchen, making pancakes, omelets, sausage and fruit for all of us. It was such a nice, relaxing day, just hanging out with the family!


I love Easter and all the fun and traditions that go along with it. (Did I mention that I wait all year for the opportunity to buy Cadbury eggs?!) But even more than that, I love what it stands for. I love my Savior, Jesus Christ, and I am so thankful for the opportunity to celebrate His life. I know that He lives and that, because of His resurrection, we will be given the gift of life after death. The comfort and peace that comes from knowing this is better than any Cadbury egg!

CONFERENCE WEEKEND

I love General Conference weekend. (General Conference is a special ocurrance twice a year when the leaders of our church speak to the LDS members world wide via satellite.) The talks given are always so good and so inspiring and I love it. I also love that we can watch it from home in our pajamas! With all that has been going on in our life recently, there were several points made that really sunk into my heart. My favorites are below:

1-" The rains and floods may come and beat upon our house but we shall not fall for we are built upon the rock of Christ."
2-"If ye have faith, ye shall have power to do whatsoever is expedient in me."
3-"Choose to live by faith, not fear."
4-"If our lives and faith are permanently centered on Christ and His teachings, nothing can go permanently wrong."
5-"We can do the best we can but the outcome is up to Him."
6-"We should not complain about the opportunities given to us to learn."

Besides spending a relaxing weekend at home, I look forward to the guidance and knowledge that I gain from General Conference. I always come away feeling inspired and full of hope and encouragement. Even the kids enjoy it. This year we played "Conference Bingo" and the kids listened for certain words in the talks and then covered the corresponding bingo spaces. I am sure they enjoyed the yummy bingo markers more than the talks, but they sure were quiet and listened well!

After the Sunday talks were over, we headed out to the front yard and did a little sledding. The sun was shining and we had so much fun!Just like when they were really little, Livi still prefers eating snow to sledding and Nick is a dare devil on a saucer!Ben refused to wear his socks and boots.....and the Red Cross ended up hauling him out by sled to treat his cold toes!

POPCORN PARTY

It is so cold and wintery here! We decided to liven up our Friday night with a popcorn party. Nick was ready to go almost instantly, wanting to help get things ready. We popped a bunch of popcorn in different flavors and then had a tasting contest. The kids loved the popcorn with nacho cheese flavor sprinkled in it, while Chris and I opted for the regular buttered popcorn and kettle corn! We watched a movie-can't remember what it was though- the popcorn buffet was really the main party event!