Happy Birthday Lady!

We celebrated Lady's big #5 today. She got what every 5 year old wants-- littlest pet shops, barbies, and of course, flip-flops.

Laityn wore her new dress today for her birthday. She ran around the ward telling everyone she knew "Look at my new party dress!" Then she would whirl around to show them that her dress was also a "spinny dress"! Aren't girls awesome?

Build-a-Bear

For Lady's 5th birthday (coming up on April 2nd) we went to Build-a-Bear. She has been begging to do this since Madison went in November. I'm pretty sure Lady was in five year old heaven the whole time. This is my favorite picture of the night. Lady picked a heart for her bear, then she closed her eyes and made a wish before the heart was put in with the stuffing. So sweet!

Giving my new bear a bath and a fluff!

. . . . thinking of a name for my bear. . . .hmmmmm... . . . .

Lady is so proud of her new bear, Julie. When we got home, Maddy and Lady had a sleep-together in Lady's room with their bears.

Introducing: the Brellapack

When your hands are full and you need shelter from the rain, you need the Brellapack! You put on the backpack, reach back and push the button and WOW! (If you are watching this demo., you should stand back a few feet so as not to be smacked by the umbrella).

Madison came up with this idea for the third grade invention fair on Friday. Watching her demostration was hilarious! Everytime she opened the umbrella, there was a collective gasp from everyone watching.

Lesson Not Learned

You would think after the fiasco with the lotion just 2 weeks ago, Jace would have learned that lotion is not a toy--you would be wrong! I caught him before things got too messy. He was more upset that I took his picture than he was about getting caught in the lotion again.

Happy Easter

There is nothing as crazy-making as trying to get all five kids to smile (without being goofy) in a "quick, hurry cause we've got to go to church" picture. This one took about 10 shots, but I have to admit, they look pretty cure.

Egg Hunting and Egg Throwing

We thought it would be a fun plan to get a picture of the cousins before the hunt started. The sun had a different plan. After way too many squinty-eyed pictures, we gave up and got started. As soon as all the candy and eggs were discovered, we moved on to the best part of Easter--throwing eggs. The goal: get your egg across the yard, as close to the fence as possible, without cracking it. Many of the eggs sailed far away from this goal. Grandma was able to make a direct hit on the trunk of the tree. The curbing in the garden was responsible for various other types of damage. You'll notice in Laityn's picture, the egg is coming right at the camera. She was aiming for the fence but obviously that didn't happen. The egg hit me instead. Apparently, Laityn throws like her mom.

Bring it On!

As cute as the kids were throwing their eggs, the men had "the look" that made us all laugh.

Hunter still beat everyone, even Papa!

Easter Eggs

Today we did the traditional "color eggs at grandma's house". Everyone made their special egg with their name in preparation for Saturday's big egg throwing contest.

The goal for this year's contest is to keep all eggs on our side of the fence. Last year at least a few eggs ended up in the neighbor's backyard. We should have some FUN pictures of the correct egg throwing form. Here is a sample from last year's contest.

First Love

Lady had a rough day in Primary today. We were in the middle of sharing time when she came walking over to me doing a full-body pout (everything--her face, head, arms, was drooping to the ground). She buried her head in my lap. Then she looked up and said "Mom, Samuel isn't going to marry me. He's going to marry Opal." I tried to convince her she was wrong (while holding back my laughter). "No mom, he told me. He's gonna marry Opal". It took some convincing to get her to go back and sit with her class. After church, I was helping her get dressed and she brought the marriage problem up again. Trying to be rational I said "Laityn, Samuel is only four. He won't decide who he's going to marry until he's twenty-four". Her response was priceless. "No mom, they already felled in love. I know it." There was nothing else to say. Poor Lady. By the time we got to grandma's to color eggs, she seemed to have gotten over losing her first love.

Reality Check

Yesterday was Tim's 37th birthday. I decided to try out several new recipes (coconut shrimp, spinach-artichoke dip, herbed sourdough bread--from scratch). That was my first mistake. I knew I needed some alone time with the kitchen, so I put on a movie for Lady and Jace. I even made popcorn, a treat that never comes out before about 6 pm on Friday night. I spread out a big blanket in front of the t.v. for them to sit on. I figured I could wash the buttery fingerprints out of the blanket with no problem. Lady was back in the kitchen within 30 minutes. She assured me that Jace was still eating the popcorn. That was mistake #2-believing my four year old. Jace made his way upstairs about 15 minutes later. I quickly noticed that his head was covered in tiny pieces of popcorn (the kind only found in the bottom of the bowl). The conversation went like this--

"Did you dump the popcorn over your head?"

"Yep!"

"Did you throw the popcorn on the floor?"

"Yep?!"

"Why would you do that?"

(shrugs shoulders)

I hauled the vaccum downstairs to begin the cleanup. Jace didn't just dump the popcorn. He put the blanket on the couch (mistake #3, thinking anyone would stay on the blanket) and threw popcorn across the entire length of the family room. The pieces were so small, I 'm fairly certain he danced around on them too. Jace spent some quality time in his naughty spot (he's there a lot) and finally apologized.

I resumed my cooking in the kitchen. Less than an hour later, I found Jace and Lady (who were having quiet time in their rooms) in my bathroom. Their arms, hands, and faces were covered in mandarin orange lotion (which suprisingly smells terrible in large amounts). They had also rubbed some on the floor and wiped the excess all over the towels. After that, it was naptime.

I went back to the kitchen and managed to pull off dinner by about 6 p.m. The coconut shrimp and artichoke dip were only appreciated by Tim (the kids had to peel off the coating so the shrimp was plain and they weren't coming near "that green cheesy stuff").

Somedays I think we're moving past days like this, but I should know better!

Lady almost dropped this one, but Dad caught it just in time.

Jace's face says it all--- "Ooooooo!"

Family Night at the local IFA

Last night for our F.H.E. Activity, we took the kids to IFA to see the new ducks, chickens, and bunnies. Kenzie made a fairly good case for all the reasons why we must have a bunny, but in the end, Mom won that debate.

Princess in Training

Maddy went to a princess party last month. She was absolutely thrilled that the party involved face painting--sparkly face painting. She insisted on a picture so that she wouldn't forget how princess-y she looked!

Too Good to be True

Lady and Jace look so sweet and innocent-just coloring in Laityn's room. Moments after I took this picture, Jace decided he was tired of watching. Pens were stolen, suckers thrown, and both kids were crying and tattling.

Wow! She's Eleven!

Kenzie celebrated her 11th birthday on March 2nd. There were no more toys this year. She wanted clothes, accessories, and itunes stuff. She's all girl--much to her dad's dismay--but she can still get excited about BYU Football so I think we'll keep her.

R.A.D. KIDS

Carter just finished his RAD kids training at school. The "man in the red suit" came to let them test their new skills. Carter looked pretty small, but he fought hard and got away.

This is Us

We thought we should start this whole thing out with a condensed version of our family.
Tim- TSA at Mapleton Jr. High (busting all those sluffers)/math teacher/Young Men's President
Danielle-at home with 5 kids (enough said)/Counselor in Primary
McKenzie-11 & in 5th grader/babysitting (she gives us her discounted rate)/hanging with friends
Madison-9 & in 3rd grade/happy doing whatever (except homework)/just figured out rollerblades
Carter-7 & in 1st grade/reading "Eragon" faster than Dad/always wearing his BYU hat
(except on Sundays)
Laityn-4 & in preschool/writes her name (that was a feat)/teases everyone endlessly
Jace-3 & home with mom/still screams at levels not meant for human ears (but not as often)

So, here we are. THIS IS US!