Backpacks and Rollerblades

While the big kids are gone to school, the little ones have all the fun.  Mason and Josie put on their backpacks and got out the big kids roller blades.  They were a real joy watching as they tried to rollerblade around the house with blades that were wayyyyy too big for their little feet.  They were always helping each other get up after falling.  I am not sure if they thought they were going to school with their backpacks, but none-the-less, they were completely enjoying themselves!

Dare Me, Mom!

These two little children are really developing their personalities.  They really crack me up some days.  Well this particular day, Mason came out of no-where with the phrase, "Dare me, Mom!"  I haven't heard this one much in our home, so I am not quite sure where he picked it up, but I have to say, it was kind of funny!  He said it over and over with everything he was doing.

"Dare me, Mom!..." to drink a glass of water.

Josie joined him by saying it also, "Dare me, Mom!"

"Dare me, Mom" to eat some delicious Taco Soup.

I dare you Mason and Josie, to continue eating healthy and drinking your water!  :)

Just leaving...

Since Carter and Chloe were little, they have loved playing in the cupboards.  They just empty out the few items in their way and then climb right in.  Mason and Josie have joined the fun. 

This particular day I heard them playing in the cupboard and they were discussing how

they were leaving.  They were saying goodbye to each other and then I realized that

they had transformed the cupboards into a car. 

I love to see them using their imaginations.  Chloe usually plays the mom, so I hear,

"Hi Mom, Bye Mom, Hey Mom, etc." and when I answer they say, "No, not you...she's the mom!" 

I sure am glad not to have to attend to whatever situation they are calling her for!

Mason's First Talk

Mason is a Sunbeam this year!!!  He is so excited to be going to Primary finally, although he is sad to not be in nursery anymore with Josie.  (Actually their nursery class was so big that they divided it into 2 classes which separated Mason and Josie several months ago.  He wasn't too happy about not being with Josie anymore, but when I asked the teacher what her reasoning was in separating the 2, she said it was because Mason always came to the rescue of his sister.  She said he didn't have much restraint when it came to protecting her.) 

He had the great opportunity of giving his first talk, first thing in the year!  :)  He gets very shy talking to people, so I wondered how he would do.  He kept telling me, "I won't be shy, Mom."  And he wasn't.  He did a really great job and wanted Daddy to help him. 

This is what he said,

"Jesus Christ is my Savior and my Redeemer.  I love Him and He loves me.  I will live my life to be like Him and follow His example."

He held up a picture of Jesus holding a little boy on his  lap and Mason told us the little boy was him.  He was so cute with his little suit on standing at the pulpit.  You could barely see him.  Oh, my little man is growing right up!

Bloody Noses and Bandaids

Josie has recently discovered that she can climb out of her crib. When I tell her it is nap time, or bedtime, she will say to me, "Me, get out my cib." I reply to this statement by telling her, "Then I will shut your door." Thankfully she can't figure out the child locks yet, so I have put one on the inside of her door so she will stay in her bed. (I don't mean for this to sound like child abuse, I just want her to know her boundary at bedtime and that she needs to stay in her bed.) Well, she knows the conversation well enough now that she tells me, "Me, get out my cib, shut my door." She is a quick learner.

Josie has also discovered how to dress herself. She does it often, changing her clothes many times a day, and coming up with some very interesting outfits. Her drawers are some of the very top of the dresser, so she has a system of getting to her clothes. She climbs up on Chloe's bed, then up on the footboard of the bed, then she hangs on to the dresser and opens up the drawer.

Well today, in her dressing up quest, she toppled over and made a loud crash. We didn't see exactly how she fell, but her nose began to bleed everywhere causing serious concern and worry from her older siblings. After everything was cleaned up, she laid on the couch for a little nap. Once waking up and feeling the crusty blood on her nose, she put her finger in her nose and saw the blood as she pulled it out. She cried that she needed a bandaid. Matt got her a pretty pink one and placed it on the top of her nose. She wore it the rest of the day and agreed it "felt better" with a bandaid.

I, of course, had to take a picture to remember this tender moment. As she posed for the picture, she demanded "I want to see it!" After looking at the picture she gasped, "Aaaahhhhh Biiiiiiiigg Nose!" So funny!

Happy Valentine's Day

Happy Valentine's Day!

This weekend Aunt Krystal came for a short, but very fun visit.  On Saturday she took us to Pei Wei for Chinese Food, one of our family's favorite foods.  We also spent much of the day watching Return to Cranford, from a BBC Series.  It was lots of fun relaxing, eating popcorn and laughing with her. 

On Sunday, Valentine's Day, we decided to make a delicious Red Velvet Cake.  It was very yummy and all the kids helped decorate the frosting.  Of course, before we had our dessert, we had a barbeque and Daddy made hamburgers and Krystal helped make homemade potato wedges.  We hadn't had hamburgers and fries for a very long time.  It was a real yummy treat!

We wish we had more pictures to show for our fun weekend.  Happy Valentine's Day

to all, and thanks for a great weekend Krystal!

Happy Birthday Papa Bob

Today is my dad's birthday!  He would have been 57 today!  We celebrated his birthday by sharing some of his favorite foods.  We all hope that he enjoyed watching us celebrate his earthly life!

One of his favorite foods was Chicken Enchiladas.  He requested for me to make these for him on many occasions.  We also drank strawberry lemonade out of the Oreo Cookie mugs that Matt and I gave him for Christmas one year.  I would guess that he likes strawberry lemonade because he loves most everything else!  We didn't have any milk and oreo's or else we would have ate some for him.

This little tongue picture was too cute not to post.

The kids all enjoyed eating Papa Bob's birthday dinner.

I also ventured out to make Papa Bob's favorite...German Chocolate Cake.  I made it all from scratch, even the frosting.  It has 3 layers and was quite tasty.  It doesn't look so beautiful, but it was sweet.  My dad would always say, "It's the thought that counts."  So, I believe he must  have been pleased with my efforts.

Getting anxious to sing Happy Birthday.

And a united effort to blow out the candles!

What a fun birthday party for Papa Bob.  We love and miss you!  Hope your day was full of happiness!