Sassy Ally

The other day I was walking down the hall. When I peeked in her room, this is how I found Ally -- just reading her book, boa and all. I had to have a picture. I told her to look at the camera and be sassy. This is what I got:

Apparently she's got the sassy part down.

Make Wise Choices

That was Sariah's part in her first grade program at the end of March. The program was entitled, "Kids Against Violence." Each class sang a song and several kids had speaking parts, including our girl. She did a great job. I thought she would wear out the buttons on her shirt, she was playing with them so much. But, she was not nervous when it was her turn. She said her part loudly and clearly. It was fun to watch her singing along with everyone. The pictures I took of the actual program did not turn out very well, but we got pictures afterward with Grandma and Grandpa and with Ms. Snow (you know, the important people). Thanks for coming, Mom and Dad. It meant a lot to Sariah.

Eight!

Sariah turned 8 on February 15th. I still cannot believe it. Her birthday landed on a Sunday this year. When we realized my parents would be in town, we made some special arrangements to have her baptism right on her birthday. She looked so grown up in her new dress.
The service was simple and beautiful. Thank you to all the family that came and participated in one way or another. Our sweet Sariah was VERY nervous about going under the water. With the help of a priesthood blessing and many prayers she was able to be brave. She was proud of herself and so were we.
Of course, there was a birthday party, too. That happened the Friday before. We had a cooking party complete with recipe card invitations. All the kids got to build their own lasagna (thanks, Family Fun for another great idea). While dinner cooked we opened presents and the girls played downstairs. There was a lot of giggling and screaming coming from my basement. When everything was ready, we ate our yummy creations together.
For dessert Sariah wanted brownies and ice cream so that is what she got. She had a princess cake for the family birthday party we had after her baptism. Unfortunately, I did not get a very good picture of that one. We did manage to squeeze 30+ people into our house for dinner and birthday treats. Wow! Good thing we all liked each other. It was a great weekend to celebrate our Sariah. We love you and can't imagine our lives without you, Pumpkin Doodle.

Three Wishes

So, during our dinner conversations this week, I have been very enlightened on the subject of Leprechauns. (Zac and Ally apparently have very knowledgeable friends at school.) Among other things I learned that if you catch a Leprechaun he gives you three wishes, not his gold. So I asked the kids what they would wish for.

Sariah said: 1. a Wiggles DVD 2. a Cinderella toy 3. (I forgot)
Zac said: 1. a Wii 2. Leprechaun gold 3. a Carolina Panther's helmet
Ally said: 1. a dolly house 2. a Barbie 3. to splash in the tub
Joseph only got to wish for one thing and then we were off on anther topic. He said he wished for a trip around the world with his family. Ally piped up, "Even to Missouri?!" What a character.

As for my wishses: 1. that I had actually posted this on St. Patrick's Day 2. that I could remember more of the cute things the kids say 3. that I was caught up in all of the million things I want to stay on top of. So, in an attempt to stay on top of the blog, here is a little of what we've been up to lately, in no particular order and not including Sariah's big day. That will be it's own post.

The picture at the top is Ally on her way to preschool. We were invited to join a mother's preschool group. She loves it. It is the Pretty Princess Preschool. All girls. All princesses. There are six of them so I only have to take my turn as teacher every five weeks. That works great for me. It is just what Ally needed. She is too grown up for me sometimes.

My ride has been "momed." (If you haven't seen it, check out "Mom my ride" on YouTube. If I were a little more technosavvy I would have a link on my post. Just be excited you got a picture. And I did get a new camera for Christmas. As soon as I get it figured out, you might even get video!) Somehow I managed to snap my sideview mirror off by backing into the garbage can that was on the street for pick up. Really I was not going that fast. The bitter irony of it all is that we had just gotten it out of the shop for other repairs. Yeah for duct tape.
We had a whirlwind Valentine's weekend. My parents were in town for Grandma Puckett's 80th birthday and Sariah's baptism. Here are the kids in a rare "down moment" with Uncle Brian at Chris and Emily's house. We were so busy, I hardly took a picture.

Zac participated in the Kindy 500. We had fun making his car, complete with a real NC license plate (sorry about the glare) and bumper stickers. They say "Don't let the pigeon drive my race car" and "Honk if you love Mrs. Comte!" Zac was so excited. It was amazing to see all the creative cars. It was obvious which parents had let their kids help and who had holed themselves up in the garage and created a masterpiece. A lot of dads were walking around with proud smiles on their faces.

Life is never dull around here. The kids keep us laughing and practicing patience. Come to think of it, if I did catch a Leprechaun (like the one who left quarters in the kids' shoes and turned our milk green) I wouldn't wish for anything different than what I have. (Although that gold would come in handy . . . )

Twins

"They're cousins, identical cousins, and you'll find
they walk alike, they talk alike, at times they even think alike --
you could lose your mind when cousins are two of a kind."

Wasn't that the theme song for The Patty Duke Show? Why I even know that I can't say. Anyway, here are our identical cousins. Grandma gave Brook and Rachel matching outfits for Christmas. Last time Marc and Liz came to visit we dressed the girls in their outfits by coincidence. Of course, we had to take a picture. Brook reminds us so much of Rachel in her mannerisms and her little voice. Sometimes when they are playing together even I do a double take. What cuties they are. We love you, Rachel!

Ally turns 4!

Ally turned 4 on January 10th. Wow! Sometimes I have to remind myself that she is only 4 because she wants to be so grown up. She wanted a Care Bear party. It is very hard to find little Care Bear figures to put on a cake. Thanks to Grandma Anson for saving the day by suggesting Care Bear fruit snacks. For her next birthday Ally would like me to find Telly Tubby fruit snacks for her cake. Luckily we have a whole year for her to forget that idea. And also, thanks to Aunt Nicole for letting us borrow her Good Luck bear from years past. The most important thing is that the cake tasted yummy and Ally loved it.

Ally really wanted to play games. So Joseph used his overhead projector skills to make a huge Tender Heart Bear for us to play pin-the-belly-badge-on-the-Care-Bear. It was a hit. Even Spiderman showed up to play.

Ally was hilarious. I am pretty sure she could see through the blindfold, because she got it almost dead center with very minimal hesitation. She took off her blindfold and about came unglued. She starting jumping up and down, clapping and yelling at the top of her lungs, "I win the game." That made it all worth it. (Later she did admit, "Mom, I could kinda see.")
Dad did not win, but provided great entertainment. Dads are always good for a silly twist on the game. I remember when I was a little girl we always played pin-the-tail-on-the-donkey (except the year we played pin-the-top-on-the-strawberry for my Strawberry Shortcake party -- thanks, mom). The highlight of the party was when Dad got home from work just in time for his turn. After stumbling around the room he usually pinned his tail on the complete opposite side of the room or on the ceiling. We would all dissolve into giggles and beg him to take another turn. I love you, Dad!

I am not sure where this pose came from, but it is classic Ally. We love you Pal and we are so grateful you are part of our family. Here's to another year of amazing memories.

Christmas Memories

Happy Anniversary to me. I have officially been a blogger for a year now! Thanks, Amy, for convincing us to get on board. I am glad we have all of these family memories to look back on. Christmas at our house was perfect, but way too short. I feel like we just barely got out the decorations and they are all back in their boxes and under the stairs again. I dread the morning when the school routine will start again. It has been heaven to have everyone home and together for the past little while. But, let me back up. Christmas Eve morning the kids woke up and were HYPER! We were waiting for Zac to come out of the bathroom so we could start breakfast. He was taking forever. When he came out of the bathroom like this, we knew why:

It is a little hard to tell in this picture, but his pants are on his head and his shirt is on his legs. It did take him a while to figure out how to carry out his brilliant idea, thus the delay in breakfast. We were very grateful for our Christmas Eve traditions that helped to focus some of that "creative" energy. We went with the Smiths and Grandma Puckett to our annual matinee. This year's feature was Bolt. The kids enjoyed it, although I thought parts of the plot were a little complicated for them. We will have to rent it when it hits DVD so that Joseph can finish watching it. The puppy and kitty only kept Brook occupied for so long and they spent the last half of the movie in the foyer. Thanks, Dad. Then we were off for a yummy dinner and Brick Oven and back to Carol's house for the Nativity. Sariah was thrilled to play Mary again. Zac got to be the "gold wiseman" as per his request and Ally was the angel. Brook was uncooperative in being assigned a part, but was a very cute audience member. Emily and Chris joined us for dinner and the nativity. Then they even came home with us to spend the night! We loved it!

By the time we got home, the kids were pretty tired (which was all part of the plan) and that is why Brook did not want to be in the Christmas Eve Pajama picture. She got Dora jammies that she was very excited about. We put out some cookies and milk for Santa, some carrots for the reindeer and even left an extra cookie for Santa to take home to Mrs. Claus. (I am sure she appreciated that.)
Then we tucked them into bed so visions of sugar plums could dance in their heads. Ally wanted to sleep downstairs with Zac and Sariah. When Em and Chris decided to join us, it turned into a full slumber party. They actually slept pretty well and were not up too early. Christmas morning was a whirlwind. I did not take too many pictures, but snapped a few keepers.
All the kids got BandAids in their stockings. It was a good thing, because we had many "injuries" that morning, including this one on Ally's forehead.
Chris and Emily scored some sweet gifts. Thanks again for sharing your Christmas with us.
Sariah got lots of good princess loot and a couple of Wiggles things as well.
Zac has fallen in love with the NFL lately, so Santa scored big with a set of mini helmets, complete with a chart to track team standings in the playoffs. Before we left for Grandma's house, he had his Dad online looking up the standings.
Ally loved the bear she got from Brooklyn. She was also excited about her soccer ball and dishes from Grandma.
Brook was not into opening presents like I thought she would be, but the babies waiting for her on the couch were just what she wanted. She carried them around all morning. We spent the rest of the day visiting with family. We gave my parents a webcam which we were able to try out. Em and Chris were with us and the rest of the family were at mom and dad's so between the two houses, we were all able to be together. (I love technology.) We got to see Marc and Liz and Nicole at the Ansons' house and got to talk to David and Amy on the phone. It was a great day. I really can't wait for Christmas to come again, and I really might start shopping in July:-).