Bunny Day!

It was another great Bunny Day at our house. The kids woke up to baskets of treats and new shirts from Mom and Dad. The highlight of course was the Easter egg hunt at Grandpa's house. This year we did it in the evening and had some pizza, too. Nicole and Grandpa filled the eggs and the big boys hid them. Then we turned the kids loose. It was fun to watch their individual hunting techniques. My favorite was when Benjamin "found" an egg in Sam's basket. It was classic. You can get away with it this year, buddy. But next year I have a feeling Sam will not be so cooperative.




Someone has to give Zac a hard time. Thanks, Grandpa.



The picture is a little blurry, but I loved the look on her face.



Next year we will teach him to eat what is on the inside, too. He was not too sure what to think about his first Bunny Day. That's OK. I have full confidence he will figure it out.

In the Blink of an Eye

Literally, it feels like Sam has grown up in the blink of an eye. Yes, it is cliche, but how else do you describe it? With another cliche maybe? However you say it, he is way too big, way too fast. So here is a look at a few accomplishments I managed to snap a picture of as I was trying to keep up with my big boy.

Sam was so pleased with himself when he got up on all fours. It took awhile to get everything working together, but when he took off, he never looked back. Crawling opened up a whole new world. (Now he just giggles as he walks from room to room.)

Once he was mobile, he was into EVERYTHING! He was thrilled when he learned to open drawers in the kitchen. All of the kids have loved the drawer of Tupperware lids, and Sam was no exception. I just had to dodge the messes he made as I fixed dinner. He gives his grandma fits when we go to visit because she has lots of cupboards and drawers to explore.

Of course, not all milestones are pleasant. Sam has had his first few ear infections, too. And, he decided to share. At one point I had nine bottles of Amoxicillin in my fridge. Everyone but Zac had at least one infected ear. Sam and Brook had double ear infections. That was crazy! Lucky for us, Sam loves the pink stuff. He gets excited when he sees me shaking the bottle.

He pretty much loves to eat anything. He has taken to solid foods like nobody's business. Some of his favorites are strawberries, grapes, bananas, bread, yogurt and cheese. He wants to try everything we have. Most of the time we let him. He loves his milk and is learning to drink from a sippy cup, too. I still won't let Joseph give him bacon. He needs more teeth for that:)

Sam is my first dumpster diver. Luckily, he has not found anything too icky yet. (Although, "icky" is one of his new words, along with "cookie" so I guess we're OK). We have since replaced our garbage can with one that is a little sturdier and more Sam proof.

Self discovery is a painful process. (I almost saved this picture for it's very own post.) Sam discovered that his finger fits perfectly in his nose. It also fits in others' noses and ears. This is a discovery that delights his siblings, his older brother in particular. I am not sure why he was crying this time. I think he was ready to get down and mom kept taking pictures. But they are so cute-and confined-in their high chairs. I couldn't resist snapping a few more.

Sam loves to share, too. He tries to share his food and his pacifier. Lately I think he is trying to give hugs as well. He just toddles over to someone and leans his head on them. Then he looks up with a big grin and toddles away.

He has also started to point. I love it. He points at the family pictures on the wall. He points to what he wants to eat or play with. He points to random things that make no sense. He is just a fun kid. He is cute and clever and so proud of himself. We are proud of him, too. I just wish he would slow down a bit.

Conference and Cousins

One of the best parts of General Conference Weekend is spending time with family. Liz and I got to visit while the kids had cousin time and the boys were at Priesthood session. Now that Benjamin is a little older, he and Zac are becoming little buddies. They enjoyed sneaking through the house with Nerf guns and glasses, hunting bad guys or just teasing the girls.

Ally, Rachel and Brook were in their own pony world. Their game lasted all night and they still did not get enough. When it was time to go, they made plans to continue the grand pony adventure at Grandma's house the next day.

Sam and Hannah are still figuring each other out. I love watching them together. (So does Sariah. She hovered over them all night.) Tonight we were all together again for Mother's Day. Hannah kept taking Sam's pacifier out of his mouth. He would grin at her and take it back. Then she grabbed it again. They kept it up until Sam had enough and crawled away. Before we know it, they will be up running around with the rest of them. If only the cousins lived closer. Sigh. Although these past few months we have been spoiled with fairly regular get-togethers.

Saturday night it snowed, a very wet, very heavy snow. On Sunday morning we woke up to sad news. Our tree did not survive the storm. (Trees were actually down all over the valley.) Zac was in tears. This was "his"tree. It was part of many fun games. Sometimes, he climbed into the branches and just sat there, observing the world. He even asked to sleep in it one night. I was sad, too. Of all the trees in my yard, it was the one tree I actually liked. Joseph was able to get the branches off the driveway that morning and later in the week, our kind neighbor let us borrow a chain saw to take care of the rest. (Joseph rather enjoyed his first chain saw project. It saved him hours of work with a handsaw.) Our neighbor also helped us haul away most of the limbs. The bigger ones are stacked on our driveway, waiting for the Scouts' next campfire.

It was a good thing the tree did not block more of the driveway, as Joseph, Sariah and Zac needed to be on their way early that morning. We got tickets for the Sunday morning session in the Conference Center. They picked Uncle Marc up on the way. Zac and Sariah were excited to go and I hope it will be a special memory for them. As they left the session to head home, Sariah looked up at Joseph and said, "I love conference. This is the best day ever!" She really does look forward to conference. Her favorite part is listening to the choir so I was extra excited for her to hear Music and the Spoken Word before the session started. Thanks, Joseph for taking them.

Cubanapolis

For a recent pack night, our pack participated in the Cubanapolis 500. (This was much better than the Kindy 500, because Zac made his "car" by himself.) As always, the activity was well thought out and the boys had a great time. Each boy needed a pit crew to help him through the race. The boys were decked out in their car, goggles, and huge rubber boots. They made four laps around the gym, making a pit stop between each lap. The boys could not do anything themselves; they were dependent on their crew.

After lap one, the pit crew changed tires. This meant pulling off the boots and socks and then replacing them. Lap two was a windshield wash. We squirted water on their goggles and wiped them off.

After lap 3, the racers fueled up by drinking water through a tiny straw. I don't know who had more fun, the racers or the pit crews. I got to help Zac and another boy in the pack. He actually ended up with the best time. I am pretty sure it was due to his amazing crew:)


Zac is loving Scouts. At our Blue and Gold banquet he received his Bobcat. He had actually earned it earlier, but opted to wait for the awards night. Now his goal is to get his Wolf by the end of the summer. I am proud of him and grateful for his opportunities to learn and gain confidence. My boy is growing up and what a great kid he is turning out to be!

Late Nights and Pedicures

Sariah turned 10 in February and decided she needed a "late night" with her friends. (A late night is basically all the fun of a sleepover, minus the overnight. A great concept if you ask me.) We made a giant cookie, ordered some pizza and invited a few friends.

The girls giggled non stop. It was a great party. Brook opted to watch the late night feature, Madeline, while Zac and Ally hid in our room upstairs to watch Star Wars. Sariah was in her element: pajamas, chocolate, movie and friends. Does life get any better for a 10 year old girl? Not in her world, especially since Aunt Emily joined the fun, too.


The Sunday before her birthday, we celebrated with family. She wanted a chocolate cake with the number 10 on top. Easy enough. Some where along the line, birthday cakes became a big deal in our family. The kids look forward to choosing the shape, flavor and color. I am grateful that as they get older, their requests get simpler. Although, Sariah really "took the cake" when she asked for a belly cake on her third birthday. We are still not sure where that came from.
This year Sariah got lots of art stuff and some movies. We gave her a trip to the salon for her first pedicure.



Aunt Nicole came with us. The night before our big day, I fell and really hurt my foot. I opted out of the pedicure, but went along for the ride. Sariah has always loved having her feet rubbed. She used to scoot up to me, stick her foot in my face and say, "Rubba my feet." She loved her pedicure. She looked very grown up sitting in the chair getting pampered. I wish we could pamper her more. She deserves every minute. We may have really started something, though. She told me just the other day, "Mom, I really need a pedicure." You and me both! Ally took pretty careful notes about what was going on. Yesterday she told me she wanted to go to the beauty salon and out to lunch. Girls are such fun. Happy Birthday, Sariah Girl. You make us so happy. Thanks for keeping us on our toes and sharing your unconditional love with us.

Kindy 500

Our kindergarten has a great tradition: The Kindy 500. I can say it is great because I am not currently working on a Kindy car. It is fun, but tons of work. The teachers put in even more work. It really is amazing what they pull off. As a culmination of their unit on our country, each student makes a "car" from a cardboard box. They get to parade through the halls of the school, showing off their creations to the rest of the students and the parents who come to watch and take pictures/videos so they can document all blood, sweat and tears that went into making the cars. Then they "drive" them across America, stopping at famous landmarks (Statue of Liberty, Mount Rushmore, etc.). The kids love it.

Ally decided she wanted a bus. We decided we did not want to mess with paint this time around so we tried yellow duct tape. It worked rather well. We added some windows, complete with passengers (I cut out our family's faces and Ally took care of our hair and clothing), headlights, taillights, suspenders and voila! We had a pretty great bus. That crazy pigeon even sneaked aboard. I assure you that Ally did all the driving, however. (If you have not read the pigeon books by Mo Willems, you are missing a real treat).




She had a great time at school, even if her arms got tired lugging that big bus around all morning. (We will have to think VW Bug for Brook.) Brook had fun watching the parade with her friends who also have Kindergarten siblings. Look out! These three blondies will be racing their own Kindy cars before we know it. Thanks again to the teachers and volunteers that made it all possible. I am so grateful my kids are making happy elementary school memories.

Ugly Bug Ball

For her 6th birthday, Ally wanted a bug party. Yes, she's six and yes, she wanted bugs. Being our social butterfly, she had quite the guest list. In a moment of weakness, I indulged. Lesson learned. We had a great time, but it was chaotic. When the kids arrived they each made some antennae, aka headbands with pipe cleaners and pom poms. (Thanks again, Family Fun.com). The boys were a little unsure about the headbands, but they were good sports. Next up was pin the spots on the ladybug. After that, we marched to the basement where we cranked up "Ugly Bug Ball" and danced around like bugs. (You remember the Haley Mills movie Summer Magic? A true classic in my book, but I digress.) Some of Ally's friends are now officially convinced that I have lost it. I wish I could have captured the looks on a few faces as I led them in buzzing, hopping, crawling, etc. around the room. We took a breather from the dancing to play "Who put the bug in the buggy jar?" An impromptu version of "Who stole the cookie from the cookie jar?" Joseph needed a little more time to prepare the treats. I was rather proud of my resourcefulness. The kids all went with it, bless their hearts, because by this point they all knew I was a little crazy.

Sam knows I am crazy, too. He is used to it by now. However, he did not quite know what to think about his bug headband or the heightened noise level in our house. We wrapped the party up by unwrapping presents, eating cupcakes with colorful, rubber worms on top (They didn't eat the worms, of course. Those were the party favors. Which became extra cool when Zac showed them all that they stick to the ceiling if you throw them high enough. Thanks, bud.), and taking everyone home. Whew! It makes me tired just remembering it all. Ally loved it and that is all that matters.

The friend party was Saturday morning. On Sunday evening we celebrated with the family. She wanted a ladybug cake. It was actually pretty fun to make and yummy to eat. Although we did have a bit of trouble with the spots. They kept sliding down the side of the ladybug, hence no close up photo. Maybe next time we will let the frosting set a little more before adding spots.

Of course, there were presents galore because Grandmas were involved. She had fun tearing though them all.

The usual crowd was here: Grandma, Grandpa, Nicole, Juan, Emily and Chris. The Walkers showed up via the much anticipated birthday box that Grandma sends in the mail.


Think "mini" and Ally loves it: Polly Pockets, Squinkies, Jungle in My Pocket, Littlest Pet Shop, etc. Since she got one of all of the above, her birthday was a hit. We love our Pal, drama and all. Thanks for keeping us on our toes and making us smile everyday.