Sweet Sunday Afternoons

We love Sundays around here. We love to spend the afternoon together playing games, taking naps, going for walks, blowing bubbles, catching bubbles and just taking it easy. Andrew loves to play the piano and will usually skip ahead of his assignements to try something new. Today Mike decided to try and teach Andrew "I am a Child of God" from the Children's Hymn Book. Andrew is always surprising us with how fast he learns. He was showing some real progess in the half hour that he sat down with Mike.

I love seeing moments like this where the kids get to spend special time with their dad. I love it even more to see the joy on Mike's face as he gets to enjoy his favorite little munchkins! They have the best dad in the whole world!

Peter's 6th Birthday

Peter wanted a Pirate Birthday Party this year. Since he was turning six years old he was allowed to invite six friends. We had so much fun going to the party store and picking out pirate attire and goodies for the treasure chest. We had Peter's friends meet at our park to get dressed up and ready for the treasure hunt. Mike and Andrew hid picture clues that eventually led to our backyard where the treasure chest with goodies was to be found. The boys had so much fun playing at the park and then going on their treasure hunt.

After finding the treasure the boys were hungry for cupcakes. I opted to make pirate cupcakes instead of a pirate cake and I think they turned out pretty well. Peter loved them and so that is all that matters. I think I will be doing cupcakes every year. They are fun to make and just so much easier.

Peter was so excited to open his presents. With each gift he was practically jumping off the couch with excitement. He got some legos, a star wars dart gun, a cool watch, and a little hot wheels set. He was in heaven.

We waited until after the party to give him our gift. I think he was excited to get WarioLand Shake It on the Wii. Peter was also excited to recieve a very cool pop up tent from his grandparents. He and Andrew even slept in it the very first night. It was so nice that we all got to be part of Peter's birthday this year. Happy Birthday Big 6 year old!

livin it up in the cool tent

Naughty and Nice

OK so I will start with a little nice first. Emma really is a sweetheart and her smile just melts my heart. She is so energetic and fun and there is never a dull moment around her. She is a clever little girl and very creative. But, just when I think I have her figured out she pulls one on me.

Isn't there something wrong with this picture?? She is three years old and not 18 months old. We have had issues with putting too much toilet paper in the toilet when going potty. We have had a couple of moments where the toilet has flooded and it has been messy. So we have had a couple of chats about only using a little bit of toilet paper. On this particular day I was in the office next to the bathroom and I realized that Emma was spending too much time in there. As I went into check on her I found her like this. This was more than using too much toilet paper. She was literally unrolling it and stuffing it in the toilet. Luckily she did not flush the toilet. Before another lecture I just had to grab my camera. This girl definitely has a naughty side...what kid doesn't?

We have definitely entered the terrible three's. She is as stubborn as she is cute. She reminds me so much of Andrew who is constantly negotiating with me. If you let her she will drive you to give her anything she wants. I have to usually put my foot down A LOT!

While my parents were visiting my mom noticed that Emma was in the guest bedroom closet. There are no toys in there and only bins full of clothes. My mom opened the door to find Emma into the chocolate chips that my mom had brought. What a little stinker.

The greatest thing about kids is they are always changing. One day they are naughty and the other they are nice and sweet and oh so charming. During our quiet moments while the boys are in school and Abby is sleeping, Emma and I have been working on letters, reading stories, and fun projects. Today we practiced our letters. When I held up the Y, she told me what it was, what sound it made and then said, "Did you know that Y is sometimes a vowel?" I was blown away that she would say that to me. I guess those Leap Frog videos did help.

No matter what the day, I have to always remember that somedays will be good and others will be more challenging. I'll take the bad with the good as along as I keep getting good days!

What the RAIN

Since I am in training mode for my upcoming race I know that everyday counts. I knew that I would not be able to swap with my friend today and so I figured I would just take the girls out in the jogger after dropping off Peter at school. It had been raining all morning and the sun finally came out right at lunchtime. I got the girls in the jogger, put their blankets on, and started off on a four mile run. The sun felt so good on my face. I was so happy to be running even though I was pushing the jogger. I guess I have been spoiled by swapping and so pushing the jogger isn't something I enjoy very much anymore. The girls were so happy and didn't give my any problems. At two miles I turned around to head home when it started to rain. ARE YOU KIDDING ME. Why can't the sun stay out for atleast 30 minutes at one time? Running on my own I wouldn't have cared but I didn't bring the rain canopy for the jogger. I ran as fast as I could home so the girls wouldn't get soaked. Luckily they had their blankets. The funny thing is I was the one who was so annoyed and upset while the girls just sat there with the rain sprinkling their faces. When I got home they were fine but a little wet....sorry girls. I am so tired of this weather here. I DEMAND more sun...so there!

Easter Sunday

It seems like every year in Dupont it rains on Easter Sunday. Today was no exception. We all got on our Easter outfits and headed off to our 9:00am church. I printed off a couple of fun Easter worksheets for the kids to do during church. The kids were really reverent which made for an enjoyable experience for both me and Mike. As soon as we got home I told the kids to go and sit on the couch to get their first clue to the location of the Easter baskets. They had a blast finding their baskets and loved the candy inside. Each of the kids got a new DVD, a gigantic lollipop, $1, chocolate, and the boys got new pj's and Emma got a purple skirt, butterfly wings and a wand.

After enjoying some of our Easter treats we headed out to our backyard for a little Easter egg hunt of our own. Each of the kids got to find 5 eggs and we hurried because it started to sprinkle. The boys were really nice to help Emma when she was having a hard time. As soon as we got back in the house it started pouring. I wonder if we will ever get a sunny Easter out here. Maybe next year. After a nap and a delicious dinner we read from the New Testament. Afterall, Easter is about the Resurrection and not the Easter Bunny (but we do like what the Easter bunny brings us...it tastes so good!)