And a bunch of other stuff...

I thought I'd throw in a couple of random shots and experiences we've had over the past month or two, just so you can see what it's REALLY like around our house...

For the past month Leah has been attending preschool at Sister Brown's house. I found out about it from one of the other moms who talked to Sister Brown and got her "in". Leah was only able to attend the last few classes but she LOVED it. Sis Brown wanted to do preschool for her granddaughter but said her granddaughter showed up the first day and said "Where are all the other kids?" so Sister Brown invited more kids to participate. She didn't charge anything and she went ALL OUT on her lessons. Leah came home with homemade butterfly wings, treats, crafts, balloons, and more. I walked in to pick her up and they had real live chicks in the living room! Leah loves Sister Brown. It was her turn to say prayer and she said, "And bless that Sister Brown is so cool..." and sometimes, out of the blue, she'll say something like, "Sister Brown is one of my favorite people..." Oh, and Leah loved preschool, too!

This is her graduation certificate:



The other day Abby comes into the bedroom and says, "Look, Mom! I'm a dragon!" I actually look at her and this is what I saw. Leah had taken a pen and drawn fireballs all over Abby's face. Of course, I ask "Why did you do that?" And of course, Leah responds, "I don't know" which was the same response I got when I asked Leah why she wrote her name on her pillow. I think it's funny how impulsive kids are. I honestly believe that they DON'T know why they do things like that; they just do!


Leah was trying to get her sweatshirt and T-shirt off of her big head but this is as far as she got. She was being all sorts of silly, striking poses and giggling at her new "ears".



This was one of my favorite random moments. I walked into the kitchen and saw Boba Fett sitting at my kitchen table, getting ready to color a masterpiece. Why? Again, I'm sure the answer would be "I don't know". But I love it!


My kids devour blueberries. I bought a case of 12 clamshells and they ate them within a week. Every time she went to the bathroom Abby would get excited to look at the "blue poo". (Again, the answer is "I don't know".) This is Leah, showing off a blueberry.

Easter Eggs and Mantua

We wanted to do something fun for Easter but Lenny had to work all weekend and I was scheduled to teach Relief Society on Sunday so we couldn't venture far.

I talked to Rachel and we decided to meet halfway for an Easter picnic on Saturday. Unfortunately, the halfway point between our homes is the super small town of Mantua (pronounced man-oo-ay), Utah. We found a park and even picnic tables and let the kids run free! We had a simple sandwich potluck lunch and then Uncle Brian and Lenny took the kids to check out the ducks on the reservoir while Rachel and I hid eggs for the hunt.

It was fun to watch the kids run and scramble for Easter eggs. They all got WAY more candy than they need! After the hunt I told the kids that I had prizes (I had four packages of marshmallow peeps, in each of the four kids' favorite colors.)

I said, "This first prize goes to the person who found the MOST eggs..." Sela said "I found the most eggs!!" But the prize -pink Peeps- actually went to miss Leah!

Next I said, "This next prize goes to the person who used their eyes to spy all of the hidden Easter eggs..." Sela said, "I used my eyes!!!" And the prize -yellow Peeps- went to Sela, since during the hunt she kept asking for help and I said "Use your eyes!!"

Then it was time for the third prize. I said, "This prize is for the person who ran REALLY fast to pick up their Easter eggs..." Abby piped up and said "That's ME!!!" with such confidence that even if it wasn't her I probably would have given it to her anyway. But Abby was right! So she got the prize -some green Peeps.

And last I said, "This prize goes to the person who was so strong to carry a big and heavy Easter basket..." Of course, the blue Peeps went to Baby Graham who had a gigantic bucket he dragged all over the Easter egg field!

We didn't spend much time in Mantua because the weather was cold and we had other places we needed to be but it was worth the drive and worth braving the weather for the kids to spend time with cousins!

I told Leah that we should leave a note for the Easter Bunny to let him know that we got enough candy on Saturday and to please leave something else in their baskets. When the kids woke up they each had a chocolate bunny and some Scripture Scouts CDs in their baskets. They were thrilled! (And I was thrilled that we were keeping our candy damage at a minimum...)

Happy Easter everybody!

Earth Day

What? Sunshine?!? In between the April snow and rain showers we got a little patch of sunshine and the girls and I ventured out to the Earth Day celebration in Logan. We sat in the sun and enjoyed some homemade marshmallows, a small strawberry pie and some delicious chips and salsa. We listened to a percussion ensemble play on garbage cans. We had jumping contests. The kids got to make an art project using rubber stamps shaped like animal tracks. They also got to play with recycled clay and try their hands at the pottery wheel. They LOVED it! I had to drag Leah away so other kids could have a turn. Unfortunately, I forgot to pick up their pottery creations before 5:00 and the clay was recycled. I felt awful! It took the kids a couple of days to remember their pottery but at 5:20 when I found out their projects had been scrapped I was almost in tears. Am I a horrible mom or what?!? Aside from my guilt over the kids' lost art, it was a very pleasant afternoon.