New Names for Old Toys

I'm not exactly sure what my older kids are playing, but they have tied lacing yarn around H's Care Bears' necks. Then, they swing them around overhead like they are lassos. Poor M has been hit more than once.

The best part about this (beside the fact that my kids are playing together without fighting) is the new names they have given the Care Bears.

No more Bedtime Bear, Birthday Bear, Tenderheart Bear and Share Bear.

We now have Alonna, Maranja, Charkey and my personal favorite...Bubble Butt.

Don't ask.

I have no idea.

Ice Age 3

Yesterday we had the opportunity to see an advanced screening of Ice Age 3 in 3-D. H and K were so excited. This was their first time seeing a movie in the theater. We got to the theater at about 7:30am and N asked if we could go upstairs to see the projectors and stuff. Truly, not very exciting for me or the kids but N liked it.

So, the movie was good (I still like the first one the best). H did really well. I think it was a little to long for K. He kept telling me that the dinosaurs were not coming out at him and toward the end of the movie he just wanted to roam around the theater. M wasn't feeling all that great and really didn't want to watch the movie so that was a little hard. R did great. She kept trying to peek at the screen to see what was going on. She even almost fell asleep.

I was really glad that our first movie theater outing was this laid back. I actually think we could take the 2 older kids again. H is already asking if we can see "Cloudy With A Chance Of Meatballs" when it comes out.

We'll see.

Loose Teeth!

We (and when I say 'we' I mean 'H') have loose teeth!

Today H was sitting on my bed eating an apple and watching TV. She told me that when she took a bite it hurt her tooth a little and that she thought she heard her tooth crack one time. I asked if her tooth was loose and she said no. I'll admit I really didn't think too much about it. Then, she tried to take another bite. It hurt again so I took a closer look. Sure enough she had a loose tooth.
I thought she was going to explode she was so happy. She wanted me to call her dad right away. She started talking about all the wonderful things the Tooth Fairy would bring and how she sure is getting older and how she shouldn't eat her apple anymore.

Later in the day, I got to thinking that her 2 bottom middle teeth are very close together. I started to wonder if the other one was loose as well. Sure enough, she actually has 2 loose teeth.

She is beside herself and can't wait for them to actually fall out.

Guess I'd better get that family photo scheduled sooner rather than later.

Another good chuckle

Just in case the previous picture didn't get you...

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As I was cropping pictures for K's birthday spread I noticed N in the background of this one. He looks like something was thrown at his face. It cracks me up.

And, I'm in the process of trying to get away from using the flash on my camera. However, when I don't some of my pics are blurry. Anyone know how to fix this? Do I just have to suck it up and use my flash? I'm missing out on a lot of memories because they end up too blurry to do anything with.

Happy Birthdays!

In our family there are 2 birthdays in June--N and K.


First up: N. We had a hard time celebrating this year because we were in Utah the week/weekend before and he had to work from 9am to 10:45pm on his birthday. My plan was to make him a layer cake with ice cream in between layers. I put the ice cream in a pan to make layers that I could just stack together. Unfortunately, before I could put it all together, N left the ice cream out on the counter over night. His cake is still in the freezer. We celebrated with his family the Sunday after his birthday and his mom made him a cake so he did get a cake.

(1. K blowing out his #4 candle 2-5. opening presents 6. playing b-ball at Peter Piper Pizza 7-9. on the carousel at PPP)

Next up: K. K turned 4 this month. He has been looking forward to this for at least a couple of months. He was even more excited when dad came home from the store with Cars plates, napkins, cups, wrapping paper...the works. For a few weeks the plan had been for us to take H and K to see "Ice Age 3" and then go to N's parents' house for pizza (K's favorite food). Then, we found out the movie doesn't even open 'til July 1. Bummer, maybe for H's birthday in August. Instead, we took the family (minus R who stayed with Grandma and Grandpa E) to Peter Piper Pizza. K has been wanting to have his birthday there ever since H had hers there last year. So, we ate and played and then went back to Grandma and Grandpa E's house to go swimming and have dinner and cake/ice cream.

K's emotions ran the gamut on his birthday. First he was so excited to have a Cars birthday and go to Peter Piper Pizza. Then, on the way to PPP I realized I had forgotten the plates, cups and napkins ("But mom, how will we eat pizza?!"). It only got worse when we discovered that the Peter Piper we were going to go to was no longer in business. K started crying and saying this was his worst birthday ever. When we got to another Peter Piper he became very excited again. The rest of the day went pretty smoothly and it was deemed the BEST birthday ever.

Marley and Me

The older kids and I watched Marley and Me tonight. I was a little nervous about how they would handle the ending, but I thought they would have fun watching Marley's antics. And boy did they! One of my favorite quotes during the movie was H laughing and saying, "Mom, isn't it so funny that they covered Marley's head so he wouldn't see them kiss and roll on the bed?" (Ah, the innocence of youth!)

Then it happened. Marley started to get sick and H said, "Mom, my eyes feel like they are going to cry." And cry she did. Hard. And Marley hadn't even died yet!

After the movie she was very subdued. She even told me she didn't think she'd be able to sleep very well because she thought she might cry all night.

If she gets that worked up about a dog in the movies, can you imagine if it was HER dog?! And that, my friends, is one reason we don't have a dog.

For the record, K wasn't phased at all. Granted, he really wasn't paying attention, but he didn't really care that Marley was sick and dying.

Trampoline Videos

It should be noted that after his video was taken M did not like being on the trampoline with his dad anymore.

Utah

Last week we drove up to Utah for a little vacation. N's nephew was being baptized and his sister got tickets for the Oquirrh Mountain Temple Open House.

We spent Wednesday in the car. We had a small pit stop in Vegas because we were playing fed ex for my mom and delivered a birthday present to Adam. It was fun to see Allison, Adam and Grace and the kids enjoyed playing and breaking up the trip a little bit. I'll tell you, Adam has some great restraint. When we handed over his present he just put in on the counter and ran off to play. My kids would have ripped it open right then and there. Heck, I would have ripped it open right then and there.

The kids all traveled really well. K had two nosebleeds on the way up though. The first was self induced and the second was probably the first one aggravated by the elevation change. We arrived in Utah after dinner time (the drive took us 14 hours including an hour stop in Vegas and the hour time change). The kids played for a little bit and then we sent them to bed.

The kids in front of the Assembly Hall on Temple Square

Thursday N went to KSL for a tour and to "talk shop" with the head of the production department. He thinks he left a good impression. Luckily they aren't hiring right now or I think he'd have accepted any job they offered him! Not that it would be a bad thing; I'm just not ready to leave Arizona yet. While N was at KSL, the kids and I walked around Temple Square. We went through both Visitors' Centers and I took them to the top of the Church Office Building. They weren't impressed. H counted 6 brides while we were walking around all the gardens and fountains. The kids lasted about 2 hours and then they had had enough. Good thing N was done right around that time!

H and K playing Guitar Hero

N playing guitar heroM playing Guitar Hero

The kids and I spent the rest of the day outside playing on the swingset and the trampoline and N spent it inside playing guitar hero (he is now 100% converted). The weather was so beautiful. It was even a bit chilly. And, since the sun doesn't go down until 9pm during the summer we got lots of outside time.

Our family in front of the temple. You'll notice that we are not in Sunday clothes. That is because when we went to the Open House, we forgot to take pictures so we stopped by on another day.The Oquirrh Mountain Temple

Friday morning we went to the temple. It was amazingly beautiful (not that I expected different). H and K loved the font the most. M loved the Celestial Room. He started singing in there. I think he was just feeling the Spirit. Before going in we were shown a movie and given a little brochure explaining about the rooms in the temple. H liked to find each of the rooms in her brochure as we walked through. We all really enjoyed it. It makes me really excited to see the Phoenix Temple be built.

The kids on the trampoline.

The afternoon was spent outside again (and inside playing guitar hero by some). By this time, the kids and I were a lovely shade of pink from all of our outside endeavors. You'd think coming from AZ I'd know about sunscreen--sheesh.

The kids at the park after the baptism.

Saturday was the baptism. H was really excited to see her cousin get baptized. She later told me it was her favorite part of the trip. After the baptism everyone went to a park for lunch and to play. So much fun for the kids. It was windy and cold, but they still had a great time and didn't want to leave. At one point H told me that eating potato chips and running made her warm (I was wondering why she kept going back for more).

After the baptism, N and his nephews played more guitar hero and his mom, sister-in-law, niece and I went to Tai Pan Trading Co. I was the only one who didn't buy anything--and not because I didn't want to, either! Anyway, after dinner it was more outside time. This time I was able to convince N to come outside and play with us. The kids loved having him on the trampoline.

H and Regan

After dinner on Sunday we went to N's Aunt and Uncle's house. We visited with all his cousins and their kids. It was a lot of fun. H met Regan again (they met on our visit 3 years ago when they were almost 3). She is N's cousin's daughter. She and H were inseparable that night. Regan's mom got our address so Regan could write H a letter and H can't wait for it to come. As we were leaving that night, H started singing a song about how she would miss Regan and how they were BFFs.

M on the drive home.

Monday was our drive home. It was a L-O-N-G drive home. M cried virtually the whole way home. I think he wasn't feeling all that great and the elevation changes weren't helping. Luckily the other kids did fine.

After a day of laundry and unpacking, I think we are back to normal. We had such a great time and are looking forward to our next trip up there. Maybe in a couple of years.

K is such a funny guy!

Earlier this week we started our drive to Utah. We began early early...like 4:30am. We had been on the road for about half hour when N asked me to get him a butterscotch bar. I opened the tupperware they were in and got him one. Then, from the back of the van we hear:

"Do I smell something to eat?"

I guess K was kind of hungry.

******

Today at his cousin's baptism, the guy giving the talk on baptism was talking about symbols. He held up some different symbols and asked the kids if they knew what they stood for. First he held up a sign that said H2O for water. Then he held up a red cross for first aid. Then he held up a "no" sign (the kind that is the circle with the diagonal line through it...I don't know what they are called) and K yelled "SKIP!" The boy does love his UNO.