BIG Pictures!

I just learned how to make my pictures BIG. I LOVE IT! Here's a link for anyone interested. It is super easy and just takes a couple of minutes to do some HTML editing. And, no, you don't have to understand HTML to do this.

http://madsennicole.blogspot.com/2009/03/how-to-make-your-pictures-bigger-on.html

The Kids Are in Heaven

We bought this swing set from my sister. The kids love it. We got it yesterday morning and had it put together by lunch. When I left to go to stake conference at 5:30pm they were still outside playing. Spring is gonna be great for them.

He's kind of hard to see, but that blue shirt and khaki pants is my nephew. He and my niece were over because their dad was helping. They love this swing set as much as my kids. They were a little upset when it was time to go home.

(Thanks to everyone who made it possible for us to get this. We are very grateful.)

We're Kinda Ready for February

Some time last month I bought some mailboxes and scrapbook paper in the dollar spot at Target. I thought they would be fun to decorate for Valentine's Day. My plan was for everyone to write/make/buy valentines for everyone else and then put them in the mailboxes. This (hopefully) would go on all through the month and (hopefully) would make us get along better. So, I made the mistake of telling the kids about it and they have been asking me about the mailboxes ever since. Tonight, we finally made them (just in time to start February).

Nathan had a little fun making his, I think. Although I'm not sure he would admit to it. When Nathan was done with his Kade said, "Yours is pretty, Dad." Nathan responded, "It's not pretty, I used a hammer on it."

Hailey had A LOT of fun making her mailbox. She was dead set on using every single thing I had to decorate with. She even decorated the inside of her mailbox.

Kade also had a good time making his. He wanted to use a little bit of every thing. I think his mailbox has 3 different layers (2 of which you cannot see because he covered them up with the top layer). He also put a couple of things inside his. I love the juxtaposition of the pink and purple papers with the buttons that say "All Boy".

Matt needed a little bit of help with his. OK, honestly, I made his after he went to bed. Originally, he had happy face stickers all over it, but as the night went on boredom struck and he peeled them all off. The only thing that remains from his original work is the "M" on the front.

Rachel had some help, too. I know, it's hard to believe that she didn't make hers all by herself.

Life in Ruins

Today, in an emotional outburst of super-size proportions, I told Kade that he ruins everything. (I know, I've got that mom-of-the-year award in the bag.) He insisted that he didn't and Hailey said, "Well, you ruined my life."

Coyotes Game

Tonight we took the two oldest kids to see the Coyotes play. They were so excited. When we got to the hockey arena, K was just beside himself. He had a permanent smile on his face. H was excited to be there, too, but she took a little bit to warm up.

We cheered and had a lot of fun. There was a young couple in front of us and they thought K was great. They even explained what a hat trick was to him. Then, as we were getting ready to leave, the man in front of us handed me $50 to go buy the kids t-shirts at the team shop! It was very unexpected and the kids were thrilled.

Cadillac Oxen

Last night we went to see the lights at the temple. The kids loved seeing all the lights. We made our way around to the manger (by following the star like the Wise Men). After that we saw the shepherds watching their flocks. H commented that she saw a "Cadillac" in the stable. I thought I heard her wrong, but then she said it again.

In the car on the way home I asked her about it and she said that it says "Cadillac oxen first welcomed Him there" in the song The Nativity. We had a good laugh because it actually says "cattle and oxen".

Spaghetti Night

We love spaghetti at our house. These pictures were taken last week, but could just have easily been taken today.

Christmas 2009

Well, we had a good Christmas.

Last night we read the Christmas Story from Luke and we also read a book about the First Christmas in the Book of Mormon. We put our cookies, carrots and apples out. We spread our reindeer food on the driveway and we checked the Santa tracker one last time before going to bed. The kids went to bed amazingly well. They might have even all been asleep before 7:30!

Sometime in the middle of the night Santa came.

At 5:00 am I woke up and couldn't go back to sleep. I tossed and turned for another hour before waking N up (I know, I am a nice wife for letting him sleep that extra hour). After some last minute prep we woke the kids up. Technically, H was already up--she didn't know it was morning! I'm pretty sure M was up, as well. K, on the other hand, was still out cold. We woke him up and got R out of bed and went downstairs to see what Santa brought.

H was first. She got this.

Yep, Santa brought H her very first pet. A fish she has named Spirit (after the horse). She has already commented that taking care of a fish is a lot of responsibility, but I think she is up for the challenge.

K was next. He got this.

A Cars slot car race track. He likes it, but he has a little trouble getting the cars to stay on the track. His dad likes it, too.

M and R are next. M got the football on the ground behind him and R got the hippo toy-thingie that M is playing with.

I forgot to mention that Santa's Elves visited our house on Christmas Eve and left us pajamas. H got Hello Kitty, K got Lego Star Wars, M got dinosaurs and R got purple with hearts. Though you'd never know it looking at this picture. She wet her bed and had to change out of them.

Later in the day Grandma and Grandpa W came over for a visit and to see all the spoils. Then we got ready and took some chips and salsa to the fire station down the street. After that it was on to Christmas dinner at Grandma and Grandpa E's house.

We all had a great Christmas and can't wait to do it again next year. Well, maybe just a little.

(Oh, in case you were wondering, N got a TiVo from Santa and I got a toothbrush and a laundry sorter.)

Stomp Rockets

(K trying it out)

(H jumping from the playground equipment onto the air pumping thing--dad's idea)

(M's turn. Actually, he would stomp on it anytime someone stepped away from it. So, if K stepped away to get a good jump M would stomp on it.)

(N giving it a whirl)

(R watching the other kids have fun)

For Christmas, my parents got K a stomp rocket. The kids have been sending various toys over the backyard fences lately so I was a little leery of letting them do the rockets in the backyard. Today, since N was off work this morning we went to the park and tried it out. I didn't have anything to worry about. It goes high, but not wide.




H loves the video of M and likes it when I put it on a loop so it just keeps playing over and over again.

H on the Monkey Bars