Friday

Fridays are a special day.  They are filled with fun and sometimes feel magical.  This last Friday was no different.  It started with some music.

 

 You can't hear it, but believe me, little Ms. Noelle was pretty good with the bow on that violin.  I don't have a picture of her second turn on it, but the second time she was even holding it the right way.  Perhaps strings will be in her future.

 The fiddler on the roof...  or in the living room. 

 After music, we went to the splash pad at the zoo for some water fun.  We met Morgan, Ethan, Blake and Liz there.  Blake is sitting so good by himself.

Wet Beauty.

Oliver took some convincing to get into the water.

Noelle and Morgan LOVED it!

On the way out of the zoo, I found this monkey hanging from a pole.

 I also saw this monkey.  And honestly, I couldn't help photographing her outfit and accessories.  Someday Morgan is going to ask for this one back. ;)

 This picture of Melanie cracks me up.  She was really excited about the race she would be participating in the next day, and told me to take her picture...  as Super Melanie!  (more on this to come).

What a great day!

Paint a Rainbow

Red, Orange, Yellow, Green, Blue, Indigo, Violet!

Sometimes you just have to paint.  And painting a rainbow for the garden, well, that is just awesome.

 

 

 Especially when there are popsicles following. 

I love my life.

Team Work

I love overhearing conversation that my kids are having.  They are sometimes hilarious, and sometimes very sweet.  Today (while that girls were jumping on the beds... hmm...) I overheard this:

 

Melanie: "Mom worked as an engineer while daddy was in high school"

Noelle: "I know"

Melanie: "That's because she loves daddy and us so much.  It's called team work"

Noelle: "We can have team work too"

Melanie: "Teamwork is for family.  Mommy work when daddy was in school because she made money for him and for us because she loves us.  Isn't that so nice?"

Noelle: "Yes.  I'll have teamwork too".

 

Okay, so I have to say, that conversation right there made my education and short career worth every minute of it.  Yes, family is all about teamwork, and boy howdy do I love them.

(P.S. Daddy wasn't in high school, but in college, but there is no need to correct them.)

Let's Go Fly a Kite

Yesterday, Melanie came home from school with a homemade kite.  It was a lot of fun to try out in our front yard before we came inside, so I had to make more.

 

Then we met our friend, Madison at the park, and flew them.  We made one for her as well.  It was definitely fun.

 

The best part of these kites is that even Oliver can fly them by himself. 

 

 

I think, if it's breezy again, we may do this today as well.  It was so much fun.  If it is windier than breezy, perhaps I'll get the real kites out.  The kids have been enjoying those with dad recently.  (or course, that means I don't have any pictures).  We love spring!



Saturday is a Special Day

Saturday was an amazing day.  It started with the baptism of my niece, Ashley.  Ashley is my brother's sister's daughter, and I remember when she was born.  It's really neat to see her grow up, and I'm so proud of her to make the decision to be baptized.  After the baptism, we went to my nephew, CJ,'s birthday party.  CJ turned 3, and they had a fun party at his house to celebrate. 

 

The morning was a lot of fun, full of a lot of extended family... and would you believe that I forgot my camera.  Yep, I had made a mental note to take it with us.  I put it on the counter.  And yet...  Well, there isn't anything I can do about that.

 

But Saturday night was special too.  We went to the park for dinner again.  I have really enjoyed our recent weather and can't think of a better way to share it with the family then the park.

 

Oliver loves to have the room to run and explore.

Melanie made friends, instantly, with a few girls that were at the park.  They eventually left, but she enjoyed them while they were there.

Brandon made us dinner...  And it was wonderful.  Isn't he handsome?

Mom was at the park too.  Self portraits are much cuter with little people in them.  (Even if the little person is giving the "oh, mom, do I have to" face.)



Oliver thinks he is a big boy that needs to use a big boy cup.  He is pretty determined.  Unfortunately, he hasn't figured out how to do it without drenching himself.

I love my family!

When your Helping...

... You're happy, and you sing as you go!  My house may not be the cleanest in the world, but it is loved and cleaned by all.

 And it is never too early to get a little man to learn how to cook.  I'm raising a good future husband.  That's a lot of responsibility on my shoulders.

Good job kids!  Mom Loves you!

It's a good thing...

It's a good thing that this little man is as cute as he is...

 Or as silly as he is...

Because, otherwise, he would be busted... ALOT!

(and that's just a tiny piece of what I'm talking about.  I have also caught him on TOP of the piano (once on the keys, once on the very top), climbing a chair, which he pushed over to the counter, to get into whatever was up there, and he is always in the bathroom cabinet.  He is definitely a more inquisitive than his sister were.

P.S.  I forgot to mention that last night he pulled the wheels and axel off his red wagon... just because he could.

Easter (the part that is a Celebration of Spring)

In my observation, there are two different celebrations at Easter.  There is the fun, spring time celebration time.  To me, that's the bunnies, ducks, eggs, candy, outdoors, etc.  We celebrate all things that are beautifully blooming.  Then there is the serious, spiritual celebration.  This is when we remember the amazing sacrifice that was given for each and every one of us.  Remembering Jesus, and the Atonement.  In an effort to journal Easter for our family, I'm going to journal the celebration of spring, but do know that along with the fun, we did appreciate and celebrate the more important purpose of Easter at our house.  And that purpose is the life of Jesus, His Atonement for us, and that He lives again.

 

Our Easter fun started on Friday, at the Museum of Natural History.  It has become a family tradition of ours over the last few years to participate in the Dinosaur Egg Hunt.  It was a lot of fun.  Oliver wasn't feeling too well that day, so we didn't stay late, but we did have fun!

 

On Saturday, we did a LOT of fun things.  These things included dying our eggs.  I don't have any "during" photos because I let Oliver dye eggs too, which means I was in on the action.  He got to put the eggs in the colors and everything.  The girls really enjoyed mixing their colors.  It was fun!

 

Saturday afternoon was fun.  Though I don't have any pictures, the truth is, we happened upon a festival.  We did art projects, listened to music, got our face painted, and had free balloon animals made for us.  Oh, and we saw a man juggling clubs while riding on a unicycle.  That was crazy!

 

For dinner, on Saturday, we headed to the Falcon Field Park, and had a dinner picnic.  We brought our cooking stove and made Mexican food while the children played at the park.  It was a lot of fun!

 

Eventually, Easter morning came... and so did the Easter Bunny.  He brought some fun things, including DVD art cases, backpacks, balls, stickers, and candy.  What a nice bunny!

 

It was a good celebration of spring.  The rest of the day was amazing as well.  I hope everyone had a wonderful Easter.