Odds and Ends

Warning: semi-gross picture below:)

1. This week started out weird when I noticed our trees are budding already. They just barely lost all their leaves in December (not in October like a normal Autumn - we have abnormal Autumns here). So now it's two months later, and they think they're ready for Spring in February (we obviously have abnormal Springs here too).

2. Things got fun when Alex's pinky fingernail got pulled all the way off. According to Madelyn, she closed the door on his hand.....on purpose (her words, not mine). We spent three hours at the clinic - about 2 hours and 45 minutes of that was in the waiting room. Nothing was broken, Alex didn't even seem to care, and he walked away from it all with just a bandaged finger. The bandage didn't stay on for long (even though I wrapped medical tape around his whole hand numerous times), and about 20 bandages later I gave up.

3. Then I experienced something I have never experienced before - A Pinewood Derby. Let me tell you, it is serious business folks! I never realized how serious little toy cars can be. I wish that I had taken some pictures of some of the amazing cars that people had built. And I'm not talking about boys. This one wasn't just the typical boy scout pinewood derby, this one was for our whole ward, with a specific division for Elders vs. High Priests. Yes, grown men with their little toy cars - spectacular:) You'll be pleased to know that we had a good showing from the Sisters as well, some of whom did quite well in the races. Well, our family decided to enter a car, so we made one. Not nearly as extraordinary as most others, but it was our first time. The kids had a good time (after the initial minor melt-down, and explanation about how we were there to have fun and not to win). And we all walked away with extremely flattering hats, and tummies full of punch and brownies.

Don't be jealous that I look so good in a truck-driver hat. Shout out to everyone who actually wears hats like this - good on ya.

4. To end the week, Alex learned how to climb out of his crib (deep sigh of resignation).

We hope your week was as copacetic:)

My Frog Prince

i Dated a lot of Frogs before you.

we Hopped and we Swam and we Floated there too -

out there in the Pond with our Lily Pads green.

Fishing around, of a few I was Keen.

some let out Croaks, some others caught Flies,

a few had big Warts, and a few seemed quite Wise.

they were all pretty Nice, and I was Okay

to pick from those Froggies and Live out my days.

and then You came along - i just never had Known,

there was a Prince out there I could have for my own.

You showed me a World much more than the Pond.
you were Everything I never knew i Wanted all along.

with You i Dived Deeper and Ripples created,

with You i Jumped Higher. i knew it was Fated

because when we First Kissed it was I who did Change,

i felt like a Princess - a Princess I remained.

you make me feel Special all of the Time.

I Love You my Frog Prince. I'm so glad you are Mine.

Happy Valentine's Day Joe!

The Look of Innocence

So I thought that drool and pancake mix were bad (see previous post) or Desitin and baby powder, but we've discovered something worse. Today Alex rubbed into the couch and carpet a mixture of Cinnamon and Vick's VapoRub - Good Times! They were both sitting out on the counter, (the cinnamon because we had cinnamon toast for breakfast, and the Vick's because Alex was stuffed up last night) so of course it's my fault for leaving those out, but COME ON! GIVE ME A BREAK ALEX! And just look at him. He's so stinkin' cute. It's his best defense mechanism.

FHE

For family home evening we talked about the creation of the world, how beautiful it is, how thankful we are that Heavenly Father created it for us. We talked about the order of the creation, and what was created each day.

At the end of the lesson I asked the kids, "So how many days did it take to create the earth?"

"Six!", they all answered together.

"And what did God do on the seventh day?" I asked.

Cora said, "He Retired!"

I just thought that was cute, so I had to share. By the way, I didn't take this picture, in case you were wondering.

On the Road Again

We spent another weekend away from home, this time to visit Joe's brother's family in Ooooooooooooooklahoma. Joe's parents were visiting too, so we all had a great time together. Highlights from this trip were bowling (during which time we lost Alex without knowing that we had lost him, until Joe went to the bathroom and found him in the arcade); watching The Hulk; talking until way too late at night; watching FOX news (all we have is MSNBC); eating rotissary chicken made on the grill, and homemade chocolate birthday cake, and other good food (Yummy! - It's always about food, isn't it?); seeing and eating Texas long horns at the famous Meers store and restaurant (It's a cowboy burger if it just has mustard, and that's how they want you to order it. If you ask for ketchup it's a yankee burger, because, according to them, ketchup is just for fries. And if you ask for mayo your just a sissy. I really like mayo on my hamburger, but I was too scared to ask for it); and running around at a rest stop, taking pictures, and getting some fresh air. One funny thing that happened was when JT woke up in the middle of the night to find that the night light had been turned off. I woke up to him yelling, very loudly, "I'm scared of the dark! Why did you do this to me?" And we ended our trip by stopping 7 times on our way home (that does not include starting and ending points), even though it was only a 4 1/2 hr. drive. SEVEN TIMES! We thought we were going to have to stop and get a hotel or something. Here are some pics of the trip for you to enjoy!

Anniversary Weekend

We had a wonderful weekend in San Antonio to celebrate our anniversary. It was just us, by ourselves, no kids, thanks to my friends. THANK YOU! Here are some pics of our trip.

Ready to start the weekend.

We had to take advantage of the beautiful weather.

I made a miraculous shot, where the ball skidded off one of these lilly pads, and landed just shy of the green.

Look at that form. Tiger would be proud (yeah right!)

I was proud of Joe when he smacked the ball across these two creeks, and missed the sand trap on the other side.

I want to buy a golf cart.

Inside Rigley's Believe it or Not. This guy just doesn't measure up to Joe.

Toothpicks! Can you believe it?

You can't tell, but this thing was spinning around with lights and everything. Joe almost fell down. Okay, not really.

So it was a great weekend. We also got to spend some time with friends (double date), which was really fun. We went to the wax museum, which was lame. We ate at the Hard Rock cafe, which was good, but maybe overrated. And we just relaxed and enjoyed ourselves. We really needed it, and we really deserved it:)

I don't know how it is for other people, but I always need a vacation after I pack for a vacation. Packing is so stressful. First of all, I'm not just packing for myself. I'm packing for four kids, and sometimes Joe. I'm always worried about forgetting something, and that's not an unfounded worry - 80% of the time I DO forget something. Add to that stress the fact that we were leaving all our kids overnight for the first time, and my stomach was in knots by the time we hit the road for our trip. It took me a good hour of driving time before I started to unwind. But the kids survived (actually, two of them wanted us gone longer), and we got a good break, and all is right with the world.

School and The Rolly Polly Massacre

So I forgot to post about Cora's first school project last month - Flat Stanley. It seems that every second grader on the face of the earth does a Flat Stanley project each year. Weird. What is it about this guy? He's been around since I was a kid. Well anyway, Cora decided her Flat Cora was going to Paris. Here she is giving her report at school.

They also had an open house and invited the families to come and look at everyone's project.

I took Madelyn and Alex to the open house, and Cora loved it.

Yes, she is the one who drew the Eiffel Tower, not me. She's a great little artist. I did, however, photoshop her face onto the Mona Lisa, and everyone thougth that was pretty funny. The Mona Lisa is her favorite painting because it's the only one she knows the name of (her words, not mine).

Also last month at school Cora's class, as well as the other second grade classes, had a "slumber party". They got to wear pajamas to school that day, which Cora thought was great. That same day I had to take something to the school, and I had Madelyn and Alex with me. We passed one of the second grade classes, who were all in the pj's. Then Madelyn says, "I want to go the the underwear party too!" Hmmm, I don't think so.

And speaking of cute things Madelyn says, a while back she came to me, and in a very distraught voice says, "My friends are dead! They're dead! They killed my friends!" After some investigation, I discovered she was talking about rolly pollys (potatoe bugs, or pill bugs for those of you not from the South). I assured her they were in heaven. A few days later, she was outside with Joe and she ran up and said, "Dad! Oh my goodness, there's a dead rolly polly! Dad, we've got to help it. Oh no Dad, there's another one! It's dead too! It's so sad. Look at all these dead ones. The momma's dead, and the daddy's dead, and the brother's dead, and the sister's dead, and the baby's dead. All the kids were killed, Dad. It's so sad." She kind of went on like that for a while, real serious about it too. Now she is obsessed with dead rolly polly's, and we always have plenty of them in the front yard. Here she is with her latest find.

Despite the carnage, we still manage to play in our front yard sometimes. Here we are the other day - another lovely January day in the 70's - enjoying our bikes.