the little ladies

When Amy came to retrieve the "golden girls" and Ben from our house this afternoon, she brought her brand new (week old) baby who was dressed exactly like Emilee!!! Of course we had to take a picture.

"I think I like this little mini me!"

It is so fun to have a girl and be amazed every time she wants to snuggle a baby, or hold a baby doll. It's such a difference than the last three!!! When we go to her cousins house, I can't get her away from Carolyns baby doll. It's so fun.

She loved being close with the baby.Hurray for bitty girls!

April Totals

I am getting ready for a couple of triathlons again this summer, and am in full training mode. This month, I

ran 14 miles
biked 66 miles
and swam 5 miles.

I went 85 miles! And I need to step it up now. This has been my "recovery week" when I give my bod a much needed rest, and then Saturday I begin full swing again. I'm hoping to beat these numbers in May, which shouldn't be hard if I stay healthy. I will work through and peak at the very end of May, then taper the first two weeks of June. Stay tuned for results. . . (I know you're just on pins and needles!!! - or maybe that's only Spencer, whose racing with me and is secretly afraid he's going to get beat by a girl :)

Creativity

I've done a lot of fun things lately that let out a bit of creativity. I've been meaning to make a log. So here goes!
First of all, I did this to my bathroom this past weekend. . . I love yellow! More to come on bathroom updates soon.

I made this cake for a baby shower, which I loved! M&M's are the best for decorating cakes, I have discovered. Simple and cute.

I made these two cute quilts for my friend Michelle who is having boy/girl twins in just a month or so! So excited for her. We've pretty much kept up with each other and babies since college. Our firstborns were only 2 days apart. She suddenly has quite the lead! (take it and run with it honey!) You can see more pictures here.

And this was just a bit of creative parenting, but there was a night that Aidan would NOT eat his soup, and I told him that if he didn't eat it by 6:00 I would dump it on his head. And I did. Then to make it extra torturous I hosed him off with cold water, because you can't go traipsing through the house with split pea soup in your hair. I can't be certain, but I think his manners at the table did improve after the "split pea incident." I hope so anyway. . .

I love being creative, even if it's just a cake or an invitation or a bowl of soup on my childs head. (kidding there) It soothes my soul to make, improve. For a little inspiration about creativity, try this from one of my favorite speakers. It's short. I love it.

If you chance to meet a frown. . .

field trip

Today we made one of my favorite field trips of the year down to the Woodburn Tulip Festival. It was so beautiful and a blue sky day with no mud. The last couple of years, it's been nothing but mud. Here's a little taste of what that's all about. . .

But today, it was all about this. . .

Sunshine! Dry pathways! Happy Children!

Of course, we had to take a few pictures of our favorite little tulips . . .

and sit in the giant wooden shoe. . .

and drive the steam tractors. . .

And ride the giant shoe train. . .

and take fun pictures!

It was such a great day! I almost wish I'd pulled the big boys out of school to come along. But it was nice to just hang with the little guys too. I love the tulip fest!

Sunday Morning

The boys all had haircuts this morning before church and everybody was looking so handsome. So, I set myself up for failure by herding them all out to the front porch for a picture. This was about as good as it got. . .
I did document that they were all sitting there together, as you can see. But that's about it. Anybody with children understands perfectly. It is the impossible task to get everyone looking in the same direction at once (and not making a goofy face).

But, I did catch this cute moment. . .

Ethan loves her so much, and loves holding her. He loves that he's "big enough" to hold her and carry her around sometimes (it does help that she's teensy). She was just so cute sitting there on his lap.

It must be an aunt thing

When my little niece Carolyn comes to visit me, she usually arrives like this. . . But often leaves like this. . .

I just can't resist. I have actually been known to make her new bows to match her outfit for the day. I think it might be a genetic defect or something. Either that or years of being pink deprived.

The other day I called Keren desperate for some help. I had a horrible migraine and couldn't even hold Emilee and feel safe about it. She rescued me and picked up my daughter. When she left she looked about like this. . . and when I picked her up, it was more like this. . .

I don't even know how she got those rubber bands in there! But they were sure cute little sprigs. I added these when we got home. . .
Looking forward to more little sprouts in the near future! And, I'm glad to know it's not only me! :)

Egg Hunt

Today we hosted an egg hunt for all of the kids in our ward. We had about 50 children and almost that many adults. It was such fun, and is definitely my favorite party that we host all year long. Last time we did this, it was POURING rain. We were blessed today with cloudy, but dry weather. Much more pleasant. We collected almost 700 eggs this year.

And this year, because it wasn't raining like crazy, we were able to release the kids in waves. 4 and under first. . .

They had a very pleasant 3 minutes, and then. . .
We released the big guys. They had almost all the eggs picked up in about 15 minutes.

I made 120 of these which were devoured. . .

The kids got all sugared up before lunch time. . .

And even the tiny guys got in on the action.

Did you leave any eggs for me guys?

It was a great party!!!

And I think Gordon might even let me throw it again next year, because when we got home I found this. . .

Ready, Set, Go!

When I saw this on the shelf at the store, I knew Chandler would LOVE it. A helmet that talks with a steering wheel that controls the microphone and start/stop. It's been a NASCAR track around here! A birthday hit!

the Backyardigans

When our empty field behind our house started being developed, we were disappointed. Our private backyard was about to be a little less private. After 6 years with nobody looking in our windows, we were bummed. When we found out the people moving in were going to be in our ward, I definitely had mixed feelings. Our master bedroom looks straight into their master and their living room, and visa versa. Surely we would be friends. Would it be awkward though? "Goodnight neighbors! Sleep well!"

Well, it's not been awkward at all. They are the nicest family, and they have four soon to be 5 very nice little children for our guys to play with. When the weather warmed up and the kids started playing outside, our fence became a climbing wall. Ethan was scaling it and sitting on top and then the girls were sitting on top and we decided we should help them out. Gordon built "rock climbing holds" on both sides of the fence so they could easily go back and forth. It's been so fun to look out the back window and see the girls hovering over the fence asking if the boys can come out to play, and I'm hoping they think the same.

Here are the boys coming home yesterday. . .

So fun! The "golden girls" as my boys call them (the Gold family) are our favorite new playmates! I hope the fun friendship lasts all summer.

Discovery

If I had never been blessed with a daughter, I may never have known. . .
that bloomers make a fabulous beret (not to mention great baby entertainment) during diaper changes! Makes me smile every time!

Grammy, a Biography

Happy 3rd Birthday Chandler!

Today is the conclusion of Birthday Season here at our house. As I went to bed last night, I couldn't help think about where I was 3 years ago on that night. I even got out Chandler's journal and looked at the pages where I had been timing contractions. 6 days overdue and my hips in so much pain. I knew I was finally in labor and I had a doctor that wouldn't believe me, insisting I stay home until my contractions were 3-5 minutes apart. After a long night awake I awakened Gordon and announced that I just couldn't wait any more. Forget 5 minutes apart. We headed outside to find an iced over car that had to be scraped and thawed delaying us further. A very fast and somewhat stressful ride to the hospital, Gordon RUNNING me through the hallways of the hospital in a wheelchair, and the doctor making it in just in time to say happy birthday. It all felt like a scene from a cheesy movie (I was thinking horror film at the time), and it all happened very fast. And then at 4:58 a.m. I got to meet this big (9 lbs!)guy. . . And somehow, over the past 3 years, he's turned into this big guy. . .

He's so excited to be, 3!

Happy Birthday Big Guy!!! I love you, and I'd even do it all again for you. (but I'm glad I don't have to! :)

I took my first steps today!

And actually, I took 3!

Birthday Boys

I cannot let another day go by without acknowledging that two of our guys had their birthdays last week! Gordon on the 21st, and Aidan turned 6 on the 24th. Here they are with their chosen birthday desserts. . .

We had "family parties" this year and skipped the kid party. We've decided to go to every other year. And this year being an even, we had a great time with just the fam. I loved it. Happy bithday guys! I love you both!