Flower picking

Today was so beautiful outside. Maybe even a little warm in the afternoon. We went to our neighborhood "Spring Fling" for a few minutes. We were going to do the Easter egg hunt, but decided against it and just went for a few minutes to jump in the bouncy house. The kids had a blast, and are fine with us doing our own egg hunt next weekend. After that we went over to the trail to "show Daddy the flowers."Jacob likes the roly-polies better than the flowers.

I love this. Zach loves the flowers just as much as Savannah, but has apparently gotten too old to be carrying around a bunch of flowers. So he gives them all to Savannah for her bouquet.

This afternoon Savannah and I went out shopping for a few hours. We ordered her a new dresser, which we'll pick up next week. We also got her a bed frame and box spring, so she has a real "big girl bed." She was so excited when I put it up. We looked all over for a new quilt or bedspread, but didn't find one we liked (for a price that I liked at least). After we got home she said "I think I just want my pig blanket still." So I guess I just need to get a bedskirt and she's good for now. Next week after her dresser is here we'll start taking down her artwork and do a little decorating with some shelves and picture frames that I already have and hang some curtains.

Jacob is 9!

Jacob turned 9 years old yesterday! He said it was the "greatest birthday ever." We started out letting him open a giftcard for Target on Thursday night. He had another giftcard that he had earned from the orthodontist, so with the two combined he could get a big lego set that he'd been wanting.

Friday morning we left the house at 7:15am to get the little kids and Zach all dropped off where they needed to be. Then Jacob came with Dallin and I to the doctor for our ultrasound appointment. He loved seeing the different parts of the baby (brain, heart, etc.) and seeing him trying to suck his thumb. After the doctor he and I went to Target where he bought this awesome Space Police lego set.I then took him to school, where they were having Science Day. He said that was pretty cool because he got to do fun lab experiments instead of the normal stuff. I brought McDonald's to him for lunch and he also had sugar cookies to share with the class. The second he walked in the door after school he started working on his legos.

Jacob wanted to have a movie night for his birthday, so I let him invite his two good friends from school. As soon as they got here the boys immediately started a balloon war, which Connor thought was the greatest thing ever.

We had pizza and then opened presents. His favorites were this Bakugan watch from Zach, a new computer game from Dallin, a lego set & science set from his friends, and a Ben 10 lego thing from Grandma & Grandpa.

Then we had cake, and Zach made sure that Connor was sitting very far away (Connor tried to blow out Zach's candles in December).

We pulled out all the legos, Bionicles, etc. and the boys had a great time playing while they watched Star Wars: The Phantom Menace.

As soon as the movie started I set up a Scooby-Doo movie for Connor & Savannah in Connor's room. They thought it was so great to have their own movie night (thankfully) and went to bed at their normal bedtime. Jacob & Zach got to bed pretty late, but had a great time!

It's a boy!

It's a BOY!!!

We're so excited! He looks great and healthy so far. The ultrasound was very fun because Jacob came with us. Today is his birthday, and we let him miss a couple hours of school to come. He thought it was really cool to see the baby moving all around and the heart beating. This little guy kept trying to suck on his fingers the whole time. This was the first time they've ever done a 3D ultrasound for us, and it was pretty cool. Savannah was a little sad when I told her, but is fine now because I told her we could get to work on decorating her room. I think Connor will like having a little brother.

Spring Break 2010

The kids have been home all week for Spring Break. Here are some of the highlights:

On Tuesday, March 16 the kids got a new cousin! Dallin's brother Daniel and his wife had their first baby, a little boy named Russell Daniel Strong.

Connor also started potty-training on Tuesday! He is doing so great. I knew he was getting close to being ready so that morning I bought some little prizes for him when we went to Walmart (4 kids at Walmart...in the pouring rain). He doesn't like candy very much so I got some metallic plastic easter eggs and a package of pellets that turn into little shapes in warm water. He LOVES them and gets so excited to watch them "pop out."Here's his prizes after less than a full day. It's still gonna be a long while I think, but he's doing so well there is absolutely nothing to complain about. Good job Connor!

On Wednesday the kids all had dentist appointments. No cavities!!! It was Connor's first time in the big chair and getting his teeth cleaned with the little buzzing thing. He did really well until they started buzzing in his mouth and then he was not very happy. But overall it was a successful visit. We also went to the park and enjoyed some great weather in the afternoon.

On Thursday we went to the Cameron Park Zoo in Waco, TX with the Benoits. I was able to fit them all in my new van, which made the drive more fun. We haven't been to the zoo at all since moving to Texas, so the kids were thrilled. Connor was so excited, since he doesn't remember the only visit he's ever had to the zoo when we went in AZ. This zoo was great because it had all sorts of play areas and fun things for the kids to do mixed in with the animal exhibits.

They loved the treehouse...

I LOVE Texas in the spring. Arizona is pretty, but Texas is beautiful when all the trees start getting blossoms. I love all of the trees that turn white before they get their green leaves, like this one.

They had an awesome place with all kids of fish. Zach was in heaven. He has decided that he wants to be an oceanographer when he grows up (for now).

We all really liked the tigerfish...

Jacob & Savannah's favorite part was the clear slide that went through the sea otter exhibit. The sea otters can swim over and under it while the kids are in there. They went down that a few times. If you click on the picture you can see them all lined up, slowing going through. First Connor, then Jacob, Zach, and Savannah.

I love that Zach is so into nature. It's so sweet. He's always finding pretty flowers and stuff for Savannah to look at, and it's something that they love to do together. Next to the buffalo exhibit (which was pretty smelly) they had some fun tee-pees for the kids to play in.

Connor LOVED it!

There was also a really big reptile house (that was also really smelly). We walked in and Connor said "What's that smell? It's a stunk!" But it had lots of really cool stuff to see in it. The boys really liked that each snake or lizard had a sign that told if it was poisonous or not.

We finally made it to the giraffes! That's what Connor had been waiting for. He was so excited that he had to make sure that everyone around him knew that they were looking at giraffes. In this picture he's telling the mom next to us (that we didn't know) that the giraffes are over there..."Look, over there, giraffes!!!" This is such a good shot of Connor and I. Too bad it's not such a good shot of the elephant. It made me laugh.

The boys tried to be our guides...

Of everything we saw the entire day, this waterfall was by far Connor's favorite thing. I have no clue why he loved it so much, but I had to pull him away from it a few times to catch up to the others.

There were no monkeys or orangutans out playing during our entire visit. Hopefully we'll get to see them next time. But the kids didn't mind. They were excited to BE monkeys.

Afterward we went to McDonald's for lunch. I have to note for journaling purposes that Connor stayed dry in his pull-up for the entire trip (which was about 7 hours total). He didn't do so well after we got home, but I was still impressed!

Today (Friday) we went on a walk on our favorite neighborhood trail. It was so peaceful and we had fun taking our time and exploring. We saw a woodpecker and squirrels and the kids had fun collecting flowers and pill bugs. Connor had a handful of these purple flowers for the entire walk. He kept saying "Purple is my favorite color. These are like purple grapes!" They actually did look like little bunches of purple grapes.

Savannah picked a pretty bouquet of flowers and was excited to show them to her "puppy" when we got home.

Blue & Gold Banquet

Last night was the Cub Scout Blue & Gold Banquet. The boys each had to make a cake that was based around a book or story. Jacob did the "Magic Treehouse." (If you're not familiar it's a very popular series for early elementary age readers.) He did a great job on the cake. I did the words and the ladder, but he put on most everything else. Great job Jacob!Connor wanted to "help" so we let him play with some sprinkles that still had the plastic seal on them. Apparently plastic safety seals are not Connor-proof. It's hard to tell in the picture but there are chocolate sprinkles in a 5-foot radius around Connor.The kids LOVED seeing all the different cakes that the boys had made. Zach was glued to that table throughout the entire night. When it came time for the auction Jacob was very happy with the cake he got...a lightning bolt Zeus cake (from Percy Jackson & the Olympians).

Jacob has awesome den moms and leaders. He got a silver arrow tonight and they recognized that he will be a Bear at the end of this month.

Jacob's Magic Treehouse cake was awarded the "Most Fun." He was thrilled.

New Car!

We got a new car this morning! Well, new to us at least. Our van was getting pretty old and it was getting to be time for a new one. We were lucky to find out from a friend about a program in our county where we can trade in our old car for a lot more than it's worth, being that it was more than 10 years old. They do this to help with air pollution. We decided to do it now, just in case the funding for that ever ran out.

It is a 2009 Toyota Sienna LE. One of the main things we liked is that it seats 8 people comfortably. But we can take out the 8th seat very easily when we don't need it. The empty space next to Jacob is where the 8th seat goes. The kids are very excited because it has a power sliding door and rear AC. I'm excited to have tons more cargo space in the back and a CD player. Such luxuries.

Flew the Coop

The kids are so sad. Our birds left, and took their almost-finished nest with them. One of the neighbor's cats has been prowling on our back porch a few times a day, staking out the nest. So the birds dismantled their nest little by little and took it somewhere else. Zach said "Let's call a cat exterminator. I'm mad at that cat." I agree. (Sorry for all you cat lovers...we're not fond of them at our house. At all. And Dallin is very allergic to them.)

Update

Well I guess it's time for an update. We've had lots of little things going on, but nothing huge. I'll have more pictures next week since we've got cub scout stuff and Spring Break coming up. Here's a run down on everyone.

Jacob is looking forward to his birthday. He & Zach got to go to their friend Ethan's baptism on Saturday, which he enjoyed. Jacob is almost a Bear and earned one more arrow point as a Wolf in cub scouts. They finished bird feeders last week and we just hung it in the tree out front. Jacob just started reading Harry Potter. I had to read the first couple of chapters out loud and then he was hooked.

Zach just finished Abrakadoodle, which is an after-school art class. He had been wanting to do it since kindergarten. It wasn't quite what he expected though. Apparently he thought he would just have free reign of the art room to do whatever he wanted. He still had fun though. I think his favorite day was when he got to make a slug out of modeling clay. Here are some of his projects (the rainbow is Savannah's and the scribbles are Connor's though on the art wall). Zach was home sick yesterday and today with a fever. Hopefully it doesn't spread again.

Savannah went to Kindergarten Registration yesterday! She's very excited and a little nervous to start school in the fall. She said to me "How about I'll try it out and then if I get bored you can come and get me." I told her that I was pretty sure she wouldn't be bored. She is so bored at home right now I think she will LOVE kindergarten. Savannah is very excited about the new baby and is constantly thinking about it and asking me questions.

Connor has decided that he is done with naps. It's been a week and a half now with no nap. I still make him lay down for quiet time every day though for at least an hour, and he is okay with that. A couple of days after he stopped napping he also started not wanting to go to sleep at night. And then he was waking up at 4:30 or 5:00am. Not fun for me. And he was so cranky from all the lack of sleep. Three nights ago he cried for an hour before he fell asleep but I stuck to my guns and didn't let him out. Last night he didn't even fuss at all. Yeah for sticking with it! I'm fine with no naps as long as he's sleeping good at night.

I'm popping out, as Savannah would say. This was a couple of weeks ago, at about 4 months along. I've been a little more sick, but nothing I can't handle. Mostly I'm just tired. A lot. And I eat like 7 meals a day.

(Photo courtesy of Jacob)

Dallin is doing good. He takes good care of us and works hard. We love him!

Our birdie friends are back. They're just finishing up their nest. The kids love seeing them out there every morning and hearing the Daddy bird guard the nest. He sits on the fence just below and chirps his little head off.

I tried to get a picture of the mom in the nest but she got scared and left. Immediately when she flew off the dad flew up to protect it and started squawking at me.

Surgery

Who knew that surgery could be so fun?