Banned!

Connor has now been banned from the kitchen cupboards. He used to just pull out a few things here and there...now he'll pull out everything he can from every cupboard (including all the garbage). And I can tell with his determined little personality that it's only gonna get worse. So we broke down and bought child locks again. Dallin installed a few for me the other night (with Savannah helping...she loves power tools and helping Daddy fix things much more than the boys). Oh man...what's this thing on here! Let me in!

Here's a little synopsis of our week...

The weather here has been perfect this last week so we've spent lots of time outside before it gets too hot. The kids love to go early to pick up Jacob at school because there's a big field we can play in...Savannah picks the wildflowers and Zach hunts for ladybugs. He's terrified of most bugs but he actually let me put a ladybug on his arm the other day. He giggled for a minute and then said "Okay, it's Savannah's turn now."

Jacob got to go on a field trip yesterday to a farm. He had a great time and said his favorite part was the hayride.
Last night I went out with friends to the Cheesecake Factory to celebrate a couple of their birthdays. I had never been there and it was really fun! I'm grateful to have good friends I can relax with. Lately having my "girl's nights" have been so important to recharge me for our busy life. Thanks Dallin for always being willing to let me go and watching the kids!
Today Savannah gets to go to a birthday party for her friend April...she's really excited because they're going to have a bounce house. Oh the simple joys of being 3.
We had to cancel our trip to Virginia this summer because Aunt Carrie and Uncle Jeremy are moving at the beginning of May instead of June. So now we're planning a trip to Port Aransas, TX (right by Corpus Christi...just 3-4 hours away) to stay in a condo just steps from the beach. The Texas State Aquarium is there and also an aircraft carrier that you can tour (Jacob is really excited about that part). We'll be there for my birthday and I'm so excited for our kids to finally see the ocean!

Sidewalk art & "birdsticks"...

This past Wednesday I promised the kids that we'd go to the park right after school. Well of course it started raining about 2 minutes before Jacob got out of school. So we went home and played in the rain for a while (it was only sprinkling by then). Then I got out the sidewalk chalk and they had a great time on the back porch...Jacob was nice enough to let Connor smudge up his artwork. Connor had a blast. I know that he probably gets jipped on some things, being the 4th kid...but he definitely gets to have more fun and get dirtier.

They made quite the masterpiece by the time they were done (and spent the whole afternoon doing it). The entire back porch was COVERED in beautiful art. I'm sad I didn't get a picture of the finished product.

A couple of weeks ago in preschool Zach learned all about birds and wanted to make a birdfeeder. So yesterday the boys and I walked to the "forest" next to the school to get some good sticks (coming from Arizona it really is like a forest). We then smothered them in peanut butter and then rolled them in birdseed. Savannah calls them "birdsticks." We tied them in the tree with yarn. So far we haven't seen any birds and the peanut butter was starting to melt off...but hey, it was fun.

The finished product...

Cute Connor "movie"

My techinical skills are not the greatest...sorry there's no sound. I did this with my digital camera. But I wanted a sample of Connor's cute little personality for family to see. He loves to run everywhere lately and his favorite game is "I'm gonna get you!"

Happy Birthday Savannah!

Savannah is 3!!! I can hardly believe it. She's such a fun little girl with lots to say about everything. We started the day letting her open a present from us...the Littlest Petshop Clubhouse. She loves it and carried her "kids" around all day (any type of animal is her "kid" and she now has 8 petshop "kids"). I love it because it closes up with all of the animals inside...instant storage.Savannah wanted to use her Dora "beach" toys for her cake. The only way I could get Dora and Boots to stand was to bury them a little in the "sand." Savannah's excited to go to the beach for the first time when we go visit Aunt Carrie in June (near Washington D.C.).

Pretty happy with her haul...and she doesn't even know what's in them yet! She got a cute polka-dot dress from the Strongs, a new laundry hamper for her room, a couple of books and a little Dora "play" blanket.

Grandma & Grandpa LeSueur gave her this Dora & Diego Aquadoodle mat. As you can see, the boys were just as excited about it as Savannah was.

Yes, her pigtail almost caught on fire just as I was taking the picture. I was also holding the video camera and didn't notice...luckily Dallin saw it and saved her beautiful hair.

Dallin & the kids playing with the Aquadoodle. If you've never seen one they're pretty cool. It's a sort of cloth mat that's waterproof underneath. You fill up the little pen with water. It turns blue when you write but then dries out after a few minutes. This particular mat has a Dora car that will follow the lines you draw (there's a little sensor underneath). I think even Dallin was impressed.

Connor learned a new word today..."Dora." He says Mama & Dadda and can sort of say "all done," "more," and "milk." But he heard Dora on the TV today and yells "Do-ah!" Then he kept saying it anytime he saw something with Dora. Still can't say any of his siblings names...but we'll keep working on it.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY AUNT STEPHANIE!
Savannah was born on her Aunt Stephanie's birthday (Dallin's sister)!
(Side note: 3 of our kids were born on relative's birthdays...Jacob on my Aunt Colleen's and Connor on my Grandmother's.)

Spring is here!

Well spring is here and I'm loving it! There's flowers everywhere and it's so green!!! These are some random pictures from the last few days...For those of you who thinks Savannah's hair is always perfect...it's not. She doesn't care if it's in her face lately so I don't have to be putting it back all the time.

Connor LOVES the kitchen cupboards...they're his favorite toy lately. His favorite is the tupperware because they spin really good on the tile.

Today I made a trip down to the cannery in San Antonio and this is what I brought home. Our poor car was so loaded down. We hardly had any food storage so we got a good start...mostly the basics like flour, sugar and rice. Hopefully that would last our family a little while at least if there was some catastrophe.

Savannah's favorite backyard activity is picking the "flowers"...they're really weeds, but don't tell her because then we don't have to mow as often.

Connor loves to bang and throw the frisbees. He just figured out how to step off the porch and run down our little hill too, which is very exciting for him each and every time he does it.

The boys playing some T-ball.

Kindergarten & Chuck E. Cheese

This morning we registered Zach for kindergarten! As we walked out he said "Do I get to come to Jacob's school tomorrow?" When I told him not until after summer he seemed a little relieved. It's a huge school and I think he was a little overwhelmed at the thought.Tonight we went to Chuck E. Cheese! We had a sort-of joint birthday party with M...Savannah's best friend (basically our families and a few of M's extended family). M's birthday was today and Savannah's is on Monday. They had a great time. It's so cute to watch them together (except when they fight like sisters).

Savannah insists on bringing Heidi (her hippo) everywhere lately. Savannah told me that Heidi loved riding the carousel because she loves the horsies.

Opening her present from M...a princess pillow, phone, tiara & earrings.

Connor didn't know quite what to think of the carousel. He mostly liked looking in the mirror next to him.

Savannah driving Connor & Chuck.

All the boys playing some shoot 'em game with Daddy...totally enthralled.

Jacob spent most of the time in this jet simulator game...and got pretty good at it!

Dallin & Zach playing "Jurassic Park."

Savannah's thinks she is big stuff now that she has her own earrings. She wanted to sleep in them but I told her that might be a little uncomfortable. What a fun day.

Jacob's Musical

Jacob's 1st Grade Musical was last night. He had so much fun and did a great job! It was titled "Zoo-Riffica!" They went on a "trip around the world" by singing songs about animals from different countries around the world. The kids were supposed to dress in clothes from the country their family is from (we actually have a lot of kids at the school whose parents are from other countries). Jacob is on the top row in the red shirt. We had fun watching you Jacob!

Savannah Quotes

On the way home from Chuck E. Cheese:
Mom: "Look, Daddy's right behind us!"
Savannah: "I want to see!"
Mom: "No, I can't stop or Daddy will crash into us."
Savannah: "I want to see Daddy crash into us!!!"
After we get home:
Savannah: "Daddy, I want to see you crash into us!"
Dallin: "What?!"


Savannah: "I'm going to look for Heidi."
Mom: "Where is she?"
Savannah: "I don't know. I will say 'Heidi, where are you?' Then I will find her!"
Mom: "Really. You're pretty cute Nana."
Savannah: "I know I cute. I just a cute girl! Connor's a cute boy too."