David

                                                                

 You know, normal kids take pictures of each other when they get a hold of a camera.  Or their room, or clothes, shoes, etc.  Not my daughter.  She takes pictures of naked kids in books.  I don't know if you can tell, but this is David running away without his clothes on.  I guess Dare thought it was good subject matter.

Hey, maybe this is the start of an inspired career.  After all, she wasn't the first one to think a naked David was good inspiration...

This made me laugh even more.  She gets upset when G tries to take her naked David away.

                                                              

Yay for videos!  I'm glad I had someone (Shelle) to help me figure out how to put them on my blog.  iMovie... duh.

Sunny, 68*

I thought today would be a good day to remember last week when the weather was nice, and we spent a lovely day at the zoo.

This week has been snowy and cold.

That kid next to Dare is not G.  You almost just assume it is.  But no, he is someone else's kid.

MoDA

There is an art museum in my basement.  

One day the girls thought their art was good enough to make a museum out of it.  This is just the first phase.  I imagine it will grow and grow.  I love how they named their pieces.  Here are a few of my favorites...

Abstract Girl by B.A.

The House of Doom by Rhon

The Peaceful Place by B.A.

Fire on the House by Dare

Together Forever

Nate and I went to the temple this evening.  And without detracting from the specialness of this event, I have a story to tell.  Our schedule was tight because we went to the Provo Temple to be with Trey his first time through.  We like to start these outings by kneeling together in prayer.  Nate asked the girls to keep an eye on G for a few minutes and we went to our room together.  Mads followed us and said he wanted to pray too.  As sweet as that is, we wanted to say a prayer together alone.  As Nate shut the door and locked it before Mads could come in, he starts throwing a fit outside our door.  We try to ignore it and start anyway.  Mads stops, and shortly after Dare tries to open the door.  When she figures out it's locked she starts screaming mom through the cracks.  I hear her walk away and say something about unlocking it (they can all unlock our door).  So I decide to interrupt Nate and tell her we will be out in a couple minutes.  She stops the break-in, but doesn't leave the doorway.  Then we hear a massive banging on our door.  Not just once, over and over.  It sounds like she is stepping back to get a running start, and ramming her whole body against our door.  Then I hear Dare say, "No, B.A.  They said they would be out in a minute!"  All the while, continuing her rhythmic banging.  B.A. says, "But G wants Mom sooooo bad!"  In between the bangs I can hear G wailing.  I think it was the last few bangs that did it for me.  I break into uncontrollable laughter.  As we laughed and tried to finish up, our babysitter rings the doorbell and Paris barks.  Loudly.  The whole situation seemed so comical to me.

I love my family.  I love that we can laugh together and pray together.  I love that we have 7 completely different personalities all in one place.  And it works.  It is perfect. 

This picture is hilarious, and I think it goes with  my story.  Dare is practically crying.  Rhon looks like she is annoyed and bored all at the same time.  B.A. looks happy that she is on top.  Mads is trying to figure out how to pile on, and G just wants to get in on the action.

Pay It Forward

It's a game!  Games are my favorite things in the whole world!  Thanks Marian!

So, here's how it works: the first 3 people to leave a comment on this post will receive, at some point during the year, a handmade gift from me.  What is will be and when it will arrive is a total surprise!  The catch is that you must participate as well.  Before you leave your comment, write up a pay it forward post on your blog to keep the fun going (or copy and paste like I did).  Then come back, let me know you're going to play, and sit back and anticipate the arrival of your gift!  Come and play!

Unlike Marian, I will only be sending something to the first 3 people.  Come on people!  I have lots of Rock Band to play in my spare time!

Extra

G now has 8 teeth.

Mads has a new way of talking.  He repeats himself.  For example, he will say, "I need to go pee.  I do."  Or, "I built a tower.  I did."  He does this with pretty much every sentence that comes out of his mouth.  He does.

G's new nick name is Moto Moto.  Because we like his zestiness.

We went to a U of U gymnastics meet last night.  The girls loved it.  The two younger ones.  B.A. didn't go.

I bought Cocoa Krispies and Pop Tarts at Walmart last time.  What is wrong with me?

In fact, I don't think I have made a warm meal in 2 days!

Rhon has been screaming a lot.  For fun, of course.  But it sounds like she is dying, or watching someone die.  An activity we must cut off immediately.

March is the month of spring!  We are so excited.

Mads has a fever.  Why can't we be healthy?

Dare is developing a bad habit of never doing anything for herself.  She is constantly asking either Mads or Jack to everything for her.  And they will do it!  "Thanks Jackie Love."

March 7, 2009 is an exciting day.  Very exciting.

I just realized I said something about all the kids but B.A.  Since I can't think of any news about her, I asked her for some ideas.  She came in here and started to squawk.  When I looked at her like she was crazy, she said, "What?  I'm a velociraptor."  Then she said, "Well, bye bye" and ran off to play video games.  

Quick story:     The other night at dinner Rhon asked if we could pray like Muslims.  It seemed totally random.  Then she got down on the floor and asked which direction Mecca was, then demonstrated how they pray.  She threw out her pretend prayer rug, knelt down and bent all the way over with their arms stretched out.  Dare took a special interest in this demonstration.  She wanted to pray like Muslims too, but she kept calling them Muglins.  Nate thought that sounded like Islamic non-wizarding folk.  Dare decided they do it that way because they must not have tables to rest their elbows on.  This conversation was in now way disrespectful.  We explained that different religions have different ways of praying, and Heavenly Father is happy when anybody prays.  

The Games

G is super sick.  I am just sitting on the couch with him in my arms.  I will probably be here most of the day.  The other day I was wishing he would let me hold him the way he did when he was 6 months old.  Now all I want is for him to feel like himself again.

I have been looking at my pictures.  I found these and thought they were entertaining.  They were taken in November.

If there is ever a bag of mini marshmallows in our house, you can guarantee that we will end up throwing them at each other.  If you haven't tried this game, you are missing out on all kinds of fun.  Marshmallows are perfect because they fly well, and they don't hurt if you miss or if they hit a tooth.  I love starting this game by telling the kids to open their mouths as big as they can.  They will just sit there with their mouths open until they have a marshmallow to chew up.  In each picture there is a small, bright-white flying object.

Miss!

With G, it's just like chucking something at him.  He hasn't quite grasped the concept yet.

That one is going to make it.  Admittedly, it is hard to miss that cavernous opening.

Don't judge because my counter is so messy.  It looks like we were baking something.  Sheesh!

Love and Beauty

The kids and I were able to attend the Draper Temple open house on Wednesday.  I knew it was going on, but it didn't occur to me to take them until last Sunday.  I sometimes don't even consider activities because they seem out of my capabilities.  When I looked at the reservation schedule, I realized Nate would not be able to go with us.  I knew it wouldn't be easy, but I had to give my kids this opportunity.  I'm glad I did.  It was really nice to be able to show them the beautiful rooms and tell them what they are for.  I think they liked the Bride's Room the best.  As we walked through the men's locker room, Rhon said, "This isn't as pretty as the Bride's Room."  They were thrilled with the mirrors in the Sealing Room.  I kept lifting them up one at a time so they could see themselves forever.  I remember going through the San Diego Temple as a kid and being glad for the experience.  I hope they can remember it.  They were so good.  Even Dare.  EVEN MADS.  G, not so much.  But I did go at his nap time.  Luckily we just kept moving, and didn't give him time to get too bored.  But you know how they say it is a silent tour?  Not with my clan!  G was kind of loud.  I'm just glad he didn't puke on one of the super nice white chairs.  (Or carpet, or couch, or curtains, etc.)

Here we are at the church having cookies.  We dubbed this the "Cookie Room".

This was as close as I could get to getting all 5 of them in the picture.  As you can imagine, G did not want to sit still.  Especially after not being able to run around for the last hour or so.

These crack me up.  The four all giving me fake smiles, and G playing in the dirt.

P.S.  I called Aspen before we left to ask about the possibility of strollers.  Aspen didn't think I could bring one.  Then Aspen texted back and said that she would take G for me.  That was so nice of Aspen.  I seriously contemplated it before telling Aspen no thanks.  You rock Aspen!

That is 6 times!!!

White Stuff

                                                  

This is the view of the eastern mountains as I was driving out of my neighborhood on Thursday.  Stunning.

The weather was so nice on Friday, we just had to take a walk.  Not that I didn't know it before, but the mountains in Utah are amazing.  I had to take a picture of the view from my house looking to the west...

... and to the east.  Too bad it was garbage day.  

*****

This is what we had for dessert tonight.  For your viewing pleasure.  Yes, my husband is amazing.

FHE: Fun, Happy, Exasperating

Family Night Basketball

Let me set the stage for you...

The time:  

Monday night, 7:30 on a school night.  February 2009.

The place:  

My unfinished basement.  The concrete feels like ice on your bare feet.  The ceilings are low. The lights are dim, because of a couple missing, or burned out light bulbs.  There could be anything creeping around in the shadows.  Spiders, crickets, MONSTERS!

The cast:  

Dad - Responsible for this activity.  Trying to explain a game to the rest of the cast.  Desperate to make it fun for everyone, despite the craziness.  

Mom - Keeping the baby from trouble, fetching balls, taking pictures.

7 year old - Unequivocally independent.  Refuses to listen to a better way to shoot the ball. Will continue to do it her own way despite efforts by the parents to teach her.  Makes a few baskets.  Finally tries it the right way and does much better.

6 year old - Thoroughly enjoying herself, listens to instructions, shares balls, and makes lots of baskets.

5 year old - Doesn't listen to the rules of the game, and doesn't even try to play.  Insists on making the basket higher.  Sits out until we raise the hoop.  Runs around like she has a screw lose, steals balls, and makes even more baskets.  Almost all of them.

2 year old - Steals everyone's balls, gets in the way, doesn't follow the rules, and makes a quite a few baskets, some of which seemed almost accidental.

1 year old - Just feeling happy that he is finally allowed to go downstairs.  Throwing balls, and playing with toys he has never seen before.

The game didn't last long.  Nate and I gave up on trying, and ended up passing a soccer ball to each other and heading it into a goal.  Even though these things never go as planned, those kids like it more than LDS women like sparkly vampires. 

Pinkalicious

So, it really felt like Valentine's Day was on Friday.  It really confused me.  I even went to buy candy and balloons on Friday and expected them all to be half price.  I looked at the cashier like she was crazy before I told myself for the 96th time that it wasn't until Saturday.  I think my confusion was due to the fact that the school girls celebrated at school on Friday.  On Thursday, we put together 101 homemade valentines in 1.75 hours.  And the boxes had to be created of course.  Then they came on Friday with looks on their faces that you can only get from partying all day.  And lots of candy.  Of course it felt like Valentine's Day.  But we made pink cupcakes on Saturday anyway.  Even though I felt like the excitement was dwindling.  I think it might be one of the girls' favorite holidays.  Hopefully it is because of the candy, not because of the dumb boys. 

Why did I only take pictures of him, you ask?  Because he is the cutest, and he is my favorite.

Nothing Else

The gap.

Running around the coffee table.  I am always amused when my kids run for fun.

Notice the leotard?

Rhon reading to her younger siblings.  She is always willing to read to them.  Check out Dare's lipstick job.

I thought she was so cute sitting there, eating grapes, and reading a magazine.

From forever, Mads has sucked on his tongue.  I don't know how else to describe it.  He still does, so it ends up hanging out when he falls asleep.

Menace

An Evening In The Life

of Bub

I haven't known as much trouble as this child.  Did I forget?  Maybe, but I don't think so.  He is like a combination of all the naughtiness of Dare and Mads.  Dare's agility and fearlessness, and Mads' bad judgement.  The worst time of the day is when he wakes up from his nap.  I am distracted with cleaning up, and dinner.  I can't prevent his messes, or follow him around making sure he doesn't climb to the roof.

  

He walks around finding all the things he shouldn't do.  His first stop is always the book shelf.  Every book within reach is thrown to the floor.  If someone is watching TV or playing video games, he will without fail push the power buttons on all the electronics.  He notices a stray crayon on the floor.  After he bites the tip off and happily crunches that up, he proceeds to write on whatever is handy.  This usually includes the books on the floor, or his own belly.  He takes the trek to my bedroom where he goes straight to the bathroom.  He doesn't have to think about what he wants to do next.  The cabinets are opened and emptied before I even know he is gone.  His new joy is to empty the cotton ball bag and eat lotion.  When I find him, I walk him back out to the living room.  He'll stop at one of the stools and climb on it.  He'll reach on the counter to see if there is a drink he can spill or a stack of papers he can fling all over the floor.  If the stool doesn't tip over, he is doing pretty good and wants to take more chances.  He'll climb on the couch and head straight for the end table.  He loves to stand on it.  He likes the one close to the fireplace.  If he fell, he would fall onto tile, and he likes the extra hazard that provides.  And he doesn't just stand, he dances and bounces.  I remove him from his current danger and he squeals.  That is also a new trick.  A nasty shriek that he makes whenever I take something from him or redirect him.  He is feeling like he needs to take more risks.  So he finds something else to climb on.  The stove.  He climbs on my stove.  Why not?  It can start on fire, so it is the perfect thing to climb on.  When I calm myself from my mini heart attack, I pick him up and set him down carefully.  He runs away happily to the other bathroom.  Lucky for him, the door is open, so he lifts the lid to the toilet and gives his hands a cool refreshing bath.  Is there a better way to treat your hands after touching a hot stove?  I pick him up to wash his hands.  As I tell him no, he smiles at me.  Smiles.  He knows.  He knows exactly what he is doing. 

Darey Lou Retton

How do I keep my windows clean?  Like all the time?  I noticed this a half hour after I cleaned it.  No time to retrain my kids.

*****

Dare LOVES wearing leotards.  She will ask me every day if she can put one on.  And then she will wear it all day.  She practices her handstands and cartwheels.  She runs around, jumps and leaps.

She looks adorable in them.  She is so strong and muscular.  She looks like she has been doing gymnastics for years.

*****

Last night my family was having a conversation about adjectives.  Yes, we are all a bunch of dorks who talk about words in our free time.  Anyway, Rhon was having fun describing all the objects in the house.  This is what she said...

"G is... CUTE.  The couch is... GREEN.  Dare is... BOUNCY.  Mads is... SMART.  Rock Band is... FUN.  The television is... MAGICAL!"

At that point we were all laughing.  All the adjectives were said in her high pitched, dreamy, six year old voice.  

Red Door

Confessions...

There have been times when I pretend not to see my kids doing bad things just so I don't have to discipline them.

Sometimes I play Dr. Mario for a couple hours in the middle of the day.

Sometimes I play Rock Band for an hour or so in the middle of the day.

I bought a chocolate cake from Costco today even though I still need to lose weight.  I will probably eat half of it.  It was on sale though.  $5 off!

When I was eating said cake, I didn't even wait to cut a piece.  I just grabbed a fork and dug in.

Sometimes G needs a new diaper for a LONG time before I change it.

I am teaching Relief Society on Sunday, and I haven't even started planning it.  I don't even know the topic yet.

I hate cleaning.  When all my kids are in school, I would rather get a job than to stay at home and clean.  I will pay someone to do it, even if I break even.

I never go to sleep before midnight, and I'm usually up past 1 am.