Some Pics

Sophie has grown up a lot lately. Here are a couple of pictures that we took before pre-school a few weeks ago. We are so, so, SO excited that Spring is finally here.


We had a pie eating contest at our Branch Activity last week. William was defeated by Lizzie this year. Landon was declared the winner of his group after a tough decision. He and Spencer had about the same amount of pie left in the pan, but the judges ruled that Spencer had more pie left on his face. Good times.


Landon had a fourth grade school performance. They did a great job singing about sharing, being nice, and having good character.

The highlight of our month was a visit from Aunt Kellie. We had all sorts of fun with Kel. Here are a few pictures of our miniature golf trip. Vince won, but I was a close second. Then Kellie treated us all to Red Lobster. Thanks Kellie!



Audrey doesn't want to wear clothes anymore and we fight about this several times a day. I am a mean mom and won't let her go places without pants. Here she is at home, sporting a diaper and her pink Converse.

While Kellie was here, she put some highlights in my hair. It is a lot blonder than I had anticipated. I am not sure if I should try to cover it with more dark hair dye or just leave it. Here I am with a goofy expression.

And More Kid Stuff

On Friday, William went on a field trip with his class. First they traveled about 40 miles to see a live production of Peter Pan. Then they came back to town and straight to the local bowling alley. They bowled until school was almost out. They returned with just enough time to have their Valentines Day Party. I helped out with the party and brought heart-shaped donuts. Vince helped out with Landon's party too. On the way home, we asked Will about his field trip. Typically, he didn't say too much but when Vince asked if Peter Pan sang, he replied, "just like every possible second that he even freakin' could." We laughed and laughed. I guess it was a musical.

Vince and I finally spent a good chunk of time child-proofing last week. Audrey has drawn all over her legs and several books and is into everything, so this was long over-due. But the latches didn't even slow her down. What a waste of time. She still manages to get into every drawer or cupboard that she chooses. She is a clever girl and a stinker. Yesterday, I saw her go get Sophie's swimsuit out of her drawer and put it in the garbage can and close the lid. We got it out, of course, and Sophie was mad. But how often does she do things like this without notice? We have a long list of "missing" things around the house. They are probably long gone to the landfill. What a pill.

Landon made a power point presentation about cheese yesterday. I will have to figure out how to post it here. He is a silly, creative kid. Sophie loved Valentines Day and is still packing around cards from classmates in her purse.

Kid Stuff

We have had another brutal Midwest Winter this year. The kids have had inside recess for most of December and January. But today was gorgeous. I think that it hit 67 degrees. Yesterday was beautiful and warm too. What a much needed break from the cold. We have been enjoying family walks and playing at the park. Audrey loves the slide and climbs up and slides down all by herself. So cute. I should have brought my camera.

Landon earned a little money babysitting for me and used it to buy a shirt today. That was a shocker. He is growing up. In the past, a shirt would be the last thing that he would ever spend his money on.

William is on this anti-things made in China kick. Most of our silverware is Oneida brand, and it says made in the USA on the back. But we have a few forks that were made in China. He throws a fit if whoever sets the table gives him a "China fork" and rants "Are you trying to kill me". I know this is extreme. I am guessing that it comes from him having to take back one of his birthday presents last year because of a recall. It had been made in China and was later found to be toxic if ingested. He is a stubborn kid and would eat with his fingers before he used a "China fork".

Sophie made out Valentine Cards for her pre-school class today. The "S" in her name was backwards on every card. We have been working on this all year and it just doesn't stick. She does all of her other letters beautifully and has nice penmanship. But that "S" is tricky.

Aud

Little Audrey now gives scowls and dirty looks to rival William's, and anyone who knows William knows that this is no small feat. I couldn't get her to show her best glares here at home this morning. Maybe tomorrow I will take the camera with me to the store, where poor, unsuspecting strangers smile, speak, or look at her and get the look of death. It is so funny.

She does have happy, sweet moments too. One of her new favorite pass-times around the house is gathering different objects and chucking them in the bath tub. She is a busy girl who thinks that at almost 16 months, she is ready to give up naps. But I am going to fight her on this one and usually a drive in the car is my best weapon. Thank goodness gas prices are down.



We had a wonderful Christmas but I was horrible at taking pictures this year. Here is one that I took of the kids sleeping in the living room at my in-laws. Poor Sophie.

It's Been A While

It's been a while since I have blogged anything. I am so glad that I decided to post something tonight, because while I was searching for my cord to download pictures from my camera, I found my checkbook. I have been looking for it all week. I will sleep better tonight with that cleared from the back of my mind.

We have had a great couple of months. The highlight was a visit from my sisters and three of my nephews. We went to the zoo, saw a movie, did some cosmic bowling, sewed matching pajama pants for all, and just had a great time. Thank you so much for coming ! Here is a picture of all of the kids at the zoo.


This next picture is of Will blowing out his birthday candles. It is hard to believe that he is seven now. I am not sure why he doesn't have a shirt on. He didn't want a cake. I even offered to buy a nice ice-cream cake. He wanted a puff pancake filled with ice-cream. It was alright, probably not as good as an ice-cream cake.


And here is a picture of Aud today, dirty face and all. She is a speed walker now and gets into everything. Her hair has grown a lot lately and she is sporting a great faux hawk, slight mullet look. Fortunately, she is cute enough to pull it off.


And a picture of kitty-cat Sophie on Halloween. She loved trick-or-treating and figured out that she could get extra treats by being flirty at each door. Yikes. You can also see our new bedroom wall color in this picture. It is a huge improvement and we now have a large mirror in that big empty wall space there. I will have to post another picture.


I had planned to post more but it takes a while to up-load pictures and I am not feeling patient. I am excited for Thanksgiving this week. I bought all of the ingredients for our feast today. We asked the kids if they wanted pizza instead of turkey or if they wanted to go to a nice restaurant instead of eating here and they insisted that they wanted the traditional thanksgiving meal at home. It is a nice tradition. We have so many blessings for which to give thanks.

Now on Display

Today after school, we went to the local museum. They have a display of local artists right now and included a few pieces from the elementary school. One of William's paintings from last year was selected for the display. It is called "Under the Sea".



Then we had Cub Scout Pack Night and Landon was awarded his Wolf Badge. Way to go guys!

"Twinners"

Last Sunday morning, Sophie decided that her white blouse looked like my white blouse and that if we both wore our boots and denim skirts, we could be "twinners". Well how could I say no to that. Landon took the crooked pictures and they really opened my eyes to the fact that I need to paint and re-decorate our space here. I really never expected us to be in this house this long. Stay tuned for more on that. We need to do the bathrooms and the master bedroom first.