We think they're cute!

We took some photos today to try and get a good one we could use for Christmas cards. Getting three little toots to stand still and actually smile is not so easy . . .

It's (Almost) Summer!

On Friday, we all decided to get together at Brig and Shay's house on Saturday. For Dad's benefit I will go through the menu. We had hot dogs and polish sausages (with caramelized onions, thank you very much) and teriyaki chicken. The sides were a tasty pasta salad, several varieties of chips and watermelon. For dessert we made s'mores. (But for those of us who can't get enough sugar there were brownies and donuts too.) The kids had so much fun playing together they could hardly focus on eating. No adult had that problem.

It was cool and rainy, but it stopped raining in time for us to roast the weiners and the marshmallows. Here are a couple of random videos. Notice how big Avalon is getting. Cord kept saying she reminded him of a little chick, the way she toddles around.

We managed to get one semi-decent picture of the kids before they started with the funny faces.

Happy Easter

My kids love to color eggs. Nina was asking to do it as soon as she got out of bed. By the time I cooked the eggs and they cooled, I think it was 8:30. (Maybe she learned a wee bit of patience that morning.)

Jude Turns ONE!

We were in San Diego on Jude's actual birthday, so after we returned home he got to open his presents and have a cupcake.

He got three presents, and he loves them all. One of them was a keyboard from Grandma Risa. Thanks Gma! Maybe at Christmas Jude can play a few carols. :)

This video shows him trying to lick off all the frosting. When I broke the cucpake in half for him, he finally got down to business.

He is such a sweet baby. He gives kisses, he cuddles, and we can't get enough of him! It amazes me that he's already one. Now when we say, "Jude, how old are you?" he holds up one fat little finger and laughs.

Laughing and Laughing

As I am loading this on the computer, the boys are still laughing downstairs!

San Diego

We got to San Diego on Sunday afternoon, so we got to go to OHI's open house and see Camie and take a tour of the facility. It really is beautiful and peaceful.

The next morning we went down to the harbor and rode a ferry out to Coronado Island. The kids loved being out on the water, and they got their first taste of the beach. For lunch we had fish and chips right on the waterfront. So good.

After lunch we met C&T and G and went to the dog beach. That was our favorite thing in San Diego! It was cloudy and cool, but the sun did peak out every now and then.

Tommy and Nina went on a long walk and ventured way out into the surf. Nina loved it. Satchel was more tentative--he would run and squeal whenever the waves came. The baby sat on a blanket and was enthralled by it all.

After the beach we went and had dinner at a vegan co-op where Camie can actually eat the food. It was delicious! The kale salad was to die for (I still need that recipe, Cam), and Matt was impressed with the mock chicken salad. There was also garlic potatoes, cashew salad, and delicious soups. And some amazing chocolate pudding. Long live the People's Co-Op of Ocean Beach!

The next day we took the kids to the zoo. What a place. We were there for 6 hours and saw about half of it. They have a bus that takes a quick trip around the whole zoo and shows the highlights, so we did do that. Nina took about 100 pictures with her kiddie camera. Her favorite animal was the African fox. Satchel liked the lion. I liked the baby gorilla and the baby hippo. (Anything baby is precious.) Matt says his favorite part was the walking conveyor belt.

After the zoo we met up at the swimming pool near OHI. It was so cold. Matt and the kids swam, and I worried they might have a heart attack every time they jumped in the water. They spent most of their time in the hot tub. :)

Before we left we had to have one last get-together. G was very patient as he was adored by Nina and Satch. It was a fun trip. We loved seeing Camie and Tommy! Thanks for having us!

Sweet Nina

I love this picture of Nina. She had been writing and drawing on her doodle pad, and she said, "Look Mom, I made a message for the family." I had to take a picture to remember. In her phonetic spelling it said, "I [heart] u ol bekus you r so swet. xoxo" Then she drew a smiley face and a heart.

Some of Jude's Favorite Things

What is Jude loving these days?

1. Being outside (which hasn't happened today because it has been snowing ALL day).

2. Taking everything out of kitchen cupboards and drawers and playing, playing, playing. (He just kneels up and pulls on the handle to open the cupboards himself.)

3. Knocking over towers! (which he does very slowly in this clip--probably because he knew I was filming him.) He also loves to go up the stairs, and today he finally learned how to go down. Yay!

Bunny Buns

Nina knows that the Friend has a recipe every month, and when she saw April's recipe she was excited! Bunny Buns. We made them last Saturday for a conference activity.

You make a simple orange-flavored bread dough and twist it up to look like bunny ears.

After baking, you add frosting and candy eyes.

The kids had fun, but the recipe isn't anything great. Maybe we'll try Bunny Buns again with some other bread recipe. Easter, here we come!

kids for Camie

Hopefully this will make you smile, Cam!

11 Months Old

My Two Nerdlings

Maybe only a mom can love these two. :)

I love this kid's laugh . . .

. . . and he loves to laugh! He's always ready for a good giggle.

10 Months Old

Here is our Jude Eli at 10 months. He's got the fattest little paws! And the sweetest chubbery cheeks.

I don't know why the 2nd video ended up sideways. Sorry 'bout that.

Let It Snow

Just when every bit of snow had melted, we woke up to this! It looks like evening, but these pictures were taken at 10 in the morning.

The "work" part of shoveling the driveway was short-lived. There were snow angels and some sled rides down the hill at the side of the house. Then Matt busted out a snowball maker. The kids loved it. They even made snowballs to save for when it got warm. We'll see how long they last in the freezer.

Then Nina wanted to do an alternate version of burying herself in the sand at the beach.

Love Day with Nina

Valentine's Day is always an excuse to make sugar cookies with lots of frosting (which we did) and decorate the house with lots of pink and red hearts (which we did). Nina embraced the holiday wholeheartedly. I asked our Artist in Residence if she wanted to buy some valentines or make them. You can guess what she wanted to do. I thought we would cut out some paper hearts and be done with it. But she wanted to make individualized valentines for each kid in her class. Wow. And she did.

These are just a few. Each picture was pertinent to the person she drew it for, and each card had a personal message inside. They turned out pretty great!

And this is the valentine she brought home for us. It says, "Happe Valin Tim Day. You R me Love Tin"

(which translates to "You are my Love-tine.") And then "From Nina" is squeezed into the middle. It makes me smile that since she knows Valentine's Day is also called "Love Day" she turned valentine into "Love-tine". :)

9 Months Old

There is WAY too much growing up going on around here. Two days after Satchel turned 4, Jude turned 9 months. Already! Aaaaaahhhh! He's still a sweet, fat pup, but he's getting loud and sassy too. Yesterday he knocked over one of the kitchen chairs, and I thought it would scare him. But no. He tried to knock over his high chair next. He's a toot!

Satchmo Turns 4

It's hard for me to believe, but my little Satchy-baby is now four years old.

Here he is outside his preschool. He was happy because he got to take suckers and licorice to share with his class.

He got some fun presents. His favorite? A Nerf gun, of course. When people ask him what he got for his birthday, he shouts, "A GUN!" with a big ol' smile on his face.

He got a big bucket of foam letters and numbers to use in the bath, so of course a bath was in order.

After the bath, it was time to blow out the candles. Satch isn't into baked goods much, so he opted out of the brownies. Just had a big bowl of his favorite ice cream: vanilla.

We love our Satchel!

Artist in Residence

One afternoon last week Nina came upstairs and said, "Mom, I want to paint." She sat down at the kitchen table and started on her project. She decided she wanted to do a watercolor of each of the webkinz animals that she knows. She started with the fox she got for Christmas.

I thought she might get distracted and start doing something else, but she went on to paint nine other pictures. She stapled them together to make a book and titled it "The Webkin Book." Satchel likes to read it.

He Talks!

Not really . . . but this at least gives you a sense of how loud he can be.

A New Year

With the new year comes a new class in Primary. Satchel is (finally) a sunbeam. His teachers came to our house to meet him and read him a story. They also brought a treat and a file folder full of stuff to do. On Sundays he also comes home with armloads of activities to do. (Ready made FHE--thank you very much!) Such dedicated teachers.

Nina's new teacher brought her a cute balloon with a note attached to it. Nina was thrilled. She's feeling very grown up because she is in the oldest class in Jr. Primary now. And she gets to give a talk this Sunday.

Christmas 2010

One of our traditions is going to Temple Sqare to see the lights. This year we parked way up at the U of U and then rode the Trax train downtown. It's the kids' favorite part--the train is way more exciting than the lights. They stand up and whenever the train moves, the momentum makes them fall back on the seat, causing many giggles.

Notice Nina's litle pink zhu zhu pet peeking out of her coat in this picture. That toy gets more love . . .

Christmas morning! Nina was up at 5:30, and that is saying a lot because she is never up before 7:00. We made her wait until 6:00 so the boys could get a little more sleep.

On Sunday we took this photo after church. Jude wouldn't smile if his life depended on it, but the other two more than make up for it.

When we were putting away the decorations, Jude couldn't leave the lights alone. He loves electrical cords and plugs. Why are those things so fun to chew on? When I plugged the lights in for him he was mesmerized.