Sisters

So, Vicki got my girls matching shirts and they were just so adorable that I had to take pictures. I never did get the perfect shot, but they make me laugh. I like the one where Lindsay is laughing and Riley is pouting. Right before that picture was the one in the bottom right corner where Riley was holding the screaming Lindsay. Isn't that how sisters just are??? :)

Things I wish I would have gotten pictures of....

....Hy's last basketball game and Lindsay's actual birthday.

Hy's Team (thanks to Sam Zollinger)

Coach Kayden Hitt, Will Rex, Hy, Ethan Felthauser, Blake Tracy, Coach Wacey Holtman

(PS- When Kayden & Wacey were in 1st grade, I was their teacher for a month. At one time I was taller than both of them. And I was mean. I made them use the restroom at recess time and not during class time.)

 

 

....bottling chicken with Andrea, Aunt Marsha, and the children :)

 

......Lindsay opening her other bday presents

 

....a visit from Gma Jan & Aunt Kalene and Gma's new Australian fiancé. (I wish I could photograph his accent.)

 

.....coloring Easter eggs with the Bankhead boys

 

.....the Malta "grab-candy-off-the-ground-as-fast-as-you-can" Easter "egg" hunt

 

.....my cousin Tenesa's open house (love that girl and so happy for her and her new hubby)

 

.....the first firepit of the year and the next one with Decca & Steve

 

.....Decca riding Jasper bareback and Steve & Hy chasing goats

 

....Ev's dog Tip going out to gather cows almost perfectly.

 

.....Easter dinner with the Johnson's

 

....the girls matching Easter dresses and Hy all dressed up for church. Seriously. What kind of mother am I? And they were so cute.

 

Pictures I did get: Poor sick Lindsay. But it's kind of funny cause she looks like a passed out drunk.

Hunting for Easter eggs!

Spring Break

Somebody asked Hyrum if he was going to do something fun for spring break. He said, "Yes!" The person asked what, I'm sure they were thinking Disneyland or camping or some exotic thing. His response: "We are going to plant and harrow and.....(other farm things)."  I think every spring break I had growing up we were just starting to farm again, so we didn't do a whole lot. But we had a great spring break and enjoyed riding with Dad in the tractor :)

And can I just say that this is one of my very favorite things to do? In the mornings at about 6 or 6:30, the bambinos start crawling in my bed for snuggle time. It doesn't ever last very long, but I love it! (And yes, Lindsay is mostly naked.)

 

Happy Bday Lindsay!!

On the day of Lindsay's birth....she was a sick baby. It was sad. She wanted to just cuddle with her mommy all day. She looked like this: (still so cute)

 

So we celebrated one week later when Gma Jan and Aunt Kalene came up for a visit. And it was a fun day. I don't think any of my other children ate the cake and ice cream quite as well as Lindsay.

This is Lindsay opening her gift from Gma Vicki. She never did the hang of opening gifts since Riley was always SOOO WILLING to "help" her baby sister open gifts. She loved her little singing sea horse.



 Couldn't you just eat this little bambino up???? Thanks for the CUTE gifts, Gma Vicki & Poppa Bernie!

Luck o'.... the derby

The leprechauns (or little elves as Riley likes to call them) visited last night. (As did the toothfairy. It brought up the thought that if the leprechauns and the toothfairy ran into each other, and the leprechauns tried to take the toothfairy's money, who would win? Betcha didn't think of that before...)

 

But they didn't meet up, luckily. The leprechauns ransacked couch cushions, shoes, knocked down chairs, and pulled out the kids dishes as well as Lindsay. They also turned our milk green and peed green in the toilet!

 But....they left us green nail polish (all you get in this pic is the nails. Riley was puking half the night, so neither of us looked very chipper).

 And this wicked stash of skittles and rolos.

 Lindsay is learning the useful tool of dumpster diving. She is pro. She likes banana peels the best.

And finally, we had a RELIEF SOCIETY pinewood derby. I did Gru's car from "Despicable Me." I even dressed to match my car. It was awesome, even if my car was S......L.......O.......W...... Good times :)



Dreams Unfulfilled

We are the proud owners of a clavinova! yaya! I have these dreams of my children becoming pianists. And I actually dream of myself being able to plunk along on the piano enough to play something recognizable during family home evening.

 

My mom had this painting hung up in the "pretty room" (which was actually a torture chamber. I was FORCED to practice violin for 20 minutes/day up until age 15. My poor mother. I think she had great dreams too.) 

 Thank you, Greg Olsen.

 

So when I saw my daughters together by the piano, I tried to recreate it:

 In the words of Pinterest "fails" everywhere,

Nailed it!

Another dream that I have, is that despite mine and my husband's physical limitations, I have this strange desire that my children will actually be athletic. I think it was once again confirmed that although we have fun, we cannot breathe and dribble a ball at the same time. Let alone make a basket. Good thing we've got our good looks. (Hyrum is the blue t-shirt under the blue jersey)





And in the most dreamy of all dreams, my mom invited Riley, Lindsay, and I to join her and Decca for Disney on Ice: Dare to Dream in Salt Lake. We were simply dazzled.

At first I wasn't going to let Riley wear her Cinderella dress, but then I decided it would be ok. Good thing she wore it. As soon as we were in sight of the Energy Solutions Arena, there were billions of princesses on the crosswalks. We were surrounded! I don't know if Riley liked it or not: she is used to being THEEE only princess. The jury is still out on whether those other girls were actual princesses or not.
I never did decide if flash photography was allowed or not. So the only picture I took was of Maximus on the ice because whoever the two people were that managed that costume...I think they had the hardest job of all. The costumes were great!

At the end, most all of the Disney princesses were invited by Mickey and Minnie for the crowning of Rapunzel as she came back to her kingdom. The princesses were all in white/gold costumes but they were fashioned in that princess's style. They did a cool job with that. I think that finale was pretty darn exciting. As I turned to look at Decca, there were actual tears in her eyes. I think that she has found her calling in life. She'll probably turn in her two weeks notice at the dental office and catch a ride with the Disney on Ice tour bus today as it leaves Salt Lake City.
As we were leaving, Grandmummsie spoiled Princess Riley one last time with a real Rapunzel braid (when Evan saw it, he told Hyrum that they had missed out on the opportunity to make millions of dollars making and selling Rapunzel braids. I told Evan that I didn't think twine braids would be as big of a hit).

I asked Riley if she was Rapunzerella or Cinderpunzel. I think she went with Cinderpunzel but either of those names sound more like a monster from one of Grimm's fairy tales than a princess. Oh well. We LOVED seeing the princesses on ice! ;)



Spring is springing as we spring ahead

So, in practicing for daylight savings time, I'm staying up late. It is now 8:56, but tomorrow, it will be 9:56. I hate daylight savings. I have no idea why we do it, except some golfer wants to stay up 'til 10pm.  That's my reasoning anyway.

 

Does anyone ever wonder why mothers go slightly insane? and then why it takes huge adjustments when they become "empty nesters?" Imagine if these were your co-workers and they paraded around with underwear on their head everyday. That is just a small taste of the people who I associate with every day, 24/7.

 We got our future egg producers in the mail.

 Riley on Missy for the first time (I think). Woohoo!

 And the last picture.....Herbie basking in the 32* sunhine...it's warming up here in Idaho :)