Tuesday, April 29, 2008

spring has sprung

So it's taken a bit, but i think spring in utah has finally come t stay. I haven't posted about our yard yet, but we are ecstatic. we've already said goodbye to the crocus and daffodil ls that are scattered around the yard and and saying hello to the tulips this week. we have, easily, over a thousand spring bulbs that have popped up in the flower beds. the best part was not having to plant any of them!!! it's like temple square over here. (ok, not quite, but our neighbor has called our yard the garden of eden) the people who owned the house before us had quite the green thumbs and we've inherited 7 fruit trees, strawberry patch, tons of raspberries, an herb garden, a vegetable garden, pond, all the bulbs plus tons of perennials that are starting to pop up under them. we also are excited to see what the rest of the season will bring.

(sorry, emily, for this pictures right after eli and sam's demolition of your tulip buds last weekend. you can have your pick of the litter this friday:))



an update on some of the boys projects. eli has found his love in legos. this is his first "all by myself" creation. it's a ship and he flew it around the house showing everyone, proud as a peacock that he could finally snap those little pieces together. he is getting so big and it is so fun to listen to his little voice. he jabbers all day long and is not intimidated to try out any new word which is quite the entertainment for the rest of us. during the sacrament last sunday as the water tray with one cup was passed by him, and he wasn't allowed to grab it, he had the whole back 3 rows of the congregation giggling at his "OH, MAN!" that he repeated until he was escorted out of the chapel. we haven't quite mastered the "quiet voice".

isaac's class had to do a family project with "earth saver solutions" as the theme so we grabbed our trash bags and went on one of our trash walks--something we haven't done since we lived in colorado. we found many crazy things in the open space between our house and the church park and we quickly realized that our new neighborhood doesn't have "trash" issues that our old one did. Not as many beer cans or cigarette cartons carelessly tossed out a window in south jordan as their was in "the hood". Nonetheless, we were successful in finding some mountain dew cans (which, i think, for this demographic, is about as bad as beer) and a smattering of sacrament meeting programs and fast food cartons carelessly cast aside. Enough to make our very first "trash mobile" that isaac is so proudly displaying here. The one good thing about this project is that he could throw it away right after his presentation and i didn't have to find a spot for it where i wouldn't be asking him to pick it up, dusting under it, or having the neighbors ask questions about it. my kind of project!!!

Sunday, April 13, 2008

ok so i'm a little tardy posting about easter

city easter egg hunt with the cousins--not as fruitful as we had hoped (as the 9-10 year old group jumped the gun and got everybody racing for candy before we knew what was going on)but fun to celebrate with everyone easter morning--we are learning to keep our holiday treats low key. our kids get bombarded with all sorts of goodies from family events these days, making their easter baskets, valentines, stockings, etc. from their parents a little sparse. its good for 'em.
easter outfits--bought last year on clearance and finally pulled out. i was glad to find them all packed in a box days before easter actually came. not my usual. i dug until i found them as i wasn't about to let them get outgrown before the girls had a chance to wear them. such a cute plaid. such cute kids. fortunately we had a sunny day--no snow like last year in colorado. easter is fun in a new house. all new egg hiding places--inside and out. kept 'em busy for hours!

Saturday, April 12, 2008

happy 40th

I know it's been forever, but the kids have been off track and so my computer time is nil (as the computer is our only form of electronic entertainment around here...play a video game-on the computer, watch a tv show-on the computer, listen to music-on the computer, watch a movie-on the computer...you get my drift. and in trying to be a good example (which is rare) i have found myself trying to read during our down time so maybe the kids will catch on and not want to be on the computer all day-fat chance)
anyway, i couldn't let today go by without wishing my parents (and aunt kalle and uncle merl) a happy 40th anniversary!! (my dad is the tallest and my mom is the shortest...some things still haven't changed) my siblings and i planned a dinner for them at the lion house this week to celebrate. i hope they enjoyed a peaceful meal with no prep and dishes! something that doesn't happen often for these two...
seeing as these are their 22 grandchildren!!! all eight and under with one more on the way. a crazy, loud, lovable bunch. its fun to be home and be a part of days like these--even though i'm now subjected to justin's awful hair more often (lucy, you're a saint!)
happy 40th you two! i couldn't have asked for better parents and examples on parenting my own children than you have been. i am loving this stage of life--being able to understand my parents lives more fully as i go through similar experiences with my own small family. it's good to get that know-it-all teenage phase (which lasted a long time for me) over with and really appreciate all that you're parents have done for you. You just don't get it until you're a parent yourself--hopefully i can survive my own children's teenage nastiness.