A whole lotta fun!

During Dr. Seuss week at school, the girls had fun, themed days.  Here is crazy hat day and a little game of checkers before bed.

Crazy hair day was Ellie's favorite.  She went all out.  7 little braids around her head with pink and sparkle spray that she borrowed from Auntie Sarah.

Dani was a bit more reserved.  A regular pony with a dab of pink.  :)

The Harlem Globetrotters came to town!  I got to take Brayden and Keegan while the girls stayed with Auntie and Uncle.  We had so much fun!  The boys were  thoroughly entertained.  They laughed so hard and so loud that I was a bit embarrassed at times.  But that's what it's all about, right?

Our grown up girl turned 18!  Maya is Shelbi's little sister.  We met Maya when she was 12 and Shelbi was baby-sitting for us.  Maya is now our baby-sitter and we love her! I can't believe she is so grown up.  :(

Brayden came home a couple of weeks ago with ANOTHER star award!  These are special awards that the kids earn at school.  There are maybe 15 kids in the school who have earned them, Brayden is the only one in the school to have earned TWO!  So proud of my sweet, responsible pup! 

Blue and Gold

 After being the first ones on the mountain Saturday morning, (we were literally the first ones in line for the chair lift), we had to race home to help set up for the Blue and Gold banquet for Cub Scouts.  It was a long, fun night, full of awards, skits and raffles to celebrate scouting.

 Kent received an award for all the time and commitment that he has put into scouts so far this year.

 Our friend, Gavin, earned his Bobcat.

 My little family enjoying the festivities!

Paco, the cub master, showing off his dance skills for a skit.  This is the guy that Kent is taking over for, can you imagine Kent doing this next year?  It makes me giggle and break out in a sweat at the same time, I am nervous for him!  Kent will be a wonderful leader, just not sure about his dance skills! :)  Does the white man wobble count?

Tearin' it up!

We made it up to the mountain again!  It was a beautiful, wonderful day!  We are so proud of our kids, they were all over the mountain, some runs took a little longer than others, but they attacked each run.  It is amazing how resilient little bodies are.  If Kent or I took some of those diggers that they did, there would be some torn ligaments and irreversible damage.  They wanted to go back up today, they definitely LOVE it!  It was kind of funny to hear how their little legs were sore when they woke up though.  They definitely used those thigh muscles for the pizzas they made with their skis all day! 

Blown Away

We got to attend Carrie Underwood's Blown Away concert last night.  It was amazing, that girl has some pipes!  She sang so effortlessly, without a single flaw.  In addition to having a breathtaking voice, her appearance is just as striking.  As if that's not enough, Ms. Underwood seemed like a normal, down to Earth girl.  I am an even bigger fan now!  She put on a fantastic show, and Hunter Hayes opened for her.  I had a hard time getting past the fact that he seems so young.  He is 21 but looks like he is about 12.  He has some crazy talent, he writes his own songs, and plays his own instruments.  I am sure he will be moving up quickly!  It was a night to be remembered!

Valentine's Day

I hope everyone had a fantastic heart day!  This is our vase full of hearts that the kids spent a whole afternoon cutting out.  I tried to write a little something on the hearts every night for each kid.

This year, in kindergarten, the girls had to make their Valentine boxes at home.  I was so bummed for them:  A) Because I am not crafty or creative, B) This used to be my favorite day of school, I loved making the box and looking at everyone elses.  C)  I DID NOT want to tackle two projects on my own. 

This activity took a good part of a Sunday afternoon.  In addition to making Valentine boxes, we had to find 100 objects for each girl because it was the 100th day of school that week, along with their normal homework packet.  It made for a LONG Sunday.

Even though Brayden got to make his box at school, he, of course, wanted to make another one with us.  :)  I only burnt my fingers on the hot glue gun a few times. 

LOVE, LOVE, LOVE, HAPPY, HAPPY, HAPPY!

Dani's finished box, yes, for reasons unbeknownst to me, she wrote  "Fred Meyer" on her hearts.  What the hell?  Maybe she loves that store because it is our second home, we are there everyday.  I don't even know how she knew how to spell it.....

Candies and balloons on V-day!  Ellie's finished box, lots of hearts, bows and pink!  Apparently she doesn't feel the same love for Fred.  :)

Here, there & everywhere!

 I had to take a picture of my girls and my attempt at cuteness.  My hairstyling skills are quite limited.  Our baby-sitter, Maya, does fabulous braids in my girls' hair.  Unfortunately, she isn't here in the morning before school starts.  This was one of my first attempts at the cute french braid across the front of their head.  I was quite pleased with myself, it looked a little different by the time they got home from school though.

 This was an impromptu rock day.  For some reason, Brayden started banging on various buckets, I can't remember what he found to use as sticks, he then made cardboard symbols, complete with construction paper handles for Ellie. Dani lucked out with real maracas. 

 A play day at home.  Ellie attempting to dance on her toes.  A little break for strollers and babies.  I think they were headed to the gym or dance practice here....

 The never ending project, that was pretty much my fault.  A few months ago at a cub scout meeting, I was talking to the cub master (he is the guy in charge, I never knew this before).  Kent was out of town on business, and the cub master asked me if Kent had any tools and if he was at all handy.  Of course I had to brag about my amazing husband and his skills.  Well, this got him volunteered to make 50 neckerchief slides that are shaped into pinewood derby cars. 

 I thought it sounded a bit overwhelming, but Kent was willing to do  it.  If Kent is going to do a project it is going to be very well done, nothing halfway.  This project consumed  so much of his time, because he is a perfectionist and because he thoroughly enjoyed it.  Brayden was right there with him, sanding, painting and sanding some more.  They turned out super cute and it will be fun to see all of the boys' faces when they receive them on Pinewood derby day. 

On Friday night we attended a Winter fundamentals basketball clinic downtown.  The coaches included John Stockton's coach from when he was a kid, a Gonzaga women's basketball player and four all league high school girls, one who happened to be John Stockton's daughter.  It was a very fun night, Brayden learned a lot.  John took about a half hour and talked to everyone about the Dream Team, his Olympic experiences and his NBA team mates.  It was fun to hear personal stuff about those famous guys that we all grew up with.  He said Carl Malone is one of his favorite people, just an all around classy, hard working guy.  In this day and age it's nice to hear positive things about NBA players.  :)

Btw, John was a very friendly down to earth guy, who emphasized being a team player and doing what is best for your team. 

A Little Bit of the Funnies

After a long weekend of the flu bug, the girls and I hit the mall on a free afternoon, for a little bit of retail therapy.  As you may or may  not know, Vickie's has all sale panties for $2.99.  All styles.  Ellie and Dani were digging through the bins, because who wouldn't want two, five year olds help while shopping for undergarments?  Ellie pulled out a pair, and was utterly appalled.  Yes, you know what she found.  With a disgusted, confused look, she said (very loudly),

"Mom, look how small these are in the back.  These would NOT cover your bum, how do these work?"

Avoiding the question completely, I said, "Good thing I have such a small bum, those would work just fine for me."

Again, looking at me in total confusion, "No Mom, you have a medium sized bum and Dad has a big bum, and these would not work for you."

Let it be known, I have a medium sized bum,  pretty much made my day!  Maybe I will skip the gym tomorrow.  :)