Pa's: Bow and Arrows

One of the other things we like to do outside at Pa's is shoot.  Sometimes it is with guns.  Sometimes it is with bow and arrow.  Santa brought her stuff (which I am pleased to think that we may have had some influence on her interest in).

 And the kids brought theirs.

 And Joe was around to serve as a bow holder while arrows were retrieved.  He looks pretty happy about it doesn't he?  Its the purse holding pose.  ;)

 I think it may be a bit small, whaddayou think?

So thankful to be outside!

Pa's: Lean To

While Santa and I were busy trying to find a window unlocked, or a door we could open with a credit card, little miss "GottaBeBusy" asked if she build a lean to.  I am not sure where she got the idea from.  But, there are plenty of branches and pine needles around, so I told her to knock herself out.  She picked a good sturdy pine tree within sight of the front porch and got busy.

 Eventually, Kaitlyn decided to join her.

 Kari asked if she could take some pictures of the progress, so, I entrusted her with my fabulous camera, and came out with a few gems.

 Late Friday night/early Saturday morning, Santa's husband (whom I shall call Joe) was able to join us.  He is doing some pretty intense training for a new job, and we didn't think he would be able to come.  But, fate intervened, and he was able to spend 30 (ish) hours with us.  We didn't tell the kids he was coming, so when he just showed up for breakfast, there was much rejoicing.  He was nice enough to go out to Kari's lean to and do some first hand inspection.  (Can you see Kari inside?)

 He provided some helpful expertise and first hand help.  

 And Kari was pleased to have an outfit twinner (camo and black) and someone to take an interest.

 Kari, is usually more than happy to have her picture taken :)

 While Joe, on the other hand, is too cool.

But check out that lean to!  Pretty impressive, right?

Pa's: Riding Bikes

 When we bought our house, we made sure to take bike riding into account.  We don't live on a cul-de-sac, but we thought the road would be unsloped enough and unbusy enough for easy riding.  Turns out, we may have been a bit wrong on both fronts.  But we know there is plenty of unbusy, unsloped dirt road at Pa's house, so we usually take them with us.  We finally invested in a bike rack to make for easier travelling.  We bought this one from amazon, and we have only used it the one time.  So far, so good.  The weather, for once, was GORGEOUS!  Not hot.  Not humid.  Not cold.  Practically perfect!  We spent a lot of Saturday outside on our bikes.  Cue the cheesy bike/smile pictures.

 One of the things I love about my camera is its ability to focus on one thing, and blur the rest.  The old point and shoot couldn't handle that and either everything was (sorta) in focus, or everything was blurry. 

 I also love this genuine GQ smile.  Dude is a bit of a pill sometimes, and doesn't always smile for pictures.  But when he does...  Watch out!

 Kari, always the adventurer!

 Kaitlyn was the last to join the bike parade, but she had fun!

 Speed demon!

 There were many walks to be had, and many bikes to be ridden.

 Kari has pegs on her bike, and due to previously mentioned reasons, I have never let her try to take her siblings on rides.  Cue Pa's road!

As for the balance bike, we are still working on it.  We don't get her out on it near as often as we should probably.  So we need to work on that.  But she loves that she has one, just like the big kids.

Love that cute beaver face :)

Pa's: Front Porch

This is the part where I admit that I am not perfect.  I know.  I know.  That is totally mind blowing to you!  At the end of the kids spring break, we decided to go down to Pa's house.  It had been a few months since we had gone, and we wanted to "go" somewhere, even though we didn't have a lot of budget (since we just got back from UT).  Pa's house it is!  We invited our friends to go with us, and Nana and Pop would be meeting us after a day.  My friend (who Kelsey calls Santa, just without a hard T) came down with me on Friday morning.  As we pulled off the exit, I turned to Santa and said "I don't know if we can get in."  I had never gone down to Pa's house with no one else living there or waiting on me.  So I called hubby and said "Um, how are we supposed to get into the house?"  To which he responded "With this key that is in my truck."  Well, that is great!  Hubby was planning on joining us later that evening, but he hadn't left work yet, so we had at least a 3 hour wait ahead of us.  We picked up lunch and decided to have a bit of a picnic on the porch (which is unlocked).  Friday happened to be a bit on the warm side (thankfully not too hot) which turned out to be a blessing (because the AC broke shortly after we got in the house).  

Dylan is a bit of a pill lately.  He has decided he doesn't always love to pose for pictures.  Joy.  Love the hair though.

 So after we ate, Santa and I looked around to see if we could break into the house anywhere.  It was a no go.  

 Thankfully, we had food, some toys and books, and 400 acres of bathroom, so we were actually not too badly off.

 After eating, and looking criminally intent, and wondering what we were going to do for about 45 minutes, a neighbor and relative happened to be driving by.  And not only that, but being the closest neighbor to the old house, he also happens to have a key.  And not only that, but he had the key.  ON HIM!

 So, we really only waited for about 45 minutes, most of which were spent eating or playing.  So the kids hardly noticed the hiccup at all!

 And I got to bust out my camera and take pictures of my little orphan, who wouldn't let me do her hair that morning, and who has also perfected her newest post for the camera.  I lovingly refer to it as her "beaver face".

 Santa was a good sport about the whole thing.

 She even helped to keep the kids entertained.

 We love our Santa :)

While I was at Pa's house, I took over 200 pictures.  Literally.  The weather was beautiful, the light was pretty great, and we had friends and family to hang out with.  It was a pretty great weekend.  Which translates to: be prepared for a picture overload.

Church Egg Hunt

The weekend before Easter, our ward had an Easter activity.  There was an egg hunt for the kids.  And food and companionship for the adults.  They led the little ones out to an area all their own...

 Then set them loose.

 Then they lined everyone else up and set them loose.

 I think she had fun :)

 I love that they don't put anything in the eggs.  So, it doesn't matter how many you get.  Everyone gets the same goody bag at the end of the activity.  Nevertheless, they seemed to have quite a bit of fun!

Kelsey had so much fun, she wanted to keep going.

Then it was inside for hot dogs and fun!

 Unless you are three.  In which case, you can make a mess of anything.  Even a teeny tiny tootsie roll.

But they did have fun, and that is all that counts!  Because afterwards, they helped to spread 50 bales of pine straw.  Gotta earn that candy somehow!

Kute Kaitlyn

The children have various chores they do daily.  Feed the dog.  Put away the laundry.  Empty the dishwasher.  One Sunday morning I came upstairs to find a pile of dishes not quite put away.  I was ready to fuss at the kids until I read the note beside it.

"Dear Mommy, this is stof (stuff) we can youse (use) for breafest (breakfast).  Love, Kaitlyn"

She had left out the cookie sheet for the cinnamon rolls, the bowls for the yogurt, and the cups for the milk.  She can be one smart cookie!

Kelsey Potty Training, Part 2

Remember a while ago I said we had giving potty training a try?  We didn't really get very far.  I knew we were travelling to UT and I really didn't want to have to worry about accidents in the plane, or spend tons of time in airport bathrooms.  So, we tabled it.

 She is finally getting hair!  Enough to braid :)

 Well, we got back from UT and tried again.  This time, it took!  

 She was peepee trained within the week.  #2 took a bit longer.  I guess it was frightening.  But we are at 3 weeks, and I am pretty comfortable with taking her on errands or going to church.  Within the first week, so was going down for naps with panties, and now, 3 weeks in, she can get through overnight without any accidents either!  Yes Kelsey, I am talking about panties and accident.

 In the last week, she has even gone without any help.  Complete set of going, flushing, and washing hands!  Without having to be reminded!

 Yay for Kelsey!

Funny story, when she was first going #2 in the potty, it involved a lot of crying and mostly accidental pushing.  Hubby said it sounded a lot like an L&D unit because I would be in there trying to calm her down, telling her to breathe and push.  The first time we had a successful trip (with minimal crying), she finally finished and looked down and said "Dats big!"  The next time she went, she looked down and said "Dats a baby poopie.  Wah wah!"  She is a funny girl!

She also went through a phase where she asked for "leaves and sauce".  I'm glad she wants to be healthy!  Though she has always been my best veggie eater!

There she is!  My class clown!

Raising Readers

Hubby is a good reader.  But he is not much of a pleasure reader.  I, on the other hand, love to get lost in a good book.  I don't know if the kids have seen me do it often, mostly because when they are around, I am hardly just sitting still.  But it seems that I have a few readers of my own.

 Sometimes I have to remind the girls to put their books down, THEN walk.

 Hopefully it will continue.  Like, forever.

There are certainly worse things :)

Natural 2.0

I forget sometimes how much fun a toddler can be.  They can be so random!  And they don't see anything wrong with what they do.  For example, it is total natural to come downstairs for prayers with goggles, hard hat and tool box.

It is totally natural to cheese it up for the camera.

Completely natural.

You can't tell, but both his feet are off the ground as he jumps.

Because it is totally natural to say prayers like this!