Spring Concert

Last week was our ballet performance.  I don't have any real pictures yet because I had someone else take them... but I do have the "all dressed up and ready to go" pictures.  Look at those tight buns.  Justin said the girls smelled like some kids he knew in highschool who used too much hair product.

Since I was running the performance this year, I was a little nervous.  It seemed to go well though... I had one dancer who wouldn't go on stage, one who wouldn't dance once she was on stage, and one that wouldn't come off when her turn was over.  And that is pretty much a PreBallet show in a nutshell.

M was fairly certain everyone in the audience came just to see her.  She had no idea they were just the other dancers' parents.  I don't think she'd believe me if I told her.

Should we take Quasimodo to the Doctor?

Wow.  This is even bigger in person.  Talk about your goose egg.  He only stops grinning when we try to put ice on it.  Poor guy.

Unrelated

Today, while eating lunch, E and M were trying to explain to me what the priesthood was.  (No, it was not quiz time, E and M just come up with interesting lunch topics all on their own.  One of M's favorites goes like this:  "Mom, is warm, warm?  Is cold, cold?  Is hot, hot?")  Anyway, as I was saying, they were both trying to tell me what the priesthood was.

Said E:  The priesthood is something that makes prayers go faster.

*****

In the car, while running errands at 1:00 pm (dangerous since nap-time is at 2:00 pm) GQ pulled his now famous trick.

He asks for a book.

He holds it up in front of him so that I can't see him in the rearview mirror.

And then he goes to sleep.

He does this often on Sundays after Church, and he totally did it to me today.

The little trickster.

*****

Yesterday at rehearsal (2 hours and 15 minutes long) M decided the best way to close out the time there was to take off her leotard and tights and run around the room naked.

Yep, that's my child.

Hop-Scotch

Grandma sent hoppy taws for Lucky Lilacs.  It was so rainy on Saturday that we didn't get to play until Monday.  M thought I made a huge mistake when I used our chalk to draw the hop-scotch's instead of the chalk Grandma sent.  And, actually, I did draw both hop-scotch's wrong.  Talent, I tell you.  The girls had a lot of fun.  I didn't think they would get it, but E definitely did and M enjoyed jumping.  GQ kept drawing in their hop-scotch's - which only made them mad.  Pretty funny though.

Camping... sort of...

Last weekend our family went camping.... at least, we planned on going camping.  The ward was having their annual camp-out, and E was soooo excited.  Unfortunately, it was very rainy that weekend - and the temperatures dipped down again - so I said "no thanks."  (I also realized I only had 3 sleeping bags for 5 people, and that I no longer live in the land of "let's call Laura and ask if can borrow more.")  We did go to dinner, and E did get to run around in the trees... so I think she forgave us a little.

GQ picked up rocks like a good little boy.

M mostly followed me around.  She pretends to be brave, but is really quite frightened of new things.

E played in the trees (which we learned often drop ticks on people's heads... we did a tick check when we got home and didn't find anything.)

Back at home, we set up the tent in the living room and let the children sleep there.

Eventually GQ got sent to his crib.  But before that happened the giggles were some of the cutest ever.

Car-ride

GQ wanted to wear my sunglasses the other day.  I was lucky enough to have the camera, and not to be driving. 

(Yes, that is M's dolly in his carseat.  He's mostly appropriated it.  Every once in a while she screams for it back and says "but Santa gave that to me," but usually she finds it easier to give him what he wants.  She did keep it for long enough last week to color all over it's face with a pen.  I was going to complain, but I'm pretty sure I regularly put "make-up" on my dolls when I was younger.  Oh well.)

Don't they look angelic?  Sometimes they even are!

A Visit to the Dairy

When Justin finished his last final for his first year of PhD school (one year down, five to go) we decided to celebrate with ice cream.  Justin had heard about a good dairy across town... so off we went.  The kids really enjoyed the plastic petting zoo.

Afterwards I noticed the girls had become interested in the udder of the cow.  When I asked them what they were doing, E replied that she was "putting milk in the cow."

I think they've got that a little backwards.

Lucky Lilacs in "Exile"...

Today we did "Lucky Lilacs."  Grandma had sent the gifts, and I pulled out an old pair of Justin's eyeglasses.  Not quite the same as Grandma Becky's... but the kids didn't seem to mind.  Sadly, I could only remember the magic words "higgledy, piggledy."  So, we made up some REALLY bad ones to make up for that.  GQ truly enjoyed the spitting part though, and giggled whenever I spat on the lilac.

E had a great time looking for lucky lilacs (any lilac that doesn't have four petals).  M didn't quite get it... as seen below.  She pretty much pulled all the lilacs off the bush.

Then, she put them in her bowl.  When it came time to "read" a lilac for her... I had to steal one from E.

Later, she gave this pig a bath in her lilacs.

E was much more rule oriented.  She only put the right numbered lilacs in her bowl, and was seriously disturbed when I picked some lilacs from the edge of someone's lawn.  Now that it's getting later I am feeling disturbed too... so we will have to take care of that later this week with some sort of peace offering to the people we stole lilacs from.

Happy Lucky Lilacs!!!