Lame

As far as E's birthday party post goes... this is pretty lame.  Not only is it very behind schedule, but I also failed to take any useful pictures.  Something about 12 little six-year-olds blew it right out of my mind.  So, if you want to see my decorated house - with streamers, since a tall friend happened by at a very useful time - you are out of luck.

I did take a few pictures of the cake:

Since two years ago E's purple cake turned out brown, and last year I only made her cinnamon rolls... this rainbow cake was a big improvement.  Unfortunately, I forgot to take a picture of it frosted with the cool candles I couldn't help but buy.

Here's all the kids eating cake and ice-cream... oh wait, just cake.  Yes, Justin and I chickened out on the ice-cream because we were running out of time anyway.  I also left the juice in the fridge and claimed I "only had water."  I ought to be jailed for party ruination.

Did I take pictures of E opening her presents?  Or any picture of E other than this one?  Nope.  Talent, I tell you, talent.

Wilson's Apple Orchard on E's Birthday

Riding the tractor....  It was not really that cold, my kids just like to wear their hats up.  Actually it was perfect weather for an orchard.

Unfortunately it was tricky business finding apples that were ripe... I think we were a week too early.

We had a great time, and really enjoyed our apple cider doughnuts afterward.  They came by the half-dozen, so we wondered what we would do with the extra.  E suggested we give it to the baby - since once they caught me eating two desserts and I claimed the second wasn't for me at all.  This made me feel a little guilty since they really think that one of my treats gets eaten by the baby instead of me.  We ended up giving most of the extra to E for her birthday.  Justin and I my or may not have taken a bite.

Because I figure every once in a while we should take a family photo...

and - on the upside - there's proof that I actually exist.

Also pictured in this photo:

GQ's tie.  He loves it.  He got it for his birthday and is so excited when he is allowed to wear it that threats like: "If you don't stop screaming (in sacrament meeting) I will take your tie off" actually work.  FOR REAL.

Grandma Rigby's old dress from the costume box.  I finally found a sweater that matches and I am loving my new/old dress.

All Grown Up

Look at this six-year-old that showed up on my doorstep:

Can anyone tell me what happened to this baby I started out with??????

Because I cannot believe it!!!!!!!!

We love her soooo much.

Of course M and GQ had to pose a little too:

Happy Birthday E!!!!!

A Dream Is A Wish Your Heart Makes

And what is it that is making these two gentleman so happy????????



That's right.... football.  Justin switched our internet and used some money from a side job to buy himself a fancy computer screen, all so this could happen regularly at my house.

This Saturday a huge thunderstorm almost cheated him of it... but never fear.... football prevailed.

GQ is so happy he can hardly contain himself.  Little brainwashed fellow.

This is the way we walk to school...

I have been meaning to take the camera with me on our walk to school, but keep forgetting.  Today I remembered, but it was cloudy - so the pictures aren't as pretty as they could be.  Besides my battery ran out half-way home so I didn't get to take very many pictures anyway.  As you all know I am uber-talented and things like this are very normal for me.

Still, it is a fun walk, so I wanted to document it.  

Right now we walk E to school because it is nice outside and it is not too far.  It is .5 mile each way, so E walks 1 mile a day and M and GQ walk 2.  Since I am physically incapable of pushing a two-person stroller up and down the hilly road to school (my arm muscles are definitely mal-nutritioned) and since M and GQ are physically incapable of behaving well when we have a one person stroller (it's my turn, no it's my turn, no IT'S MYYYYY TURN), we do not take a stroller at all.

We are slow and take a long time - Justin is always surprised, but I remind him that I am definitely walking with a 2 year old and a 3 year old.  (Not that I would walk much faster on my own.... I have always been a dallier.)  Still, we usually make it without too many tears.  (In my book each child crying up to 3 times is not that bad if they stop within 2 minutes.)  I have not cried so far.  Though I am not sure if anyone from my backpacking days will believe me about that one.

When we walk though the woods I often feel like I have stepped into one of those early-Mormon history movies.  You can hear the road, but you also hear the birds and bugs.  And you definitely don't see anything but forest.

This is my best shot of all the hills.  There are several.  One day I tried to count them.  Then I got distracted and forgot what number I was on and whether I had counted the hilll I was walking at that time or not.  I've never tried to count them again because I am a slacker and prefer to fill my head with more useful thoughts.  (Do not ask me what the useful thoughts might be.)

Last week the kids saw a deer while walking in the woods.  That was a real treat.  Usually, it goes like this:

1.  They race out the door.  I yell "slow down."  This is usually the only time I yell this.  They are very fast when we are still by cars.  The rest of the trip is filled with "come on's" and "catch-ups". 

(And yes, M's outfit often rivals E's.  Today???  Pulled up "Hello Kitty" socks, pink capris, and her jacket zipped to her chin.)

2.  GQ picks up sticks at the first opportunity.  He then brandishes them at sisters, strangers, bugs, trees, sidewalks and other such offending articles.

If his sticks break while he is beating something/someone up.... he cries.

3.  When he does not have a stick he races down the hills.

4.  Then, he falls.  I have counted... and I didn't even get distracted... GQ falls approximately four times each way for our school trips.  He is covered with skids, and so I finally bought some fun bandaids.  This was a stupid idea since now when he falls again - and Buzz is scraped off as well as his skin - he cries even harder.  Sadly I am a vagrant mother and will not pick him up when he falls.  I rationalize this with the fact that I am pregnant, but mostly it is because if I picked him up then I would have to pick M up... and I am way too lazy for that.  So, when he falls, he cries and gets back up, and usually falls again.  Poor thing.

5.  M and GQ pick flowers and blackberries.  M will only eat the red ones even thought they are not ripe and are very likely disgusting.  GQ once tried to eat old cereal off the ground.... we are working on that.

6.  M also likes to play "Red Light, Green Light."  Although she stops listening when she feels like it and runs away.

7.  GQ looks for bugs and declares they are "going to eat him."  If he has his stick he kills them, despite the fact that I tell them the forest is where bugs are supposed to live. 

Overall, we have a fun walk every day.  When snow arrives, I'm sure our walks will stop.  Just like this post, which will now stop because my stupid letter p on my computer broke again and that makes typing very annoying.

the end.

Ice Cream Celebration courtesy of Grandma

After school last week we headed out for ice cream courtesy of Grandma.

As you can see, GQ enjoyed his ice cream very much.  He was not so sure about it when we handed it to him (it had chocolate on the outside) but after we made him try it, he decided it might actually be good.

Since we were celebrating for E, she got to have a "grown-up" ice-cream instead of a cone.

M ate all the ice-cream out of her cone, picking at it with her fingers.  But lest you think she is taking after her Uncle Joey, she did finish eating the cone when she was done.  She likes her ice-cream and cones separate, I guess.

Thanks, Grandma!!!

A Theme Revisited

Did you know sometimes I lie?

Well, I do.  For instance, take these sentences I wrote yesterday:

"Me? I like the personality of her dress choices. And hey, I never knew how to be trendy anyway."

This, in reference to E's wardrobe choices.  And usually this is very true.  Usually E looks slightly odd, but in a five-year-old way, and I'm good with that.  And sometimes she even comes up with cute outfits that I would never have thought of on my own.  I like to see what she picked and to know that it is totally E.  And sometimes I even let her dress GQ - which, let's be honest, is a less tricky business.

But sometimes, sometimes, E wears this skirt:

And this is when I have trouble containing myself.

I picked up this skirt at a "trading clothes" event we did with the MBA group.  It was already a little worse for the wear, but it was pink and it was a skirt, and I thought it might be something that E would like.

Boy, was I right, because that was two years ago, and E still hoards this skirt and "saves" it for special events.

Now, the skirt is more than slightly threadbare and frankly - as ugly as a person could imagine.  You can not quite take in it's gruesome-ness in the photo.  Every time E gets this skirt out I have to flinch.  Honestly, I was surprised she didn't wear it yesterday - which was why the purple "Hello Kitty" montage seemed perfect.

But out it came today.  For Day Two of kindergarten.

I admit, I resorted to a little bit of pressure.

"You know E, that doesn't really match."
"I know you like it, but it is just so worn out."

And finally, the big guns:

"Did you know I bought you a new pink skirt for your birthday.  I will let you have it early and wear it today, if you want to."

But no such luck.

The trick up my sleeve wasn't quite the trick I had hoped for.  And she stuck with her personal favorite

Which meant that even though I told E that she can brush her hair on her own in the mornings - since it is so short - I had to do her hair up nice.

There had to be something that said this girl has a mother.

Even it was just a clean braid and a nice hairbow.