Happy Father's Day

It's times like this I fall in love all over again.

Coast Fun

**Trying a new collage attempt. We'll have to see how it turns out. Lots of pictures, we'll give it a try. **

Back in April for Easter Break we made a trip to the coast. On the way there we actually had to put chains on to get over the pass. (This is why we didn't go camping!) Ellie at the rest-stop with a friendly neighborhood snowman.

We got there safe and sound and spent the evening in the hotel pool.The next day we went hiking in the redwoods. We wanted to go to Fern Canyon (one of the most BEAUTIFUL places I've ever been) but it was too flooded for just tennis shoes. Instead we thought it would be more fun to be chased by a herd of elk. (Truly, they apparently had never seen a yellow lab before and came WAY too close for my liking. They've always seemed big but when they are close enough to trample your children they really look HUGE!) We made it back to the beach where we spent the rest of the day. The sun came out enough to keep us happy and we just played in the sand all day. Carter LOVED smashing sandcastles most of all.

We had so much fun - just not being home!

I am amazed at how much we bring the beach back with us. It makes me happy thinking of it, also unrolling those pants-cuffs to do the laundry is always interesting too!

Finger Puppets - Because I'm cute!

So I ran across these CUTE finger puppets on theidearoom.net (http://www.theidearoom.net/2009/02/finger-puppets.html) and realized that even I could do this craft. That is pretty exciting for a generally crafty-impaired person.

All in all they were fairly easy - I did have to use a hot glue gun which ALWAYS results in at least one burned finger, stuff glued to the table, that funny burned skin and fabric smell and in this case some google-eyes that don't google because they're melted in place, but just look how cute they turned out!

We brought them to church for a new quiet toy and realized they also stick to the pews - just a bonus.

Thank you Idea Room creator!

Shiney - or maybe frosted - teeeeeth!

Vanisi Visit

A couple of weeks ago my sister and her family were able to come visit. They had to come to California for other reasons and we were lucky to be near enough to have them for a few days.

Waf has a magnetic quality about him (much like Santa) that draws kids to him. We went to a scrimmage of Ty's one night and Waf had probably 10 kids in a near-by baseball field running around him, being swung by him and clamouring for his attention.

The weather was nice for us and awesome for Suzanne and family who left the never-ending snow of March. We walked around the ponds a few times and loved being outside.

This is Leki in the Lupine. I was amazed how much Leki had grown in such a short time. He turned 4 in December and is taller than Ellie!

This picture makes me laugh. Carter was throwing a MAJOR fit and had thrown himself on the ground kicking and screaming. It was just Suzanne, Enos, Carter and I on this walk. I told Suzanne, "Let's just keep walking and let him throw his fit." We got to talking, looked back and both boys were as content as can be... putting sand and rocks on their head. Still haven't found that magic solution to the Carter fits yet. Maybe I should carry rocks and sand in my purse.

Carter and Enos had, by far, the best time. They are about 9 months apart and T-R-O-U-B-L-E together. It will be interesting watching them through out life. They loved playing together then would start fighting over a toy. Then would forget about it and go back to being best friends.

We loved having them for a visit and are excited to see them again when baby Aisea arrives!

Easter outfits

Easter outfit pictures. They didn't turn out as clear as I would have liked, still working on my photography skills.

Look how big this girl has gotten! Her dress was a fun find with lots of sparkles and twirls wonderfully (not sure her primary teacher liked that as much as she did...). No I didn't make it (stop laughing, somebody might have wondered) but I did get it for a great deal!

Just cute - she loves having her picture taken and loves wearing new clothes. Her outfit was completed by the rubber pink rain boots she insisted on wearing.

Ty wanted a whole new suit but the price tag made me snort. Let's talk when you're 12, buddy. Looks good in his pants that are actually long enough to hide the (of course) white ankle socks he wears to church because his black ones are always missing. This kid is all legs and smiles.

Suzanne gave us a bag of clothes from her in-laws and there was a 3 piece tux in it. SCORE! How funny is this? The picture is blurry but it is good enough because, unlike his siblings, DOES NOT like to get his picture taken. In fact to hold still is against Carter code at all, so after the 5th attempt this one was just the way we like it. The hair completes it. Oh he's just so dang cute!

These pictures make my heart happy. Not one of the many I took has them all smiling at the same time but I've come to realize just how okay I am with that. I know how blessed we are to have four distinct, darling, funny personalities and it is enough!

Easter then more to come

I'm a little behind with all the pictures and adventures so I'll start with Easter weekend. The Saturday before Easter the Easter Bunny comes (we wrote a letter to him years ago to try and keep Christ-centered on the actual Easter day). We were woken up by little whispers of "Mom! Papa! I think the Easter bunny came! WAKE UP!" After the hunt we had breakfast and colored eggs, and fingers.

Later we found Carter eating all the Easter candy out of the buckets while sitting on the table.