Lauren let me do her hair!!!! and Jeff's Birthday!

This week started pretty slow, but got busier as we went on.  Monday I got this cute picture of Brad having a picnic right before dinner.

Tuesday during the day Brad and I went to the Bean Museum.  We usually go about once a week...although he asks to go almost every day.  He really knows his animals and it is pretty fun to get a tour from him.  This last week we spent most of the time talking about where animals live.  After a while he started to ask, "This one live in Africa?"  and about half the time he would be right...there are a ton of African animals there.  Brad also loves to get a stamp at the end of our visit...and won't leave without one.  Tuesday night I went to book club.  We read On the Corner of Bitter and Sweet by Jamie Ford this last month.  I really enjoyed this book, but I like most historical fiction.  Our group was small, but we had a great time.

Tuesday I had also been looking at a hair blog and I showed Lauren a picture of a girl with curly hair.  I asked her if she wanted to try it and she got super excited...She didn't even cry (that's a really big deal) while getting it fixed.  She liked it so well she wanted it done 2 days in a row.  The second day turned out better since I knew what I was doing a little better while putting the socks in, but they were both cute.  She asked to do it again last night, but we didn't because her hair was still too wet from her bath when she was going to sleep.  Here are some pictures of her from both days.

Day 1 (Tuesday night...Wednesday day)

Day 2 (Wednesday night...Thursday Day)

We had baked potatoes for dinner one day this week...This boy loves!!! baked potatoes.  He ate 2 then finished Lauren's.

On Thursday Lauren, Brad and I went and helped in Jared's class.  We help during center time, so there are about 4 kids that come.  Sometimes is it a worksheet, making a little book, one time we played dreidels, we've helped with snack, this last time we got to play a rhyming game.  Thursday I went to the doctor again.  That night we went to our friend's house in Highland and picked up our baby clothes that they are kindly letting us store in their basement.  It was fun to see them again and our kids loved running around their house.  I still need to sort through them and get some washed...but I have time right?

Jared brought home his cookie for cookie club on Thursday too.  That is a club you can get into in Kindergarten when you know your letters, their sounds, the kindergarten sight words, and sound words out.  Jared's been doing all of this for a while, but they just started testing last week...and sent the first cookies home last Thursday.

Friday was a pretty normal Friday for us.  They bring day old bread to the Wymount office on Friday mornings.  Jared is our bread man and usually runs over and gets some for us.  He usually gets us a garlic bread and some doughnuts.  I know it's not the healthiest breakfast but by Friday our spinach is usually gone for green smoothies and we are looking for something else.  Alan turns his nose up at day old doughnuts since he gets fresh ones every Thursday on campus, but the rest of us enjoy our slightly crusty doughnut.  We went to playgroup and then left that a little early to catch the last story time at the library.  We came home and ate lunch, then head down to the church so I can practice organ.  Jared, Lauren, and Brad like to play in the gym or nursery...and are usually pretty good.  It's been awhile since they dropped dandelions (or anything else) in the foot pedals, emptied half the kleenex box by floating them like parachutes, or flooded the sink in one of the nurseries.  After practicing organ We went back to the library for a book sale they were having.  I told them they could each get 1 book...we found Aldo Applesauce for Jared (remember that one?) and a different Johanna Hurwitz book for Lauren.  Brad got a board book by Eric Carle...My very first book of Animal Homes.  We hurried home and ate dinner then met Alan at the swim meet.  We were against Utah.  It was pretty exciting at the end because the outcome of the meet came down to the last 2 races for the boys...I didn't realize how loud, intense, and exciting the swim meet could get.  BYU boys and girls both won.  After the meet they were having a retirement party for the head coach...he's been the head coach since 1975...that's a long time.  We just happened to see some friends from quad 2 playing an intramural basketball game on our way out, so we popped in and cheered for them in the last few minutes of their game.  Good thing the only thing on my calendar for the day was the swim meet....

Saturday morning I went to a Relief Society Visiting Teaching Workshop.  Then later in the day we went to Winco and watched the Boys basketball game (just here at home)...

Brad fell asleep in the tinker bell sleeping bag last night....

Today has been a nice relaxing day.  For Christmas Lauren got a box with 8 princess puzzles.  We have done them, but never all at once.

This evening we went over to Jeff and Elizabeth's house for dinner and to celebrate Jeff's birthday.  It was all super yummy.  Poor Jeff has a test tomorrow and then another on his Birthday.  We had Hawaiian haystacks and chocolate cake.  Jeff, Alan, and Jared played Ticket to Ride while Elizabeth, Brad, Lauren, and  I played Mastermind and Cat and Mouse (I don't know the real name of the game) about 20 times.

Everyone wanted carried on the way home (including me...kind of)....it didn't last long.  Both ways didn't work so well... so they ended up taking turns...

We are looking forward to another busy week...with maybe a little extra excitement thrown in.

More Snow

Last Monday was super cold!!!!  I don't remember what the high was (below freezing), but it felt cold especially since the high the day before was in the high 40s.  Our friends invited us up to their house for a while in the morning.  They had gotten some new lego sets (Harry Potter Castles) and invited us up to help put them together.  Alan and Jared had a great time working on that and Lauren, Brad, their little girl, and I had fun playing memory and go fish.  That afternoon we went out and went infant car seat shopping.  We went to 4 stores...trying to find just a car seat....not a whole travel system.  The first store had one, but we wanted to compare a couple of places at least.  The second store was too expensive.  The third store didn't sell just a car seat.  The last store we went to was just right... it had a car seat that was on clearance because it was last years model.  It came in a travel system...we also got Jared and Brad new socks all for less then the cheapest price for just a car seat.  We were pretty excited about it...still are...we also got a $5 gift card on another promotion that the store had.  We were feeling pretty blessed to find it...and I am relieved that now we have a way to get the baby home from the hospital.  Now that we have 4 strollers and almost 4 kids we're going to have to figure out how to push them all. :)...or which ones we can finally get rid of.  This is a dragon boat that Jared made out of tp tubes.  The fire is connected to a popsicle stick and can move in and out of his mouth.

Tuesday Jared had a field trip to the Bean Museum.  Brad and I got to meet them there and help a group of 4 boys around the museum.  We saw a short reptile show and then got to go on a horn hunt....I've never seen the horn hunt paper before so that was a fun new thing.

Wednesday was a really busy day.  The first thing we did was go to the pet store and get crickets for Webby (the pet tarantula in Lauren's class).  We planned a little extra time there to look around which is always fun.  Then we dropped Jared off at school and the rest of us went to Ready to Learn.  After Ready to Learn we dropped Lauren off at school.  Brad and I bought milk on the way home.  We didn't have much time here (long enough to do the dishes, get the mail, and change Brad)  then it was time to go pick everyone up.  After we picked them up we stopped by home for a pack of crackers then it was off to get Alan and go to the doctor.  Jared had wanted to go 2 weeks ago to my doctor's appointment to hear the baby's heart beat, but they were doing some tests....so we told him the next one.  Last week the only appointment they had open was while he was at school, so he finally got to go on Wednesday.  He got invited to a birthday party on Tuesday for Wednesday at the same time as the appointment, but choose to go to the appointment and then go to the party late.  Of course the doctor was running behind so we had a wait a while, but he did finally hear the heart beat and make it to the last half hour of the party.

I had a theory that if you took your kids with you to the doctor they didn't make you wait as long...Lauren had to go once when she was sick and we had just taken Brad the week before since the others were at school...both times we didn't really have to wait.  Even though we had to wait about an hour this last time they found some things to entertain themselves with.

It was kind of funny when we dropped him off...at parties here (in Wymount) people usually invite the whole family and everyone goes...and that is what he was expecting I think.  We asked him if he wanted someone to walk him to the door and he said yeah who is going with me and we said you go by yourself...he thought for a moment and said ok.  Alan did walk him to the door, but he did great at the party.  Also 2 days last week and everyday this week Jared jumped out of the car and ran into school by himself.  (Everyday up to now we've had to walk him in...and he can be clingy even then)  So this is a big deal...and something that I'm really glad he is doing now...and will be especially nice in a few weeks.  The party was a star wars theme...Jared brought home a Yoda cupcake..maybe drank Yoda punch...ate pizza, and got to bring home a light saber...it sounded like lots of fun.

Thursday and Friday were both really nice days and we were able to play outside for a little while each day.  Friday night we went back to the pet store since we had such a fun time there earlier in the week.

Saturday we just got some things around here done and we went to another Women's Basketball game.  Jared, Lauren, Bradley, and Alan all went down and did the chicken dance during the timeout.  When we came out of the game it had started snowing.  We still had to make a run to winco, but we got home before it got too slick.

This morning we woke up to about an inch of snow, but the walk to church was super slick.  By the time church was over the sun had come out and was starting to melt everything.  After church Jared's primary teacher was outside making a giant snowman and Jared really wanted to help, so he and Alan went out for a little bit and then while Alan was home teaching (almost 2 hours) the rest of us went out too.  Once the giant snowman was finished Lauren and Jared and a neighbor had fun building some other snow creatures.

The Giant snowman...check out his giant carrot nose too! (I'm not sure how he got so big since there wasn't that much snow.)

Lauren and a snowball she rolled...

which along with Jared's turned into...small snow people?

then to 1 small snow person and a cold seat...

then to snow alien...

And last to a snow throne.

Brad had fun while we were out there too.

I think it is supposed to snow more tomorrow...I hope it's not too bad.

Dishwater spaghetti

This week wasn't quite as busy as some, and we were still able do some fun things and some not so fun things that just needed done. 

Last Sunday (and today) I wore a dress to church that I started sewing while I was pregnant with Lauren.  I never finished it then because my sewing machine was having tension problems and eventually died.  I have a new machine since then and I remembered it and knew where to find the dress so I decided I would finish it so I could wear it for the last month.  All that was left was some top stitching, putting the sleeves in, and hemming it.  I did finished it 2 weeks ago.  It is pretty big, but nice and comfortable.

Last Tuesday just as I was going to start making dinner Lauren had a blood blister on her heel pop (she got it from some boots she wore to play in the snow).  That left little bloody heel prints all over the kitchen floor.  We got her and the floor cleaned up, but she wouldn't put a bandaid on for anything.  I even gave her several choices...mickey mouse, sesame street, princess, regular.  Just mentioning it would make her wail.  She used to love bandaids and wanted them all the time until sometime last fall when she left some bandaids from school on (they had a doctor office for dramatic play) for about a week...we couldn't get them off of her then.  Those ones hurt really bad coming off and so now even if she really needs one she won't put one on.  She decided that she would rather sit on a chair in the kitchen until Alan got home then put a bandaid on....and she did.  I started dinner...we were just having spaghetti with garlic bread and there were even 2 veggie choices (green beans or peas)  Dinner was all done...I had just drained the spaghetti (and left it in the sink)...Lauren and Brad were sitting in their chairs with their hands all washed when Jared called from the bathroom.  Well he had another mess for me to clean up.  It involved and bath for him and washing out some of his undies.  I was just finishing that up when Alan got home.  I was glad to see him, but the first thing he told me when he came into the bathroom was that the sink had bubbled up soapy water on the side that I had left the spaghetti on....yum...dish water. (since we live on the bottom sometimes we get other people's dish water coming up our sink...not very often...but sometimes)  He said he rinsed the spaghetti, but I said I wasn't going to eat it.  At first we were going to cook some more, but in the end we just pulled out some leftovers from the fridge to eat with our garlic bread and peas and bean.  It doesn't seem like a lot now, but at the time it wore me out big time...and now that it has been a few days it is almost kind of funny.

Wednesday was a better day.  In the evening 2 girls from the BYU basketball team brought by tickets to the rest of the games this season.  So, Thursday we went to the basketball game and had lots of fun.  The first picture is Brad doing his muscles during the muscle camera.

Friday we went to a family dance at Jared's school for a little while.  We all thought it was too loud so we didn't stay too long, but it was nice to get out of the house for a bit.

Saturday Alan spent several hours giving our bathroom a nice deep cleaning...it looks really good now...so if you want the bathroom to be clean when you come visit you should have come yesterday :)  We also went to a birthday party for our good friend Eden and we had lots of fun there.  I made her 2 flower hair clips...I've been making lots of flowers recently...once I get centers in them I'll have to take a picture, but for now here are the 2.

Today we cooked the turkey that's been in our freezer since Thanksgiving.  We also had stuffing, mashed potatoes, and rolls.  We had our neighbors (who brought a yummy pumpkin roll), and Jeff and Elizabeth (brought tapioca pudding which I've been wanting for awhile) come over for dinner.  We had lots of fun.  I never can remember to take a picture before Alan carves it...I'm just in too big a hurry to eat it.

And as promised here are a couple of pictures of Jared and his gap.

Also this week we got our Christmas tree taken down, my visiting teachers came, I went to the doctor (again), Jared had early release, Lauren got to take a present from Christmas for show and tell, we went to playgroup, went to the library twice, and had tons of fun.

We are looking forward to having the holiday tomorrow.  Maybe we'll get some more cleaning done...or just play lots either way it should be a good day.

The first snow and Jared loses a tooth

This last week has been a good mix of vacation and getting back into school.  Jared went back to school on Tuesday and so did Alan.  Lauren doesn't go back until tomorrow.  It was fun to have her home all week to play with Brad and me.  On Monday we just did some cleaning up around here...and some playing.  We cleaned up Jared, Lauren, and Brad's room and rearranged some things.  All of their stuffed animals got a new home...so of course that is the first thing they got back out to play with.

This isn't even close to all of them...maybe half.  These are the ones that they play with the most often.  I think they told me that they were sitting in the middle of a wrestling ring (I don't know where they have seen one of those before.) and all the animals are the spectators.  It looks like right now they are either cheering on a skunk or scorpion.  A few days later they had a good part of the animals in the front room and they were playing church.  The bishop was a shark and the primary president was the scorpion.  They said the nursery was getting a little rowdy, but it looked like the scorpion was going to be able to keep it under control.

Grandma and Grandpa reminded us of the fun tradition of sleeping in the living room with the tree.  Our tree is still up (but hopefully coming down this week), so on Thursday night Jared, Lauren, and Brad slept in our front room with the tree lights on.  I have a hard time sleeping comfortably even on my bed right now and I think Alan just wanted to keep me company.  They looked like they were having a fun little slumber party.

Friday morning we called the dentist to make an appointment for Jared.  His other front tooth had an abcess at the top of it...a result of chipping it when he was 20 months old and then smashing it hard again when he was almost 4.  I'm not sure how long it had been there.  I noticed it the week before Christmas (I don't look that close in his mouth very often) and it wasn't bothering Jared so he didn't complain about.  It needed to come out.  We tried wiggling it out for about a week, but it wasn't ready.  (It still had a really long root attached.)  When we called for the appointment to have it removed they said how soon can you get here.  So Friday Jared got his other front tooth out.  He is pretty cute with his double gap now.  The x-rays they took showed his teeth are still coming in straight, but they are still pretty far up, so he may have his gap for awhile.  At least now he is at the age where losing teeth is normal...unlike when he got his other one pulled 2 years ago...it was January 2 years ago...crazy!  We haven't taken a picture of him and his gap yet (where you can really see it) but here are a couple of him on the way out the door to have it removed.

Saturday morning we finally woke up to snow.  We've had a couple of light dustings, but nothing that really stuck or amounted to anything.  We maybe got an inch of snow, but it was good for snowmen and snowballs.  We even tried to toboggan a little.

Jared made the snowman all by himself.  Yesterday we also went to the builder workshop at Home Depot, I went to a baby shower, we all went down to the church while I practiced organ (they played basketball in the gym), Alan went to Winco, and I did a little sewing.

A couple of other things that happened this week...I went to the doctor (I go weekly now), Lauren Brad and I took Jared's violin to his class on Thursday for show and tell (it was supposed to be a Christmas surprise that they took).   He told them lots of good things about it.  Mrs Porter (his teacher) has children who play the violin and cello.  She helped him and they probably spent 5-10 min talking about the violin with his class.  Monday night for Family Home Evening we ran out of time for a game, so we made plenty of time for it on Tuesday.  Alan, Jared, and I played ticket to ride and Alan, Lauren, Brad, and I played candyland....at the same time...chutes and ladders was also played sometime during the week...maybe that night too.

Happy New Year!!!

Happy New Year!

This last week we've been having lots of fun.  Monday we spent most of the day playing with our new Christmas toys.  That night we did go check out some lights that we've been wanting to see in Spanish Fork.  Maybe I should say I've been wanting to see since I had to practically drag everyone else out the door.  Although once we were there they loved it.  It was a drive through lights display with different animated lights.  (like the speedway lights in Portland)

Tuesday we got ready and drove out to Grandma and Grandpa Atherton's  house.  We were there until Thursday afternoon.  Spending our days building a house (Alan),

 

and watching the building,

sliding down dirt hills,

walking skating and sliding on the frozen pond,

feeding horses,

sledding down an almost snowy hill,

and building ice cities.

  We also made sugar cookies, ate a delicious turkey dinner, and other fun things inside.


Friday we spent the day recovering and cleaning up around here....After we watched the BYU win it's bowl game against Tulsa.  We also went swimming that night. It's been a while since we've made it to the pool with our off and on sicknesses and other business.

Saturday we went to a noon years eve count down party at the shops at the Riverwoods.  It was sponsored by radio disney.  They counted down to the noon hour and let balloons and beach balls fall from the ceiling and kids tried to catch them.

  It was super crowded and pretty crazy, but we managed to leave with 2 beach balls and an orange balloon (Brad's favorite color) along with some other disney fun stuff.

We came home from that and made some yummy meatballs to take over to Jeff and Elizabeth's house for a fun New Years Eve party.  They invited several of their neighbors over too.  Of course we forgot to take any pictures until we'd worn out all the other guests and eaten half the food.  Although I'm not sure it looks like we've even put a dent in it.

We had a great time.