GIVEAWAY!!

Over on my craft blog, Crafty Crafts, I am doing my first ever GIVEAWAY!! One lucky person will win some awesome jewelry from Simple Serendipity. Head on over and check it out!

Hello, Goodbye

The other day I was watching "Hello, Goodbye" from Glee, and the kids were watching it with me. (Don't worry...I don't let them watch the whole show, only the really, really tame musical numbers on YouTube) They are pretty good at picking up songs they hear, especially Katelynn. Here are a couple videos of them singing "Hello, Goodbye". Check out Michael's dance moves in the second one. Ow ow! Ha ha ha!

No Running in the Library!

On Wednesday the kids and I went to the library. I was helping Katelynn look at a book when Michael came running down the aisle and ran right into one of those little cubbies they have the computers in! I thought he had just tripped and fell into the desk, but the 2 moms watching from the couch said he just ran into it at full speed! He started crying really hard and the library ladies rushed over to see if he was alright.

His nose started bleeding like crazy, and once he saw the blood he started really freaking out. We got him (kind of) cleaned up while one of the library ladies filled out an incident report and brought him some ice in a towel and a foam airplane. The security guy also came over to see if everything was okay. They asked me a couple of times if I wanted them to call the paramedics. I was, like, "He's FINE. Just a little (or a lot of) blood!" I called Scott and told him what happened just to make sure we didn't need to call the EMT, though.

Needless to say, his poor little nose is quite swollen up and is pretty black & blue. Here are a couple of pictures taken that night. Now the swelling has gone down quite a bit, but it still has a little yellowish, greenish tinge to it.

Dinner with Daddy

Sometimes when Scott has a long day at school, packed with hours and hours of studying on end, we will take dinner over to school and eat together. We like to sit at the picnic tables next to a big field of grass and playing catch or tag.

After visiting Daddy one day the kids wanted me to take pictures of them. (Actually, they do that a lot. They'll randomly come up to me and say, "Mommy, take a picture of me." ) It was a nice night, so we got some pretty good pictures.

I love this picture. I think it really captures their special relationship. They love laughing and playing together.

Emma has such a great smile.

This picture of Michael cracks me up. What a goofball!

Even though she has spaghetti sauce all over her face, I still think this is a cute picture. 

A fun picture taken by Katelynn.

I love, love, love this picture! You can't look at it without grinning. Don't you wish we all could have the kind of love for life that four year olds have?

Have a happy day!

Pioneer Days

Last Saturday was Peoria's Pioneer Days celebration. That morning they hosted a 5k, and I ran it!! I have never, ever done anything like that in my life! Some friends in my ward convinced me to run it with them by saying, "It's only 3.1 miles. You can do that!" So, after weeks of training it all paid off. My goal was to get under 45 minutes at first, then I changed it to under 40. My final time? 33:45!! (or somewhere around that time. I don't remember exactly what it said when I crossed the finish, and we were at the very back of the pack when we started the race.) It was a lot of fun, and I look forward to running another one soon!

After the race we decided to stay for the parade. It's funny how much kids love parades.

Scott loves the cool, old cars.

Katelynn said she wanted to buy this black llama for Daddy.

Everyone thought this longhorn was really cool. (I *think* it's a longhorn, anyways. Maybe not. I dunno. Scott would know, though.)

The girls loved the Mexican dancers' colorful dresses.

After the parade they had a free family picnic. Cheese, girls!

Easter Party at Midwestern

Every year at Scott's school they have a big Easter Egg Hunt, snacks and activities. Last year it rained, but this year the weather was perfect! The kids had a great time.

1. The Easter Bunny picked Michael up and gave him a big hug.
2. Michael and his friend Izak were having a 'sticky hand' battle with the sticky hands they got in their eggs. They thought it was hilarious when Michael got the sticky hand wrapped around his head.
3. "I got a ducky!!"
4. Battle of the sticky hands!
5. At the end of the party, happily snacking on sugar cookies they decorated.
6. Katelynn picking up eggs during the hunt.
7. Emma picking up eggs.
8. Katelynn getting a hug from the Bunny.
9. Michael & Emma running across the lawn during the hunt.
10. Photo op with the Easter Bunny. I thought it was cute that they gave the kids pinwheels when they visited with him.
11. Oops--this is a repeat of #1. Oh, well.
12. Rats! This is a repeat of #2!! I swear I am crazy in the head...

(Oh, and if you want to see the pictures better just click on it. If I increase the size, the side of the pictures get cut off.)

Glee+My Seester=Awesomeness.

Hey!! My awesome little sister Elizabeth submitted a video to audition in the open casting call  for the show Glee. She is an amazing singer and actress, so if you could go HERE and give her a gold star, that would be grrrrreat! And, please spread the word to your friends. The more gold stars, the better!

Here is the monologue and song she submitted, which is available to view on MySpace. Thanks for your support!

Glee monologue

Glee | MySpace Video


Glee song

Glee | MySpace Video

Easter Baskets

Easter is always interesting when it falls on the same weekend as General Conference. It made me laugh when I went outside in my pajamas to find the neighbors going to church, when it's usually the other way around! Ha ha! Anyway, in our family the Easter Bunny hides the Easter baskets around the house. I was kinda disappointed because I stayed up really late getting the baskets perfect, ahem, I mean making sure the Easter Bunny got them perfect, and the kids found the baskets before we got up, so I wasn't able to see their excitement when they first found the baskets. Oh, well. We heard all about it when they came bursting into our bedroom holding their baskets high and yelling excitedly about every single thing in the basket.

Oh, and I noticed this on some of their eggs. It might be hard to read, but it says, "Made Responsibly in China". Thanks, China. I appreciate that.

Dying Eggs

The day before Easter we decorated eggs. The kids are getting a little older and having a lot of fun with it. You can tell by the pictures that they don't want to stop dying to smile for the camera! (And pardon the kids looking like ragamuffins. I made them wear my old t-shirts so they wouldn't get their clothes messed up.)

Red Robin Birthday Burger

I  love Red Robin. I especially love that they send you a free burger coupon for your birthday! So, the Friday after my birthday we went to Red Robin as a family. Oh! Did you know that the mac n' cheese kid's meal has free refills?! It's true!

Saguaro Ranch Park

A month ago (yes, I'm behind in my blogging) we had a family BBQ with the Stringhams at Saguaro Ranch Park. It was a beautiful day for the park. We ate, played on the playgrounds and explored the historic buildings and displays.

Having lunch. Check out Michael's cheesy smile.

Cam trying to open the soda. The lid was fused on there and we all had quite the time trying to get it open. Finally Cam had to whip out his pocket knife and go to town on that thing!

Scott at the grill.

Say cheese, Emma!

What's a trip to the park without chasing the chickens?

Soccer Tots

Last month the kids finished up their Soccer Tots class. The teacher was really good with the kids and they had a lot of fun. They played a bunch of games to just kinda get the kids familiar with ball handling, following directions, team play, etc. I think I will get them signed up for an actual team as soon as I can. I know that they had a blast.

One Crafty Thing

I've started a new feature on my craft blog. It's called ONE CRAFTY THING. It is a challenge to do something crafty thing every week and show it to us! It doesn't necessarily have to be a craft that you do each week (I know we are busy, busy people), but it can be organizing something, baking something, sneaking a love note into your hubby's car...the possibilities are endless.

SO, head on over to Crafty Crafts and check it out! Hope to see you there!