phone to blog - this week v2

Elise's classmates wrote this about her.  Not so sure about the "quiet" or "shy" Does she look shy???

Kendra, James' mom, does a weekly science experiment with Austin's class.  Austin loves it!
I was her assistant this week

Here is more evidence of Austin's love of science.  He's a curious kid and always wondering how the world works.  He's still going through science kids from Christmas.  This one is a Volcano kit and he loved the thing.  And of course, his sibs love to help.

Solar Robot kit.  This one was kind of a dud

glow in the dark slime
tadpoles (this water looks like pickle juice.  Austin is sure they like to eat algae)
glow-in-the-dark crystals

Geode cracking.  This one is still a work in progres

Friday Field trip to Mrs. Cavanaugh's chocolate factory. Notice Elise is here.
She told me she was using the birthday coupon she gave me (which was for her to take a day off school to help me).
That girl is too smart!

learning more chocolate facts

Cole the baker

This probably deserves its own post.  Erik is potty trained!!!  Well, I think he is.  I don't want to jinx it.  We read book after book after book while he sat on the potty.  For a whole weekend.  Taking half hour shifts.  Big kids included.  It went okay but by Sunday Erik was hating it.  What to do?  Once you start, it's best not to stop but I was gearing up for the worst week ever. Anyway, he just told me he wanted to do it by himself.  So, I put him in unders on Monday and hoped for the best.  He'd sneak into the bathroom and go.  Yay!  But if I walked past, he'd immediately jump off and say he was done.  I'd ask him throughout the day if he needed to go and sometimes would run in there, but really liked it best when he just figured it out.  We were bracing ourselves for another "Cole" experience (George says we still suffer from PTSD from that), but Erik actually did really well.  So far, he's in 2nd place for the best potty trainer.  (Elise is number 1.  No question.)

George did the "testimony" lesson with cornstarch with the kids for FHE.  He does it every few years and they love it each time.  See? :)

cookie challenge with the young women

January Randoms

Gingerbread men from the hall decorations at Christmas time

puzzle boys... we do this a lot!

Austin at a water color class at the Whitmers.  Lots of fun!

I met together with Hessie, Kari, and Kelli for lunch.  So much fun!  It was
so fun to catch up.  I think it's been 8 years(or more?)  since we've met up.

Lucy and Elise spent a weekend with
Uncle Jake.  Part of the fun included a
cooking class

A big part of January was an overhaul of  the pantry.  Big projects and I don't really do well these days.  I get grumpy when I am interrupted continually.  But this really needed to be done.  And it took like three weeks.  *sigh*  But it 

Erik: no. We are not watching bugs life.  That show is for baaaaaaabies.
----------------------------
Austin:  It is really important to read.  I mean, even the animals should read.  Think of if a mouse tried to take a bath in a cat's dinner dish.  If he could read, he'd be okay.
---------------------------

Elise:  So I think I should be a "cool kid" at school.
Me:  Ummm... how do you know if you are a cool kid?
Elise:  Well, you dress cool.  Like Avery and Cici do.  And if you are a boy, you wear a cap.  (I must have looked puzzled)  You know, like Alvin in Alvin and the Chipmunks.  He wears a cap and he's cool.
--------------------------

We've been working on reverence in sacrament meeting.  Sometimes I feel like we are making progress and sometimes I feel like it's the longest hour ever and we are driving everyone around us crazy. This Sunday,  Erik was on my lap facing me. I pull him close and whisper in his ear things to try to get him to be quiet.  Erik pulls away and yells his replies :

E: I don't LIKE to whisper!!!

E: Don't hold my hands! I don't like that!

(I'm whispering the story about Jesus and the boat )

Erik (said loudly and w his scary voice) "I don't WANT to talk about Jesus.  I WANT to talk about Star wars"
----------------------------

Cole: mom, I want to kiss you. And on the lips!!!
M: ok
Cole: you know why I want to kiss you on the lips? Because if you kiss on the lips it means you are going to get married. And I'm going to marry you!!!
---------------------------

Austin: (after staying up late and watching astro boy) I am going to have the best dreams Ever!!!
---------------------------

Erik: (after church) I. AM. A. LAMENITE TURKEY!!!
---------------------------

Me: so I really, really, really want to go to the provo temple open house.  Who will go with me?
(Responses definitely show their personalities)
Austin: I will, mom! (With the sweetest look ever and a hug)
Lucy: do I have to miss school?
Elise: now....what are we talking about here?

Sunday game of Monopoly.  Notice Elise's poses

Clara boo - 11 months

Little Miss Clara is all over the place now.  She loves to tear things out of drawers, unload bins in the pantry, and be part of whatever action her brothers and sisters have going on.  She smacks people when they get up in her face (and I kinda look the other way.  That girl gets so much torture I figure the kid deserved it.)  She's not real cuddly but likes to look be facing outwards to see the world.  She does like to snuggle up to her blanket when we put her down for a nap.  She is also at the stage where she can't decide whether she wants to be up or down... she's a wiggler for sure.  She likes to bang on books and turn the pages.  Clara has her own little "language" as she crawls around but still adds in a few growls for good measure.  She's not a picky eater but is already excited to be part of the breakfast group.  She watches very closely what I give everyone and wants some too.  She loves smoothies from a straw and sucks on a water bottle whenever she finds one.  What a cutie!

tongue girl!  Just like her daddy

lovin' those beets!

phone to blog - this week v1

Sometimes I wonder if I'd do better blogging if I just post straight from my phone to the blog.  So here is a week of photos - Jan 18-24.  Not necessarily in order of when they happened.  :)

check out this note I got on my bathroom sink... awwwww!
(from Lucy)

pure talent!

Austin was pretty impressed with the uncles
light up sign for Greg

We had some of the Cole kids on Saturday.  George took the girls skiing at Powder Mountain while I had the boys.  It was quite comical.  They played a game of hide-and-go-seek.  It started out normal, mid way through they changed it up.  Someone was counting and when they'd open their eyes, the other boys would turn on the keyboard piano song and fall on the couch pillows in some crazy pose and laugh their heads off.  I still can't figure out how that didn't get old after 2 minutes.  But it was more like a half hour when I finally suggested they go downstairs and play for a bit.  George said the girls had a great time!

Saturday night we had spaghetti and Sunday pie to celebrate Greg's birthday.  He wanted it just how my mom made it.  Yikes... that's a little pressure.  My brothers and dad came up too and I laughed my head off at their stories and teasing.  Those boys are so funny.  

headed to the Great to be 8 fireside... hard to believe

favorite part of the night was definitely the tour with the bishop.
Austin was so impressed with the sacrament table and how there is a mini-microphone there.  :)

Geo and I went on a fun date - Davis Hospital Party Military Style

They had a "big band" play for the entertainment
(they were really good) and some young girls sing some
oldies.  So we got to dance... fun!

library store time - we did a snowman theme

The paleontologist stopped his
work to show the boys some cool
fossils and stuff.

went with some friends to the Dino Park

Happy 2016

 We started off our new year's eve party with a fondue dinner.  The kids LOVE the whole fondue idea.  I'm really not sure how much they eat, but they think the idea is so exciting.  I tried a new cheese fondue dip that Geo and I thought was really yummy, but the kids weren't that impressed.  (We made the fancy hats at Discovery Gateway the day before).

no glass for Erik... goes right for the bottle!

Cheers to the old year and the new!

We played a game of Bean Boozeled.  You spin to pick a color and eat that color jelly bean.  One flavor is nasty and one is yum, but they look exactly alike so you never know what you're going to get.  We ate things like stinky socks, barf, lawn clippings, rotten eggs, etc.  The funniest thing was that Erik was ALWAYS happy with the spin he got.  I could smell skunk on his breath so I'm sure at least one of those was disgusting, but he had a grin each time.  I guess candy is candy???

Later that evening George played cards with some friends, but I wasn't feeling up to it so I stayed and watched a movie with the big kids.  It was Lucy who had to shake me awake a little to get ready for midnight celebrations.  And Austin pulled a popper and sacked right out.  Poor Elise fell asleep too.  So we saved a few balloons and fun for the morning.

Lucy and Elise actually did pretty well against a
big group of boys

The first day of the New Year brought the Gundi party (this is when we do our Christmas party now).  There were some wild games of dodgeball.

Grammy made it to the final 3 of the adult round!  Woot, woot!

this is as close as Austin got to the half court line :)

longest line of Guts I've ever seen

We ended the day with a birthday party for Grandma Liz.  Fun!  And then George took me to the LATE night showing of Star Wars with Greg and Gavin.  Whoa.  Looks like 2016 is off to a great start!