Happy Valentine's Day!

The munchkins with some of their Valentine treats.
Alan and I with our treats.
Alan and I ready for our date to the ward dinner/dance fundraiser. It was fun to go out and be together.

I hope everybody had a great Valentine's Day. We did, although I was put in my place by Elisabeth when she came home from preschool with a Valentine she had made that said, "To Daddy, I love you, Elisabeth." No, she did not have another one for Mom. But when I said something about it, she did say I could share Dad's valentine. I guess the moral to that story is do not tell your children that you are taking their brother to Disneyland and not any of the rest of them. (My Mom is taking me and Benjamin and Kim and Haylie to Disneyland at the end of the month to celebrate her birthday. This has not made my girls extremely happy. In fact, Emily has pretty much been giving me the "I like Dad and not Mom" treatment for a week...wait until she finds out we are surprising Leilani and letting her go because it is her birthday too...I will really be disowned as a parent. Elisabeth claims she would rather stay home with Dad anyway. Big Sigh........ I guess I better figure out some good souveniers to get back in good graces.)

Why Is It So Hard?

Benjamin was sweetly singing the "Happy Family" primary song (you know, "I love mother...") and I was wishing I had a video camera to capture it. I borrowed my mom's digital camera, which takes short video clips, and thought I had the perfect way to capture that sweet moment. Little did I know that NOBODY was going to love mother by the time her patience had been used up trying to capture the moment.
First he wanted ME to sing the song, not him.
Now it is his turn to sing, but he is not going to do it! So, I try taking him out of the stroller.
He is pushing his mom's buttons and he knows it.
Then he decides maybe he'll sing a different song (Down by the Bay), but gets distracted by a spider.
This time he gets a few phrases from "Down by the Bay," (by the bay, watermelons grow, back to my home) but he won't stay still to save his soul. Then he says he will sing "I love sister..." but he doesn't.
Now he decides to tackle mom's legs. I can't video him and he won't have to sing.
You'll notice dad in the side of the picture. He came out to help, because I was losing the battle, but he had no success either. Needless to say, I never did get him singing on the camera.

Why is it is so hard to get that perfect video or that perfect picture? I'm sure every one of you mothers have gone through this. It's the behind the scenes action. Sigh...I guess it just makes success that much sweeter!

Emily's Tray

Emily decided that today was the day to transform her football shelf to a Snow White shelf.
First she went to grandma's house to borrow brushes and paint. Then she got busy creating her vision.
Leilani decided that if Emily was going to create a Snow White shelf, then she was going to make her tray into a Cinderella tray and join the party.
Emily very meticulously planned every little detail.
Ta Da! The finished project. Isn't is cute? Much more girly than the football shelf it was intended to be.
Leilani's tray turned out cute too. I just couldn't get a very good picture of it because it was getting dark. There are better pictures on Grandma's camera. (which of course I do not have access to right now as I am blogging this)

Pretty Princess

My girls got a game for Christmas called "Pretty Pretty Princess." They love to play it every chance they get, and they especially love to have Dad play it with them! (It gives them a good laugh to see him dress up)
The point of the game is to get a full set of matching jewelry. Is it a good thing that my son likes the earrings the best? At least he calls himself a prince instead of a Princess. :)
The winner! What a pretty princess.

My Little Helper

Benjamin likes to help me do laundry. When I sort the clothes into piles, he throws them into different piles. When I put the laundry in the washer, he likes to hand the clothes to me and watch the water fill up the machine. When I fold the laundry, he likes to help by taking the clothes out of the dryer and throwing them back into the piles of dirty clothes. Yesterday, though, he tried a new trick. He got into the dryer and played in the clothes while I folded them. He had a lot of fun until the wheel inside turned and he fell sideways with all the clothes on him. I tried to get a picture, but he got out faster than I could take a picture. It was really funny! I guess I am just glad he wants to help. That seems to wear off as they get older :)

The First Saturday of the Month

The first Saturday of the month is always fun for my kids. This is the day that Home Depot holds its free Kids Club activities from 9-12. My kids have made many things: pencil holders, treasure boxes, castles, baseball holders, medal racks, trays, napkin holders, ect. This week they made football peg wall hangings in honor of the super bowl.

Leilani made a tray instead, and Emilyanne didn't put her football sticker on her project because she is going to paint the wood to look like a leaf and then hang Snow White (Disney Princess) ornaments on it. (She is very creative!)
Benjamin just started going, and he loves to be part of the gang. Notice the cute apron they give to all the kids.
After Home Depot, we went to Barnes and Noble for storytime and a visit from Raggedy Ann.

Next month they have Clifford on the first Saturday!

We always have to play with the train table before we can leave the book store. Benjamin and Haylie never want to leave.
The kids enjoy reading and looking at books too.

Alan actually took the two older kids back this afternoon for an activity to learn codes and coin tricks. They had a lot of fun. I am glad that we live in an area that has so many free activities for families.

Sunday Night at Grandma and Grandpa's

We are blessed to live around a lot of family. So, almost every Sunday night we all get together at my Mom and Dad's house for dinner, games, movies, ect. The grown ups (my siblings, spouses and parents) have fun and the little cousins all have fun. The kids like to have Grandpa play with them.
Grandpa makes a mean horse...
He bucks!
But he's willing to give everyone a ride.

Benjamin and Haylie are best buddies. We have to watch them, though, because Haylie will try anything Benjmain does - and he can be a daredevil! For instance, Benjamin likes to jump off the stairs (despite his mother's protests), and he has mastered it, but Haylie ended up on her face when she tried it .

It is not quiet when everyone is together (10 adults and 10 kids), but everyone has fun!