Big Brother

Doesn't Parker make the cutest big brother? No, I am not pregnant...which Matt is very thankful for. :) For me it is more of a bitter-sweet feeling. Yes, raising kids is definitely a lot of hard work, but they are so darn cute they make it all worth it. There is nothing sweeter than hearing your child say at bedtime, after a crazy, busy day, "I love you, Mom."

Caitlyn's Creation

Caitlyn made this beautiful seashell creation at preschool and we enjoyed seeing it on display in our house for many months. Unfortunately with 4 kids in school it is just impossible to display and keep everything they create at school, so when it is time to display a new creation we take a picture of the old one so they can always remember what it looks like. A picture takes up less space and makes it a little easier for the kids to "recycle" some of their projects.

It's Just A Phase

Parker is definitely thinking this particular bowl of Lucky Charms are magically delicious. In fact he couldn't get enough and I just thought it was hilarious that after he licked the bowl clean he had a little marshmallow on his face. Don't you love this stage of toddlerhood---the every time they eat they make a giagantor mess that requires some major clean up?

One More Time

Grandma and Grandpa Jensen put on a little easter egg hunt at their house too. Everybody was assigned a certain color and got to find all their plastic eggs of that color. The kids thought it was great cuz they weren't worried about not finding any eggs and as an extra special surprise some of the eggs were filled with a little moo-lah...possibly the one thing better than candy. Thanks Grandma and Grandpa!

Easter Morn

After the hustle and bustle of the Easter Bunny, it is so nice to get ready for church and spend the day thinking about the real reason we celebrate. We are so grateful to our Savior for his atoning sacrifice for us and we know that because of his suffering in Gethsemane and his resurrection we have the possibility to return to live with our Father in Heaven. And through, faith, repentance, and keeping the commandments, we can and will be together forever as a family because of our Savior's atonement.

Yes, as long as they will let me I will dress them in "matching" outfits...it's just one of my little OCD obsessions.

Happy Easter

Our Aunt Amy got to stay with us this Easter weekend because Grandma and Grandpa were house hunting in Utah. Each of the kids got to dye a dozen easter eggs, which I am considering maybe doing a week before next year cuz they always end up with more dye on their hands than the eggs. Especially Parker, he was loving throwing the eggs into the dye and then removing them with his hands...I think his hands were blue for about a month. Of course the Easter Bunny came and brought lots of goodies and other fun stuff in the baskets and the kids had fun finding all 60 colored eggs.

Easter Egg Hunt

Our neighborhood has a crazy-big Easter egg "hunt." Although, "hunt" might not be the right word...basically it is just hundreds of plastic eggs spread over about four lawns and 20+ kids dashing around trying gather as many eggs as their bags could hold. Yeah, there were soo many eggs we had to graduate from easter baskets to grocery bags. Thanks to all my great neighbors for making this fun memory possible!

Precious

Emma was giving a family home evening lesson and the other kids were right up there listening so attentively, like they couldn't get enough of it. These rare moments make it all worth it.

Happy Valentine's Day

It's time for our annual Valentine's party. The kids love (and lets face it, I do too) the chocolate fountain and the heart shaped pizza is just a classic. We also got to play a mean game of HEART-O and we watched the Valentine's edition of Alvin and the Chipmunks. We love getting to spend this special day with the little ones cuz for right now they love spending it with us and we know that somewhere in the not too distant future it won't always be that way. Yeah, Matt and I will just have to settle for a nice, quiet, romantic night out all by ourselves---hopefully we can manage. :)

Let's GO Mini Mites!

Caitlyn decided to try out a little cheerleading. She is a Mini Mite and gets to cheer at basketball games for kids her own age. She did great at her first game. She was even so brave when a wild shot bounced right off her head---she just kept on cheerin. :) Except for a couple of random cheers (get your freak on?) and no pom poms (she was really looking forward to the pom poms, but her age doesn't use any) it was a great experience.

Special Day

It was finally Caitlyn's turn to bring home a special friend from preschool. She got to bring home Teddy for the weekend and she had lots of fun with him. They started the weekend off with a trip to the library and then a late night watching movies. In the morning they colored pancakes and then Teddy came with us to run errands. They ended the weekend making bracelets at grandma and grandpa's house. Caitlyn had tons of fun and was so excited to tell all her friends at school about her fabulous weekend.

Cruisin

Parker got this plasma car for christmas and he loves for Caitlyn to take him for rides around the house.

All Good Things

Yes after a very exciting and busy holiday season we were basically wiped out, but it was definitely worth it, getting to spend time with all our family. Luv you guys! :)

Pump It Up

Of course no trip is complete without a couple hours of bouncin at Pump It Up.

Alladin

There is a little theatreby my parents house that really does a good job. They do anything from Les Miserable to kids theatre. We took the kids to see their production of Aladdin, and it was so cute. They keep it short and sweet, just an hour, but they really make the characters and stories come alive. The kids enjoyed it and even Parker sat through all but the last 10 minutes.