Where did Mary go?

I find myself asking, "Where did Mary go?" quite often lately. She is so fast and she often disappears from me. At least now I know where to look if I can't find her though. She is in her and Spring's room, climbed up on the little nightstand by Spring's bed. She loves to climb up on it and play with all the fun things Spring has placed on it. I walk in and she will look up at me when she realizes I am there with a big smile on her face. She is so sneaky but she is so proud of her accomplishment. She never cries when I get her down...I think she knows it won't be long before I am distracted again and she can return to her antics!

Micke Grove

Shelly Waters and I took our kids to Micke Grove today. There were 10 kids total and they sure had a great time. They played at a fun park for the first hour we were there. Then we went to the zoo. It's a small zoo but it was fun for the kids. Mary was so happy and content to be in the stroller and watch the kids around her. Sammy was so excited to see all the animals and whenever we left a group of animals he would say, "bye, monkeys" or "bye alligator." It was so cute. We then took the kids over to the historical museum. Thomas loved this especially. There were many different displays but the favorite was the Native American display because it was very interactive and they could 'pretend' they were living in that time. They spent a lot of time there. Then outside the museum there was a blacksmith shop, one room schoolroom, tractors, and all sorts of fun things for the kids to see and experience. We had a picnic lunch outside as well. It was fun and the kids had a good time with each other and with their friends. When I asked them what their favorite part was Thomas said he loved the museum and Spring replied that the zoo was her favorite. Neither response surprised me! The kids are talking about wanting to take Dad there during summer vacation.

Children's Museum

This morning the kids and I decided to go to the Children's Museum. It was great fun. They were so excited and really had fun together. They were able to shop and play 'clerk' at a miniature grocery store. They played in firetrucks, ambulances, police cars, city bus, helicopter, and police motorcycle. Sammy absolutely loved the firetruck. He kept going back and back to it. Thomas and Spring painted each other's faces at the face painting station. Their creations were wonderful! Thomas really enjoyed the magnetic wall that he was able to make paths for balls to fall down. They had a wonderful arts'n'crafts room where the kids could create and have fun. Sammy loved gluing different things on his pictures. Thomas and Spring loved making people out of toilet paper rolls and painting in the big art room. We spent a really long time in the art room. All in all, it was a wonderful day. We could have stayed forever but Mary was really getting tired and in need of a nap so we had a picnic lunch outside and then came home. This is something they definitely want to do again! We will have to go sometime when Dad can come too!

Washing the Van

For the activity portion of Family Home Evening we decided to wash the van together. The kids were so excited for this and really helped on the first side of the van. Then Thomas and Spring got into a sponge war...using the big sponges to splatter each other with soap and water. They were laughing and giggling so hard and just having a great time. Sammy watched and laughed and tried to get them wet with the hose a few times. Mary had fun watching them as we had her in the stroller because we didn't want her crawling around in the wet grass and sidewalk. She almost had a look of, "Hey, when do I get to do fun things like that!" Thomas and Spring kept calling out as they were running around, "This is the best washing the car time ever!" It was so fun to listen to them and watch them have so much fun with such a simple thing. Truth be told, Joel and I were kinda relieved when they decided to do that because it really made washing the van a lot easier! :) I am so grateful for children that have fun together and are able to find joy in such simple things. After we were finished they had their FHE treat outside and then we stripped them down in the garage as they headed into the bathroom for a bath to 'warm up' a bit from the cold water (in their words).

Easter Sunday

Sunday morning we were able to go to church with Tammy and Ty. After church we headed to Petaluma to visit with my grandparents and my dad, who was in town visiting them. Grandpa had brought them some fun things from grandma and himself so the kids loved seeing those things. Then Grandpa and Great-Grandpa surprised them with yet another Easter Egg hunt in their backyard. They thought these eggs were great because they were filled with money...not candy. They all had fun looking for the eggs and enjoying the beautiful weather outside. Grandpa then took them for a ride in his rental car, a mustang. They loved that. In fact, when we first pulled up to my grandparent's house Thomas said, "Grandpa Silly is already here because there's a corvette in the driveway!" Not quite a corvette...but a sportscar! We enjoyed dinner with them and then headed home shortly after because Joel needed to be back to work early the next morning. It was a wonderful weekend and a great chance to share special time with family.

Easter on Saturday

We decided to do Easter baskets and egg hunt on Saturday morning this year. The kids were so excited to get new church movies, sunglasses, and some treats in their Easter baskets. Then we went outside to find easter eggs. It was fun to watch them. The Easter bunny had a new trick this year. He hid solid color eggs and two-tone eggs. The two-tone eggs were for Sammy and Mary to find because they were hidden more easily while the solid eggs were for Spring and Thomas. Sammy liked to follow the older kids around more than anything. Toward the end he finally got the hang of it and started to pick up the eggs. They all had fun looking for the eggs and helping each other.

Daddy then went to the Cannery for a service project with the young men. We picked him up from the cannery a few hours later and headed to Grandma and Grandpa Biggs' house for an Easter dinner and fun. Tammy, Ty, Kristine, and Darren, and their family were there as well. We enjoyed a wonderful dinner and then the kids had fun with another egg hunt in the backyard. All the kids had such a great time playing together outside. They played outside until after 9:00 pm just playing, pretending, and having fun.

Friday Fun

Friday was Thomas' 1st day of Easter Break. We had a great time. We made lots of homemade rolls to take to Grandma Biggs' house the following day for our Easter dinner. The kids love to make these rolls with me. Sammy loves to help too. You can always find his rolls because there is no shape to them...he just wads the dough into a big ball. I love that they enjoy baking and cooking with me though. We also made sugar cookies in the shape of eggs. Later in the afternoon the kids decorated them to look like Easter Eggs. They LOVED this...Sammy loved to take little bites out of all the cookies he was decorating. Then we went outside some more and planted lots of new flowers and ground cover in our flower beds. They really had a good time with this and it looks so much nicer now. That evening we dyed eggs just before heading off to bed. It was a great day. I always enjoy the days when we are all home. I am looking forward to a whole week that Thomas is out of school.

Curriculum Showcase

Tonight was the Curriculum Showcase at Thomas' school. All the teachers display art and writing projects produced by the students throughout the year. Our family was able to go and see some of Thomas' work from the year. He was very excited to show us all his work. It was also fun to see him interact with his friends he saw. I remember enjoying going to school for different events as a child and it is fun to see his enjoyment as well. He enjoyed talking to his teacher from this year as well as his kindergarten teacher. I finally remembered to take the camera so we could get a picture of him with his teacher, Mrs. Dei Rossi.

Weekend Tradition

It is becoming a tradition for Thomas and Spring to have sleepovers in the front room on the weekends. They didn't use the air mattress this week because some friends are borrowing it. They brought out their sleeping bags and blankets. They read books for a long time until we told them it was time to turn off the lights. This time they snuck their blankets over as close to the tile as possible so they could see into the family room and watch what Joel and I were doing. We looked over to see this...Thomas sound asleep and Spring sound asleep with her head in her hands!

"I need Bob"

My mom gave Thomas a Bob the Builder ice pack when he was about a year old. It is a soft cloth Bob head covering an ice pack. We keep it in the freezer so it is always ready for when it is needed. The kids absolutely love it and will often say, "I need Bob." when they get hurt. Well, a couple nights ago, Joel was at YM and I had run to the bathroom quickly, that was my first mistake! I came back into the kitchen just in time to see Mary 'jump' off the side of the couch and face plant on the tile. (I later found out the kids were excited because she had climbed onto the couch all by herself for the first time!) Spring picked her up and tried to console her and I got 'Bob' out of the freezer. She did not like the cold on her head at all but I kept it there as much as possible to try to minimize the bruise and goose-egg that was already appearing. She was fine after a couple minutes and got down to play. I looked over just in time to see Sammy pull the chair out from the table and very deliberately and carefully hit his forehead on the chair a couple times. He then looked up rubbing his forehead and said, 'Mom, me need Bob." He ran over and picked up Bob from the floor and held him on his head. It was really quite funny.

Weeding with Mom

I was outside pulling weeds today while Spring and Sammy were napping. Normally Mary is napping during this time, as well, but she woke up this morning really late. This led to a late nap from which she woke up about 15 minutes before the other 2 were going down for their nap. So, Mary came outside with me. She loves being outside. I looked over to see her in the dirt pulling at flowers, plants, weeds, whatever. She had a mouthful of dirt and a big smile on her face. What more could she ask for!

weeding

If the Savior Stood Beside Me

About 2 weeks ago, our Primary Chorister had asked Thomas to sing a solo of "If the Savior Stood Beside Me" in primary because he knew the entire song before she began to teach it. He was so excited and was all prepared yesterday at church to sing for opening exercises. He was talking about it on the way to church and Spring asked what he was doing it for. He told her and she replied that she knew it also. Thomas said, "Do you want to sing it with me?" This made her day. They did such a wonderful job while they sang it. It was so special to listen to and I had tears streaming down my cheeks as they sang. It was cute to see Spring look up at Thomas as they sang with her big smile and he reached over and put his arm around her. The room was so quiet and the Spirit was so strong as they sang. Our kids really love this song and it has helped then make better decisions with the things they say and the things they do when we ask them if that is how they would act if the Savior was standing beside them.

Tonight, after FHE, we asked them to sing it so we could record. So, here it is...not quite as peaceful and sweet as on Sunday...but still special. I am so grateful they have a love of Primary songs and make the effort to learn them on their own.

"Knock, Knock..."

Joel taught the kids a 'knock, knock' joke a few weeks ago. It goes like this:

"Knock, Knock"
"Who's there?"
"Interrupting Cow"
"Interrupting Cow..
(Before they can finish)
"Moo Moo Moo Moo Moo"

All the kids think it is hilarious. Thomas and Spring love to change it to "interrupting pig, cat, sheep, etc." Well, you know our silly Sammy. He thinks he is so funny and loves to tell this joke too. He will do it over and over and over again wherever we are. All he has to hear is someone say, "knock, Knock" and he gets started. It is funny the first couple times but he just doesn't stop because the kids laugh so much at him. So, we thought we would let you experience Sammy's knock knock joke!

Sammy the Mechanic

Saturday morning Joel walked into the garage to see Sammy using the hose from the air compressor to inflate the car tires. It was really cute. He sure does watch everything we do and he tries so hard to imitate us.

Beautiful Friday Afternoon

Friday was a gorgeous day. It was in the low 70's and just beautiful. We spent almost the entire day outside. Joel and I decided to take the kids to the park that evening and have a picnic dinner. They, of course, loved the idea. It was so much fun. It was also fun to see them help each other. Spring loved pushing Sammy and Mary on the swings and going down the slide with Mary. Sammy is our little daredevil. Before we knew it he had climbed to the very top of the highest piece of equipment. Then he decided to go down the really twisty tube slide. After the first time we couldn't keep him off of it. Spring and Thomas loved it when Joel gave them 'underdogs' on the swings. Thomas kept calling them 'doggie unders.'

No More Training Wheels

Spring has been wanting to take her training wheels off for quite some time and we finally did it on Friday afternoon. Joel and I took turns with her and she actually caught on really quickly. She didn't fall much at all and is doing so well. She still needs help getting started and she often forgets to continue to pedal as she tries to turn. It was fun to see her excitement as she learned to ride without training wheels. Enjoy the videos!

Spring learning to ride bike

Thomas' Presentation