Happy Birthday Jared

He's 33 today, and has never looked better!

We love you Daddy!

Dang those Scooters!

We had another eventful evening on the scooter. Pretty sure Aspen and London were racing again, but this time it was on the sidewalk. London hit a rut, lost control and went down. He would have been fine except for those dang glasses. Serious puncture wound right at the tip of the eyebrow, and he'll probably have a black eye in the shape of the glasses lens by morning.
He was screaming like a Banshee, blood all over the sidewalk. Aspen was freaking out. But as I wiped it off and saw how tiny it was we all just took a breather and I got them to relax. After I explained how bad head wounds bleed, even when the cut is small London calmed down quite a bit. He walked the rest of the way home and said it only stung a little.

It'd more or less stopped bleeding by the time we got home. No stitches or glue needed. Just a little Neosporin and a bandaid and we're good to go.

Our neighbor friend just put his fist through a window and did have to get stitches just last night. So we made up a good story that they got into a fight. Personally, I think London looks like he came out on top. :)

Kids Quotes

Phoenix taught Family Home Evening on Monday and we learned about obedience. The scripture story that applied this principle was:

"The Armies of Helium"

Happy Birthday to Jared!

1998 Honda Shadow
Everyone needs a ride, including a few neighbor kids. Here's Phoenix getting suited up for his first ride ever.

Aspen is just suited to ride passenger. Not sure if that's a good sign for the future.

More Daddy, More

Still bribing that girl with Chocolate. He'll be her favorite forever if he keeps this up.

Crazy Phoenix

We were getting a bit bored towards the end of the Derby so Phoenix decided to "scare" Mom and Dad. Upon being caught, or tickled on his retreats this was the face. I'm not sure if it's evil, crazy, scared or overwhelmingly happy. But it's the best face ever!

Quotes from Phoenix

On the way to the Pine Wood Derby:
"Iso esited!!!"

While eating oatmeal for breakfast:
"Mine not hot eader"

Pine Wood Derby

Well, the Pine Wood Derby was Saturday Feb. 7th. It was LOADS of fun. This shot is London and our little neighbor friend Jacob. They're just getting weighed in and ready to start.All the cars in the line up. Well, not ALL of them, there were about 30+ when all the weighing was said and done. Some pretty sweet styles if you ask me.

Our old wooden Pine Wood Derby Track was ancient and crumbling. So the Cub Masters work donate boo-ku $$$$ and bought our Pack this stream line beauty. It attaches to a computer, has laser timing, monitors and saves the times of every car...this thing is just awesome. So each kid raced 4 times (once on each track, to be fair), the computer erases their slowest time, adds up all their other times, and the top score wins. AWESOME!

London won 2nd in this particular race. Not sure where he placed overall.

Besides 1st, 2nd and 3rd place pins they gave out only 1 other award. Best Paint Job, and London won. His trophy, as you can see, is an awesome Eagle Head Bike Helmet.

Overall it was an excellent event. London had loads of fun, and though he didn't win the races he was happy just to be there.

Jared was sweet and signed me up to help with refreshments for the event. I don't think I've made this many cupcakes EVER. But I was pleased to see mine were chosen 1st before the other ladies cupcakes. :)

My Brave Little Swimmer

These are shots from our 2nd Swim Lessons EVER!!! Phoenix is just AWESOME!!! I am so proud of my little guy. He was blowing bubbles non-stop, and dunking his head clear under. He even "walked" along the wall, with his hands, the full length of the pool.

Even Miss Heather, the instructor, was impressed by how improved he was from last week. Given any improvement from last week would have been improvement. He screamed the house down, that is until he figured out she wasn't going to drown him. Then once he saw it was as fun as it was he was happy as a clam. Now we LOVE swimming lessons, and LOVE to brag to London and Aspen that they don't get to have lessons too. ;)

FHE on a Warm Night

Too cold, too often. We finally got a warm evening so we headed outside. Our adventures took us to the Hill/Amphitheater where we live. The kids brought their scooters, we tried to fly our toy Helicopter (which failed due to wind), and we enjoyed throwing rocks in the near by river. All in all a wonderful evening.

And as you can see we even brought our lazy dog Charlie. He's the best dog ever, but would only run up the hill if you did it with him. Not about to expend any more energy than absolutely necessary.

Sicily Scooting

Phoenix does not share his scooter with just anyone, so this was a big deal. She LOVED it obviously.

Wipe Out & Bed Time

Aspen and London thought it was a must to race down the hill. Aspen did finish first, though it came with a cost.

Pretty sure she didn't fully break her pinkie. No bones poking out or anything. But there was immediate swelling and a fare amount of bruising. So if you see Aspen with her taped fingers ask her what happened. The story is hilarious coming from a 6 year old.

Personally I thought by the way she'd landed she'd have broken her nose. I guess we're pretty lucky it was just the pinkie.

By the time we got home and everyone was in PJ's we were ready for bed. Sicily though thought she was still good to go. She'd do fine wrestling with Dad and then have to take a breather like this. Then she'd bounce back up and get going again, only to droop 2 mins later. Definitely Time For Bed.

Batmobile

Our Pinewood Derby just got delayed from this Saturday to next Saturday. AUGH!! I'm so anxious! I really want London to win but if not at least he has one sweet car!

Jared cut the basic shape, then London went at it with a pocket knife and sandpaper for hours. London did the basic blue coat then told me where to put the Batman symbols. I think it'd make for a pretty sweet ride. Nice design London!

Watch for our post next weekend and we'll tell you if speed goes with looks. Wish us Luck!

Learning to Sign

I've been learning some basic signs from Angie Ward (she's awesome at signing) and teaching them to my Sicily. She's our #4 child and our #1 at signing. I never did it with my older ones, I didn't think it was necessary. But I love it. Sicily loves being able to communicate with us. She does try to say the words as she signs them. So we'll get to the talking eventually. For now enjoy the videos, they were all so stinking cute I couldn't narrow it down to just 1.

Lunch/Nap Time

Sicily has gotten into the habit of following me around the house lately. And LOVES to be in the kitchen, emptying every cupboard she can, while I cook. While making lunch today she got awfully quiet there on the floor. I'm pretty sure she was getting sleepy when I saw this.

About 2 seconds later the folded in half pose was not so comfy anymore, so she just sprawled out right then and there.

Needless to say she held her own till lunch was done, but was QUITE ready for bed soon after.

Bedtime Lovins

We have this funny family tradition. After family prayers each night we all give each other hugs before we go to bed. Inevitably the boys hugs turn into a wrestling match. Tonight Phoenix was not about to give up. I had to help London extricate himself then coax him to run upstairs before Phoenix could find his footing again. So much for the spirituality of the prayer, it's all about the "lovins."

I Have Genius Children

Sicily had been concentrating on this for a while and finally gave up because there wasn't any room left for the last two. I was so impressed that she stacked her rainbow upside down correctly. My kid's a genius!

Splish Splash

I've modified this song over the years for each of my kids. Apparently Aspen has been paying attention and sings it all the time, even when we're not bathing. And due to the fact that I could sing Tenor if I wanted to, I think that's why she's singing in such a low voice. Kids crack me up with the things they do sometimes.

Pesky Brothers

This is what happens when big brothers are pestering baby sisters just a little too much. Jared was all to happy to help Sicily tickle and whack Phoenix a few times. Phoenix, on the other hand, was more concerned about being upside down than his baby sister. But once he realized Dad wasn't gonna dump him he was laughing just as much as everyone else.

So Hungry

You've done it, you know you have. The best is her little eyes you can see through the bowl. She really wanted every last drop.

New Grocery Store!?!?!

Seriously had the plane pulling the sign announcing the new Krogers. I think this is hilarious, 2 new stores in a newly thriving community, they go all out to get your business down here.

Sugar, Sugar, Sugar

I've come to the conclusion that I am a sugar addict. After every meal I crave sugar. Not Chocolate, like most women, but cookies, cake, pie you know...the good stuff. I've been desperately trying to curb this addiction but find when I deny myself I literally get headaches and nausea. It's kind of freaky really. So if anyone out there knows of a solution to my issue, HELP! I am limiting myself immensely, but I want to not crave it anymore. Just be able to go with out and it's no big deal. So any advice would be wonderful.

Story Time

It's a rare occasion when I read to all 4 of my kids at the same time. But they do tend to find their place on the couch, and then every one's happy. Biggest problem is Sicily trying to turn the pages before I'm done reading. We have a rather large library of our own but every week London and Aspen bring home books from school and Phoenix and I pick out about 20 more at the Library Story Time. And somehow we still manage to get through them all in a week. I love to read and I'm trying my best to pass that on to my kids.

What's with the Bugs?

So I'm getting ready for bed last night, turn around out of the kitchen and spot this on my wall. Notice the plug and how freakishly huge this thing is. That's not it's butt by the way, those are wings. I'm just glad I found it on the wall and not flying in my face, I would have flipped.

I might add that to date, this is the biggest bug, thus far, I've seen in Texas. Not to be compared to the Huntsman Spider on our front porch in Australia that was a good 8 inches across. I did not capture this one for a bug collection.

Feature Wall

Brown couches, brown carpet and brown walls needed a bit of color. So a splash of red adds some personality and homeyness. I love it! Jared's only comment is, "It's red." Boys...they just don't get it. :)

Blink, Blink

Our newest talent.

It's Out!

Aspen was so sad all night because her loose tooth was hurting horribly. I mentioned the string idea again and she when straight to the craft closet and brought me about 4 ft of yarn. :) Apparently she was ready to get the thing out.

Instead we got some sewing thread, and after a good 15 mins of trying to tie it around that tiny tooth, Jared was finally able to pull it out.
She was good to go until she saw the blood on the tissues. I think that's when the pain sank in. Not too many tears, but some good hugs and kind words of consolation were MUCH needed. Plus an ice cold wash cloth really does the trick on the sore gums.

And now we have another toothless grin in the house. Aspen is 6 yrs 3 months old and has FINALLY lost her 1st tooth. As you can see, she is very proud. Marched around the house the whole rest of the evening, "I can't believe I lost my tooth. I just can't believe it." :)

Making Messes wherever I go, just making Messes

My sweet little Sicily is getting better and better at her crawling and exploring. We've nick named her Curious George for good reason. It is absolutely amazing what kids can get into when you're not looking. And of course, once she emptied this cabinet she left it and just went on to the next thing to make a mess of.

Crazy Dayz

You know, I thought I only had 4 kids but every now and again that number doubles.

I love our neighborhood and all it's diversity. It's good to see them being crazy once in a while.

Almost Out

Your first loose tooth is always the most memorable. Aspen currently has 4 loose but this one's just about out.
We've almost got her convinced to let us tie a string to it and slam the door. London was always too scared.

Holy Ghost vs Hot Chocolate

Aspen was in charge of Family Home Evening tonight and chose the 1st Article of Faith. For those of you that don't know, it goes like this:

We believe in God the Eternal Father and in His Son, Jesus Christ, and in the Holy Ghost.

We talked about every angle you could go on this topic:
They are 3 different beings
HF and JC have a body of skin and bones just like us
We know all this from Joseph Smith's 1st Vision
and most important:
HG is a spirit so he can dwell in us

Phoenix was particularly interested in the fact that the Holy Ghost is a spirit. He thought it was really neat that he can "dwell" in us and comfort us.

Or as Aspen said, "Otherwise when we're scared at night he'd have to knock on the front door and come in to give us a hug. That wouldn't work very well."

So as the wheels turned in Phoenix's head he finally said, "So the Holy Ghost is like Hot Chocolate."

"What?"

"Well when he goes inside your tummy it makes you feel all warm."

I love that even a child of 3 1/2 can understand the basics of the gospel and gain a testimony by comparing the Holy Ghost to Hot Chocolate. Family Home Evening even teaches me a thing or two sometimes.

Beware the Naked Baby

Early one morning, I was followed by Naked Baby. She was not mean, she was not stinky, just cute and naked. Beware of very noisy Batman in the background. You must acknowledge his drawings or he will not go away. But Naked Baby also must say, "Hello," to find her ultimate joy.

Look what I Caught

Jared's latest art Medium. I don't really know how he does it. Mine always turn into little blobs.

Jesus Wants Me for a Sunbeam!

The one advantage of Aspen's super fine hair is STATIC! Trampolines and Tube Slides Rock with this girl.

Menu

I hate cooking dinner. Don't get me wrong, I love to cook. But EVERYDAY gets a bit monotonous. And I really run out of ideas. So 4:30 rolls around and I'm scanning cookbooks only to find I don't have all the ingredients for any recipe I want to cook. So we always end up with the old stand by, Spaghetti and Meatballs.

So what to do? I've started making a Menu for the week either Sunday or Monday night. That way while Phoenix is at preschool on Tuesday I can go shopping for ALL the ingredients I need for those 5+ recipes. And knowing you only have to choose between 5 items instead of an entire bookshelf of Cook Books, is SOOO nice.

And an added bonus, you have leftovers for the entire weekend so you can play on your weekends instead of cook. LOVE IT!!

Bon Appetite!

Need Some Help?

You know your hubby fixes things a lot when your 15 month old GIRL helps wherever she can. I really have no idea what he had been using the screwdriver for, but Sicily is fixing her cell phone, under Dads supervision of course.

Awesome Houston

The whole family in their very natural state. London-Silly, Aspen-Psycho, Phoenix-not wanting to be in a family picture, Sicily-just sweet.

This is in the down town museum district in Houston. It's a statue of Sam Houston, who is the founder of Houston city, I believe. I didn't actually read the entire plaque.

Another natural state picture of my kids. We specifically told Aspen to NOT play in the water. See how good she is NOT playing in the water. Yeah, she listened for about 2 minutes. Oddly enough that was how long it took her to walk over to the water fountain. :) I got more wet than she did in the end anyhow. London scooped up a big handful and threw it at me. Little turd. :)

Butterflys, Butterflys Everywhere

For New Years break we took the kids to the Houston Museum of Natural Science. It cost WAY more for entry than we thought it would so we opted to just view their Butterfly exhibit.
Sure am glad Caterpillars never actually get this big.

Little bowls of nectar were conveniently placed all over for the Butterfly's to gather, and us to observe. The little orange ones were SO friendly. All the kids got to hold one that so kindly walked from hand to hand. They really tickle when they walk on you.

The blue ones weren't everywhere like the other colors. The iridescence was beautiful.

Aunt Marlene had a piggy back rider for more than 10 minutes. He liked the bright blue I guess.

These are called Paperwhites. They were my favorite. When they flew past they looked like tissue paper in the wind, so delicate.

Sicily tried to hard to get this one in my hand. She LOVED the butterflies.

The Owl Eyes were so pretty. On the tree trunk you couldn't even see them.