brag

This handsome kid is playing the piano in priesthood today. He was so funny, asking to practice the piano at 8:00 last night because he wants to be prepared. I can't believe he is playing hymns out of the hymn book already. Hopefully he does okay when everyone is singing. That always makes me as nervous as...well, you know. Pretty nervous!

He got a new suit a couple weeks ago, isn't it stunning? He's better dressed than his dad.

Haircuts

The boys were starting to look like the Beatles. Lemur more than Mister, but still, they were both long overdue for a haircut. Here are some before and after shots. (Please disregard my awfully cluttered kitchen and desk. There are just some things I cannot keep up with, and the clutter is one of them.)

Mister, before:

Wet hair, ready to be cut.

After

Lemur before, with nice sideburns:

After

Birthday!

We had a great time for Lemur and Mister's birthday. They were so excited to be 5. The most exciting thing for mom is that Lemur now will take himself potty without having me "help" or observe. I cannot tell you how happy I am about this. I was beginning to wonder if I was going to have to be going to school with him next fall so he would be able to use the toilet. Thank heaven he has decided that finally a 5-year-old can do this simple task on his own.

Lemur wanted a rocket cake, so that was what he got. Mister wanted a circle chocolate cake, until he saw the rainbow chip cake mix in the storage room, and then he wanted a circle rainbow cake, with purple icing and white trim. Okay. Purple is okay for a boy's 5th birthday, right?

Lighting candles

Smile, Lemur!

Get ready to blow out the candles!

Mister got a "car he can control," which is a remote control ATV thingy.

Lemur got an "army truck" complete with action figures and miniature weapons. They also got some Wii games that they have been asking for, some books, and a few other toys. They had a great time, and are loving being 5!

Cards again!

The two cards I made for our latest card swap. I wasn't terribly pleased with the way the first one turned out. I loved the second one with "merci" on it, though. I got some really awesome cards in return. I will have to photograph some of them and post them sometime soon.

halloween 2009

I know it's been a while since I've blogged. I am going to try to catch up a bit. Here is something I did that occupied way more time than I anticipated...halloween costumes. It had been several years since I'd made costumes. Buddy went as Link, from the video game Zelda.

Missy was Zelda, of course.

Bug was a caveman, which was the easiest costume by far!

Mister was a dog, and Lemur was a zebra.

The 5 of them ready for trick-or-treating.

Zelda and Link together

more cards!

I've been having a devil of a time with this photo uploader. These pics are sideways, but you get the idea. I'm tired of fighting with it.

Here are the blank cards I made for our most recent card swap.

Birthday cards my sister Kristin helped me make.

I can't wait to see the darling cards I know I'll get in return! That's the most exciting part...well, that and sending them and making everyone think you had all the cute ideas.

Kitty

We got a new kitten. Ben's sister has two full-bred Siamese cats who had kittens this spring, and she was kind enough to give us one. He is so beautiful and adorable...the kids absolutely love him. They really get a kick out of seeing him do kitten things like chase his tail, and pounce on every little thing that moves or makes noise. He is so funny to watch. So far he is nameless, but I am thinking that out of the suggestions so far, Sonic is the one that is going to stick. My Cinders cat is still unsure of him. She's rather old (12 this year, like Buddy and Missy), and when he wants to bat at her and play kitten-style she thinks she's under attack and hisses at him. She is slowly warming up, though, I think, and hopefully soon they'll be best friends. The one thing she has enjoyed about having him around, though, is his food. She keeps sneaking into Buddy's room where the kitten chow is and eating it. Naughty cat.

Country Fair Days

This year we took the kids to the city's Country Fair Days. They had a blast. Here's Mister playing in a bounce house.

Lemur jumping out of the bounce house.

Going down the slide in the bounce house.

Bug climbing the rock wall.

Before the 5k in the morning. Buddy and Missy ran it with me and Ben. Ben took 8th overall and 1st in his age division. Congratulations to him!!!

Buddy and Missy

Me with Buddy and Missy

Buddy and Missy also participated in a contest called "Anything Goes" with some of their friends. They had a team of 3 girls and 2 boys and they had to do challenges like swing across a pond on a rope, catch chickens, pass a beach ball underwater between each other, etc. They had a great time and have even made Ben and me wonder if we should get a team together to do the adult "Anything Goes" for next year. We'll see.

Camp

This year I got to go to Girl's Camp with the Young Women. Missy was able to go, too, since her 12th birthday was only about 2 weeks away. It rained on us the whole time we were there, but the girls were such troopers. I didn't hear one complaint. I was trying to find some pictures to put up, but I didn't want to post anyone without their permission. I did find a couple of pics of me and Missy. The first picture was taken during one of the rare moments of sunshine we got. The others are of our high ropes course we did at Utah State University. It was a blast--the girls were awesome up on those slippery, wet cables while the rain was pouring down.

My computer isn't being very friendly with the upload process. I'll have to post more pics later when it's cooperating.

San Francisco

Last week we took hasty trip to San Francisco. We drove out to Sacramento, stayed with friends the first night and went into the city the next day. We'd been warned about how cold it can be there, but we had planned on buying t-shirts or hoodies for everyone anyway. So, we all ended up with San Francisco hoodies after that first day. We ate fish and chips and clam chowder at the Wharf, shopped at Pier 39, and watched a lame street performer for far too long.

On the second day we took a bus tour and would have seen Alcatraz, but the tour wasn't going there that day. So we got to see the city from the bus, accompanied by a fair amount of information overload. We made stops at the Golden Gate Bridge where we walked out as far as the first tower, the beach, and Twin Peaks or Hills or something like that. (I may have not paid attention to everything the bus driver said.)

The last day we were there we fed a parking meter way too many quarters and walked down to China Town, where we bought a few sweets, some cheap toys, and an authentic Chinese lunch. The hot and sour soup was delish. Then we booked it back up the hill to the car, where the meter was expired and the parking cops were 3 cars away from ticketing us.

It was great fun, in spite of not being willing to fork over $70 for the cable car ride.

China Town

Fisherman's Wharf


At the beach near Fisherman's Wharf

Ghirardelli Square

So grown up!

Last Sunday, Buddy was ordained a Deacon in the Aaronic Priesthood. I am so happy that he made this decision to receive the priesthood. Today he was able to collect fast offerings for the first week, and pass the sacrament. He did a great job with both, and even said "those jobs are kinda fun."

What can I say? I'm the typical proud mother!