Babies!

There's one more thing I wanted to blog about from March. I had the opportunity to photograph my friend Kelly's babies. Yes, babies. She has 4 month old twin girls, Charli and Luci. They are absolutely adorable! I don't know how she manages to be such an amazing mom, while still having time for her friends, cooking, keeping up her house, etc, but she does it. She came over a few weeks ago with the twins and her older daughter Quinci (Brynn's best friend), so we could visit and get some pictures of the babies.

Luci and Charli:
Charli:
Love those big blue eyes!
Luci:
Does this girl have the best lips or what?!
Thanks Kelly for hauling all the kids, and all the gear that goes with newborns, over for a little photo shoot. I just love your sweet family!

The rest of March

The rest of March seemed to fly by as well. With our kids still being little, Spring Break isn't as big for us as it is for alot of families. However, this year it was a little more exciting than previous years. We went to the park a few times, celebrated St. Patrick's Day with friends, and had a few sleepovers.

On St. Patrick's Day, a friend of ours organized a "treasure hunt" for several kids. They searched some nearby "hills" for gold candy and green necklaces that the leprechauns had left. Getting ready for the hunt (Collin wasn't up for pictures, but he was there):

Always the protective big sister:

Brynn takes off in search of candy:
I guess it just wasn't Collin's day. He fell in some rocks as soon as we got there, and scratched up his arm pretty good. Then, he was upset because he wanted to eat every piece of candy, rather than putting it in his sack. This was his reaction when I told him to slow down on the candy consumption:
Brynn was in a better mood:
After the candy and necklaces had all been found, the kids got to play a game where they tossed tokens into a bucket, and then choose a candy when the token made it in. My kids both have a serious sweet tooth, so I practically had to tear Brynn away from this one.

During Spring Break, Brynn's friend Quinci also had the week off of preschool. Since Quinci and Brynn live 30 minutes away, they were excited to get to see each other more often that week. In fact, they each took a turn having a sleepover at the other one's house. When we were waiting for Quinci to come over to our house, I stumbled across this treat Brynn had made for her and her friend (and she even included one for Collin). They are 3 faces Brynn made out of Fruit Loops:
While Quinci was over, we made homemade wheat flour tortillas. The kids helped grind the wheat, mix the tortilla dough, form them into balls, and roll them out. They had fun helping in the kitchen, and were so proud of their finished products. Here they are eating the tortillas they helped make:
And what else says Spring like a ladybug? (What, that isn't the first thing everyone thinks of when they think of Spring?!). Brynn found a ladybug that had flown into the car, and the kids were completely fascinated by it. This is the girl who has a near-phobia of flies, spiders, and bugs, but somehow a ladybug just isn't the same to her. I guess I would have to agree. She was so gentle with it, and let it crawl all over her hands and arms. Look at that smile:
Collin was just as fascinated as Brynn, but luckily he left the ladybug-handling to his sister:
After they had played with the ladybug for 15 minutes or so, I told them that they needed to let it go in the grass, so it could go back home. Brynn gently set it in the grass, and they went outside several times that afternoon to check if it was still there. So cute!

This month, Brynn and I also took on a new project. I had been reading up on raised gardens, and came across a grow box kit at a local nursery. Brynn has been talking about wanting a garden, and she had so much fun at my Grandpa L and Grandma Bertha's backyard garden, that I decided to try it out. Brynn helped me set up the box, mix the soil, and put in the plants (well, she only helped for about 5 minutes before she got bored, but she did stick around while I did it all). Here is my little goofball with our little garden:We planted tomatoes and zucchini. I really don't know if it will work, since I have no experience and limited knowledge with gardening. I figure the experience will be worth it either way, and we will have a better idea of what works or doesn't work for next time.

So that was our March.

Family Pictures

While Dave's family was in town, I took it upon myself to force, I mean encourage, getting an updated family picture. The one I have in my house of Dave's family is from about 8 years ago, and there have been alot of new additions to the family since then. Everyone was willing, so we met at the park before dinner one Sunday, and got a few shots.

All of Dave's family (his dad and Ida are on the left, his sisters and their families in the center, and his mom and her husband Jerry on the right):
Dave with his sisters, and his dad and Ida, and his mom and Jerry:
Dave and his sisters Laurie, Cyndi, and Kim:
Our family:
Dave and I:
Laurie and her husband Jeff and their kids Jacob and Sarah:
Cyndi and Mike:
Kim and Jace:
Cheryl and her husband Jerry:
Laurie with her daughter Sarah:
Laurie with both of her kids, Jacob and Sarah:
Collin getting a ride from his dad:
Sarah with her dad:
Me and my sisters-in-law Cyndi, Laurie, and Kim:
The cousins Collin, Brynn, Jacob, and Sarah:
Brynn
I love those curls!

March catch-up

Since March has officially come and gone, I guess it would be a good time to update what we spent the month doing. The month started off with lots of fun and family. Dave's sister Laurie and her family came for a visit. Dave's dad Ralph and his wife Ida came into town as well, so Dave's entire family was in town all at once. That is a rare treat, that only seems to get more and more rare as the family grows. We took advantage of every opportunity to see each other, and spent the 12 day visit having lots of family dinners, taking the kids to play together, and even getting some long overdue family pictures. Brynn and Collin's only cousins on Dave's side of the family are Laurie's kids, so we made sure to let them get together alot. They had so much fun with Jacob and Sarah, and talked about them non-stop after they returned home. One of the days they were here, we took the kids to a splash pad and let the kids run around in the water. Jacob was in heaven. My kids, on the other hand, were a little more hesitant. The water and weather wasn't quite what they're used to for playing in the water. It was funny to see the difference between the "Michigan kids" and the "Arizona kids". Jacob ended up soaked from head to toe, while Brynn and Collin were completely dry from the waist up.

Collin, Brynn, and Jacob take a break from the splash pad to have some gelato.

I love how Brynn is looking at Jacob in this picture. She had so much fun hanging out with Jacob and was so excited to have a friend/cousin with curly hair like hers.

Another day during their visit, we went to an indoor "amusement park". There were a few small rides, and lots of games. Brynn and Jacob had fun riding the mini roller coaster with their Grandma Cheryl. They all loved getting to run around and play. Here is part of the gang playing a water shooting game. (From front to back: Cyn, Brynn, Jacob, Collin, and Cheryl)

These little rides were a hit with the little ones. Collin especially loved pretending to ride this one.

Collin and Sarah

Another Brynn-ism

Not to be outdone, Brynn has been saying some really cute and funny things lately too. She has started to pick up some big words, but she doesn't always quite understand their meaning. One of her new favorite words is "familiar". She pointed to a truck the other day and said "Mommy, look at that familiar truck". I asked her what that meant, and she told me that it was all crunched up (dented, scratched, paint peeling, etc). A few days later, she wanted me to guess what "familiar thing" she was hiding behind her back. I asked her what familiar meant, and she told me that it meant "the surprise socks I had been asking her to get".

The other day, she and I were going through the morning ritual that consists of me brushing her hair, and her screaming and crying the entire 10 minutes. I asked her if she would like to get her hair cut, so that it would be faster for me to brush her hair. She answered, "That's freaking me out, 'cause Daddy won't know me if I have short hair. He won't recognize me."

Our conversation this morning while she was coloring (which is also a new favorite thing. There are always piles of paper from her drawings, aka "surprises" or "presents", around the house):
Brynn: "I sure am late. I have alot I need to do. I'm doing my job like you." (Yeah, Brynn, I spend most of my time coloring). "My job is work."
Me:"What work do you do?"
Brynn: "Oh...projects."

Another Brynn moment: The other day I was putting away some ice cream I had just bought at the grocery store. Brynn saw it, and wanted some. I told her she could only have a spoonful, so she needed to go get a spoon. She came back with a serious look on her face, and handed me a serving spoon to get her "spoonful". The girl is smart.

I have a feeling...

that I'm going to start hearing alot of "Collin-isms" from now on. All of the sudden, his vocabulary has exploded. He has been delayed in this area, so we are still in that phase of thinking every word out of his mouth is absolutely adorable. He is constantly mimicking us. I think I'm probably the only one that understands most of what he is saying, but he's improving. By the way, we really haven't been teaching him swear words. He's just not real great at pronouncing words like "house" yet. He has, however, picked up on the word "stupid". Lovely. He thinks its funny to get a reaction when he says it (especially from Brynn, who is appalled at hearing it, despite the fact that she is often the one who tells him to say it. Yeah, I'm onto you, girl). Today in the car, he started his chant, "Doo-pid, doo-pid, doo-pid". I gently reminded him that we don't say that word. So, for the next 15 minutes I heard him in the backseat whispering to himself, "Doo-pid, doo-pid, doo-pid...". I admit I was stifling a laugh from the driver's seat.

More Pictures from the Kids' Birthday Party

Hey, I'm only a month and a half behind on posting these. I have been a big slacker with the blog lately. And not because the entire month has been like the week I last posted about either. We did survive that week just fine, and we've had plenty of happy moments to help me forget most all of the bad stuff of that week. Any way, here are the pictures...


The Birthday Boy (mental note: give him his other sunglasses to wear when he is also wearing a hoodie. As Dave pointed out, he looks a little too "Unabomber-ish" with this combo. Disturbing!)

The Birthday Girl with one of her new gifts

Wild Man
Dave's sister Cyn and I
Cyn, Cheryl (Dave's and Cyn's mom), and Cyn's husband Mike
My Grandpa L with my brother Justin, my dad, and Justin's son Trance (4 generations!)
Me and my siblings and their spouses (minus my brother Brian and his wife Natacha who live out of the country): Travis & my sister Alison, me and Dave, Melissa and my brother Justin
More of my grandparents! Grandma Bertha, my Grandpa L, and my Grandma B
my Grandpa and Grandma B
Brynn with her Grandma Ida (who was in town from Utah, and representing Brynn's Grandpa Ralph as well)
Trying out the new scooters and helmets that Dave and I got the kids for their birthdays
After the party, Brynn and Collin each had fun releasing a balloon.