Uncle G.

 Uncle Garb came over to hang out with us for the evening.  After dinner Emma pulled out the melty beads when she remembered that Garb loved doing them.  These two sat for over an hour arranging tiny bead on plastic plates and they loved it.

 C.J. was in and out, melty beads aren't really his thing, he was just running around like a crazy man, nothing new.  But he stopped for a moment so I could snap a picture.

 Emma was very proud of her fish

 and Garb was working hard on a star the he said he is going to use as his badge when he is the Sheriff of Mayberry.

 We love Uncle G and are so happy when he comes to hang out with us.

Allie got moved to the counter to enjoy a sucker after throwing handfuls of beads all over the kitchen, little stinker.

Liberty Kid

 C.J. earned his liberty kids badge at school.  He is so excited to have his badge attached to his backpack.  He said that is favorite service project he did was shoveling snow at the church with his dad.  He also wrote letters and drew pictures for service men and women as well and choosing and purchasing gifts for children in need for Christmas. 
This boy of ours is such a good helper, not only to others bur at home as well.  He is always willing to help even when he isn't asked.  He is the only one willing to take the poopy diapers outside, and will offer to do it. We are so proud of him.  He was also excited the his cousin Caleb received his badge at the assembly as well.  Way to go boys

As a bonus Emma was part of the color guard the posted the flag at the beginning of the assembly.

Grandma Lois

 My grandma Lois passed away at this month.  We love her so much and will miss her dearly, but we are also happy for her to be on the other side with all those she loves and missed so much.

She lived an exemplary life of service and love.  I have so many memories of my grandma. I spent lots of time at her house with my cousins while I was growing up.  She would let us eat on T.V trays in the family and tuck us in so tight at night we could barely move.  She would paint my fingernails and give me bottles of Avon perfume before I left her house.  She always took me birthday shopping and would call on the morning of my birthday singing to me.  

She was a great cook and would show up with dishes full of food at every event or holiday.  She was famous for her rolls and orange fruit salad. 

 

While my parents were on their mission she took it as her responsibility to take care of everyone.  She would call me at least once a week to make sure that everyone was doing okay.  When Allie was born she was at our house with food and the desire to do laundry and clean the house.  She loved to serve her family and friends and I always felt loved in her presence.

(June 2010) I love you grandma, Till we meet again.

Swallowed by stuffed animal

 We have a problem at our house, to many stuffed animals.  The girls decided that they wanted to watch a movie with all of them and I couldn't believe how many we have.  The sad thing is we have had a standing rule at our house that we don't buy stuffed animals, it has been in place for a few years now, but we are still over flowing with stuffing.  Lots of these have a story behind them and each and everyone has a name, but my goodness how many do we need. Emma got Bolt before a surgery, Doug and Bullseye came from Disneyland, then there are Madison's Webkinz.  I think she has about 15 of them, and we only purchased 2 of them.  The others she received as gifts and she won 5 of them from Hallmark.  These toys have a way of squishing their way into our lives.

 The girls informed me that this giant pile isn't even all of them, I hear some spring cleaning calling my name, but getting rid of one is like pulling a tooth or destroying a friendship.

I will admit that I had an affinity for stuffed animals when I was a kid.  I even saved enough money to buy a pet net to hang in my room and would spend hours rearranging all of my stuffed animals.  I think my mom hated that tacky thing hanging in the corner of my room, and my girls have returned the favor because stuffed animals are piled in their rooms in an unruly manner that they seem to love. Payback can be so painful.

A Day in February

 

We enjoyed the nice mild winter weather and spent time outside playing basketball and riding bikes.

I love that it has been jacket weather, I think the kids like it even more.  

Another thing they love is making their own pizza for dinner.  They can make it into any shape and top it with their own ingredients, and the best part is they love to eat it too, so it is a win for me.