Dad: I am making pigs in a blanket for dinner
Maren: Those are pigs? But where are their tails?
Dad: That is a good question.
Maren: (in a very blunt voice) Are they dead?
Dad: What do you think?
Maren: Well... I once saw the Tooth Fairy eat a live baby pig. It was late at night and I was on the couch...
Miss Maren is constantly surprising me with the things that come out of her mouth! I love just listening to her talk because everything is inventive and a little bit strange. This inventiveness generally matches her creative outfits. For the past two months she has been constantly in skirts for preschool and her favorite outfit is a purple plaid skirt paired with a navy/red striped shirt. I figure there is not much in this world that she has control over, and it is good to let your personality shine. Last week she had a selection of shoes and she decided to wear one purple boot and one pink boot because she couldn't decide. I actually got a lot of positive feedback from her teachers that day about letting her do thing on her own. She knows the general concept of matching clothes, but she likes her own style. Good for her.
I can understand wearing a skirt in the cold because I rarely get cold and she seems to be the same way (besides, generally she walks through the garage into a warm car and from a warm car to preschool. No problem). I am, however, adamant that she wears shoes. I know. I know. I am a horrible mom, right? It would seem that way in the morning when the time arrives to put on her shoes. She generally ends up in the car barefoot holding her shoes until we get to our destination. Which is why when she chose two different boots I was just ecstatic that she put shoes on of her own accord.
Lindsey
"It's a stick!"
This is officially Lindsey's first full sentence. Today was our first Sunday family hike for the year, and we had a great time hiking around and exploring Q'emlin park. Logan took the kids up to see some caves and I hung around with Lindsey. We walked hand in hand as she pointed to every loose stick and proudly proclaimed "It's a stick!" I see many more Sunday Family Hikes in our future.
February is the month of Birthdays and parties. We have had family parties for Maren and Evelyn, a Valentine's Day party in Rexburg (more about that visit below), I volunteered in four separate class Valentine's parties, and next weekend we have a friend party for Ev on Friday night and a friend party for Maren on Saturday. You heard that right! It is a back to back party weekend!
From the minds of our children
Ok. I think I have each of our kids' reactions down pretty well when I ask them to do something. Here is a slightly exaggerated example of what might go through each child's head on any given day when I ask the kids to get in the car.
Evelyn: Today has been SO completely difficult! Sure I went to a birthday party and I went to the park and played for two hours but I fell down and bumped my knee! My life is SO difficult and now is the perfect time to pout and burst into big hot crocodile tears!
Adalie: (disclaimer: Adalie is our peacemaker and the one that I can completely count on to do exactly as she is told without so much as a peep so this is her reaction when, on the completely off occasion, that I put her in a timeout. She had a timeout this week and it is, honestly, the first time in at least a year). Life is so good! I think I am going to skip to time out and exclaim "I love sitting in this char!" with a super cute smile on my face. I know I am the favorite!
Jackson: Ok. Set your feet solidly shoulder width apart. Clench your jaw. Stare at Mom defiantly without twitching a muscle. Don't even blink.
Maren: Mom just asked me to go to the car. I am so MAD because she would not let me bring markers downstairs because she told me I have not proven myself to be responsible with them down there. She is the meanest mom ever! I'll show her! I am going to write all over Evelyn's closet wall.
Lindsey: Oh! I am being picked up again and put in this chair. Hmmm. Maybe I will squirm a... Oh look! A shiny mirror on the back of the headrest. I am so cute!
Thankfully all of these reactions don't happen every time, but these are funny caricatures for each of the kids.
Evelyn
Sweet Evelyn is now eight going on thirteen! I swear she has that eye roll down to a science... And I thought those crazy emotions were not supposed to make an appearance for at least another few years. The other day she informed me "If you can not find me be sure to look in my "miserable spot." Okay. She gets a lot of flack for this (and, to our credit, a fair amount of listening ear from Logan and I), but I have to poke a little bit of fun at the situation. It helps me cope. Especially when the crocodile tears start coming.
On a better note, Evelyn is doing great in school and is now in accelerated programs for much of the time (in a wide variety of subjects). I enjoy receiving letters from her on a weekly basis and responding to them through her cloud drive at school (what a great idea for a weekly assignment!).
Evelyn will be getting a dental appliance in her mouth to help her FINALLY stop sucking her thumb. She has mixed emotions about it, but overall I think she is excited for the boost of help because she has wanted to stop for a while. We will see how this goes, but I am glad it is her decision and she looks forward to breaking the habit.
Adalie
Addy is a very smart social butterfly. She is in her own reading group at school because she is so far ahead of the other students. In fact, this month she has started reading chapter books! She devours any book she can find and has fun doing it. Logan and I ask her questions after she is done and we have noticed that some chapter books she can easily answer questions while others she seems to have no clue what she just read. We are now selecting books according to reading level so that her comprehension skills are emphasized. Her current favorites are Evelyn's chapter books about fairies written by Daisy Meadows (PLEASE let that be a pen name!).
Adalie is still very recognizable by her cuddly nature. Today I called her over to the couch just to give her a big hug. She hugged me tight and ended up curled in my lap without even letting me go. She snuggled there like a cozy little kitten. I love Adalie snuggles and have no doubt what her love language is right now.
Adalie is our little peace maker. She is kind, sweet, and does not seem to have a mean bone in her body. One weird side to this is that sometimes she seems to have no opinion at all. I wonder if this is because she is so eager to please others. Whatever the reason, we definitely encourage having an opinion around here (for better or worse!).
Jackson
This boy is a very sweet-hearted instigator! I think part of it is that he is a boy with a lot of energy in a house full of girls! Poor kid... I can't say that he is completely innocent though! He has the sweet, caring brother role down, and he also has the irritating, pestering brother role down.
Jackson is my very best helper, and I am told he is an excellent helper in his Kindergarten class as well. He loves to find extra jobs to do around the house, and he is always ready to earn money doing extra chores. A few weeks after Christmas he approached me and asked if he could earn some extra money. When I asked him if he had anything in mind to buy he told me he wanted to bring it to the red kettle for the Salvation Army and donate it to kids who didn't have as much as he does. He melts my heart!
Jack is doing very well in his Kindergarten class. He has a group of friends who he loves to do art with. He is very meticulous with his art (and any other project) and will work on it for as long as you will let him. He is constantly drawing a variety of cool inventions and if you give him a second he will talk your ear off about each intricate detail. I love to listen to his imaginative ideas.
In church today Jackson was with a group of kids doing an object lesson. They were instructed to stand in a circle in front of the congregation and hold on to a bucket. Jackson noticed that the crowded group left out one crestfallen child who did not fit in the circle. Jack silently left the group, picked up a separate bucket, walked over to the little boy, and created a second circle with just the two of them for the remainder of the story. This melted my heart, and I think it affected everyone who saw it. What a thoughtful boy!
Rexburg Trip
I absolutely love everything about living in Post Falls. The only thing that needs to happen is for families to move closer to us. That is why weekends like last weekend are so special. We packed up the car and headed to Rexburg to see grandparents and Griffin with his cute girls (we definitely noticed Ashland and Callen's absence).
Another great thing about these trips to Rexburg are that they begin and end with a road trip with the Love of my life (plus a few really good travelers). It is a win/win situation!
This trip did not disappoint. Here is a list of activities we did together.
- We had a great Valentine's day party complete with decorations, a wide variety of competitive balloon games, a heart Valentine/double birthday cake, birthday presents, and a lot of giggles and smiles.
- A visit to Grandma's Kindergarten complete with games in the gym, valentine decorating, cosmic yoga, and playing in the treehouse.
- Sledding- Including a CRAZY sledding accident involving our sweet Maren (details below).
- Spades with the adult
- The arcade
Thanks for the great time! Now I need to get my own family closer so that a three day weekend is enough time for a great trip down there... hint, hint, hint...
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| "I made a sushi!" |
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| On Saturday we went to a sushi night with the gals at Logan's office. I loved the sushi! This is saying something since Logan can be quoted saying, "Rachel does not eat anything that breathes underwater." This quote is not necessarily true because I really like shrimp and now I am a fan of sushi. Maybe my tastes are finally growing up! It must also be noted that I failed miserably in my attempts to create sushi. |
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| Maren's preschool Valentine party |
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| Notice the creepy baby in the background. |
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| We have an EIGHT year old in the house! I love this girl and I am so glad she is ours! |
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Valentine's party at Grandma and Grandpa Hazard's house
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