Thursday, April 28, 2011
Stevie's Stories
Stevie (who likes to go by Steven and would not appreciate me calling him Stevie in this post) has taken to writing "books" lately. He's written several, some of whose titles were, "How to Plant a Flower," and "The Best Tennis Player." He also decided to write a newspaper a few weeks ago about some of our activities as a family.
Here it is:
Here it is:
Dyeing Easter Eggs
Stevie was excited to try out the "magic crayon."
David decided to forgo the use of spoons or any other superfluous utensil and just used his bare hands.
Daddy decided to get fancy and mix colors. Here is his Patriotic Egg.
Jakie was extremely interested by all the egg goings-on and really just wanted to try dashing one on the floor.
Here are all our finished eggs lined up in a row. Purdy, ain't they?
David was terribly excited about the brightness of his blue and green eggs (hence his manic grin).
And here is Stevie showcasing his experimentation with color-mixing. (But really I'm just adding this picture because their eyes are so. incredibly. beautiful.)
David's Egg Drop
David's preschool co-op learned about "Eggs" this week. As part of the lesson, the teacher organzied an Egg Drop. All the children were asked to wrap an egg in materials they thought might support the egg when dropped from a high point.
We came up with an idea that used styrofoam cups. We put some heavy materials (keys, batteries, bolts) in the bottom styrofoam cup. Then we taped another cup on top of it and then stacked 5 more cups. Next, we put the egg in the top cup and packed it with rice cereal and finally taped one last cup on top.
Here was the result:
We even taped it up using David's special camouflage duct tape and wrote his name in spiky letters.
David climbed to the top of the slide and slung it over the side. We picked up his package, opened it up and found...
Way to go, David!
We came up with an idea that used styrofoam cups. We put some heavy materials (keys, batteries, bolts) in the bottom styrofoam cup. Then we taped another cup on top of it and then stacked 5 more cups. Next, we put the egg in the top cup and packed it with rice cereal and finally taped one last cup on top.
We even taped it up using David's special camouflage duct tape and wrote his name in spiky letters.
David climbed to the top of the slide and slung it over the side. We picked up his package, opened it up and found...
Way to go, David!
Wednesday, April 27, 2011
Easter Sunday
Well, the Easter Bunny visited us early in the morning. He (or she? I'm not sure whether gender has ever been specified) actually found some pre-made baskets at Wal-mart for $3 a piece late Saturday night, so I credit him (her?) for being economical. Plus, it meant less sugar for the kids before church.
Stevie officially found the "Golden Egg."
Jakie enjoyed eating his gift from the Easter Bunny--a little stuffed pig.
This will have to do as Jake's official "My First Easter" photo. Too bad we didn't get any cute pics of his church duds (or any of the kids' cute church duds---and they looked so cute).
The ward choir performed an Easter Program for sacrament meeting and it went extremely well. We rehearse in the Relief Society room, and everyone has to bring their kids with them. So needless to say, practices are less than perfect. But for some reason, we always sound fabulous in the chapel. Part of it's due to the talent of the choir and part of it's due to help from the Spirit. Here's a copy of the program:
I probably should have put a lot more work into it than I did, but I was pleased that it came together so wonderfully. The bulk of the text we read was from President Thomas S. Monson's talk, "He Is Risen." If you haven't read it, it's an absolutely beautiful and true testimony of the Savior.
After church, we were off to Galveston to have Easter dinner with Dad, Joey and Lee. When we got their, Dad realized that their were EGGS hidden everywhere! Apparently, the Easter Bunny, knowing that the boys were on their way, had made a delivery at Grandpa's house as well. The boys were greatly intrigued.
Afterwards we enjoyed a delcious Rib Roast dinner with Lee's Macaroni & Cheese and my over-salted New Potatoes---plus Banana Pudding and Joey's Faux Cherry Cheesecake for dessert. We were absolutely stuffed when the festivities were over.
It was a crazy, wonderful day.
Jakie enjoyed eating his gift from the Easter Bunny--a little stuffed pig.
This will have to do as Jake's official "My First Easter" photo. Too bad we didn't get any cute pics of his church duds (or any of the kids' cute church duds---and they looked so cute).
The ward choir performed an Easter Program for sacrament meeting and it went extremely well. We rehearse in the Relief Society room, and everyone has to bring their kids with them. So needless to say, practices are less than perfect. But for some reason, we always sound fabulous in the chapel. Part of it's due to the talent of the choir and part of it's due to help from the Spirit. Here's a copy of the program:
I probably should have put a lot more work into it than I did, but I was pleased that it came together so wonderfully. The bulk of the text we read was from President Thomas S. Monson's talk, "He Is Risen." If you haven't read it, it's an absolutely beautiful and true testimony of the Savior.
After church, we were off to Galveston to have Easter dinner with Dad, Joey and Lee. When we got their, Dad realized that their were EGGS hidden everywhere! Apparently, the Easter Bunny, knowing that the boys were on their way, had made a delivery at Grandpa's house as well. The boys were greatly intrigued.
Afterwards we enjoyed a delcious Rib Roast dinner with Lee's Macaroni & Cheese and my over-salted New Potatoes---plus Banana Pudding and Joey's Faux Cherry Cheesecake for dessert. We were absolutely stuffed when the festivities were over.
It was a crazy, wonderful day.
Saturday, April 16, 2011
Yuri Fun Run 5K
This has been a tricky week. It's been insanely busy (what with school events, babysitting, and taking on 2 new voice students) and had a horrible cold/cough on top of it. I've fallen into bed exhausted at the end of each day.
But this Saturday was the Yuri Fun Run 5K. That's right, the 5K that was on my Bucket List. We arrived at 7:30am to pick up our packets and get our bearings. Stevie was going to do the Kids 1K as well.
Here's a shot of Stevie and me before the race.
And they're off!
Stevie did an amazing job. He was FAST! And he finished the whole thing. I was so proud. Here he is after the race with his friend.
Next was the 5K for the adults. I have to admit that I had mixed feelings about it all. I hadn't been able to run all week because of sickness and such, so I was a bit worried about my performance. I had 4 goals:
1.) Run the entire 3.1 miles
2.) Don't pass out.
3.) Don't throw up.
4.) Don't pee on myself.
Once all my friends got there I started feeling a bit more pumped. There's definitely a vibe of fun and excitment in the air when you're in a big group of people all intent on the same goal.
The morning was absolutely beautiful. Part of the course was on pavement, and part of it was a trail run---which was a bit surprising. We had to run up this enormous hill and then down again, and then we had a lovely run through the woods.
I was slowly plodded along, but I made it. Steven and the boys were there to cheer me on as I reached the finish line.
It was such an interesting and positive experience. I hope to be able to do it again in the near future. Stevie really enjoyed it too. He told me he wants to do it every Saturday. Hopefully this will be a good start for him to view running as a fun recreational activity instead of drudgery.
Oh, and there were some random Storm Troopers there after the race. The older boys were a little afraid of them, but we ended up taking a few pictures anyway.
But this Saturday was the Yuri Fun Run 5K. That's right, the 5K that was on my Bucket List. We arrived at 7:30am to pick up our packets and get our bearings. Stevie was going to do the Kids 1K as well.
And they're off!
Stevie did an amazing job. He was FAST! And he finished the whole thing. I was so proud. Here he is after the race with his friend.
Next was the 5K for the adults. I have to admit that I had mixed feelings about it all. I hadn't been able to run all week because of sickness and such, so I was a bit worried about my performance. I had 4 goals:
1.) Run the entire 3.1 miles
2.) Don't pass out.
3.) Don't throw up.
4.) Don't pee on myself.
Once all my friends got there I started feeling a bit more pumped. There's definitely a vibe of fun and excitment in the air when you're in a big group of people all intent on the same goal.
The morning was absolutely beautiful. Part of the course was on pavement, and part of it was a trail run---which was a bit surprising. We had to run up this enormous hill and then down again, and then we had a lovely run through the woods.
I was slowly plodded along, but I made it. Steven and the boys were there to cheer me on as I reached the finish line.
It was such an interesting and positive experience. I hope to be able to do it again in the near future. Stevie really enjoyed it too. He told me he wants to do it every Saturday. Hopefully this will be a good start for him to view running as a fun recreational activity instead of drudgery.
Oh, and there were some random Storm Troopers there after the race. The older boys were a little afraid of them, but we ended up taking a few pictures anyway.
Saturday, April 9, 2011
Morning Run
I'm running a 5k next Saturday. NEXT SATURDAY! And I feel sadly under prepared for it. In fact, my weekly adherence to the Couch Potato to 5K program had been pretty pathetic. I hadn't even run for an entire 30 minutes in one go.
But this morning, I woke up earlier than the rest of the household and decided to go out for a morning run. I had General Conference on my Mp3 player, and went outside to enjoy the beautiful weather.
It was fantastic. I didn't feel any homicidal tendencies the entire time! And I actually ran for the entire 3.1 miles. I felt like I could go have gone even further.
Anyway, I feel a lot more confident about next Saturday now. I think I'd just been trying to run too fast. If I jog along like a turtle, it's actually pretty fun.
But this morning, I woke up earlier than the rest of the household and decided to go out for a morning run. I had General Conference on my Mp3 player, and went outside to enjoy the beautiful weather.
It was fantastic. I didn't feel any homicidal tendencies the entire time! And I actually ran for the entire 3.1 miles. I felt like I could go have gone even further.
Anyway, I feel a lot more confident about next Saturday now. I think I'd just been trying to run too fast. If I jog along like a turtle, it's actually pretty fun.
Sunday, April 3, 2011
This Weekend...
was a fun one.
Friday night (April Fools' Day), a few gals in the ward organized a "Girlz Night Out" at the Olive Garden. Around 14 of us gathered around the table, ate delicious food, made outlandish, hilarious comments and had an all around good time. I only wish we had been at a huge circular table--that way I could have heard the hilarious comments at the other end of the table too.
Afterwards we stopped off at someone's house to laugh some more and talk about all the things that wouldn't be appropriate to discuss in Relief Society. It was a great way to blow off steam.
Saturday was my dad's birthday, so Steven and I decided to throw him a little party before Priesthood Session. So we headed up to Galveston with all the fixin's--including a buttercream STOREBOUGHT white cake from Krogers (Dad's favorite). Steven even made up some of his fabulous spare ribs. We invited all of Dad's friends and ate too much food and watched him blow out his birthday candles.
Today has been spent watching conference, sleeping and being silly with the boys. In conclusion, definitely a super way to end one week and get ready for the next.
Friday night (April Fools' Day), a few gals in the ward organized a "Girlz Night Out" at the Olive Garden. Around 14 of us gathered around the table, ate delicious food, made outlandish, hilarious comments and had an all around good time. I only wish we had been at a huge circular table--that way I could have heard the hilarious comments at the other end of the table too.
Afterwards we stopped off at someone's house to laugh some more and talk about all the things that wouldn't be appropriate to discuss in Relief Society. It was a great way to blow off steam.
Saturday was my dad's birthday, so Steven and I decided to throw him a little party before Priesthood Session. So we headed up to Galveston with all the fixin's--including a buttercream STOREBOUGHT white cake from Krogers (Dad's favorite). Steven even made up some of his fabulous spare ribs. We invited all of Dad's friends and ate too much food and watched him blow out his birthday candles.
Today has been spent watching conference, sleeping and being silly with the boys. In conclusion, definitely a super way to end one week and get ready for the next.
Camping Out
I really wanted to watch the movie, "The Blind Side," and I knew that Steven would just make wisecracks through the entire thing (he told me as much). So I grabbed the video and a couple of girlfriends and was able to sigh and tear up in all the right places without ridicule. It was awesome. (And I love me some Sandra Bullock---she is sasstastic).
While I was gone, Steven decided to set up the old 6 person tent that my brother Adam gave us before he moved. We (Steve and I) haven't gone camping since we got married, which is odd because we both really enjoy camping. Steven set up the tent in the backyard just to make sure it worked and the little boys got really excited about it. So he and the boys (Jakie included) got some sleeping bags and camped out in the backyard.
As I pulled up a little after midnight, Steven woke up and we gathered the boys and put them in their regular beds (turns out the ground wasn't as comfortable as Steven remembered it---and our boys are regular thrashers in their sleep).
I guess its time to go camping for reals now.
While I was gone, Steven decided to set up the old 6 person tent that my brother Adam gave us before he moved. We (Steve and I) haven't gone camping since we got married, which is odd because we both really enjoy camping. Steven set up the tent in the backyard just to make sure it worked and the little boys got really excited about it. So he and the boys (Jakie included) got some sleeping bags and camped out in the backyard.
As I pulled up a little after midnight, Steven woke up and we gathered the boys and put them in their regular beds (turns out the ground wasn't as comfortable as Steven remembered it---and our boys are regular thrashers in their sleep).
I guess its time to go camping for reals now.
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