Never Too Late For a Little Love

Yeah, so I'm a little behind on the blogging, what else is new? 

Everybody needs a little Valentine like this. She melts hearts wherever we go.  We live in the thick of Snowbird country and she gets fawned over every time we go out. Old people love babies, well most of them, and it was especially true on this day because of how cute and Valentiney she looked. I was kind of bummed I didn't get a better picture of her, she was tired and wouldn't smile for me. But that tongue! Oh, that pointy tongue of hers! And oh those kissariffic cheeks!

 And this little guy breaks hearts wherever we go! And can't pass up an opportunity to try on Leelee's headbands!

 I love this picture, but I really wish that remote wasn't in there! :)

 It's a tradition- Papa Murphy's heart-shaped pizzas for dinner, going on four or five years now... and don't you just love how we all dressed for the occasion? My boys were more into it than Gracie and I were.

 And what could be better on Valentine's Day than homemade chocolate covered strawberries? Nothing, I tell you. Nothing! And oh the kids had so much fun making them.

 And even more fun eating them.

 Does she look a little cross-eyed in this picture or is it just me?

 The love is just flowing out of him!

We hope everyone else had a great Valentine's Day! Lots of love to everyone!

Start Your Engines

I enjoyed my little break from Cub Scouts since Matthew turned 11 but now we are right back in the thick of things with Owen.  Pack meeting, Blue and Gold Banquets, den meetings, uniforms and the piece de risistance- The Pinewood Derby.  It's official now- we're in full cub scout mode. Colby is in full longing and admiration of turning eight and becoming a cub scout. The other day we were out and an old lady asked Colby how old he was and he told her he was eight. I told her that he was three and he piped up and said when I'm eight I'm gonna get baptized. She smiled and told him that was good. I just had to laugh at his excitement over the whole thing, anything that gets Colby excited to stay on the straight and narrow is a good thing :). Then, a couple of days ago I caught him intently looking through Owen's scout book at all the fun activites and achievements and I'm pretty sure he won't be able to wait 4 1/2 years for this.

I must say this derby was actually the best one we've been to. It was so well organized and smooth running.  Everything was computerized and projected onto a big screen so you could see what was going on at all times. The current heat, the upcoming heat, the times for the most recently completed heat. It was pretty amazing. Owen's car didn't do spectacularly, I'm pretty sure his car never came in first, but he did have several second place finishes. I'm just glad he didn't come in last every time.  Everyone had a good time and it was over fairly quickly, and thankfully there were no tears. I might just start to like this cub scout thing after all, but let's not get carried away with ourselves... I've got a good 7 or 8 years straight of this stuff, woohoo!

 Owen selected the design of his car and he and Kris had a good time cutting, sanding, painting and all that stuff.  I'm so stinking glad I have a husband to take care of all this stuff!

Afterwards we tried out the new Dunkin Donuts by my mom's.  It wasn't as good as I wanted it to be, but like I need to be eating more donuts anyway.

Then we went to the park and let the kids play to their hearts content because it was basically the most beautifully perfect day. Ever.

 And because I just can't get enough of this little girl I think you probably can't either. I'm just so lucky because I get to nibble and kiss on those cheeks all day long.

Big Brothers

like to torture sometimes.

Cousins

are nice to have around sometimes.

Eat Me

Leelee is six months old (almost six and a half by now, yikes!) and so I begrudgingly had to start her on solids. I'm trying to keep her my little baby for as long as possible and luckily, she's complying with my little plan. I knew the doctor was going to ask me at her six month check up if I had started her on solids and I wanted to at least be able to say that I had. So on January 18th I finally decided to break out the rice cereal. 

She was all smiles before we started.

My trusty helper. Pretty much everywhere we go someone asks Colby if he is a good big brother so he takes this responsibility seriously. (And yeah I totally color coordinated the whole ordeal... um no, I so did not.)

"What is this crap Woman?!"

Let the gagging begin.

 "I think I'll just sit here with my mouth open and let the spit collect and not swallow until everything just slides out of my mouth."

 Colby took this pic for me, it was the best one.

 And then we made cookies, because cookies make everything better.

And the drama continues because she still does not like to eat solids, she does the same gagging/holding/drooling with applesauce too. I'm just not sure what to do at this point. Just wait a week or so and try again? Who knows? I've never had a baby resist this much, she just really only wants to nurse. I guess I waited too long to start and now she's exercising a little control. So she's refusing to grow up just like I wanted her too. :)

The 12 Days of Christmas- Day 12

On the 12th day of Christmas blog posts I give you

"A Very Merry Christmas"

Merry Christmas

to all

 and to all

 a good night!

May all your Christmas dreams come true

 and may the peace and love of the Savior fill your heart the whole year through! 

The 12 Days of Christmas- Day 11

On the 11th day of Christmas blog posts I give you "Christmas Baking"

I love to bake, especially at Christmastime.

Unfortunately, I love to eat just as much.

Oh well, that's what New Year's resolutions are for, right?

The kids and I had a little fun baking (and eating) tonight.

"Cooking is at once child's play and adult joy. And cooking done with care is an act of love."

~Craig Clairborne 

And I just thought I'd throw in a picture of Gracie as Mrs. Claus in the 5th grade play since I can't get any of the videos to upload. I told her it was ok that she was tall because it would just make the elves really look like elves. She was a fantastic Mrs. Claus!