Happy Birthday, Dave!

I love you!

Show Me Your GREEN!!

Happy St. Patrick's Day!! I've never thought of St. Patrick's as a holiday that warrants a big celebration, but my husband and kids are part Irish, so we had to do something...right?! We didn't do anything fantastic, but it was a fun day and the kids went to bed happy. Did you know that you can make any meal turn into a holiday meal with a little of this:

Yep, we had green eggs (idea from a good friend who had green eggs for Dr. Seuss day...cute.) and green milk for breakfast! They all ate it with no complaint and loved it.

And naturally, green milk creates a green milk mustache:

(It was also picture day...what cruel person plans picture day on St. Patrick's day?! It limited the wardrobe and this is what Derek wore. I guess we won't be purchasing that picture package!)

After breakfast my nephew came over for a few hours. Taylor and Landon played, ate lunch, and then we made a little St. Patty's craft. I was so impressed with myself!

These two boys are so competitive. There were conversations like "I can cut a perfect size." "I can cut one even more perfect"...etc, etc. But they love each other and play so well together.

Cousin Landon

After McKenna's nap we walked to pick up Derek from school and it's customary to stop at the park on the way home. The weather has been amazing this week and it should stay nice until the weekend. I do the same thing every year. I get so excited for the first park trip that I take a ton of pictures, but then fail to remember the camera the rest of Spring and Summer.

Last Fall Derek finally mastered swinging on his own. He's been a late bloomer due to fear of the swings until age 4. It's fun to see how proud he gets of himself.

Not a great picture, but hey, I'm just excited that we all fit in! Holy pile of kids!

McKenna just ran the whole time. It was next to impossible to get a good shot of her. She loves the slide. She goes down on my lap and laughs when we reach the bottom. It was a good day. I need to make more of these days more often.

This morning Taylor came into the bathroom and kissed me. I told him it was "St. Luca's day" and that if you're not wearing yellow then you get pinched. He looked down at his jammies and took off running crying "no, no, no". Oh, it's just too fun being the mom...he he he.

Update On Our House Hunt

To those that saw the last post...we just heard from the realtor and they didn't come down NEARLY enough on the house. They only came down $4,000. So we are back at square one and I am officially annoyed with house hunting. All the indecision, then I finally decide that I love the house and now it's gone. Sorry, I am done with my pity party....on to the next house! Urgg....!!!! (Don't worry, I won't post about every offer we make.)

The Reality of Having Two Older Brothers

The boys were playing dress up and she was following behind wanting to play. So I gave her the Superman cape and ninja mask. She loved it! She ran around like she knew what the game was about. I think it's almost time to invest in some girl dress-ups.

She looks Muslim to me.

(I really do dress this child every day. I just realized that there are several previous posts of her in pajamas. I'm not sure why that is.)

I guess I should have titled this post "The Reality of Having Two Older Brothers...and a Father". :) I love Taylor's ensemble. The church tie really adds a little flare...don't you think?

I Will Miss This When It's Gone...I Will Miss This...I Will Miss This...

That's a good thing to repeat when you find moments like these..."I will miss this when it's gone"..."I will miss this when it's gone"...sigh...

Hey, at least she still has all her eyebrows! Right, Tara?! And there's no glitter to clean out of her hair! Right, Laurel?! And there's no paint to scrub out of her clothes! Right, Jana?! Reading blogs sure helps me stay positive. This was minor! :)

Dear Water Guys,

We are without water today until 2:00 and...Derek decided today would be a good day to stay home "pukey" sick. Nice. So far so good, but we still have hours to go. And I discovered that my tub drain doesn't hold water long. I filled the tub for added backup water and it's almost gone now. Hurry water guys! Bring back my water!

Draper Temple Open House

A few weeks ago we were able to take a tour of the newest temple in Utah before its dedication. I was excited to show the boys what the inside of a temple looks like, especially since they are always so excited to point out the temples they see on the drive to Grandma and Grandpa's house.

A shot before the temple...a rare glimpse of McKenna in a headband. She pulled it off about two minutes into our drive to Draper.

The tour started at a chapel where the missionaries showed us a brief video about temples. After the film we loaded into a chartered bus and it took us up to the temple. The boys were extremely excited to take a bus ride.

And like all temples, everything about it was gorgeous. They give you a brochure that explains the temple and contains pictures of certain rooms. Derek carried that pamphlet and used it like a map. He got excited when he found a room that matched one of the pictures. I had to remind him to stop worrying about the "map" and look at the temple. The boys asked questions about what certain things were for, but it cracked me up when Derek pointed to a crystal vase on a random table, in a random hallway and asked "What is that for?". We took a minute and sat in the Celestial Room and looked around. As we were leaving McKenna pointed up at the chandelier and said "ooh, ooh, ooh" several times. It was sweet... and reverent (don't worry). After the tour we walked down a long covered path to a church across the street. The gym was decorated with displays of other temples and a table full of cookies and water.

Inside the chapel's cultural hall.

It was cold and windy outside and it was hard getting the kids to smile. Here's the best shot we could get.

During the bus ride back to the church, I asked the boys what part of the tour was their favorite. Taylor said "I like the place with all the bull things. The baptism." Derek said "when we got to see the part where people get married in there, and the cookie place, and the baptismal font". Apparently he thinks that the temple passes out cookies. :) It was a neat experience to share with my little family. I am curious to see how much they will remember. I can't wait for the day, many years from now, when we can all enter a (dedicated) temple together.