Easter and other things

Easter at our house was "the best day ever!" (Comment by Brianna) Which is good, because yesterday was labeled the "worst day ever" after a morning of particular behavior resulted in having to go shopping with mom instead of going to the community easter egg hunt/party in the park. It was a tough decision for us parents, but necessary to teach a lesson.

Anyway, overall we did have a great Easter weekend. Brianna got the rest of her birthday money from her grandparents and she bought exactly what she's planned on buying with it for months--a razor scooter! She and Chris went to Toys-r-us on Friday afternoon and she picked out a red one. She spent the rest of the day riding it in the garage-as it was actually raining outside! Then on Saturday morning she rode along side me as I went jogging. The dog decided to come along too. Between him pulling on the leash to "mark" and Brianna's constant stopping and starting, I didn't get much exercise. But, it was fun to be out in the fresh morning air together.

After buying the necessary Easter dinner items at the grocery store (still needed the ham and some items for banana cream pie), we came home and put Courtney down for a nap. While she slept, Brianna, McKayla and I went for a walk. In our house this means that mom or dad walks while the kids either ride in the stroller or ride their bikes (and now scooter.) So, this time McKayla rode her bike (very proudly that she was now faster than Brianna) and Brianna scooted. I enjoyed a little bit more exercise and Chris enjoyed some quiet time at home.

While Courtney finished her nap we spent the quiet time with the girls coloring easter eggs. We got the kit with the foam stickers. I was amazed at their creations. We had flower gardens, shape patterns, eggs made to look like ducks, etc. After cleaning up, we had a few minutes left of quiet, so Brianna headed out with her scooter again. Chris decided to try it out, but unfortunately he couldn't help showing off just a little and ended of crashing down right on his tail bone after attempting to use the wheelie bar! The sight caused quite the giggles among us girls, but he was feeling it for a long time!

Later that afternoon we headed to Home Depot (which seems like a weekly ritual in our home). We bought three more citrus trees (lemon, grapefruit, and orange) along with some flowering shrubs to add along the side yard. The trees smell WONDERFUL, as they are all flowering. While we picked out just the right plants, all three girls made a game out of going into the "rainforest" they imagined was in the middle of a large group of palm trees. What great imaginations! The highlight for them, though, was picking out a big butterfly lawn stake-purple of course was the choice.

By the time we got home and unloaded our purchase, which always results in some backyard play time, it was time for a quick dinner before bed. We heated up the grill and had hamburgers and salad. They were delicious! Chris has been the chef a lot lately, and he's quite good!

Sunday morning began at 6 am with mom quickly helping out the Easter Bunney before the girls woke up. At 7 am they headed out into the backyard to find all the eggs-even Courtney! She found pleasure in shaking them. This simple pleasure, which followed finding their hidden baskets in the house, is what led to Brianna's "best day ever" comment. She was very excited to have received new sunglasses. (She could even be spotted wearing them in sacrament meeting, though I put a stop to that quite quickly!) It is amazing how such a small thing can make a kid happy. After a great hunt, we settled down for some breakfast to offset the sugar and watched Courtney's new movie "Old Yeller." McKayla appropriately recieved "Annie" and Brianna got "The Parent Trap." So Sunday was kind of a movie day today, oh well.....

At church I subsituted for Brianna's class-and it turned out she was the only one there! We actually had a fun lesson-just the two of us. She thought it was pretty neat and we had a great time talking about the Holy Ghost. After church we had a delicious dinner of Ham, Sweet Potatoes, Fresh Pineapple, Vegetables, and Salad. Another walk soon followed, which always includes a few short chats with neighbors along the route, and we came home just in time for some pie and calls to grandparents.

All in all, a good weekend.

CUTE QUOTE OF THE MONTH

"I always sleep on my stomach. . . It never talks. . . it just sleeps."
McKayla's random thought during dinner.

Spring Flowers

I love spring and all the beautiful flowers that appear. We have been working on making our yard just the way we want it. Slowly but surely, it is coming along. The rabbits and the dog don't help matters any! We are proud of the progress we have made, considering it wasn't that long ago that it was just weeds and clay! This week we started our vegetables, the kids are very excited. We haven't had much of a garden since we lived in Pennsylvania.

Courtney

Courtney isn't talking much, quite a change from my other kids, but she does have some cute expressions.

*Bu bu baa (bubble bath)
*Hu de do (Here you go)



She has also decided that the funniest thing to do is climb up on the back of the couch and lay across the top! She only has to shift her weight and she'll be on the floor. So, I had to move the couch across the room up against the wall to prevent her cracking her head open on the tile floor! This doesn't make me happy because now the couch is covering up the fireplace (not that we really need one here). But, it is good because she also thinks it is funny to climb inside the fireplace!

Two weeks ago she was climbing up on the side of the bathtub and slipping back in when she fell hard and bit her tongue! She was left with a 1/4 inch deep gash about 3/4 inch across. Because it flapped open when she stuck her tongue out we were sent to Urgent Care. They prescribed antibiotics, but said that they never stitch inside the mouth. It is finally looking better and doesn't bother her when she eats. Did she learn her lesson? Of course not, she still climbs....

Currently at church we are in the circling mode--where we make laps around the building with Courtney instead of going to class. Boy is it fun! She makes it through most of sacrament meeting, but after that there is no hope. Only one more month until nursery!

Turning 6

Well, Brianna turned 6 years old last week! Hard to believe that my baby is growing up. To commemorate the moment she was given her very own soap and shampoo and the responsibility taking showers on her own. She was very excited about the idea and felt very grown up!

Our other plan for the celebration was to take her and her best friend out to dinner. The day before we thought, "why not take them to the San Diego Zoo too?" So, after Brianna's confirmation that it sounded like a great idea, I called her friend's mom and the date was set. Well, the morning of the big day Brianna announces that she didn't want to go to the zoo, she just wanted to play at our house! Well, too late for that, as the plans were all set. This started us off for an interesting day.

Overall we had a great day. The girls and I rode the tram and screamed our heads off, just for fun. They thought it was hilarious that I would scream with them. Even Courtney laughed! She tried to scream, but it was very weak--what can you expect from a baby? Anyway, the polar bears were plunging in the water and playing with their balls, we watched some baby ducks get separated from their mother and then reunite, and the sea lion show was a hoot as always. Dinner at Red Robin was delicious and fun, and everyone got the color of balloon they wanted.

Still, despite the fun there were a few small details that didn't go Brianna's way and her assessment of the day, "It was a little fun." My goodness! Talk about an ungrateful kid! This is a sure way to make a mom take a second look at her mothering abilities!

I must admit, while this kid certainly has some growing up to do (well, she is only 6), I am proud that for her birthday she actually wanted her own set of scriptures! We were going to wait until she was 8, but decided to go ahead and deliver. We got her burgandy leather scriptures and her own case. She loves them! She can read them with us and takes very good care of her things, so we are excited that they were valuable to her.

BIG ANNOUNCEMENT!

Brianna finally lost her first tooth-after it was loose for 2 months! Last week it got VERY loose and she decided she wanted it out! We were at the playground, but luckily she had her ziplock bag with a paper towel in it. (She had been taking it with her everywhere that day just in case it came out!) Well, I reached in and it came right out without hardly a tug. She was very brave and VERY proud. My little girl is growing up!

Cute quote of the month!

"Mom, why did you have me wear cotton? I'm cold!"
McKayla, 3 years old

Cute quote of the month!

"Please keep me safe. Heavenly Father, don't let me get sucked down the toilet!" McKayla, 3 years old

Traditions

This Christmas we started a new tradition-one which will last only as long as our time in California. We played in the pool and sprinklers on Christmas eve. Throughout Christmas break we enjoyed many bikerides to the park and around Menifee Lakes.

Adorable Girls

Mckayla recently took up ballet. She loves dressing up in pink. I'd like

to say she's the best in her class, but she's really more interested in people watching. She will sometimes just sit and watch the other kids and forget all about the fact that she's supposed to be dancing too. She is just adorable. Chris has been able to cut out of the office for an hour to watch her during most of her classes. He'll get a call on his cell phone and when he tells the person that he's "at ballet class" he always gets teased by the person on the other end. He doesn't care, he loves his girls!

Courtney's favorite past time is playing with the dog. It is so funny to watch her with him. Sometimes I wonder if she thinks that SHE is a dog!














Brianna played indoor soccer this winter. She really enjoyed it, once she got over her frustration of not being perfect at something. I love this snapshot of her taking on two boys without hesitation!











Since this is my first blog posting I thought I should include some recent photos of my girls during every day life.