Easter Sunday

Can you guess which egg carton is Porter's and which is Madison's?

Lane kept himself busy in the cupboards while we did eggs.

Making the dye was a big part of the fun.

What a wonderful holiday to celebrate the Resurrection of Jesus Christ. It is a great opportunity to teach our children more about the life of Jesus. In addition to the reverence of the holiday is the fun and excitement the kids have from painting the eggs, easter egg hunting, and getting candy. Hopefully, they have memories of both.

This is their first Easter that they are aware of what is going on. They also were able to color eggs with supervision this year. Just like with Santa, Porter insisted on staying up to talk to the Easter Bunny. I kept telling him he couldn't. He finally gave way to sleep.

Easter morning they were so excited for the egg hunt in the back yard. Brant and I were laughing as they would go so quickly they would look right past an egg that was in front of them. At one point, Brant told Porter to pick up Lane's toy and give it to him. He did, without evening noticing the egg that was under it. We enjoyed a good laugh at their excitement.

I'm so busy...but can't complain

Tuesday was our 7 year anniversary. As much as we wanted to, it is still hard to squeeze some time in away from the kids. We were able to go to dinner at T.G.I. Friday's. It had nothing to do with the last post I made. Just a coincidence.

I have spent every spare moment learning about credit restoration and finance. It is so much fun. I love it. I am excited to get some real clients and help people clean up their credit.

The kids are having fun--as usual. They spend their days playing in the yard and in the loft with their toys. I try to have them watch a B of M movie every day. They are at the stage where they like to watch movies. It's a nice break for me. Madison still takes a nap every day. Porter does not. Porter sleeps in, and Madison wakes up instantly. Lane was sleeping through the night until he got sick. Now, I am in the process of re-training him. Ughh.

T. Goodness I. F.

What a week. The kids and I have been sick for about a week now. I am so run down. Lane actually only woke up about 3 times last night. I think he's winding down on the sickness. But, it will be back to letting him cry all night to get him back to sleeping through the night. I was awake alot last night because I kept coughing.

I don't have to worry about my kids learning to "make lemonade from lemons." Because, they love lemons. I can't believe it. Yesterday, they wanted to eat some lemons. I kept trying to warn them and then thought it would be funny to see their sour faces. So, I let 'em have at it. They ate the whole thing. And, then they wanted more to take to Walmart. They were literally walking down the aisles of Walmart sucking on lemons.

Tonight I am going out with Brant for our Anniversary. It's actually not until Tuesday. We're going to Olive Garden and then to see Fast and Furious in the theater.

Madi discovers the mirror...

...and lipstick, and earrings, and hairspray. She was in the downstairs bathroom the other day, (not related to these pictures) and she was sitting on the counter. I had peeked in to see if she needed any help. I asked her what she was doing and she said, "I'm just looking at myself." I think she knows she's pretty. She always wants to put my makeup on and I try to get her to settle for lipgloss. She wants to go get her nails done, but she says, "Mom is going to take me to get my nails clipped."

Attack on Kendall

These pictures are from the week the Tenney's were here. All of the kids tackled Kendall on our bed. I think he could have shook them all off, but they thought they "had him."

Grandma Smith gave everyone a big bath in her jacuzzi tub. They kept saying they were having a naked party. Let's hope that doesn't go on into their teens.

Family Home Evening

We have been trying to do at least one "out-of-the-house" family home evening every month. This was our March trip. We took the kids to Chuck E. Cheese. They had a lot of fun. We bought 100 tokens and still have 60! I guess we can still get a couple more trips there.

Monday, Monday

Brant finished getting all of the maintenance done on the Expedition today. I am so excited. I am finally going to have a vehicle. I went to pick it up from the shop with him after work. He took me out to the Black Bear Diner. It was a cool little home-cooking kind of restaurant. While reading about their origins on the menu, I discovered it was started in northern California in Mt. Shasta. That is the area my Mom grew up in, so it was kind of exciting to find it here in Vegas.
Lane has been sick for the last three days. He has a fever and goopy eyes and nose. He's been up all night--so have I. I can't wait to get back to sleeping through the night. Poor little guy. It's so sad when they're little and sick.

Busy Week

I don't know where the week went. I was so busy. Geneva and Mead came to visit with their kids: Aundra, Jantzen, and Cambry. We had a really full house. The kids had a good time playing with their cousins.
I had a dental appointment on Tuesday--they seated the crown on my root canal and filled another BIG cavity. But, I'm done for awhile now.
I've also been taking classes on Credit Restoration classes. I am helping some members of my family work on repairing their credit. It is an awesome program and I can't wait to work on it more. It's fun to watch the numbers climb.

Funny comments

Madison had a sword and Porter was holding a gun. Madison yelled: "I have the sword of Laban!" and Porter yelled, "I have the gun of Laban!

Madison Cleaning

I was cleaning the bathroom yesterday and Madison wanted to help. I was using a spray bottle.

Madison at 2 years and 8 months

Madison is my little smartie pants. That girl is amazing with the memory and mind she has. She is always thinking, thinking, thinking. And she says the funniest things. She's the one that can talk a mile a minute and be my "show girl." She knows the answer to everything.

Yesterday, I told her my visiting teachers were coming over. She said, "We have to say 'Nice to meet you. My name is Madison.'" I said, "That's right."

She is the little mama over her two brothers. She will tell me that Porter is making a mess. Although a lot of the time she was involved in it to. She just decided to repent and confess. She also tells Porter and Lane what they can and cannot do. She also likes to help with house cleaning--as long as a spray bottle is involved.

One of her favorite things lately is to get my phone and say, "I need to call my Aunt Dona." She will ask her a few questions and then be satisifed that she talked to her.

Porter at 2 years, 8 months

What a sweet, sensitive boy he is. He loves to cuddle and be held. He still has an obsession with his binkies. We've talked to him about letting them go and he just doesn't want to. He has no problem leaving them at home when he has to go out. That's good. He loves to watch Disney movies. He can play outside for hours and loves to play with his little brother. Him and Lane play like brothers having a good time. Him and Madison are little chums in a different way. It's so fun to watch.

He hates to take naps or go to sleep. It's as if he going to miss something. He rarely takes naps during the day anymore. He'll play quietly by himself or follow me around. Yesterday, he was out on the patio just sitting in a chair. Rhonda asked him if he was reflecting, he said, "Yeah."

I think his favorite person right now is his Dad. He gets so excited when Brant comes home. He will often say, "I want to play with my Dad."

He painted the picture above a couple of days ago. Brant bought the kids some paints. He also weighs 27 pounds.

Lane at 10 months old

Lane now has eight teeth. (4 top and 4 bottom) He has been walking all over the place. He officially starting stepping about 2 weeks ago. Sometimes when he is in a hurry to get to something he drops down and crawls. He loves to crawl up the stairs and if you don't keep an eye on him, he'll be at the top before you know it. He did fall down one time. But I was heading over to get him off of the stairs anyway. Thankfully, he was only up about 3 stairs.

He loves to play in the backyard. He thinks dirt, rocks, and flower petals taste good. He also likes to stand on my bed and look out the window. He will dance even when I sing off tune. He adores his big brother and is sometimes annoyed by Madison who tends to be overbearing at times. He gets the biggest kick out of seeing his cousin, Isabella. He will lay his head on her chest and kiss her. He is still such a joyful child. He maintains a permanent smile and laughs easily.

Little Quips

I have to record these conversations before I forget them.
_______________
While watching Animated Book of Mormon.

Madison: Mom, Heavenly Father can teach me how to build a ship, too.
_______________
After coming back from picking Nathan up from work.

Madison: Where did you go, Mom?

Me: I went to pick up Uncle Nathan.

Madison: Did he go on a mission again?
_______________
While watching real lions on tv.

Madison: The lions are going to get you, Mom.

Me: If they get me I will be gone. Who will take care of you?

Madison: Grandma.

Busy is good

I have been so busy lately I haven't had a lot of time to blog. The kids have been working on the garden. It's mostly planted now. Though I can't take much credit for it. It is impossible to actually try to plant when you have 3 kids hanging on. The twins are anxiously waiting to pluck their one strawberry that is getting redder by the day. They are delighted by the real "popcorn popping" trees in the backyard. I am going to have to get Dona's Apricot jam recipe because are certainly going to have a surplus this year.

Brant has not been working as much. The time we have him around has been so pleasant. He takes the kids with him grocery shopping and to the park. They get so excited when Dad gets home. I admire how he is able to have fun with them and still maintain a level of discipline. He made dinner last night too. This is kind of funny--I mean, now after the fact. Brant made chicken strips and scalloped potatoes last night. The chicken was done a lot sooner than the potatoes so he put them on the stove. When he came to get the potatoes out, all of the chicken was gone except for one piece. Wayne, Kendall, and Nathan had all walked through the kitchen at different times and taken a piece here and there. Brant just ate potatoes and the kids and I split the last piece. I thought it was funny.

Brant came home early last Tuesday and wanted to take me out on a date. We went to Olive Garden for an early lunch. (One of the benefits of living with your in-laws is that you have instant babysitters.) It was great and I am thankful they are so awesome.

I've been spending a lot of time on our new blog. It's been a fun project, but has taken alot of time. We're ready for more submissions!