10/4/16

Gordon said, "You are not old until one of your kids births a baby" I starting laughing....then he responded, "What?!? It is a fact!"

Russell said, "If you run really fast you get a metal." I replied with a "yes that is true" (thinking he was referring to the Olympics). Then he said, "you know fast like me!" Looks like I need to find a metal ;)

We were driving home from school the other day and we were talking about how we spend a lot of time in the car. Then the idea of teleportation came up. I asked Gordon, "If you could teleport anywhere where would you go?" I quickly answered my own question while he was thinking..."I would go to Dad's office and give him a kiss on the face." Then Gordon said, "I would go to New Jersey so I can play with Evan". :)

We were playing 'would you rather' in the car. Russell said, "Would you rather have ice cream or go to jail?"- Nobody hesitated on that one :) 

On our way to run an errand the other day from the back seat Russell called up ,"Mom lets talk about something" I said, "Okay what do you want to talk about?" His reply, "Lets talk about the gospel!"

When I was at the gym the other day the kids care ladies came to get me to tell me I was needed for Evalyn. I assumed it was because I needed to change her diaper...nope, she had gone into the bathroom all by herself and took everything off and was using the toilet. Looks like I need to capitalize on this.

Gordon got braces a couple weeks ago and already is looking older! It is crazy what a little metal on your teeth can do. He has been a trooper, no complaints other than the first day. He needed a little wax on one of the back brackets that was cutting the side of his mouth. We found out that wax melts quickly in the car ;) And that you can not substitute tooth wax with candle wax.

The girls have been doing exceptional in ballet class, their teacher is so impressed with them. (they jumped a class and are in the top class...I was worried it would be too hard for them, but they are having no troubles at all!) :)

8/23/16

Gordon and Russell were playing with the pool noodle light sabers and Gordon said, "I am not a Pineada, don't you Pineada me!"

Gordon was sitting at the piano to practice and he figured out how to change the different sounds the piano makes (ie organ, flute, ect...) He got to the organ and played a low note and held down the pedal, for a REALLY long time. Then I looked over at him and saw him sitting there on the bench with both of his hands raised up in the air as if he were conducting and having this low loud note go on and on. I am sure his face was matching his intensity, but I couldn't see it from the angle I was at :)

I asked Gordon the other day, "Do you want to cut the lawn?" He looked at me super serious and said, "I... don't know what that means". Apparently I don't call it a lawn very often.

When we were at target the other day I let Russell and Evalyn look at the toys for a bit. There is a toy bird that when you pet it it will copy what you say. I was watching Russell play with this bird. He went up to it and started to pet it and say. "I love to see the temple". :) 

Evalyn fell on the stairs and got a blackeye. I was telling the kids about it. Ellanor quickly was concerned and said, "oh no is a blackeye contagious?" I figured out she was concerned if a blackeye was anything like pinkeye :) 

Henry can roll over both ways and is already wearing 12 month clothes... This guy growing up WAY too fast!!! 16 pounds at his last visit. 

Eden has been loosing teeth left and right!! Front two are now missing along with one on the bottom. 7 years on Thursday. Again... Growing up too quickly!! We had her under the sea party this past Saturday. She had a wonderful time!!! And she requested sushi for her birthday. 

6/7/16

I was sitting on the couch feeding Henry and Evalyn comes walking in with a maxi pad opened, wings out and trying to stick it on her clothes. I laughed out loud!

Taylor went in to turn off the boys light for them to go to bed, and Gordon was negotiating to get to keep the lights on longer so he could read. Taylor asked him, then who would turn off the lights (since Gordon was on the top bunk)....Russell? Gordon said, "but I would thank him so much"!

Ella "I dont have to cry to be in pain" ( I wrote this down quite awhile ago, I can't remember the story that went along with it unfortunately. I'm sure it was a good one)

We made our weekly trip to Costco and Russ of course had to wear his goggles. Very stylish. 

We went on a walk awhile back and Russell said, "mom did you hear that? There are Star Wars birds!" Sure enough they did make similar "Star Wars" sounds ;)

At the kids school emojis are very popular. McDonald's has been giving away plush emoji key chains. We do not frequent the Golden Arches and when we do we never get happy meals. The kids know this and none of them asked for one even though I know they wanted one. Then one day Gordon came home with one. His friend had given it to him. He was so happy to have one and the girls were so happy for him too. Then a few days later one of Ella's friends gave her one. She was over the moon!! But just ask quickly as she got it, she lost it. It had fallen off her backpack. In tears, she was inconsolable about it. Gordon saw how said she was and said, " Ella you can have my emoji". She didn't like that idea because his emoji had a different face than the one she had. Then Gordon whispered to me, "mom how about we look on the computer and see if we can buy her one, we can use my money to pay for it." He just melted my heart!!! 

Turned out a friend saw her drop her emoji and picked it up for her and gave it back the next day. Then both Gordon and Ella noticed Eden was feeling a little left out.... And we remembered that Eden had a gift card way back from her birthday from s friend to McDonald's. We went and she ordered a happy meal so she could get her own emoji. The sweet thing was when we got home she shared every piece of her happy meal with all of her brothers and sisters. Thoughtful, sweet kids ;)

We were driving to get kids from school the other Day and Russell was looking out the window. He said "look at the clouds there like from super Mario!" He continued, "no, really there's Donkey Kong," pointing out the window. I looked and sure enough I saw an awesome rendition of donkey Kong. Put s smile on my face!!

At Henry's 2 month check up today he was 12lbs 10oz and 24 1/2 inches long. Growing so fast!! He also hands out lots of smiles these days, every one is such a treat!! ;) 

Evalyn affectionately calls Henry...Henra. :)

Evalyn has been a trooper with her cast. She is being really good not to put any weight on it..she has figured out how to scoot around on her bum and drag her leg. Her cast is starting to show some wear on the side where is drags on the floor...it will be interesting to see how it looks in a couple weeks :)

The kids have really gotten into reading this summer. We started a 'bookworm' on the wall. For every book they finish they can add another piece to the bookworms body. We are trying to see how long we can make it by the end of summer.

Eden is such a sweetheart, with this bookworm we are building, she was very concerned that Russell would not get to put any pieces up because he can not read on his own yet. I told her if I read books to him that could count. Eden quickly ran upstairs to find a "short chapter book" and she began reading it to Russell so it would could for one of his books. Melt my heart!

2/19/16

We went to a gymnastics meet and while we were watching the girls at the uneven bars Russell looked over at me and said, "Mom, when they are done I will take off my shoes and go put my hands in the sugar and take my turn". 

Every night before the kids go to bed everyone gives each other a hug. And all the kids have started to include giving a hug to Henry (my belly) too. He is so loved already ;) 

This morning I was bathing a Evalyn and Russell. I looked over at them and Russell was singing a song and was pouring water on Evalyn's head. As you can imagine Evslyn was not a huge fan... I asked Russell not to do it because Evalyn did not like it. His response was, "Mom I am just helping her grow". I then realized he was singing a song about watering his flowers to help them grow. ;) 

The other night at dinner the kids were talking about how full they were getting and how big their bellies were. They were comparing belly sizes. Then Russell said, "Look at my belly!! I am growing a Henry inside!". 

We were doing scriptures last night and Taylor was talking to the kids about who helps us when we try our best but fall short. Then Eden said, "But there is do or do not, there is no try." Taylor then explained that is Yoda :) 

We were at the church and there is a tree out front that is raised up in a little half wall bed. Russell jumped up onto it and started spinning around the tree. I reminded him that we were trying to leave and he needed to get down. His response was, "I know mom, I am just loading." I don't think concept as a kid would have even entered my mind.... This screen time generation sees the world differently at times ;) 

Gordon is such a helper and my little pal. With the car being full he gets to ride shotgun on the way home from school. I love our daily chats in the front of the car! 

Eden had a field trip today to the zoo. Her group is the black bears. She wanted to wear a hat there to keep the sun off her face and wanted to have a bear hat.... And wouldn't you know I had one.... It was a black "Behr" hat ;) but it also had a picture of a bear on it so we were in business! ;) I love Behr paint, and even more now that is bailed me out this time :) 

We took Ella's baptism pictures and got so many good ones. Stay tuned for an invitation soon ;) can't believe she is eight already!

2/4/16

Evalyn finally has enough hair to do a little something with it. Each morning I do her hair up in my bathroom. She sits on the counter with her feet in my sink so she can watch me as I do her hair. And then when I am done, she stands up and squeals with excitement and then leans up to the mirror and kisses herself. It is adorable!  

I was giving Evalyn a hug. She had her arms wrapped around my neck really tight. Then I whispered I love you then she pulled back and gave me a big kiss. Melt my heart! 

I find it a little hilarious that both of the kids are so excited to go to the play place at the gym. (which makes me so happy to know they are happy while I am working out)....but then when it is time for me to pick them up Russell immediately starts to cry. He wants to stay there all day. Grateful it is not the other way around at least ;)

Eden is a sweetheart. She wrote me a letter the other day it said, "I love you Mom and I am so happy that we have a baby! I like having a baby because they look so cute! I want to know what he looks like when he is six. I love baby boys they are so awesome! Do you think baby boys are cute? I do. I can't wait until grandma and grandpa are here. Love, Eden" 

At least a few times a week when I go to get Evalyn out of her car seat when we get home... She will pretend to be asleep. The kids will even try to make her laugh and she keeps a straight face for a long time. I am so empressed :)

We were driving in the car to get the kids from school and a Pink song came on the radio. The lyric to the chorus of the song is "you got to get up and try". It repeats itself quite a few times.... Then from the back Russell yells a response "I am up!"

1/17/16

I know hard to believe that I am actually sending one of these again! Wow I have been a major slacker on this and I feel just awful when I think about all the cute memories that I will not remember because I did not write them down. But instead of looking back I will look forward :)

Russell, Evalyn and I were pulling into the gym parking lot the other morning and there were some landscapers that were working on trimming some trees. They were cutting off quite a bit. Russell looked over at it and said, "Oh see, Christmas is over so they are cutting down all the trees....it is okay they will put them up next Christmas."

Before the kids go to school we try to remember to put the Qore 24 hand spray on their hands to help them fit off germs. Ella said, "Hey if we spray it in our mouth then we wouldn't need to brush our teeth!" --don't worry, I quickly explained why that was a bad idea :)

Eden lost her first tooth!! And then the very next day she lost her second tooth. So of course we went out to the store the next day to spend her new found money ;)

Gordon has also lost two of his molars lately...I might need to take out a loan at this rate ;)

I caught Evalyn the other day standing in front of the mirror eating a piece of cheese...she was munching with a very wide mouth so that she could see exactly how everything was working to make the cheese get smaller. Her face was priceless.

Evalyn is a great snuggler. She will give you a hug just out of the blue and a kiss to go with it. I love how she takes me off guard to show her love!

At church today I was holding Evalyn during sacrament meeting on my lap. She got a hold of a hair tie elastic and without hesitation she pulled it back ready to shoot it up at Daddy on the stand. Taylor, may or may not have taught the kids a few nights prior how to make rubberband guns. 

We were cleaning the house and Taylor told the kids to pick up all the things that they would like to keep, everything else would be thrown in the garbage. We were all helping and there was a bag of plastic bugs, I asked Ella to put them away... She looked right at my face and said," No! I want those to get thrown away". Just like her mama was as a little girl... Not a fan of bugs, but the boys love them so she agreed to put them away ;)

Evalyn turned two this week. It is hard to believe!! We feel so very blessed to have this sweet and spunky little girl in our family. She has brought us so much joy! She got a stroller for her baby doll, a purse, and a little microwave. It is priceless to watch her with her purse pushing around her baby doll... A great little mom in training. I have a feeling the Henry will at some point have a ride in the stroller. I will need to have an eagle eye on this girl ;)

8/2/15

I found this "grandparents Journal" in my grafts folder so I must have never sent it. So here I am sending it. :) Most of these happened long ago but I added a couple to the end. Hope to get back on track again!! :)

Love you all!!!

Russell- "Don't worry my friends are coming to-mario (tomorrow)"  ;)

Russell is going to begin the trek of potty training. We chose his unders today and he went with Paw Patrol. He is very excited!!--and so I am., well for the outcome ;)

Evalyn is just like Ella was such a social butterfly. She waves at everyone she sees when we are out and about. She loves to ham it up too. Love that girl so much!!

We have started a new routine for the summer. The kids do not get screen time until after lunch and even then they still need to "earn" it by doing chores around the house or read. This morning was the first morning of this new plan and at around 9 Gordon was helping me outside with some yard work and said, "Man mom, this no screen time is great, look at the day...it has just begun and we have already done so much!" So glad that he is enjoying the joy of summer!! :) Lets hope all the days to follow are just a happy.

Eden was chosen to give a speech at her Kindergarten Graduation. She surprised me and was not shy one bit. She did wonderful and in front of a gym full of adults. This is what she read..

Throughout the year we have talked and read about Dr. Seuss so I thought it would be fun to do this speech Dr. Seuss style. 

When we began this year not knowing what would be in store,
some were excited, some a little nervous as we entered through our classroom door.

We quickly found our place,
with a big smile on our face,
this was now our home base.

The months were packed with such wonderful things,
and we fit them all in before the bell rings.

Phonograms were new for most of us,
but now we know 55 and we don't even fuss.

A highlight for me was our trip to the farm,
All the animals had a lot of charm.

We learned not just book smarts to help us succeed,
but how to be nice and do a good deed.

Learning and growing was tons of fun,
I can't believe Kindergarten is done.

One of my most favorite things about this year,
has to be my teacher and my friends I hold dear.

This year has flown by, it has come to an end,
well...until fall, then off to 1st grade they'll send. 

All of the kids all year have had amazing grades. All A's and all A's and B's: Making Principles Pride and Honor Roll.

Russell and I were in the kitchen and one of Gordon's Lego planes was on the counter. Russell looked at me and asked, "Is this Gordon's Legos?" I replied, "Yes, I think so". Then Russell got his face really close to it and took a big sniff...., "Yes, it smells like Gordon's Legos".

I woke up today (Sunday) and I could smell something cooking....I came down stairs to find Gordon making everyone waffles. He said he thought we had ran out of milk so he was going to make a yummy breakfast for everyone. :) What a thoughtful boy!!! Love that kid so much!

4/10/15

I have been completely inconsistent with these and it makes me so sad to think about how many little memories I have lost. Know that the kids are adorable all the time, I am just a forgetful mother that is not so great right now at writing them down. 

Russell and I were outside saying goodbye to the kids for school. And on our walk back to the house he said, "Man, I love those kids."

Grandma Earl had given me some pretty gold large vases some time ago and they were out on the table. Russell handed me something and I stuck it in the vase. He gasped, "Mom, you just put that on the Piston Cup!!"-- everything is from the movie Cars in his mind ;) it does look a little like the Piston Cup. 

A week or so ago we were at the school for Gordon's choir concert. Taylor was coming straight from work and got there after they had already turned the lights down in the gym. The kids and I were sitting on the bleacher in the very back corner of the gym. The door to get in the gym is on the opposite corner. The choir was singing and the lights were off you would think it would be hard to spy when Taylor came in.... But not for Evalyn. The moment Daddy came walking through the door she recognized him from that far away and began frantically waving and reaching for him. She adores him so!!!

We had a package of guacamole and on the front of the package it has pictures of suggestions for what you can put the guacamole on. Each shape had portions of it cut out. (I put the picture on Facebook) they were normal suggestions like, dip it (with a picture of a bowl of chips with the bowl portion cut out), top it (with a picture of a taco with the inside cut out), spread it (with a picture of a hamburger with the meat portion cut out), and love it (with a picture of a heart cut out). Russell said, "Look Mom you can use this on :cookies, watermelon, hotdogs with lettuce and candy hearts". 

Tonight when Taylor got home from work he came in and Evalyn reached for him. Taylor was holding her then leaned over to give me a kiss. Right after that Evalyn leaned in for her kiss :)

The other day I was in the office working on Taxes....and I turned around to find Evalyn was hiding away in the closet. I went over to see what she was up to, and when I found her she gave me the look of complete panic that I had caught her. She had found someones Easter basket and had taken the giant chocolate bunny with her into the closet to consume. I am sure to no surprise to any of you...she was just a little upset that I took it away.

Ellanor lost one of her top front teeth and the other top front one is soon to follow. The first thing she said was, "Oh, I don't want them to fall out at the same time...it will be so much harder to talk!". She looks adorable!!!

Evalyn is climbing the charts in the teeth department. She is up to 7. 4 on top and 3 on the bottom. :)

Our sweet Evalyn is such a mover and a shaker. She does not like to sit still. And she is a climber. I remember Russell wanting to climb, but Evalyn takes it to a new level. Tonight I caught her standing on the arm of the tiny zebra rocker we have. She was holding on to a rail on the bunk bed then she slowly let go of the rail and was just standing free on the arm of the little rocker, I saw for a moment the look in her eyes of the love of the thrill....oh am I in trouble!

We love you all so very much!!!

2/19/15

Russell went to get a box of toys out of his closet this morning. He came running back out and said, "Mom I can't, it's too dangerous!" 

We went to an arrow of light ceremony last night. While we were there everyone was quiet we were in the back and I heard Russell whispering to himself, "up, down, left, right, we are going to move our feet tonight. Like nobodies watching... Like nobody's watching..."

I went to put Evalyn in the car to do the afternoon pick up and she looked at me then shook her head no and wagged her finger. She was done being in the car. Poor girl is in that car seat all the time.

Gordon and I went to the mother and sons dance last night. We had such a blast dancing the night away! We were talking about it this morning with the girls and Ella was asking if they threw out any blow up guitars like they did at the daddy daughter dance last year and Gordon said.... "No, it must have been a leap year last year because that sounds pretty special."

Gordon said to me tonight, "You just made me laugh tears."

I made a southern beans and rice dish the other night. It had red beans, pinto beans, and kidney beans. Gordon looked at the bean mix and pointing to the kidney beans said, "Look at these huge beans...they must be special edition."

1/13/15

It has been SOOO long since I have sent one of these out! It makes me sad to think about the stories and things I have missed writing down. But no need to dwell on that, looking forward ;) 

Quite some time ago while we were at Grandma and Grandpa Earl's house. The kids had set up some tents. Most would would think that the kids would have wanted to each make their own tent, to have all to themselves. Instead the wanted to share all the tents. They had one tent for each different activity and went from one to the next all together. One for eating, one for sleeping (equip with stars on the ceiling), one for playing, and another as well.

Russell in the car on the way home says," Mom..NO lets do water...lets do milk, okay?"

Evalyn's top two front teeth are just barely starting to peek through, maybe she will get her two front teeth for Christmas ;) --update to this note, she now does have both top front teeth. It makes her look so grown up! I can't believe she will be one on Thursday! Where is the last year go?!?

I got a pair of capri pants that are navy blue with bright pink painted spots on them...just for fun. When I came down the stairs with them on Russell looked at me and said, "Whoa Mom....you got stickers on your pants, I like-a them!"

Russell and I were getting ready to go get Eden from school to take her to the dentist. I said to him. "Do you want to come to take Eden to the dentist?" His reply was..."No, no take Eden to the dentist, I want to go to the temple!"

Technology is wonderful! One piece of technology that Taylor uses all the time is the feature on the iphone to speak the text that you want to write. With this feature you also need to speak in the punctuation. It seems to be becoming the norm around here. In the car on the way to church yesterday Gordon asked me something and ended with saying "question mark". I was giggling pretty hard ;)

Evalyn is growing up so quickly!!! It is so fun to see her little personality coming out.

During Christmas break we were able to go and play dodgeball. We all had a great time! Eden was especially brave getting hit once in the face and another time in the chest by the some of the Dads fast balls. And also this week she slipped off the trapeze on a swing set at a friends house and landed on her face. She is scrapped up but boy is she is one tuff cookie!

I don't know if I wrote down Ella's accomplishment. She was in the top two in her first grade class for spelling so she went on to compete in the school wide first grade spelling bee. There were about 10 kids (who were also the top two from their classes). She did wonderfully. She finished in second place. At first she was very bummed because she got out on a word that she knows. But we reminded her that she got to that point because she spelled correctly two words that she was having a hard time with while we were practicing. We are so very proud of her!!

Gordon's second season of basketball has started. It is so fun to see him enjoying it. And Taylor is really enjoying being the coach as well. Makes my heart happy!!

Hopefully I will think of some others that have happened lately...and get back on track ;) We love you all so very much!

11/5/14

I am so sad. I had an index card with lots of stories on it and it has been misplaced. I feel like I am constantly on the go these days. The kids have been doing adorable things and I have written them down... :( But now lost.

I need to get back into the habit of taking my notes on the computer so they don't get misplaced :)

So over the past few weeks...

In the hustle and bustle of life I was at Costco with the kids while Eden was at ballet. We were finished in time to load the groceries in the car and go pick up Eden and her friend....well this lady locked her keys in the car. Luckily we have AAA and they were able to come and open the car for me. While we were waiting for them to come. Ella looked at me and said, "Mom when is the Chick-fil-a guy gonna be here?" I didn't understand at first but then realized triple A sounds a lot like Chick-fil-a to a hungry little girl ;)

Russell is still so in love with the Pixar movie Cars. The kids love to run around our "track" down stairs. Russell will come into the kitchen and put his back up against the cabinets and have me say, "Start your engines". Then he will crouch down ready to run and rev his engine by making a growling sort of noise. The I say "Ready, set, GO" And he is off. And as he turns the corner he runs in a little zig-zag pattern with screeching sound effects. Such a cutie. He could do it for hours...and some days he does.

Evalyn is crawling! Not completely the traditional way (although she does on occasion) her preferred method to get around is the arm crawl. She is getting quite fast at it. Her new favorite place to hang out is under the kitchen table on the middle pedestal section.  And she surprised me the other day when I turned around to find that she has climbed up one step. And it begins again! ;) I vacuum and sweep all the time.

Gordon is such a sweetheart. We were sitting in sacrament meeting and he put his arm around me then leaned in and said "I love you Mom". I hear kids stop doing that at some point, but I hope he never does.

Ellanor is excelling in class. She is reading at a much higher level than most of her classmates. She also is a whiz speller. Each week when we go over spelling she gets them all right on her first try. Not something she inherited from her Mama.

We were listening to Pandora Disney Radio Station this morning and a song from 'The Lion King' came on. I said to Russell , "Oh, Lion King" His response was  "No Mom...it is not Lightn' McQueen". Apparently I need to pronounce my words better...that or he ALWAYS has Cars on his mind...probably a little bit of both.

From Grandpa Earl: Such wonderful stories. It is always a highlight of my day to read the latest edition of the Grandparents Journal.  I would like to add one little experience. Last week, when I came to Gordon’s Cub Scout Meeting, Gordon pounded the Suburban window and screamed Grandpa with great enthusiam and Russell greeted me with his unique grin and the phrase “ Super cool. You’re awesome.”  Since this was the first time Russell verbally acknowledged me, I was thrilled.  I also enjoy the way Ella and Eden fight to sit next to me.  I felt truly loved by all of your children. 

I also wanted to note that will all of Ella’s educational achievements, you should add her perfect printing.   When  you left our home at the end of your last visit, we found love notes from all of the kids everywhere in the house.  We could identify Ella’s notes from a distance because of her perfect printing.  I am certain that she did not inherit this skill from her father.  Love, Grandpa Earl

9/19/14

I really have fallen off the wagon of doing these each week. That is still always my goal, but I figure every now and then is better than none at all, right ;) We sure love all of you!!

At bed time Taylor usually makes up a bed time story for the kids. And the other night he was telling a story about Mr. Write and Mr. Eraser...and how they were not friends at first and then they became friends. They even joined together to become a pencil. Two different things come together. At the end Taylor asked the kids do you know what is written on every pencil (fishing for "no.2") and Ella shouts out, "Made in CHINA!"

Russell always say, "Hoooow 'Booout....Snowman!" because he wants to sing 'Once there was a Snowman'. He even came and sat next to me during choir practice on Sunday and started singing to himself 'Once there was a Snowman....".

He really does love to sing...and he doesn't care who hears. Especially to Frozen songs. Whenever they come on Pandora he belts it out. He has surprised me which parts he actually knows the words to. 

Evalyn's two bottom teeth have broken through!!! Hurray. Seems like it took a long time this time around.

Evalyn loves to stick her tongue in and out really fast while making noises, she even curls it up onto the side at times. It is adorable!

The other night I was driving home from mutual with all the kids in the car. Evalyn was crying really loudly and then I hear Eden lean down next to her and start to sing, "Evalyn...don't cry...I am right here by your side..I am always here for you my sweetie girl". Wish I could have recorded that one!

Ellanor is excelling in her class. She is far above the norm on her reading level. She is such a smart cookie and we love her so!

Gordon last year had been struggling with spelling, he was trying very hard to get 100% but still would miss a few, even after getting them right in practice. This year he has been working very hard each night on his spelling and he has gotten A's on all his tests so far...and on most 100%. His hard work is paying off and that makes this Mama so happy!!

We also got grades back today for the first grading period and all the kids have straight A's. They take after Dad ;)

8/27/14

I can see that the show 'The Amazing Race' is having an influence on the kids play time. While I am writing this the kids are playing with the squinkies and I am listening to them...they are having them run all around and they are saying "okay, road block!" And then they have some little thing each squinkie needs to do like move little marbles around. Then they say, "okay drive yourselves to your next destination". And they keep going with other tasks then I hear. "You are flying to Shanghi"..."lets get to Phil".  So fun that they are getting so into it. Maybe I should capitalize on this and teach them some geography ;)

Russell likes to call the squinkies his "squishies"...makes me think of Finding Nemo when Dori calls the jelly fish her squishes. :)

Everyone is loving school and really enjoying their new teachers. I am still trying to get back into the groove of the school schedule, but the kids seem to have it down :)

Evalyn has been getting up on her knees in the crawling position. She hasn't gotten up on her hands with it yet, but she is on her way....why is my baby growing up so fast!!! Already 7 months old.

As mentioned before the kids have been enjoying watching 'The Amazing Race'. We had told the kids that we wanted to make our own amazing race for them to do. They kept asking us about it and then they came home from school with a flier that said their school was putting on an Amazing Race....perfect! We went and the kids had a blast running all over their school and figuring out puzzles.
Consequently when the younger kids and I went to the school yesterday to listen to Eden do her poem Russell was running all over campus yelling back to me, "Hurry Mom! Lets go, Run!"

While we were there to listen to Eden's poem...all the parents wait out in the hall and when it is their child's turn to go they get to go in. So Eden had come out to the hall to get us, when we walked in the very quite class Russell could not hold in his excitement. He yelled, "OH WOW!! This is cool! Look at this..." and he was about to start running around and checking the class room out. The teacher and kids were quietly chuckling. I quickly reminded him that we needed to be quite and listen to Eden. And he did. Then after she was done (which she did awesome by the way!!) she came back to give us a hug. Once she gave Russell his hug, again with a loud enthusiastic voice he said, "K Eden, lets go....come on...lets go home". He was a little sad that she wasn't able to come home with us right away.

This past weekend we were at Grandma and Grandpa Earl's house. The kids and I were in the back swimming. Russell would climb up on the decorative wall and sit down by me and then plop in the pool. Over and over again. Then one time after he had fallen into the water he turned around and looked up at me and said with his arms reached out toward me, "Okay Mom, your turn, jump....it okay, I will catch you".

Since this past week was Eden's birthday I was asking her what she wanted for her birthday dinner. She thought for awhile...."I think I will choose Spaghetti, because that is Ella's favorite." Such a sweet girl. I told her it was HER birthday and she could choose HER favorite ;) Which she did...pizza, watermelon and pickles.

I can't remember if I have written this down or not, but I want to remember it. Russell LOVES to watch Cars 2. And he does almost everyday. I can't wait to take him to Disneyland in a little over a month and see how he reacts to entering Radiator Springs, and getting to meet McQueen and Mater for 'real'. :)

Just now Russell got a little, ouchie. He came in and wanted a kiss. So I gave him one on his cheek. He said "no, right here", pointing to his chin. She I kissed his chin. "No, here!" Pointing to his chin, just below his lips. So I kissed it again. "No, here!" This went back and forth a couple more times...and then he said, okay, thanks. (that is one way to get a lot of kisses ;) )

Added by Grandpa Earl: Delightful!  While you were at our home this weekend, I was so impressed with the genuine affection the children showed toward us.  Gordon & Eden spontaneously gave me at least a dozen hugs over the two days. There just isn’t a better feeling that a strong hug from a grandchild.  Then at the end of the stay, they made us a series of love notes and pictures and taped them all over the house for JaNae and me to find.  Ella’s printing is very good and you just have to love those precise XOXOXOXOXOs at the bottom of every note! You can tell she is an excellent student.  Finally,  little Russell and I were cleaning up the office when he found the Woody figure. He picked it up and exclaimed “where is Woody’s hat?”  Together we looked all over the house in vain for that plastic hat, with Russell repeating, “where is Woody’s hat”? with his arms outstretched and hands up imploring the hat to find us. 

We sure do love you and  the kids and look forward to your visits.  Hopefully, next time we will have the back yard done, so they can enjoy more than just the pool.  Love, Grandpa Earl 

Added by Grandma Nielsen: Yes, Stephen, they are delightful!!!  So happy we get to be grandparents to these precious children.  They left a little post-it love note on my bathroom mirror more than 6 months ago, and I still have it stuck there.  I just clean around it.  :)  Thanks Laura for sharing their little world with us!

love,

Grandma Nielsen

7/30/14

Whenever it is time to sleep or take a nap and Russell doesn't really want to he will lay down and fake snore....it is kinda adorable! 

We were swimming at my parents house and Russell got in the pool and saw a big leaf. He grabbed it and was making his way out of the pool. I thought he was going to put it on the ground just out of the pool, but then he went to the deep end and hoped in. He then took the leaf and put it into the little sweep catcher. He viewed it as the pools garbage can I guess. Always a little helper.

Well it is official...THE GIRLS CAN SWIM!! They were really close and spending a whole week in the pool for about 4 hours everyday did just the trick. And I think getting all their hair back in swim caps also helped. They were always using their arms to get their hair out of their faces. Once that was no longer a problem they could use those arms to swim :) They are in heaven....and so am I! :) Two more down....two+ more to go ;)

Gordon is such a gamer. All week long while we were at Grandma and Grandpa Nielsen's house he was trying to get us to play a new board game called Pandemic. We all were a little reluctant to comply because it seemed very complicated and requiring a lot of effort. So finally on Sunday before we were planning on leaving we got the game out. Turns out we all really liked the game. We wanted to play it again, but were out of time. Gordon now has another game on the list of ones he wants to own ;)

I was helping Russell say the dinner prayer last night. Usually when I do he will repete what I say. Last night however after every phrase he just said, yyyeesssss. Everyone was giggling by the end.

A friend was holding Evalyn at church while we were chatting and then Evalyn looked over at me and then put her arms out and leaned for me. She has never done that before. It was so cute! I hope she doesn't become too much of a mama's girl, but a little part of me loves it ;)

We did back to school shopping this week and everyone is so excited for school to start. Eden is a little nervous, but very excited too. Mixed emotions for me. I have loved having them home, but also excited for them to have fun at school and for me to have some good time with Russell and Evalyn at home.

7/9/14

At any given moment you could walk around our house and find at least 20 little hot wheels cars hidden in various nooks and crannies. Courtesy of Russell of course. And if you chance to spot him he would have at least three cars in each hand. ;) 

Ellanor had some excitement this week. We were playing a game as a family on Taylor's phone and it was Ella's turn to "roll". After her turn she looked up at me with big eyes and said, "Mom, I just swallowed a DIME!" After a call to poison control we were told to take her in for an x-ray. While she was at the urgent care center with Taylor he asked her why she had put the dime in her mouth. Her response, "I had no other safe place to put it". And to put you all at ease...the coin made its awaited appearance this evening ;) 

Evalyn started eating rice cereal the other night. She did great! I couldn't get it in fast enough :) Now when I get the bowl ready she knows what is coming and can't contain her excitement. Growing up so fast!

We spent the 4th of July weekend with G&G Earl. While we were there we went swimming. The girls wanted to have some "swim lessons" we took their floaties off and they both just swam! The whole time we were in the pool they were swimming all around with no help! What a relief! Two more kids can swim!!! Puts this Mamas heart a little more at ease...still a worryer and will keep my eyes on all of them, but definitely a bit relieved! 

Russell has a deep love for all things Mickey Mouse. It is so fun to watch him get so excited when he gets to wear a Mickey Mouse shirt, or his Mickey Mouse Pajamas...and my favorite is to listen to him sing the Mickey Mouse Clubhouse song. :) Disneyland in the fall is going to be a BLAST!

We love you all!!!

One small correction. I asked Ella why she put the dime in her mouth right after she told us she swallowed it. I wish I were more constrained to ask that question at a later time. But I must confess that my patience was thin for a  six-year-old girl who has the brain of an eight-year-old and who yet swallows a dime. 

But we did have a fun time at the hospital. I could tell she really enjoyed having a date with her dad. Let's hope we can have other dates in which I am paying with money and not having Ella swallow it.

6/22/14

Love you all!!! Hope you are having a wonderful week ;)

When Evalyn sneezes she double sneezes every time....I just think it is adorable :)

If Taylor starts singing "If you're happy and you know it..." Russell can not resist. He will clap his hands and stomp his feet every time.

Ella got her tonsils out and has been a trooper. And she is getting another set of molars at the same time.

Gordon got his first set of stitches. He was at our friends the Peterson's house swimming in their pool. He slipped and fell in the pool. On the way in his face it a corner that had chipped so it sliced his cheek. He was so brave at the urgent care while they were examining it and sewing him up. He thought it was pretty cool. He couldn't wait to show his friends. We went to get the stitches removed yesterday and the nurse asked if he wanted to keep them. He said with a big smile...YES!

I made some kettle corn for a party the girls were going to and Russell wanted a taste. So I got a little bowl for him. He didn't seem to happy and I wasn't sure why. I finally realizes that he was waiting for a spoon to eat his popcorn.

There was a car accident while we were driving the other day. I was explaining what that meant to the girls. That when two cars run into each other, that is a car accident. Ella then said..."you know, cars are made out of metal....and....if you put them in a microwave they would burn."  Eden..."that would be a really big microwave!"

From Grandma Earl:

Always so cute.  I remember when Russell was getting his diaper changed, Taylor started singing “If you’re happy and you know it . . . ” and Russell was right there giving claps and other actions at the right time even though he was on his back.  He gets cuter and cuter every time I see him.  I love this age.  He finally liked me on this last trip.  Bring him back before he forgets.  

Gordon is such a perfect “oldest of the kids.”  He doesn’t boss them around like they are his servants.  He really is kind to them.  Of all the grandkids, Gordon is the one that loves playing games with me.  I think all of the grandkids will play, but sometimes they want to quit half way through the game.  Gordon is ready to play the minute he walks in the door.  And will play for a long time.  I love our games of pool.  He is really a good little player.  I bent the rules this last time, because I felt so bad for Ella not being allowed in the room while we played.  She wasn’t feeling good and she felt so left out.  Then of course she forgot and put her hands on the pool table and the ball smashes for fingers.  She understands the reason for the rule now.  But what a lousy way to learn it, especially when she didn’t feel good.  

Everything is the domino effect when it comes to my house.  Julie and Dan have to move into a home (not my home) and take their mattress.  Then Cameron needs to move from that room into his own room (not in my home.)  Then I can get the wall beds put in with the tables that come down.  Then we’ll have a grandkids sleeping/game room.  I have already started getting things for the walls.  I hope I still like them by the time I use them.  I already have another idea for the future.  How cute would it be to have a scrabble board on the ceiling with words like family, love, happy etc., or names of the family.  The only bad thing about that would be I couldn’t use everyone’s name.  Then I thought I could decorate the walls with old wooden game boards like checkers, Chinese checkers, Parcheesi etc.

That little Evalyn is the cutest baby ever.  She is such a smiler.  She even waits for you to look at her when she is far across the room.  Then she does the smile and look away.  I never get tired of that.  

I love watching Ella and Eden play together.  Who wouldn’t love to have a sister close in age who is also a friend.  It will be fun to watch them as they grow up and turn into two really beautiful girls.

I love watching you mother.  You are very loving and patient beyond belief.  You are the mother I wished I had been.  

I love you with all my heart.  Thanks for marrying my Taylor.

Love,

Mom 

6/4/14

Just a few to help me get back on track. :) Love you all!!! We had a wonderful vacation for the last week and a half, back to normal life :) 

Taylor took the oldest three kids fishing this past weekend. Gordon even caught a large catfish. It was a catch and release pond. He was so excited! When he was recounting the experience to our home teachers he said, "I was sitting down on the edge of the water like a little sapling tree so that the fish would not recognize that I was fishing and trying to catch them." Loved that he was not just a tree but a sapling tree. :)

Russell out of the blue will run up to you and say (what I thought was)...circle. After some further investigation I realized he was not saying circle...he was saying snuggle. As soon as I asked, "OH, do you want to snuggle?" He screamed out with excitement and relief that I had figured out what he was trying to tell me...YES!"

Evalyn has learned to roll over! Wow, did that happen quickly for anyone else? I feel like I just had her last week! She is adorable and we all just love her to pieces!

Evalyn's four month stats: Head 50% at 41 cm. Length 90% at 25 1/2 inches, weight 40% at 13.2 pounds.

We had a wonderful visit with Mildred while we were in Southern California. It was such a treat to see her! It has been too long. The kids were excited to go to her house as well. We have a wonderful picture of the kids with Mildred (well minus Russell...he was asleep in the car). :)

5/15/14

Russell had a boogery nose....I told him to get some tissue paper to wipe of his nose. He just latched onto the 'paper' and used a book. I said, No sweetie tissue paper. Again paper was all he heard so he found a scrap piece of paper and wiped his nose on it...with not much relief I might add it was actually getting worse. So then I realized he probably doesnt know what 'tissue' means. So I said lets get a piece of toilet paper. He knew right what to do then. WE learned a new word today ;) 

Taylor attached a seat to the back of the bike to take Russell for a ride. He was loving life riding away with a lighting McQueen helmet on. As they were peddling away Russell looked back to me and said, no worry, I be right back!. 

Russell's worried face is one of the most adorable things. He does it all the time now. When he does something he knows he shouldn't, when he is asking for something that he wants...when he get embarrassed. 

Whenever I ask Russell if he wants to sing a song... He will say YES. I suggest 'I looked out the window' He replies.... no no SUN....

Gordon had his first pinewood derby and had so much fun! We have made a video of it that Taylor will upload and send you the link (if he hasn't already done so). So fun to watch Gordon get so excited with his friends. He was such a great sport. Always congratulating his friends when they won. Just all around a great sport and such a joy to watch!

One of my dear friends moved last weekend and Taylor was going over to help them move. The kids wanted to help, so they all went with cleaner and rags in hand and helped clean their house while the adults were loading up the truck. Warms my heart that they were such good little helpers :)

Ellanor had kindergarten graduation today. She was so beautiful! (I have attached a picture for those of you not on facebook)  I love that girl so much. She is so ready for first grade....oh and is Eden so ready to start school...they are growing up so fast! 

4/25/14

Russell was playing with the Barbie phone and it says quite a few different sayings like , "I love this song, let's go shopping together, Let's have a picnic on the beach, Let's see a movie....but every time it asked "Do you want to get some ice cream?" He would enthusiastically yell "YES!"

I have been using the ipad as my alarm to wake me up in the morning, so I have it on the nightstand just next to our bed. Russell has quickly figured out it's nightly location. I have found him many mornings trying as best he can to sneak the iPad away so he can play before I wake up....it is actually a good thing I catch him or I would not wake up on time ;)

Today Russell had a plastic bat and was holding it up and down and pounding it into the ground saying "frozen heart"..."cut through the heart..." over and over. I realized that he was singing the first song on the movie Frozen when the men are cutting and collecting blocks of ice. It is more than adorable watching his rendition of the song.

Evalyn is not consistent but I have found her sucking on her fingers a lot more lately. Usually at least two at once. She might not be a thumb sucker, but could be a finger(s) sucker...we will see.

Poor Gordon has been sick all week with a fever and a sore throat. He is such a good sick kid. I know I have probably mentioned it before, but he is a sweetie when he is not feeling well and laying on the couch.

Ella came into my room very early last Friday morning. She woke me up with much concern. She asked, "Have Dad and Gordon left for their camp-out yet? I want to give them a kiss and hug before they leave!" I assured her they were still home and would be (sleeping) for at least a few more hours. :) 

The girls have been working on their ballet dance for their upcoming recital. It will be Sat May 17th. Details will be coming shortly for that. ;)

Life is wonderful! A little crazy at times, but I would not change it for anything in the world! Love you all!!