Busy Week!

Wow! We sure had a busy, but very fun week! Most importantly, Chloe turned 2 Years Old!! I'm amazed at how fast she is growing up. She is by far our most mature child at this age. She is running all over the house, jumping on the trampoline with the big kids, singing songs (she knows lots of primary songs all on her own-'I am a Child of God' is her favorite), and talking up a storm. Sometimes she can pop out with a 7 word sentence and it just about knocks me over to hear her talking like a little lady!

We had our friends Mindy and Dennis (and their kids) over for birthday cupcakes and ice cream on Sunday. We had our big family party a couple of weeks ago with my parents and siblings, so this was a nice evening to just hang out with friends. We decorated with Mickey Mouse stuff because he is Chloe's favorite character right now. Actually, he has been for some time, and I don't see the infatuation fading any time soon. So, she got a Mickey Mouse Clubhouse playset and MegaBlocks from us. Mindy and Dennis also gave her a really cute doll that smells like lavender. She has carried it all over our house and given it the new babydoll blanket and burp cloth that my mom made for her.

Chloe and Andraia helped me make the cupcakes on Sunday and REALLY enjoyed licking the spoons when we were done!





Other things going on this week included taking Andraia to the BYU vs Utah Gymnastics Meet on Friday with her class from The Little Gym. She and I had a great Mom and Daughter Date! We met up with her friend, Ava, from kindergarten. It was nice to meet Ava's mom in person after spending some time on the phone planning class parties! Andraia got a t-shirt from Little Gym and got 'that close' to catching a t-shirt from the BYU mascot, Cosmo. It hit her in the eye, bounced off, and was grabbed by someone else. The little boy who ended up with it didn't know it had hit Andraia first, so I didn't say anything to him, but I did buy ice cream for Andraia to help her feel better!




Another 'event' this week was recovering the dining room chairs. We bought an inexpensive, but nice looking, dining set last year that we love. It is counter height and because it is solid wood, Brayden loves to stand on it and pound on it. Its a good thing it was cheap, because he has nicked it up quite a bit with his cars. But that's why we didn't spend much on it to begin with. In our house, things get pretty beaten up. If we ever teach Brayden not to bang things on the table, we'll get a nicer one, but for now this one is pretty great for us. My only problem with it was the fabric on the seats. The chocolate brown micro-suede looked great to begin with....until our kids had their way with it. It doesn't resist drink spills and sticky fingers like we had hoped, so I replaced it with chocolate brown vinyl and its FANTASTIC!!! Wipes clean. No stains. AAHH....relief!



PS--That picture at the top of our blog is of crocus from our own flower garden! Its lovely! We can't wait to see the rest of our spring flowers blooming!!

February Update

We've had a very fun month!
Early in the month, we went to the Draper Temple Open House. It was really beautiful and the kids loved being able to see what the temple looks like on the inside. Now they kind of know why Mom and Dad love to go to the temple so much!!


Spencer's school had a 6th grade Valentine's Dance. He DID dance, but here is a picture of him hanging out with his friends. The decoration for his class mentions 'drop kicking'. Poor Miss Seedall has to threaten them with something!


Both Earl and I celebrate our birthdays in February. This year we attended Stake Conference for my birthday. It really was neat. For Earl's, Andraia picked out a special cake at the store. Earl grilled yummy steaks, and we spent the evening playing with the kids. Are we getting boring in our old age or what?

This is a picture of my nephew, Calton, 'helping' Spencer play a game on his PSP. Calton is so cute. He loves to play video games with Spencer!!

And here's a picture of Andraia with her friend, Mary. Mary's family performs Native American dances. We were able to watch their performance at the library. It was incredible. Our entire family really enjoyed the experience. Everyone loved watching the dances, hearing the stories and listening to the music. Even Brayden!! It isn't often this family finds something we can ALL do together!!

Wonderful Birthintine's Day!

It has always been really fun having my birthday on Valentine's Day. It makes for a day filled with love, family and friends. I have enjoyed celebrating it in many different ways over the years. Earl always makes sure to treat me like a princess which isn't always easy with busy schedules and busy kids!

This year my birthday consisted of....presents from dear friends, text message from my dad and brother, cards from Earl and the kids, many lovely emails and facebook posts from my friends and family, relaxing at home while Earl took the kids to run errands and keep them out of my hair (that was lovely!), and ...... Stake Conference! I have to admit Stake Conference wouldn't normally be my first choice of ways to spend my birthday, but I'm so glad that Earl and I decided to listen to the spirit and attend the adult session last night. We heard some much needed speakers and got to sit by our friends. It was a very special treat to sit with Earl on one side of me and one of my BFFs, Mindy, on the other. And no kids climbing on us and asking for toys, treats and trips to the drinking fountain. That was heavenly!!

After the session was over, some of the adults from our ward met at our ward building for dinner and dessert. It was very nice. We had a great time joking around with and getting to know some great people. And Mindy's yummy cheesecake was the best dessert of the night! I probably could have lived without Judy and Alisa having the entire room sing "Happy Birthday" to me, but it was really very sweet of them to acknowledge that it was my birthday! Alisa, I forgive you for letting Judy 'pressure' you into that! ;)

One of the best blessings of the night was coming home to happy, pajama-clad children. Camryn, the daughter of my good friend, Jacque, tag-teamed with Spencer to take care of the little kids. Our girls sure enjoyed having her here!

It was a really wonderful Birthintine's Day!

Spencer

Tomorrow is Spencer's birthday!!! The big 1-2! I can't believe he's 12 already. I'm really not that old, I promise. Enjoy the Birthday Background!

More Pics

We had a great week! Especially celebrating Valentines Day with our kids and partying with our family for our birthdays. (Teri's is the 14th, and Earl's is the 21st.) We really are lucky to live so close to Teri's parents and siblings. They are always game to come over and eat dinner and celebrate!