bedtime for Brecken

I must say, I am very lucky when it comes to putting Brecken down for a nap or bedtime (at least most of the time).  Usually, when I tell Brecken it is bedtime & take down the gate (keeping him from going upstairs), he takes off running to get up into his bed - especially if he sees I have his sippy cup / pacifier and his teddy bear / blanket.  And once he is in bed, he doesn't even cry (again, that is most of the time).  What a good boy - and what a blessing given my current condition.

Gavin's opinion of food cooked with love

The other day, the boys were watching a show (while I was cooking dinner & they were eating) and they were cooking something on the show and they said the last ingredient was love.  They boys asked what that meant.  I started to explain that it means the food is cooked with love, that the person cooking the food is cooking it because they love you.  Here is what Gavin thought of things cooked with love:

"Love is kisses." (with a very disgusted look on his face)

Then he took a bite of his food and said, "Yuck, I can taste the love.  I don't want food with love in it.  Mom, cook me some without love."

Yeah - I will get right on that - food without love!

Matthew - how hair grows

The boys all needed their hair cut (they were starting to look like shaggy dogs) so I cut/buzzed it the other day.  I'm not great at cutting their hair but they are young so they don't care (next time 

I need to take them to Dani to get real hair cuts).   Anyway, after I cut their hair, they were all itchy so I had them go take quick showers to rinse the hair off.  When Matthew came down, Dallin asked him if he had washed his hair.  This is how Matthew answered:

"I didn't wash my hair.  I didn't want to get it wet because then it would grow.  Water makes things grow."

He is right, water makes things grow!

I added this picture of Gavin - I think that with their hair cut/buzzed, they look a lot a like - and he is just so cute!  I love that he always does "thumbs up" in pictures lately.

Easter Morning

The boys were so excited Easter morning to wake up and find their baskets (in our room).  Matthew had told me that the Easter Bunny ALWAYS leaves Transformers and kites.  Good thing he passed that info on to me so I could tell the Easter Bunny.  So, Matthew was thrilled to see they all got a Transformer and kite - and some other little things.  Brecken just got 2 things - a stuffed Mickey Mouse (he LOVES Mickey Mouse Clubhouse) and a package of toothbrushes (for some reason he LOVES toothbrushes - you will rarely see him without one these days, I think they feel good on his gums).  He was so funny.  He didn't want anything to do with the Mickey Mouse (he kept pushing it away).  But he LOVED the toothbrushes.  He screamed when Ed tried taking the box to open it so he could "play" with the toothbrushes.

When the boys all got ready for Church, Dallin had a blue shirt on with his new Easter tie.  He asked Ed if he would wear a blue shirt so they could be the same.  Ed said of course.  Dallin was so excited that he was dressed like his daddy and insisted on having a picture of just the 2 of them - how sweet is that!

Dyeing Easter Eggs

The night before Easter, after recovering (sort of) from our big Easter Egg Hunt and bathing the boys and getting Brecken in bed, we finally got around to dyeing Easter eggs.  The pictures aren't great but the boys all had a great time.  Gavin rushed through dyeing each egg (but loved it).  Dallin & Matthew were much more patient with each egg - dyeing each one multiple colors and really taking their time.  It was fun to see how much they have changed since dyeing eggs last year.

The Hunt is On!

Yesterday we had our annual Easter Egg Hunt.  Luckily, the weather wasn't too bad (last year we had to postpone the hunt 2 times) - it was a little chilly and cloudy but it wasn't windy and it only sprinkled a little towards the end when everyone was eating all the yummy treats everyone brought.  

There were 44 kids and 1,082 eggs!  

It turned out to be a lot of fun (and exhausting)!  Luckily, I had lots of help (filling eggs, hiding eggs, bringing treats, cleaning up) - thanks to my friends and Ed!

Gavin & the Big Monkey

Gavin woke-up this morning and came right into our room to tell us the following:

"There is a big monkey outside and he likes to throw us!  He's scary!"

Later he told me:

"There are really 2 big monkey's and they are really freaking me out!"

Seriously, where does he come up with this stuff?

Awesome Ed!

This pregnancy has really slowed me down.  I can't go to the grocery store without having contractions 3 minutes into the store and wanting to cry because I am so exhausted.  Luckily, Ed has really stepped up to help out.  For example, he went to Costco for me last night - and it was a big trip.  We needed the regular stuff for us (juice, bread, milk, fruit, veggies, etc.) and drinks and candy for our Easter Egg Hunt this Saturday (if it isn't raining).  He said he could barely push the cart and it wouldn't turn - I can't imagine if I had tried to get all that stuff, it would not have worked.  He was so impressed with how full the cart was that he took a picture (I am rubbing off on him).  Anyway, I just had to share what an awesome husband I have.  Thanks for ALL your help Ed!

Absolutely Adorable!

How absolutely adorable are these blankets?  My college roommate, Rachel, MADE them for the twins.  Rachel is one of those friends that I don't see very much (once every 2 years or so) but it doesn't matter, when we see each other or talk, it is like no time has past - it is great!  These quilts are even cuter in person - they had to take forever since the circles are not a pattern on fabric, she sewed each one on.  I can't wait for the twins to put them to good use!  Thanks Rachie!

Rough & Crazy Couple of Days

Poor little Matthew has had a ROUGH week.  He missed 2 days of school -  he was so sick but of course it was a virus.  Luckily, he is finally doing better - he has done a lot of watching TV with mommy.  And at least it wasn't croup like we thought at first (yucky cough and hard time breathing).  I love the picture of him where you can see he sleeps with his eyes open a little (which is creepy) - he sleeps just like his Aunt GG!

And what CRAZY weather we have been having (I guess really not that crazy for Utah - but it gets old after a while) considering it is Spring!  This past week it snowed (or rained one night before turning to snow) pretty much every day and was windy (our awning is now leaning but it has been too yucky out for them to come and fix it) and cold.  Not fun Spring weather - but good for our water levels.

And finally, my little Brecken had a horrible fall off the back of the couch - I thought for sure I broke him.  He didn't nap that day - which means mommy didn't get her MUCH needed nap, so I was trying to rest on the couch.  With an 18 month old, that doesn't work too well.  He was trying to sit on my shoulder/head when he went to stand up.  I reached up to grab him but by the time I did, there was no Brecken to grab - over the back of the couch he went (our couch is pretty tall too).  Let's just say I have no idea how I got off the couch as fast as I did to make sure he was okay.  And I'm not exactly sure how he landed but he was mostly standing up when I got to him and he had a huge rug burn on his forehead - and of course he screamed for a long time.  We were really worried about him since we didn't know if he hit his head or not but he seems to be okay.

Chicken Pillows Recipe - Super Easy

Here is a recipe I have had for years - I think I got it from one of my college friends (Suz?).   Anyway, it isn't a fancy recipe but it is super easy and yummy - it has cream cheese in it so of course it is yummy.  I don't make the sauce for my kids or add the lemon pepper, but even my extremely picky kids will eat this.  And did I mention it is easy - and fast.  Well, it sounded yummy to me tonight (which is not normal for me these days, usually nothing sounds good) so I actually cooked (which does not happen these days).  Anyway, if you try it, I hope you enjoy it.

Matthew - The Snowball

In Kindergarten, they have to be able to tell a story (that has a beginning, middle, and end - which I thought all stories had), in front of their class, with visual aids, and they can't read it.  Matthew got to tell his story yesterday and I was lucky enough to be able to go and watch him.  And I must say he did a FABULOUS job!  He remembered the whole story and spoke loud enough so everyone could hear.  He didn't do a great job of holding the pictures for his class to see (as his teacher pointed out), but otherwise, he did a great job!  Way to go Matthew!

Here is the story he told.  It is called, The Snowball.

I saw a snowball on a hill.

It rolled along and picked up Bill.

It rolled along with Bill inside.

It rolled along and picked up Clyde.

What a ride!

I saw a snowball with four feet.

It rolled along and picked up Pete.

It rolled him up as quick as that.

It rolled along and picked up Pat,

and her hat!

I saw a snowball roll past Lee.

It rolled along and picked up ME!

It rolled, it bounced, it dipped, it dashed.

It rolled along until it smashed!

The end.