Grover Spring Break: Part 1

The Grovers came late Friday night, and Olivia and Carter did their best to stay up for them, but the extent of their staying up lasted until about 8:30 :). The next morning they jumped right into getting up WAY early, hanging out with cousins, and just having a great time. Later in the morning, we took all the girls to the mall in Moscow for a little shopping. We learned that my girls aren't quite as patient as Maely and Elli when it comes to actual clothes shopping, but we had a blast. The pictures I have are a total mix of mine and Amber's pictures, so I will give photo credit now, even though I honestly couldn' even tell you which are hers.

This adorable picture was taken by one of Amber's girls...Makenzie was living it up being the cute little girl cousin :).

It was an adventure and a challenge to get these coins to actually race without being touched by someone on the way down :)

When we walked over to Bath and Body Works, I realized that this was the first time Makenzie has ever just explored in a store without being confined by a stroller. She is quite the shopper, enjoying everything and being very careful to put it all back as she found it (I'm sure that one won't last very long...). She absolutely LOVED these loofahs, they were her babies and she walked all over the store just cuddling them :)

We sampled lots of lotions and lipsticks and sprays until we all smelled like a weird concoction of floral desserts on the beach.

And I love hand-holding pics, so I grabbed a few on the way out.

We had to go to the grocery store for a few things, but I was so distracted by just having fun with my sister that I had to send Alex later in the weekend for the things I forgot...my brain can only enjoy this wonderful time, it isn't going to be distracted by responsibilities :).

Later that day we took everyone for some glow in the dark mini golf. It was the perfect place for us because it was all in one big room with short little holes and no one else there. The kids raced ahead, then did the holes over and over while the grownups had some sense of competition. I'm not sure whether the Grovers won or the men won, but either way I was the big loser...I just couldn't catch a break :)

Like any completely normal pair of sisters, we had a mini photo shoot with our matching vans and almost matching outfits before heading to DQ for some treats (my kids' 4th time there in a week ...oops!)

We had a fairly quiet afternoon full of makeup, crafts, and boys getting rowdy (or watching March Madness, depending on the pair of boys...). I couldn't believe how perfect the makeup was on Makenzie, she looked just like a little porcelain doll. 

I wish we took pictures of the grownup games that evening, because it started a problem that lasted throughout the whole visit. We played a game called Lost Cities that Alex and I had played before, but never with more than 2 people. It played out much differently, and Amber wasn't satisfied with the results :) At 12:30 we had to convince her not to start another game, to wait until the next day, but I think we played the game 3 days in a row after that :). My family teases me about not being able to lose a game, but I'm not entirely sure that I'm the only one with that trait.

I was super stressed about getting up and out to church the next morning. We decided to visit the ward that Matt is the bishop of in Moscow, which happens to start at 9. Because of the extra drive, that meant we needed to have all 12 of us clean, fed, dressed, and out the door at 8:30. That paired with the fact that the kids got up early and stayed up late the night before made me more than nervous, and I could barely sleep because I kept thinking of things that I needed to do to prepare (a bag of books and activities to keep the kids quiet, blankets/bottle/extra clothes for Hunter who normally sleeps during that time, remembering that I never washed Carter's black pants..so he would have to wear the bright red ones...etc)

All of my worries were for naught, we were almost the first ones in the building, and definitely the first ones with kids. We trooped in with SO MANY kids running ahead and behind, and then awkwardly explained our connection to the Church and this ward to the poor greeter at the door :)...it's a struggle. Luckily, Amber and I both snuck pictures from our opposite sides of the aisle. We split up the little ones and crammed all the kids in the middle, so at least no one would escape without notice!

Church went very well for most. Makenzie was NOT a fan of nursery in the least, and I think 6 grownups tried to help her go in 3 or 4 times to no avail. Finally she fell asleep on Amber's lap during the last attempt, so Amber kept her outside for the last hour. The rest of the young kids all joined into one class and had a great time, though I'm sure that teacher was shocked when I added 3 to her class of 2 5 year olds!

Mom and Dad left New Plymouth after one hour of church, and arrived mid-afternoon to join in the fun! I love these pictures of Hunter just checking Grandpa out...he wasn't sure at first but Dad won him over the next day with his usual barrier-breaker...sugar!

These pictures aren't quite in the right order, but after church we threw the kids out of their church clothes and had mac'n'cheese for lunch. Apparently we left them to their own devices a little early, because Amber peeked into the kitchen to find Makenzie getting herself seconds...by eating directly from the pot! She was totally embarrassed and ashamed, as you can tell by the second picture ;).

These two friends were cute cuddling together to watch a show :). They so often are split up, O with Elli and T with Carter, so it was fun to see them hanging out too.

We spent some time inspecting the ceiling for any problems...it didn't start as a competition, but I'm sure by the time Dan got involved there was some competitive nature to it...either way, I now know the true purpose of a lofted ceiling!

March: Part 2

This middle section of March just felt like we were waiting for Amber and her family to come. Every day was a countdown (that I repeated at least 20 times), and to kids that are 2 and 4, saying 8 days, or 1 week, is the same as saying 8 minutes or 1 second. They have no idea, so they just ask again after whatever task they are doing. I have tried saying after you wake up 8 times, but then they close their eyes, open them, and insist that they have slept so the count should go down :). In any case, we were all really excited for our spring break visitors.

St. Patrick's Day was a thrown together affair this year. I have a pretty strict rule against wearing green as a primary color for anything, so I always settle for a Beaver shirt with green tank under. It counts, and still works for the kids :)

Here is our hodge podge of green for the day...it's not a color that we have a lot of, but the kids make it look cute.

Hunter and Carter had a fun wresting match when C was laying on the ground in the path of Hunter getting to the open door, so he just crawled right over Carter's head :) He could have gone around in any direction, there wasn't much else on the ground, but the shortest path is always the best, right?

The night of St. Patrick's Day, after the leprechauns had spent a whole day causing mischeif and playing tricks (so they were tired, of course), Olivia put her science project, a leprechaun trap, to test in the kitchen. She was SO sure that she would catch a leprechaun, and her dad is a saint for making this cute setup when I said 'can you pull the leprechaun trap so the kids aren't disappointed? He doesn't do anything halfway, and I had a blast washing 100+ little leprechaun footprints off the cabinets the next day :).

I love Carter's face because he was seriously waiting for the leprechaun to jump right out  at him. Also, he totally needs a haircut ;).

Later that day, Carter totally made Broccoli Cheddar Quinoa bites for dinner. It's an easy recipe that we all love; as an added bonus, it's totally healthy! The only complaint that evening was from Carter, who would REALLY like to have a more manly kid apron...I told him to put it on his Christmas list :).

Straw bowls are the best, especially when mom gives up on manners and lets this happen...

Our big project this summer is an overhaul on the main level of our house (living, dining, and kitchen). We are redoing floors, paint, baseboards, and getting some new furniture. The hardest thing is just committing to a product. There are so many different options, and SO many different colors, and then you find what you like and start pricing it out, and there are just as many brands and businesses and sales...we still haven't bought flooring, but we are planning to start the project (top to bottom puts painting before flooring anyway) in mid-May. That is exactly when we plan to lay the cement for our patio as well, so who knows what will actually get done by our soft deadline of mid-June when the kids want to have a summer kickoff party :)...wish us luck on the beginning of our big home project careers!

Just a couple pictures of our helping girls...they are always finding new and impressive ways to be helpful to their younger siblings.

Over the weekend after St. Patrick's Day, Alex took the kids on a part outing that ended in ice cream cones. That evening I saw online that free cones were happening the next day at DQ to celebrate the first day of spring. We definitely don't pass up free cones and a chance to support St. Jude's, so the kids and I headed over after school. I was expecting a half-hour wait at least, and no possibility of a table, but the place was practically empty when we got there, we didn't wait at all. By the time we left, closer to 5, it was getting more full, but it was magical for me to have our choice of tables and get everyone settled with ice cream without Alex there.

Hunter's first cone (no ice cream, but he loved it).

As a funny twist to our ice cream week, the next evening was Olivia's spring music concert, which had to end with yet another trip for ice cream :) 3 nights in a row was more than even I wanted, and I never pass up ice cream in any form.

Olivia's concert was really cute, she was her 'usual' reserved self, following directions and the actions perfectly, but never going crazy or doing anything that might be perceived as breaking the rules. It is still surprising to me every time I see this from our crazy, independent girl, but I'm very glad that she is a model student :)

Makenzie stood on her seat (in the 2nd row) using 'binoculars' for a while before the show started.

The next day we started to do some sugar high recovery, so I gave the kids some form of veggie for every meal. The two at home were beyond excited when they saw me chopping 'Groot' before lunch. They insist on eating him whole, then Carter started calling himself the Badoon, which after 10 minutes of explanation I figured out was the first enemy that the Guardians of the Galaxy fought after they formed. Groot was apparently a key player in that battle, so Carter had to join the bad side to eat Groot.

I can't get over how little this picture looks like Hunter, but it is him helping me sweep the floor. Sweeping is one of those things that's very hard to do with one hand, and it's also VERY hard to do with a not-yet-walking baby hanging on to the broom and using it as a walker the entire time.

I don't know when this fort happened, or who made it, or who took the picture (I have suspicions on all accounts, but I am just amazed that it got made, played in, and cleaned up without a single fight to referee, so I'm calling it a major milestone for our family :).

O showed us her leprechaun trap (and many others, they were made by every kindergarten student in her school) at the science fair the day before Amber+fam came, and was SUPER thrilled by her participation medal. She put it in her treasure box with her student of the month pins and other participation awards from various events this year at school. Alex is ready to break it down with her about how participation isn't something to be celebrated, but I suggested we give her at least her Kinder year to live in blissful ignorance :). We will never be parents who make science projects for our kids, so they may need to settle for participation awards for years to come.

Next up, our faux spring break with our cousins and Grandma/Grandpa!