Family "FUN" Week

I am finally getting around to blogging about our Family Week last week. I forgot to mention in my earlier blog that one of Dave's brothers, his wife, and their 4 boys were coming to visit last week. We all had a GREAT time! We started the week off by going to the zoo.



Then on Tuesday we went to the Discovery Center Museum in Murfreesboro. We were there for 4 hours and the kids would of stayed longer if we let them.



On Wednesay we went to Jump Zone. The kids played on the bouncers for 3 hours. I thought they would of all wanted to come home and take naps. Instead they put their swim suits on and went swimming...awwww to be a kid again and have their energy!



I forgot my camera on Thursday but we went to the park and Robyn got to help make homemade pizza with her Aunt and Cousin. The pizza was so YUMMY! I think I may have to try to make some this weekend!

On Friday I watched the kids for a couple of hours so their mom and dad could go to the Temple. The kids had a picnic outside and played on the swing set and trampoline. (Mikey, Jonathan, & the baby were all asleep when I took this picture).

We had 8 kids here (ages 6, 5, 4, 3, 2 1/2, 2, 1, 2 months) for the week and I think they all did great! We had a wonderful time together and are looking forward to getting together again! Thanks for making the trip to see us...it was nice to have visitors!

Happy B-day Auntie D!!!!!

1 week Blogging Sebatical...

I will be on a 1 week blogging sebatical. Tomorrow is the first day of what our Stake calls "Family Week". We are all given a pamphlet with ideas and suggestions on what to do as a family for the week. So we have been asked to not use the computers (at home...work is ok) & other things that would take away from spending time with the family. I will have lots of things to post in a week. For now I have posted the below 2 posts. Have a great week! I am looking forward to all the fun things we will be doing this week!

Is it a HAT or a BOWL?!

I don't think I need to say much...this picture says it all! This is the 3rd time Jonathan did this. He seems to enjoy wearing his food too!

Around the World Stake Primary Activity

Today our Stake had a Primary Activity. They traveled around the world to many different countries. First, they had these chairs set up in the cultural hall and had it set up so it was like the kids were on a real plane.

This is not a very good picture of the plane but it at least gives you an idea of what it looked like. There were multiple rooms set up as different countries. First we went to India, then China, London, Brazil, Hawaii, Argentina, etc. The kids tried a special food from each country and they learned a little bit about each country too.

I tried to get a picture of the kids in front of this display after the activity was over but they were all VERY tired so the only way I got a picture is Sophia jumping in with them (THANK YOU SOPHIA)!

A Special Post for "AUNTIE D"

This post is special for "Auntie D" ...and whoever else wants to see Jonathan walking. He is growing up soooooooo fast. I couldn't decide which video clip to use so you get both :)

Musician @ the Library

Today I took these 4 cute kids to the Library to see Roger Day a children's musician. It was incredible. The kids had a blast. I have seen Roger Day once before on the Disney channel when we lived in California. I remember thinking he was very entertaining. I would love to buy one of his children cd's.

This is a picture of the kids after we got home from our fun afternoon. (I forgot my camera) so the following pics of the library and of Roger Day are from the internet).

We have a gorgeous library here. This picture does not do it justice. I am so excited that our library has fun activities. When we lived in California we loved going to the special programs that the Monrovia library always had.

This is the cover of one of Roger Day's cd's that I have to have. He is amazing! We ended up having to leave about 5-10 minutes before the program was over because of the guy in the next picture.

This cute little guy for some reason has made it his job to be miserable wherever we go. It is triggered by many different things. Usually by him not getting his way. He always wants what Mikey has. In the past Mikey has always given it to him. But I was trying to teach Mikey that he needs to stand up for himself so he does and now we have Jonathan upset. Hopefully he will grow out of this phase soon. It has been a couple of months (or longer) since I have made it through Relief Society. Oh well, life would be boring if my kids were always perfect :) This obviously does not stop me from going fun places with my kids.

What a difference a Collie makes!

So after having our dog Snickers for a few months we had to make a tough decision and get her a new home. We found out Snickers is an Australian Cattle Dog/Lab Retriever. She loved nipping at the kids. Actually she loved nipping at everyone 99% of the time. Now we know why she loved to nip...she was just doing her job and trying to herd people when she should be herding cattle. The kids still really wanted a dog so we found a Collie Rescue in Kentucky. We went today to check out the Collies. We came home with a puppy. I wanted an older dog for the kids but this puppy ended up being a perfect match. The kids love her and won't leave her alone. Her name is "Tiny". She is such a sweet dog. Tiny really seems to enjoy the kids and it is nice not having screaming kids who want to pet Snickers but are sooooo afraid of her nipping them.

Do you see the smiles on these kids faces! I am sooooo happy we made this decision. I felt bad giving up Snickers but I know Snickers will be happier herding cattle.

Daddy-Daughter Day at Lowes

On Saturday's Lowes has workshops for kids. So Dave has been enjoying taking the girls there. They made these flower boxes. One of the great things about the workshop is it's free. The girls love spending the time with daddy too! They have different projects for the kids each week.

Love Robyn's face! Not sure why she is smiling like that?!

LoriAnne was so excited that she has her very own flower.

Things we see in our backyard

Tonight we saw fireflies in our backyard. The girls were still awake so we brought them outside to watch them. The girls were so excited that you woud have thought they were watching fireworks.
We have a Cardinal (or multiple Cardinals) that visit our deck every morning. They are beautiful birds.

We also have Robin's that visit our deck every morning. I had not seen Robin's until we moved here.

We have also spotted wild bunnies eating our grass in the back yard.

...and we have an owl that likes to come visit every once in awhile. The kids enjoy seeing our visitors.

Pool Time...Pool Time...and more Pool Time!

I have not blogged for a while...we have had a busy couple of weeks. We enjoyed a week with Dave's parents. The kids were very sad to see them go. It was nice having them here but the time went by too fast.
So most of our time lately has been spent in the pool. Robyn would probably live in the pool if I let her. LoriAnne seems to be enjoying it too. I have only been in the pool once because the water is pretty cold still. I promised the girls that I would swim with them this afternoon. The water has warmed up some since last week since it has been hot here.
I will be blogging more over the next couple of days so I can catch up on things.

A Steal Of A Deal!

Ok...I just have to say how much I LOVE Craigs List...again! I have just bought a new (used) stroller. I loved my Joovy "Big Caboose" so much that I wanted to find a Joovy Caboose without having to pay the retail price for it. The person I bought it from only used it 3-4 times and it looks brand new. I can't believe I only paid 1/3 of the price for it. Now that LoriAnne wants to walk all the time I only need a stroller for the boys. Our "Big Caboose" was well used and well loved!

This is what I push around now. It doesn't even feel like I am pushing anything anymore. Now it is time to sell my "Big caboose" on Craigs List.