A Birthday and a Baptism

We had plenty of cause for celebration today. It was Paul's birthday and Emma's baptism. Hooray!

Grandma E made Emma's beautiful, white baptism dress. She was so excited to wear it and felt so special! She said it felt "thick" as she went down into the water.

The water was warm thankfully, though I can not say the same for Jason's baptism jump suit. Right before our baptism the Elders had a baptism of their own. They baptized a family of four and used all of the adult jumpsuits in doing so. Needless to say, all of the suits were wet and cold as they dripped dry in the changing area. He tried the medium on, it was too small and very cold. He tried the large one, it was inside out and very cold. He turned it around and put it back on, it was still very cold. He was especially glad for the warm water. :)

She was baptized with another little boy from her primary class, Landon Claybrook. We planned the first half of the program and they planned the last half. My sister Shelly gave a great, simple talk on baptism, holding up pictures that corresponded to each letter in the word baptism that helped explain what it is. Grandpa Claybrook gave a great talk on the Holy Ghost. He used a lot of visuals to describe what the Holy Ghost can do for us - blanket, comforts us; compass, directs us; light, gives us light and knowledge, seashell, speaks to us in a soft voice/we have to listen carefully; a bear, to remind them to bear one another's burdens and to bear their testimony.

We had a family gathering after the baptism where we ate and celebrated Paul's birthday. His request was sugar cookies instead of a cake. So I made him a letter P and we put a candle on that. :)

Get that candle Paul!

Some of his favorites: Star Wars

Transformers and Legos

Earlier in the day, I went in to Paul's class so he could celebrate his birthday with them. He wanted to make the same treats that Emma did, where you take an empty toilet paper roll, stuff it with candy, and cover it to look like a firecracker or popper. He had fun helping me put them together.

Paul's AM Kindergarten Class

Paul chose his friend Shane to help him pass out the treats.

Cold Kite Flying Winds

Several weeks ago, Emma and Paul picked out some kites at Costco for their birthdays. Today was windy and of course they thought it was perfect to fly their kites. So we did.

We tried so hard to get Emma's kite to catch the wind and fly, but it wouldn't very well. It was very pretty, but defective.



Paul's kite took off pretty good. Once it got up higher, he kept telling us to reel it in because he thought we would lose it.

As you can see, Jason is still messing with Emma's kite.
It was fun, but I couldn't believe we were flying kites in December.

Coupon Mess

This is why you need a coupon box with a latch.

Paul was trying to get something off the top of the refrigerator,
where I thought I had safely stored my coupon box,
and he knocked it off accidentally. I was frustrated,
but knew my camera would help me feel better about it. :)

Counting Down: The 15th

My sister also gave us this really cute advent with 24 mini books.

Each book tells part of the story of Jesus' birth.
Today we caught up. This is how many we were behind.

Counting Down: The 11th

My sister also gave the kids this fun advent with stickers.
Simple, but the kids really like it.

Dining Room Disaster?

Not really.

Ben playing with friends Miki and Malia Cook

The kids have moved their train building inside. It used to be in the garage until it got too cold. Now they build, take down, rebuild, repeat all in the dining room and kitchen. We've had friends, insurance agents, customers, and family step over and around these train parts. And it really isn't that big of a disaster. They play together so well, for the most part. It occupies their time and expands their imaginations. I do kick them out of the kitchen area where I cook, but I don't mind stepping over the tracks because they use it so much.

One time after we had just had dinner with the missionaries, I heard Paul, Ben and Claire talking about going on missions with their trains. I didn't think they were necessarily talking about church missions until I heard Paul say, "I've got two cars with Visiting Teachers! Two cars with Visiting Teachers!" Funny!

Falling into Leaves

Grandma and Grandpa Erickson have a huge maple tree in their front yard.

We just had to go over and jump in their leaves. There were plenty.

We had to sit in the tree for a bit.

We had to throw the leaves A LOT!

We had to run and play and have tons of fun!

Lainey loved her first time in the leaves.

Full Toy Access, Almost!

They are almost ready to open the toys.

We can hardly wait!

Fly like an Airplane

We just couldn't stay away. We went over to the park, because the toys are almost done, and played a little...on the grass even. :)

We walked.

We ran.

We danced and laughed.

We flew like airplanes,

and walked the far reaches of the park.

We admired the grass once again.

Oh what fun to play at the park!

Playing at the neighbor's

We are finally getting a nieghbor on our left. We met them and they seem very nice. Phew! AHO was working on the lot, and of course some of my little ones found their way over there to play in this wonderful hole.

Paul's Desk Design

With the completion of our new office desk, we put our old desk in the girls' room for Emma to use. Paul was completely devastated. He wanted to be able to use the desk and feels like he can't if it's in with the girls. Understandable. He has now been hounding us about getting him a desk. It may have trumped the other projects next in line because that's all we hear out of Paul's mouth. "When can we work on my desk?"

To placate him, we asked him to draw a picture of what he would like the desk to look like. It only aggravated the situation. He took that drawing task seriously and got very sad when it didn't turn out like he wanted. I helped him use a ruler to get some straight lines (that's what was giving him trouble, crooked lines) and then he was able to finish.

Here's an up close shot:

Sneaky Snail

Emma received a snail from her friend at school. She brought it home thinking that it would make the greatest pet. That is until she actually looked inside. It was a lot bigger than any of us thought.

So we promptly set it free in the wilds of the open lot near our house. Paul was the brave one that would carry it; So resolute in his role as our family protector.

Scrap Guns

We have a lot of scraps since we're in building mode again. Paul started fitting them together and making guns. Jason even took the time to glue them together and create sights. Paul LOVES his new gun. He sleeps with it under his pillow. Good training? Who knows...

Playing in the back of the truck: the kids' contribution

We brought home some MDF sheets to use in the building of our office desk, cupboards, etc. The kids had a blast playing in the back of the truck. Everyone contributes to the project in their own way.

The wheels on the bus

They absolutely love riding the bus. Emma even went so far as to say that it's more fun on the bus when Paul rides. Awesome! I'm so glad that they like the bus; I had my worries.

First Wildcat Day

We're Wildcats Now!
I was a wildcat in Elementary.
Our Second Grade and Kindergarten handwriting

Two kids off to school.
Don't they just look so big?

Emma sitting in her classroom.
I am so impressed with Emma this year.
She wasn't so worried about leaving me.

There wasn't much room on the carpet, but that is where he was told to sit.
He was determined to do what he was told.

We made first day buckets for our teachers. They drew pictures and then we scanned them and printed them onto card stock to make cards. We threw in some box tops, because what teacher doesn't love box tops? An apple, some chocolate, and a homemade apple/inspire necklace to finish it off.

Buffins

We got some of this really crazy play foam (remoldable sculpting beads). The kids love it because you can shape it and play with it, but it never dries out. They're latest creations are buffins. They mix them up and then put them under the chair to cook in the oven. They even call regular muffins buffins now.

Rrrrrrooooaaaaaarrrrrrr!

Just a Blur

The rule is: NO running in the house.

Sometimes the rules aren't fun.
::
Sometimes you don't understand the rules.
::
Sometimes the rules need to be re-visited.
::

Sometimes you just have to run.

Filling someone else's shoes...

is not an easy task to do.

I love this quote from Abraham Lincoln,
Be yourself, everyone else is taken.

Paul found my shoes and
Ben and Claire quickly joined in.
The fun of trying them on and walking around
the house kept them entertained for days.
I thought Paul looked especially stylish
in my black boots.

They didn't always make it very far.