Spring!

This picture just makes me think of Spring! I am so excited for Spring! Warm weather, blue skies, and pretty flowers are a few of my favorite things. Oh, and my cute little red head. :) Hyrum is 4 months and as cute as ever! He LOVES being outside in the sunshine. He kept jabbering to me about everything.

The Kid Diaries: The Darndest Things About Baptism

This is a video of my adorable kids. This is actually the first video in my new film project, that I like to call, "The Kid Diaries". This one was specifically filmed for Cali, my adorable niece, who just got baptized. Stay tuned for more, because kids say the darndest things!

Splish! Splash!

These photos were taken last winter in Portland. After church, the boys were excited to see rain puddles and took off to go play. I.....grabbed the camera.

JUMP!!!

SPLASH!!!

RUN!

CANNON BALL!!!

More Splashes!

Splashing in puddles is fun to do! This is true whether you are young or old. When I'm not taking pictures of my adorable kids, I am playing with them. If you haven't been splashing in puddles since you were a kid, you should definitely try it next time it rains! I highly recommend it. It is an activity that is FREE, FUN, and FANTASTIC! Guaranteed laughter....I believe it even made me giggle.

Beauty In The Unexpected

There is a certain beauty in the unexpected. We have certainly enjoyed this unexpected snow. 

Ready to play in the snow!

 It is snow!!!

Jumping with excitement!

Discovering snow...this is the first time Bria has ever played with snow.

Elijah trying to catch snowflakes with his tongue.

Memphis catching snowflakes...reminds me of when he was a baby and always had his tongue sticking out.

Memphis tasting snow.

Elijah had to taste some too. This made me nervous and I decided I had better talk to the kids about not putting their tongue on metal surfaces in the cold. I remember I loved eating snow when I was a kid. :)

Baby's First Snow

 

Bria playing with a dump truck in the snow.

I love the little snowflake on his nose. So cute! I'm glad we were able to have a little snow this year to play with...even if only for a few days.

Once There Was A Snowman!

To our surprise and excitement the last few days have been full of snow! So we have been trying to make the most of it- who knows when the next time we will see snow again will be! First, I wanted to post about our snowman adventure.

The kids had a great time learning how to build a snowman. They caught on so quick!

It was fun watching them rolling the snow.

I helped too and had a great time! Best part about having kids- reliving your childhood!

We were having so much fun that we decided to make a whole family!

Baby's first snowman!  I just adore this little baby snowman. :)

And here we are next to our masterpieces! Fun times!

And what kind of photo shoot would this be without a goofy picture! (Gotta love Memphis' mugshot look)

One more baby snowman picture because it is just so darn cute! :)

Christmas!

I laughed so hard when I saw Elijah hopping around in this stocking. A great idea for a holiday game of sack racing...or rather "sock" racing.

The shirt says it all. My little girl is so sweet. :)

 The kids on Christmas morning with their cousins. (from left to right: Memphis, Tegan, Elijah, Bria, and Enoch) We had a lot of fun sharing Christmas morning with family.

The stockings. I thought the boys' stockings looked so cool with the fireman hats on them.

When Elijah is happy, you can always see the joy radiating from him. I love it!

When I asked him to pose with this Italian singing bear, it was so big, Memphis stretched his little neck up and looked down at it. Soooo cute!

While the kids were opening presents, we had a half man, half horse visitor observing the scene. My brother-in-law Jon was really cracking me up with his Christmas present.

Why didn't I get a horse mask for Christmas??? So jealous!

My little princess.

A dolly! We got her one because she kept stealing my baby Jesus from our Nativity set and enthusiastically saying "baby! baby!" or sometimes "baby Hyrum!"(which sounds more like Hi-yum in Toddler tongue). Likewise, she keeps calling the doll, baby Hi-yum. So I keep calling the doll baby Anna.

Opening presents is fun to do, to do, to do, to do.

The boys each got these HUGE robots. Fun, fun!

The brave knight riding his noble steed.

"Oh no!" says the knight, "we are under attack!"

And Ma in her kerchief and I in my cap, Had just settled down for a long winter's nap.
I love how they are laying in the exact same position...so adorable!

What would Christmas be without a little afternoon nap?

One more because he is so sweet when he is sleeping!

In the evening more family came and we all exchanged dollar store presents. This is my nephew Moroni with his new squishy.

Memphis showing Uncle Joseph his present.

Bria rocking her new necklace.

Hyrum got an adorable cow toy.

...and a bunch of other things. Pretty spoiled for being 1 month old!

My niece, Cali, LOVED the soft scarf we got her. The dollar store isn't so bad.

 What do you get your father for Christmas at the dollar store? Oh, just a little reminder of how old he is. Dark brown hair dye. I saw him eyeing the instructions...perhaps we'll need a before and after picture. :)

BEST PRESENT EVER!!! Amazing that Jeremiah whipped this up from the dollar store (assembly required) a picture frame with plastic cockroaches glued into an artful design. For those who do not understand why this present was brilliant, Joseph has worked at Pheromone for years- assembling art work with real bugs, shells, butterflies, fossils, etc. It is lovely artwork that I recommend to all who want a unique discussion piece for their wall. See  http://www.formandpheromone.com/ for more info.

These rascals provided after-dinner entertainment for all the adults. They sang us Christmas songs and even put on a play. Lots of laughs, lots of fun! All-in-all it was a lovely Christmas day! It was nice to share it with family.