Thursday, March 29, 2012

Knock Knock. Who's There?

VAMPIRE!

Do you get it? Neither do I, but that is Cameron's answer to EVERY knock knock joke.

Here's some updates on Lillie Belle:
Remember Lillie's birth announcement? Well, I actually got a bunch of pictures done that day. Here are a few more:





Not sure why her bottom lip was all sucked in like that. ha ha!

Yesterday we took Lillie to Photo Works at the University Mall in Orem and got her picture taken with her blessing dress. Remember, this was my wedding dress. :) She was a little stinker and wouldn't really smile, but at least she's not screaming, right?







I'm so glad we got her blessing pictures taken before she grew right out of this dress! She is chunking up in a major way!

Lillie is pretty funny. She's a good baby, but lately it seems like she just wants to be held constantly, which is hard when I have 3 other children and I work from home. I'm still working on finding the perfect balance. :)

The other day I sat her in the bumbo chair. At first she was like "uh, what do you think you are doing??"


Then she was like "OH NO YOU DI'INT!"


So I gave her a binky and told her to quit being so dramatic. She finally chilled out and waited patiently for me to pick her up again.


After I tortured her for long enough, I laid her on a blanket. She promptly fell asleep and turned into a pirate. ARGGHHHH!


Onto other things...

About a week ago I noticed Carson was developing a serious bad attitude about everything: reading, practicing the piano, chores, even the way he was talking to us. I told him if he coud have a good attitude for an entire week I would let him buy (with his own money!) a Lego Ninjago watch I saw at Walmart for $16. You might think I'm crazy because why on earth would that motivate him since he has to use his own money? Well, crazy I am, but it worked. We've had the best week ever!

Mixed into this week was the Regional Science Fair that Carson had to re-do his display board for. It was a lot of work but he kept a great attitude the whole time. Sam was helping him one night and CArson disappeared upstairs for a minute and came back downstairs with a cookie in a baggie with a note to his dad:


So nice of him! More on the science fair in a moment.

Last week the downtown construction FINALLY came to an end. I think it took 4 years to complete the City Creek Center. We went and checked it out. It was AMAZING!
There was this "statue" hanging around, but it was really a live person. She was incredible, hardly ever moving. My kids were SOOOOO embarrassed because I made them get a picture with her.


The fountains were a favorite hang out spot.


The sky bridge over Main Street is cool because it has benches in there AND you can sit on either side of the bench so if you want, you can watch the trains and people below:


Plus they have a Disney store, which was super great. My kids had a blast!
After City Creek, we checked out the new Harmons grocery store across State Street. This place is so nice! Lots of places to eat on the 2nd floor, plus a cooking school. Whatever happened to going to the store for a loaf of bread, a container of milk, and a stick of buttah? heheheh


Carson got his Scholarship Merit Badge at a Court of Honor the other night. He also lead the 11 year old scouts in the pledge of allegiance. He was nervous, but did it anyway. Atta boy!



Back to the Regional Science Fair.
Yesterday Carson competed at the Central Utah Science and Engineering Fair at BYU. It was so much fun! We didn't get to see him while he was being judged and interviewed, so that's when we got Lillie's pictures taken. Multi-task? Yes please!

Here he is with his display board and certificate. He was honored for having a creative question of "What blocks a magnet?". He didn't place at Regional, but DANG, we are so happy he made it this far! He is awesome!


That's all for now folks!

Saturday, March 17, 2012

March Madness

Sam is watching March Madness right now. The sound of the whistle blowing, the sneakers screeching, and the overly excited/loud announcers pretty much make me crazy. Unless, of course, I'm at a live game. Then add in some overpriced refreshments and all those things are fun. I used to go to Seattle Sonics and Mariners games quite often. I even knew all the theme songs played for each player as they took their batting positions....oh those were the glory days...Remember when Ken Griffey Jr played for the Mariners? Yep, that aged me. Just for the record, Jay Buhner was my favorite player and they played "Bad to the Bone" when he was ready to bat!

Happy St Patrick's Day! This morning I was trying to explain to Cameron that he needed to wear a shirt with green on it. He kept asking me OVER and OVER to clarify what I meant. Honestly, I was exaperated! I finally said "Cameron! Go get dressed and make sure you are wearing greeen!". Next thing I know Sam comes upstairs laughing and told me what Cameron said to him when he went downstairs: "Dad, I have to wear pants today or I will get pinched!".

**slam head into door**

You've had a birthday, shout hooray! Sam and Cameron both had birthdays this past week. Cameron turned 4 on the 9th and Sam turned 20 or 30-somethin' on the 12th. It was lots of fun!


For Cameron's birthday we went to lunch. He chose McDonalds which makes me laugh because he didn't even want to go down the slides. Isn't that the only reason kids want to go there?? Then again, he's not your normal kid. He's funnier!


That night we had cake and presents for him. I really love the age of 3 so I always have a little moment where I mourn the loss of my 3-year old. However, I have high hopes that Cameron will be a great 4-year old too! Hey, a mother can dream!





On Monday, we celebrated Sam's birthday by going downtown SLC and checking out the new City Creek Center and walking around in the beautiful Spring-ish weather. It was super awesome, plus, Lillie slept in her stroller the whole time!









Here are some Instagram pictures I took. I seriously love instagram!






After Temple Square we came home and Sam opened presents and then we made Hot Lava Cakes. Good times!
When I asked Sam what he wanted for his birthday, he said he just wanted a bunch of little gifts to open. So I had fun shopping at Target! I gave him pens, highlighters, legos, candy, Easter decor....you name it, he got it, as long as it was cheap! Well, the Legos weren't super cheap, but the kids were totally excited about dad's present!


Sam's REAL present was a fun surprise to give him. He's wanted Apple TV for a long time and I always dismiss the idea when he brings it up to me. So, I figured his birthday would be a great time to let him finally have it. However, a new version was coming out 4 days after his birthday! What to do??

Our friends, the Strong's, had a great idea. They printed a picture of a hand holding the Apple TV box. Then they cut it into puzzle pieces. The very center puzzle piece showed the Apple TV logo. I wrapped all the puzzle pieces in Easter Eggs, EXCEPT the piece that had the logo. Sam opened each egg and had to put the puzzle together. Once he had it together, I handed him a birthday card with the final piece inside. He was so happy. Enjoy the progression!







It was awesome! Thanks Davis and Holly for your help! Sam is not easy to surprise, he's a very curious soul. :)

In other news, Parker has lost so many teeth lately that I think we'll start calling him BillyBob.


Lillie is as fun as ever!


She is very advanced for her age...she's already practicing the sassy roll-your-eyes looks she will give me when she's a teenager.


Carson had an awards ceremony the other night for all the kids were came in 1st or 2nd place in the District Science Fair.



Next stop for Carson: The Central Utah Science and Engineering Fair at BYU at the end of the month. Can I get a party over here, a party over there, throw your hands in the air, shake your derriere? It's going to be a great experience for him!

Cameron has been rocking this shirt his cousin Mel made for him. Oh yeah!


This morning I went to a baby shower for my nephew and his wife. It was a St Patrick's Day themed shower....and everybody had to wear a mustache! Really funny! Here is Lillie and Sam's cousin Maureen. Hysterical!


Danielle (the mother-to-be) had to try out her Moby wrap on Lillie. Those things overwhelm the heck out of me but once Danielle got it all tied on, Lillie prolly could have stayed there all day!


Sam's mom "holding" Lillie. Don't worry, I put a pillow at her feet just in case Lillie went a slippin' and slidin'!


Finally, if you don't have the Cam Wow app on your phone, you need to try it. Endless fun!





Happy St Patrick's Day everyone! Remember, if you don't wear pants we will pinch you!