Makin' Saguaros

Patrick's saguaros

Colin's saguaros

Samantha's kitties

Colin has been asking me for days if we could make saguaros and we finally did. The kids are obsessed with saguaros so when I found this saguaro cookie cutter I had to get it. The kids love making and eating saguaro shaped sugar cookies. Samantha was excited to use the kitty cookie cutter she got for Christmas. ( Note the kitty on she shirt, pants and socks. Do you think she likes kitties?)

Wow this is good!

While we were in Utah we stopped in a store called Emergency Essentials to check out their freeze-dried food. I bought some cans of fruit but Dale's sister Becky bought this can of Macaroni & Cheese. After we left I said I should have bought one too. She gave me her can to try. Well today I had 3 neighbor kids over so I thought I'd try it out. Every one agreed that it was really good. I was surprised how good it was. It was nice and saucy and had a great real cheese taste. Samantha was sure that it was from the grocery store deli (her favorite). I will be buying more of this. Not only does it taste good but the best by date is August of 2032!! FYI: next time I will mix it better when I add it to the water and I will leave it in covered for the full 15 minutes. I did it for only 10 minutes and the noodles were a bit firm.

Our Trip to Utah

Coiln, Dylan, and Patrick in the snow.
Grant, Nathan, Samantha, and Dot in the tent.

the Cousins on Mars

We had a great time visiting family in Utah this weekend. The new Suburban was wonderful and other than endless hours of questions (Why does Aunt Becky live in Utah, Why do we like our family, Do fish eat dogs, What is water, Are we on the Interstate, Is this the road to Utah, this road was in Arizona, and on and on and on) we had a great drive. It was fun to visit Dale's sister Becky and her family. They have just moved back from Russia and we look forward to seeing them more often now. We also had fun visiting Dale's brother Alan and his family.

We all went to the planetarium and watched a 3-D Imax movie about prehistoric sea monsters. The boys had never been to a movie and they were a little freaked out. They kept asking me if we were in the movie. All the cousins had a great time playing. It's crazy to see how big they are all getting. As usual the visit was too short. We hope to see every one again soon!

Samantha's New Doll

Samantha had a big girl decision to make a few months ago. Several of her Polly Pocket sets were recalled for magnets that could come out. She's old enough not to swallow a magnet so I let her decide if she wanted to send the sets in or keep them. It took her a long time but she finally decided to send her Polly's back and use her refund to buy an American Girl doll. It turns out that even though American Girl is a Mattel company we couldn't use the vouchers for American Girl. (I think they wanted to make it as hard as possible so you wouldn't use their dumb vouchers.) I felt so bad, that's why she sent them back! I decided to buy her the doll and use the vouchers for gifts. She is so happy with her new doll (named Samantha). Here she is with Samantha and the clothes she bought with some Christmas money.

And the winner is......Patrick??

We were working on potty training with the boys when it was time for their 3 year checkup. They were doing really well with pee but poop was a different story. Our pediatrician suggested that to help the boys we should have a contest with all 3 kids. That way the boys will see Samantha doing well and that will encourage them to put forth more of an effort. We decided to make some sticker charts and the first one to get 15 stickers earns a lunch at the place of their choice with Mom and Dad. We were all surprised when Patrick took the lead. (Yes, that's Colin's chart with only one sticker and I'm not even sure if he really earned that one. He doesn't seem to care.) Today Dale and I took Patrick for is Poo Lunch. Here he is enjoying his "hamburger with cheese" at McDonald's. Samantha will be earning her lunch very soon and we can only hope that one day soon Colin will at least attempt to put some poo in the potty.

Why, Why, Why!?!?

I always thought Samantha would be a "why-er" but to my surprise she never really has been. For some reason the boys (especially Colin) are. It all stared when they turned 3. They were "huge" 3 year olds, all but potty trained, and NOT babies. This new Big Boy status made them curios about babies. Everyday I'd hear...."How old are babies?", " Do babies use the potty?", "Do babies have teeth?", and on, and on, and on. My favorite baby question is " Do babies jump on little trampolines?". Now we've moved on to the "but whys". Colin can ask why questions ALL DAY! I get worn out just listening to him! My days have been full of questions like these........

"Why do I have a curtain"? "Why is Samantha a girl"? Why do we have a new Suburban"? "Why do Suburbans get old"? Why does El Sol (the sun) get tiered"? "Is Dot (our dog) going to be a dog when she gets big"? "Are you Mommy"? "Do snakes walk"? "Why does Heavenly Father make people"? It goes on and on. I guess I should be glad they are thinking but I'll be glad when they grow out of this!! (Pictured above: Colin the Why boy)

The boys get haircuts

Patrick & Colin after their hair cuts (yes, Colin put on his shirt inside-out & backwards)

Patrick & Colin before their hair cuts.

The boys turned 3 in November an they had only had one real haircut. I had trimmed it a few times but I thought it was so cute a little long. Dale finally took them for their first haircut when I was out of town. I was so sad. Well, their hair was getting a little long again and he was talking about taking them for another cut. I kept telling him that they look so cute he couldn't get their hair cut. I'm not sure what happened to me but on Saturday I decided that the time had come again and this time I'd give them a haircut. I can't believe I could cut their hair (not just a trim). Maybe it's because they were going into Primary the next day, I don't know but I did it. I've got to say that they do look just as cute with short hair. They really look like big boys now.

Out with the old in with the new!

Hello new Suburban Bye-bye old Suburban!

We are starting the new year with a new black Suburban. (Well new to us anyway.) It seems like every few years we upgrade. We found a great deal on a 2003 Suburban that has low miles and something for everyone. The big engine and towing package for Dale, heated seats and a sunroof for me, and a DVD player with 3 monitors for the kids. Happy New Year Everyone!!!