Luke and Lex Baptism

My littles!  Casey's cousin, Cherish, took some of the cutest pictures ever.

We met at the Brigham City temple one evening and she worked her magic.

We lucked out too!!  I think 2 days after she took these pictures they pulled out all of the flowers to get ready for winter!

Etsy is an amazing little website.  I downloaded a cute template to make their invitations.

I made A LOT of homemade cinnamon rolls.

I found the perfect flowers at Smiths (most on clearance!!).

They are sweet kids.  Luke is full of energy and Alexa is full of sugar and spice.

Casey & I got them each a set of scriptures and a scripture bag.

A lot of people missed this even - covid has made everyone weird.  I was so happy to have those who made it there.  I think it's important for my littles to know who is in their corner.

I hope they know how much they are loved and how happy they make a lot of people.

Back to School

 My babies are going into 2nd grade!  The both have Ms. Callister this year and are very excited.  They don't want to be in the same class, but sorry kids....my call still!

LUKE'S 2nd GRADE FAVORITES

TV Show:  The alien show on Netflix

Movie: 

Song:  

Color: Yellow

Food:  Mac & Cheese

Dessert:  Moose Tracks ice cream

Activity:  Easter egg hunt

When he grows up:  Flag Football Player or a fisherman

This kid is so dang smart and ready to learn and get to spend time with his friends!

ALEXA'S 2ND GRADE FAVORITES

TV Show:  Bluie

Movie:  Aladdin

Song:  

Color:  Pink

Food:  Cheeseburger and fries

Dessert: Peach cobbler with vanilla ice cream

Activity:  Swimming

When she grows up:  A chef, or someone who scares people at haunted houses

Favorite Animal: Snow Leopard

Lexi is excited to be with friends again!  She always says she is going to miss me while she is at school though - so there I go. Melting into a puddle.

RYLEE'S 5TH GRADE FAVORITES

TV Show:  Live and Maddie

Movie:  Vivo

Song:  Superhero by The Script

Color:  Purple

Food:  Popcorn shrimp and salad

Dessert:  Cake!

Activity:  Riding bikes or motor scooter

When she grows up:  A baker or a cosmetologist

Favorite Animal: Panda

Rylee is actually quite nervous about going back to school.  She's such a peacemaker and remembers a whole lot of drama starting between her friend group at the end of 4th grade.  I hope she can find a new circle of friends that just want to be kids!  She has Mrs Ulsh as her teacher, she also had her in 2nd grade!  She is excited to have her again.

TAYLOR'S 5TH GRADE FAVORITES

TV Show:  Crime Scene Kitchen

Movie:  Miss Congeniality

Song:  Shindown - all of them!

Color:   Blue

Food:  Spaghetti and meatballs, garlic bread & green salad

Dessert:  Creamy peach dessert

Activity:  Arts and crafts or camping

When he grows up:  Zookeeper or Veternarian

Favorite Animal: Tiger

Taylor is just 'meh' about going back to school.  She's got just a couple of friends that are solid, excited that she got the teacher she wanted Mrs. Thomas, and she's a smarty pants!  So no worries!

How is this boy in 8th grade?! He is finally getting taller and his shoe size is much larger than last year!  He'll grow into those feet in no time.  He was nervous about going to a new school, but after we did a quick tour, he felt better about everything.

CALEB'S 8TH GRADE FAVORITES

TV Show:  The Hollow

Movie:  Godzilla - King of Monsters

Song:  Michael Jackson Songs

Color:  Red and Blue

Food:  Macaroni and Cheese

Dessert: Cookies and Cream ice cream

Activity:  Hanging out with friends

When he grows up:  A snake handler

Favorite Animal: Snake

Back to School!

This goofy kid is off to 7th grade!  He was nervous because his 1st hour and 2nd hour are on totally opposite ends of the school and he was paranoid about being tardy.  He made it though!  He said it was a boring day, but I could tell he enjoyed being back.

 CALEB'S 7th GRADE FAVORITES

TV Show:  The Simpsons

Movie:  Gladiator

Song:  Youngblood - 5 Seconds of Summer

Color:  Blue & Red

Food:  Kraft Mac & Cheese

Dessert:  Ice Cream

Activity:  Football & XBox, Mortal Kombat

When he grows up:  An investor, or just someone who makes a lot of money

TAYLOR'S 4TH GRADE FAVORITES

TV Show:  The 100

Movie:  Brave

Song:  Without Love - Hairspray Soundtrack

Color:  Hot Pink

Food:  Ravioli

Dessert:  Olive Garden Chocolate Lasagna

Activity:  Helping dad fix & build things

When she grows up:  A Zookeeper

She had a great first day.  She ended on a sour note with friends at the end of 3rd grade and the abruptness of the school cancellation with covid-19, I was quite worried about her!   She came bouncing home and couldn't wait to go back the next day.  She said she felt like  she already knew her teacher, Miss Jensen, like it was meant to be.

RYLEE'S 4TH GRADE FAVORITES

TV Show:  Fuller House

Movie:  Snow White & the Seven Dwarfs

Song:  Rewrite the stars - Greatest Showman Soundtrack

Color:  "Purple! It always will be!"

Food:  Poppy-seed Chicken

Dessert:  Strawberry cake & ice cream

Activity:  Arts & crafts

When she grows up:  A Cosmetologist

Rylee isn't is class with her buddy MackLynn this year and that makes her kind of sad.  She still had a good first day and told me that everyone's desk are 3 feet apart except for her & Taylor.  They get to sit right next to each other.  Hopefully they don't get sick of one another!

LUKE'S 1ST GRADE FAVORITES

TV Show:  Power Rangers

Movie:  Octonauts, the Movie

Song:  God's Country - Blake Shelton

Color:  Red & Blue

Food:  Oatmeal & Blueberries

Dessert:  "Lemon cake, lemon cupcakes, just lemon everything"

Activity:  Watching Joe Sleep

When he grows up:  Flag Football Player

Luke is READY for this 6 month summer to come to an end.  This kid is B O R E D.  I know he will do well in school and make so many friends.

ALEXA'S 1ST GRADE FAVORITES

TV Show:  Barbie

Movie:  Frozen 2

Song:  Let it Go - Frozen Soundtrack

Color:  Pink

Food:  Toast with strawberry jam, raspberry jam or honey

Dessert:  Milk & Cookies

Activity:  Swimming

When she grows up:  A Chef

Look at that sassy leg pop!  She said that her teacher, Miss Nelson, was so nice!  She told me about her whole day with such excitement.  I am so glad that kids can adapt to change so well, because this year sure isn't starting out like normal!

These 2 love their new backpacks!

Luke had to have this shirt when I saw it.  He is always picking up trash (gross, I know) and saying "I am doing good and being kind to the earth!"  And little Lex just had to have a dress.  It fits her girly personality!

How many more years do you think I can get away with dressing them alike? I let them pick their own shoes and they had the option to wear different things, but chose these shirts.  So it was their choice, and I love it!!

Masks...so weird.  Casey & I talked about what we think things will look like by Christmas.  No masks, school normal again.  Covid-19 numbers will spike and we will be online school 100%.  Masks & social distancing will still be in play and that will be the new normal.  Day by day is how we are playing it for now.  Just praying they all have healthy immune systems.

And these 2!  From Preschool to. . .

. . . 7th Grade!  Time is a jerk.  But man, I love these kids.  They were standing on the same step, and Caleb stepped up on and said, "Be sure you don't get our feet in the picture."  LOL!  He will grow, but I like him little.

Twinsies are 9!

 My little ladies are 9!  I wonder how much longer I can get away with having them dress alike.  They are so dang adorable.  I even color cordinated their decor with their dresses!  Somebody stop me.

I told them that they could have a party this year and they had so much fun!

They were so cute opening all of their presents.  Always a look of shock and happiness on their faces and always saying thank you!

They finally got a pinata!  They have been asking and asking and asking for one! They even got to make cute party bags for each of their quests to take their treats home in.  We also played a unicorn ring toss game, painted canvases and had ice cream sundaes!

One of my biggest dilemmas on these twin birthdays is who gets their birthday dinner on their birthday?!  Am I supposed to make 2 dinners?  Rylee had to have hers a couple days after the acutal birthday this year.  She picked poppyseed chicken, salad with ranch and garlic bread.  She is a little mother.  She is always wanting to help little kids and has the softest heart when it comes to animals.  She wants our cat, Shadow, to be inside.  She hates that he lives outside.  She cares a lot for her friends and hates when the aren't getting along.  To the point she is sick sometimes. It is a sweet quality in her that I love and I hope she can find the balance with it.

Taylor got to have her dinner on her actual birthday.  Tomato, macaroni soup and garlic bread.  This little girl is so easy going and loves to help whereenver she can.  She loves going to help her dad with whatever he is doing.  She loves to draw rainbows and unicorns.  Magical - just like her!  

Happpy birthday my little shining stars!  I sure love you.

Some random stories

***One night I went downstairs to get Lexi's clothes ready for school the next day and gymnastics. I was moving some things on her bed, and noticed a giant wet spot so naturally I sniffed it. It was pee. 

So I call the kids downstairs because everybody plays in there and I said, "Who peed on Lexi's bed?" Luke slowly rose his hand up. I sent everybody out except for him and I asked him when did this happen and he said, "It happened today when I was getting dressed."  I said, "Why did you come down here and pee on her bed?" And he said, "I didn't come down here, I peed through the vent." 

I don't want to be mad at my kids when they tell me the truth, so I took a deep breath and told him I was very upset with him and he needed to just go to bed. So he went up to bed. The next morning I asked him why he did that and he said, "Because Mom. My weenie just gave up."  Confused I said, "Just gave up? Do you mean you had to pee so bad that you couldn't hold it." And he said, "I was naked, so I couldn't go to the bathroom." Can you tell that we had been talking about keeping our privates private? 

I told him that if he has to pee so bad it's okay to just cover his privates with his hand and run to the bathroom. It's not okay to pee in the vent. And he said, "Oh, okay Mom."

***Driving home from the store one morning out of nowhere Lexi says, "Hmmmm.  It looks like it's going to be partly cloudy today."  So matter of factly!  I looked at her in the rear-view mirror & said, "What?!"  She said, with plenty of sass, "Do you even know what that means mom?"  "I think it means there will be some clouds today and some sun."  I replied.  She seemed impressed and nodded, "Yep!  That's what it means!"  Apparently they have a weather chart in Kindergarten that they update each day.  My cute and sassy future meteorologist.

***Taylor and Rylee have been watching Fuller house on Netflix. And there's an episode where Kimmy Gibbler is having a baby. So they started asking a lot more questions about how does it come out of the stomach because I have told them that the doctor just will make a little cut and pull them out. But I figured they were old enough to know the other way babies can come out. I would rather my kids know that they can come to me and I can tell them how things are and not have to find out from other people. 

So I told them that babies come out of vaginas. Rylee said, "What are you? Chinese?" I know I've told them about the word vagina before, but obviously she had forgotten. So I told her how our body just knows what to do and babies come out of that and then it just goes back to normal. She was completely fine with it. 

Taylor on the other hand was completely disgusted. Not for the fact that it was going to probably happen to her one day, but that she had came out of mine. Her face was had a look of complete disgust. All she wanted to do was go take a shower because she thought it was the grossest thing ever.

January 2020

Eva Diva got baptized! I attemped a baptism cake for her, an my frosting started to break apart.  I want to be AMAZING at cakes, but medicore is where I stand.  I guess I'll get over it.  AND - Derrick got all of the girls fresh pearls for Christmas!!  Guess who got twins :)

 There were so many different colors!  Hot pink, dark red, white, pink, teal - they are all so pretty!

The kids have a calling and texting phone.  Rylee cracks me up!

The girls have been wanting to paint their dressers. We compromised and just painted the drawers and it turned out really cute!  My patience wasn't the best and I hope I didn't ruin it for them.  I'm just tired.  How does one find more patience? And calmness?  And lovey dovey-ness?

One month after our insurance options had to be finalized, this cute girl needed glasses.  No vision plan.  No big deal - if she needs them she needs them and that's fine.  It's just funny how stuff like that always seems to happen.  She wasn't looking forward to getting them, but look how cute she is!!

January is such a long month! I stumbled across a sand art kit that I had bought and hidden (apparently from the kids AND myself).  It kept them pretty entertained one night!

Jordan's World Circus.  Got a decent deal on tickets and even had an extra one for bonus kid, Allie!  The circus was meh.  Some neat trick acts, not many animals though.  Thanks a lot peta.  I did decide that we won't go again. Something frustrating, I don't feel liek I'm racist, but I did notice a lot of Mexican families sitting around us and they had TONS of food and TONS of circus toys.  Well over $100 in 'stuff' for sure.  And I have to tell my kids, "No."  I don't feel like I have that kind of money and my kids sad faces break my heart.  I know they are fine, but it's still hard.

Queen Elsa of Arandelle!  Oh wati, that's Lexi!  She loves the slit in the front of her dress.  She made a special point to make sure her leg was popped out for the photo shoot.

Selfie time for Rylee & Casey!