pioneers...

If you've never visited Chesterfield Idaho you might not understand :) Lauren and Chloe love that place and dressing up like pioneers. Here they are in the cute dresses from Grandma with cousin Tayler. There's a big celebration out there on Memorial Day and we braved the crowds to check it out.

Memorial Day weekend...

It's always nice to go to Bancroft for Memorial Day since that's where all our roots are- returning to Bancroft though-that's a whole other post...!

We visited three cemeteries that day, seeing Cody's Mom's parents and both my grandparents. It was a good experience for the kids to make some connections and find out the real reason they missed school for a day- two actually. It always seems to rain that weekend, but we were blessed with cool overcast clouds, a perfect day. I have so many ancestors that I'm excited to visit with again and some I never had the chance to meet. Hopefully there will be plenty of time to visit and get to know one another all over again someday!

eighty-four degrees...

Whenever the sun is out and it's even slightly warm I'm begged to turn on the sprinkler. This started about Easter time and FINALLY today I deemed it warm-even hot- enough to don swimsuits. While trying to finish some laundry in the basement-ah the cool basement- the girls got Ivy when she woke up and put on her itsy bitsy teeny weeny striped bikini. As if she was going to skip across the lawn and squeal through the water. This is one little gal who won't lack for anyone to dress her up, do her hair, or give unsolicited fashion advice I am sure. They dress her every Sunday for church just like a doll. What more could a girl ask for?

R. I. P. Ting

Ting resided on our kitchen counter for the last year and a half. That was apparently enough time for us all to become as attached as you can to a beta fish. He's been sluggish for about a month now, not eating much and he passed on Friday. Lauren and Chloe promptly burst into tears. We wrapped him in this napkin and buried him between the windows outside Lauren's room. It's never easy to say goodbye...even to a fish :)

birthday boy...

Three years ago right now- five o clock- my water broke. I'd been grocery shopping and feeling a bit sickish. How excited I was to meet this little fella a mere four hours later. He's been such a bright spot in my life, so glad to have at least one little boy. He's been a pure pleasure to have in our family. I think it's crazy he's so infatuated with Spiderman, considering he's never seen the movie and knows almost nothing about him. (Notice the three fingers he chose- three years old spider-style!) Only when you're turning three can your parents get away with postponing your birthday until the following day. Cody has the day off so we're doing gifts and cake tomorrow, but we've been wishing him happy birthday all day today.

I must say I'm not a huge fan of birthday cakes and if my math is right, by the time my kids leave the nest I'll have made over 70! Really though, who wants crumbling cake when there's desserts like cheesecake or banana cream pie? Not me. I think it's the frosting that gets me, I only have a couple recipes I like. I think this one's pretty common, but if you've never tried it please do. If you really want to spoil yourself, pipe it into cupcakes and call it a twinkie...

Creamy Frosting
1 1/2 cups milk
4 Tbl. flour
1 cup sugar

Combine in a saucepan and cook over medium, stirring constantly until very thick. Transfer to bowl, cover with saran wrap to prevent a "skin" forming and cool in the fridge.

Beat 1 cup butter and 1 tsp vanilla until creamy. Add cooled milk mixture and beat for 4-5 minutes.

Happy birthday Noah, today and tomorrow, we love you1

happy early birthday...

By the time the third child rolls around it seems that toys are everywhere and get old quickly. This year for Noah's 3rd birthday I begged Cody to make a sandbox- (I know- what was I thinking? I just swept the kitchen for the third time today) But if you've ever felt a little out of your element, you can probably relate to my kids. Noah asks all the time if we can go to the beach- referring to the lake at Blackfoot- how sad huh? My girls know what the real beach is and miss it terribly. So watching the three of them play in this box of sand made me wonder what we're doing in Idaho!? A huge thanks to Shawn for use of his truck and hooking us up with the sand!
The kids have played in since school let out today. It surely is the little things in life that bring joy and messes for that matter. And because this cutie would ingest the sand- here's the obligatory picture. Doing what she does best these days- sitting!

got holes?

Growing up I always remember my brother's grass stained jeans soaking in the laundry sink. I knew when I had girls that wouldn't be a worry- wrong. I knew holes could still be a possibility, since even I get holey jeans. Apparently, L & C play 'dogs' at school, yes, crawling around on the grass-hands and knees style. Two of Chloe's jeans were shot, the patches I'd put on worn out so we decided to experiment a bit. I've seen these skirts and figured she was cute enough to pull it off. She was thrilled with the result (all that really matters :) and thought it was funny when a boy in her class told her, "You're great at reduce, reuse, recycle." We try!

little ones...

I think one of the best things about having children is seeing how much they appreciate and love each other- most of the time! How Noah makes Ivy laugh so hard until she hiccups by rolling on the ground. How the girls read to Noah and play hide and go seek. Noah is phasing out his afternoon nap, which has caused much grouchiness, falling asleep during late afternoon movies, and some super late bedtimes. But, it has freed up the afternoon considerably. He now come with me if the weather is yucky and we pick up the girls from school. This morning as ventured out to do a little shopping he asked if we were going to get "LaurChloe." When he's talking fast or genuinely confused it comes out LaurChloe or ChloLauren. :) He wanted to pick them up and "take them to our house." I think he likes having some playmates and eating snacks on the steps with them. Maybe it's time for a mental health day, the girls were not wanting to go to school today. That last month is tough, tough on Moms too. I'm really liking sleeping in on the weekends. Don't let this beautiful girl fool you, she's getting better, but still has a ways to go in the night time waking department. But when I wake up and see that face all is forgiven-until the next night. She takes fantastic naps though, who's to complain. next week she'll start "real food" as Lauren says. So hard to believe she's nearing six months! I adore those eyes!