Katie's 1st day of school!

Katelyn had her first day of first grade today. She looks so grown up to me! It was strange having her gone all day. The boys missed her. But she wasn't afraid at all and had a great time. Can't wait to see what she learns this year!

By the way, I am now done with Girls Camp. (Hooray!!! It went great!) And while I'm not going to go back and play catch-up, I will be trying to blog more often, like at least once a month. :)

Wanna hear a funny story?

Yesterday Scott found Jace with his arm down the toilet hole, elbow deep, while it was flushing.
Haven't you ever wondered what it felt like to be flushed?

Easter, snow, a race, and a tooth.

We had a great Easter...eating lots of treats and spending time with family. I hope that through all of the sugar and excitement the kids understood the real meaning of Easter. The Atonement is such a great blessing...a gift much greater than any Easter basket.

At the end of April we woke up to this surprise...

Luckily the boys were super excited and we spent a fun morning out in the snow.

Last weekend we participated in a fun run for Katelyn's school. Katie and I ran up front while Scott pushed the boys in the back. We were so proud of Katelyn...she did not stop running the entire mile and even won first place for her age group!! We did not know she had this kind of determination!

And then another surprise...she pulled out her own tooth! She's usually very afraid of anything that might hurt, but she wanted that tooth out! Or maybe she just wanted a surprise from the tooth fairy.

I know, another post so soon? Don't get excited. I'm sure it won't last.

For Jolynn

Here is the monkey cake up close. I used two round cakes, cut one into a moon shape and then fit the other round cake into it. The ears are chocolate covered doughnuts, the eyes black jellybeans. I made regular white frosting, added a little cocoa powder for the light brown and then added more cocoa powder to make the dark. It was probably one of the easiest birthday cakes I have ever made. Hope this helps!

Monthly update

So this blog thing might become a monthly update, unless my life gets a little less busy, which I don't see that coming any time soon. Thanks to all those who still read this thing. I love reading yours.

Since I last wrote we have had three birthdays...

Jace turned 4...

I turned twenty-blahblahblah...

and Gage turned 2.

The kids are doing great. Katie is starting to read like a pro and loves her dance class. She is very excited to do her recital and shows us her dance moves all of the time. Jace is loving the warmer weather lately because he can spend all of his time outdoors. He uses the potty like a pro and we couldn't be happier. Gage is talking like crazy and yells more than he talks. He has such a goofy personality and we love it.

Scott is busy at the office and I keep things going at home...most of the time anyway. I've been on a cooking binge lately, but now it's gone. Back to spaghetti and grilled cheese.

My sister Erica also had her babies. They were born at 24 weeks. Their names are Conner, Emma, and Aulani. They all weighed less than a pound and a half each. Aulani passed away a week after she was born. I got to see and hold her. She was perfect. Emma and Conner are doing well. They have their ups and downs, but they are amazingly strong for being so small. Erica and Eric are great parents. They are doing well and I'm so proud of them.

Until next month...

Just Things

So I have a good excuse for not posting, actually several.

1. I was called as girls' camp director for our ward so I've been busier than usual. I'm very excited about this calling, but very, very scared too.

2. No one comments on here anyway, although I do have to say that I am not a great commenter either...sorry. I usually have just enough time to read other blogs and then Jace hits Gage or something and I have to go. So you are all forgiven. :)

3. We've had sick kids for a month. That last post was just the start. Next Jace had strep throat, the flu, and pink eye. Then Katie got sick again, then Jace, then Katie again, then Gage had pink eye, then Katie got one more fever...I think that's how it went anyway. It's all a blur. But I think we are all healthy again, except for Scott. Now he has something too. Blah. Can't wait for spring and warmth.

Anyway, enough excuses. Here are a few things we've been up to when we've actually been well enough to leave the house.

We went and visited Scott's grandparents in Utah. We stayed overnight in a hotel and the kids thought that was great. Jace exclaimed, "This is so much fun, eating carrots in bed and watching TV!" I'm glad he was so excited about the carrots.

It was a great visit and we are so glad we went because Scott's Grandma Allen ended up passing away soon after. We are grateful for those last memories and the opportunity for the kids to see their great grandma one last time.

Our family with Grandpa and Grandma Allen

Our family with Grandma Sibyl

We had a bouncing ball race in the basement. There was some pretty crazy hair-do's going on.

I'm sure you wouldn't want to race one of these tough guys.

Katelyn lost her first tooth! I was surprised, but she actually let Scott pull it out. She was pretty proud of this 'accomplishment.' However, she was not so impressed with the tooth fairy. The kind and generous tooth fairy left two dollar bills under Katelyn's pillow. When Scott and I excitedly told Katelyn that she had been given two dollars for her tooth, she replied a little dejectedly, "I thought I was going to get a shiny new dime." Luckily she has a very nice dad who supplied her with a new dime, although maybe not shiny and new.

The weather has been warming up a little and the gigantic drifts in our yard are slowly melting away. Hooray! Can't wait for spring!!!

Bad News & Good News

Bad News:
Katelyn has pink eye and strep throat. Blah. She is home from school today and tomorrow until the antibiotics kick in so she won't infect her whole class. Luckily she doesn't feel too sick and has been having fun playing with Jace all day.

Good News:
This is even better than good news. It is the news of the year. I know you won't believe it, but yes, Jace is POTTY TRAINED!!!!!! I seriously thought this day would never come. He has gone accident free for about 5 days now, and has even stayed dry at night. I am still amazed. I won't rule out an accident every now and then, but we even drove to Utah last weekend and he stayed dry the entire time. Crazy! Potty training is the worst job ever and I am so glad this one's over with. That is one huge weight lifted off of my shoulders. (Sorry no potty pics....Jace is almost 4 you know.)

p.s. Thank you, thank you Jamie! It worked!