{catch up}

I have not been good about keeping up with this blog for quit some time now and I'm starting to feel guilty about it. (Guilt is a feeling that runs deep in my veins so this is nothing to be alarmed about.) I should really be better about documenting this time of our lives. This past year has been full of so many wonderful things, that often get lost in the shadow of this seemingly never ending trial we are also facing.

I wish I had pictures to document all of it. (I probably have more than I can find at this moment on the laptop.)

So here is my jump-start effort at a catch up:

Ethan has had many visits from the Tooth Fairy, further developed his love for basketball and football by playing everyday after school, continues to enjoy reading, has started taking more and more time in doing his hair before leaving the house, and has recently gotten glasses. He is turning 8 this Saturday and will be baptized in May. He was also able to participate in his first Space Derby as a Cub Scout.

Oh...as you can see Jason & Ethan's dream of having a dog finally came true last month. His name is Diego.

My sweet Lauren got glasses too. (She got hers first which made E so jealous.) She learned how to read, is attempting to ride her bike without training wheels, took a cheerleading class & rocked it out like a super star, and she has really worked hard to not be so shy. She has become a little mommy to Diego, and Katelyn (whenever Kate allows it).

And Katelyn....well, she'll be three in two months and that pretty much sums up Miss Kate lately. She is exercising her Independence in a very loud, body flailing way. She potty trained herself about 5 months ago, she loves to sing and dance and has many songs memorized. Whenever she hears a song she likes, she says, "Mom! It's MY song!", even in the middle of Sacrament meeting. She is too cute for words. She was afraid of Diego when he first arrived, but now she can't stop giving him hugs (which look more like choke holds).

The girls have become such great friends. Katelyn is getting her big-girl bed this week and soon they will be roomies. It's so fun to see their relationship develop. When E is around he feels a little left out at times, which is sad for me to see....but maybe Diego can help.

{easter fun}

I love Easter. It's always been a very special holiday for our family. We love it so much we stretch it out into a couple of days. The Easter Bunny comes to our house the day before Easter to hide eggs and the kid's baskets while we're busy coloring eggs. Then on Easter morning we have a special egg hunt. Each egg we find has a special reminder of Jesus and his crucifixion and resurrection. It's our time to remember our Savior and His great sacrifice for us.

In recent years, the holiday has become even more special because of my bestest big sis . It started about two years ago when I was in the hospital with pneumonia and dehydration right before Easter. My sister called and asked what she could do for me. Since I did not have the time or energy to prepare for Easter, I asked her if she could please help me with our family's Easter celebration. She happily took over and made that Easter a very special treat for my children. And so a new tradition was born. We all love having her as part of our Easter fun! My kids ADORE their Aunt Sunny. coloring eggs

Kate is missing in this pic because the Easter bunny freaks her out. This Easter bunny freaked all my kids until they were 4 years old. (That's my mom under there!)

Honestly, this bunny even scared me this year....I saw her standing on my patio as I was walking by my front window and actually let out a little girly scream.



This year we added another day to our celebration by having Aunt Sunny over to decorate Easter cookies. Did I mention we love hanging out with Aunt Sunny?
Crazy glasses Aunt Sunny made from play-doh

This Easter Lauren's dreams came true with this blue "guitar". She's wanted one since Christmas.....yes, specifically a blue guitar. And Aunt Sunny, I mean the Easter Bunny, found this Ukulele in Mexico while vacationing there a few months ago.

She hasn't put it down. Ethan claims he knows how to play the guitar because he learned how to play the recorder in school this year (you can see how easily these two instruments would cross over, right?) So, every day he comes home from school to give Lauren a 10 minute lesson on the guitar. It's so darn cute!

I am so grateful for this time of year to celebrate Jesus Christ and His resurrection. Nothing makes me happier than to teach my children of this truth and create fun memories with family.

I am also grateful for my big sis who is still taking care of me like she did when we were kids (minus the Easter-bonnet-elastic-snapping...huge welt....I'll blog about that later). My kids love, love, love their Aunt Sunny. I love watching them all play together. I feel very blessed to not only have the best sister in the world, but that we live close and can be involved in each others lives.

{A lot of Sun...A lot of Fun}

We spent a fun weekend with friends in sunny California. It was great to escape and soak in some Vitamin D.

The weather report said, "mostly cloudy". I wish Washington's "mostly cloudy" looked like this!

Our friends found this cute hotel which was so Melrose Place.
Thanks for the fun times Ben and Leah!

{Zucchini Muffins & Five Year Check-Up}

Last week a neighbor brought us some of their fresh, garden yummies. I spent all last Saturday making Zucchini muffins, cookies and bread. My kids loved them and gobbled them up all during the week.

Now, flash forward to present day...I took L in for her 5 year check up this afternoon. I was a little alarmed when she couldn't pass the hearing test in her left ear. The nurse did it 5 times and she couldn't hear ANYTHING. I kept hoping the nurse was doing it wrong, but after 5 times, I realized that wasn't the case.

As we sat in the exam room waiting for the doctor, I couldn't think about anything else but how wonderful the gift of hearing is. I hoped like crazy my daughter would always enjoy that blessing.

Finally, the doctor came in and immediately checked her ears. He was obviously concerned too. Usually he does his friendly chit-chat and plays a little with the kids before he gets down to business. After looking in her left ear, he said, "Let's get this ear cleaned out first. There is some wax in there." The nurse came back in and cleaned her ear out with a water/hydrogen peroxide solution. Then, she scrapped a HUGE piece of wax out and wiped it on the clothe that lay on the exam table next to L. My jaw dropped at the size of this ball of wax. When L saw it she said, "Mom, is that one of the muffins you made?"

Seriously, it was big!

The doctor tested her hearing again, and viola...she hears perfectly!!

{First Day of Preschool}

I'm so proud of L for being brave & showing her happy smile (to her teacher) on the first day of Preschool. I remember those First Day butterflies so well. I was shy just like my L, so my heart goes out to her in these new situations.

When I picked her up from school she had the perma-grin from ear to ear. She LOVED preschool and seeing all her friends again.

Additional Note:

I experienced my own little mommy milestone today as well. You see, I picked for her, what I thought to be, the cutest outfit to wear on this special day. I had it planned weeks ago. However, when the day came, she had her own opinions about what she should wear. I couldn't argue. L is definitely teaching me clothes don't make the girl. Anytime we get into a debate about what she should wear, I remember her telling me "Jesus doesn't care if my clothes match"

{First Day of School}

It's time for second grade and I just realized this may be my last year of coolness around his friends. I could only squeeze in two pictures and I barely got a good bye kiss at school today. E is in a 2nd/3rd grade split class and his teacher seems fabulous! We are so excited for this new year and E is really looking forward to learning new things. I love that about this kid....He LOVES learning!!

Last night we went to the Open House at school and he is excited about the friends in his class and he really likes his teacher. It's a recipe for an AWESOME year. I can't wait to see how his first day went.

{Back to School Party}

Our evening began with a yummy dinner prepared by Daddy himself. The menu consisted of his famous lasagna, with a green salad, homemade bread sticks and sparkling cider.

{Thank you J for making the best lasagna ever.}

The guests of honor wore their special crowns.

And Bear was a good sport and didn't fuss at all that she didn't have a crown.

After dinner we played some "back to school" puzzle games I downloaded from the Internet. Then, we kicked off our 2009-10 family theme of Be NICE (which the kids chose) by making a "Be Nice" jar. Each week we can draw a slip of paper from the jar and complete the good deed written on the paper. I'm really excited about this jar of treasures & hope my kids enjoy giving.

Next on the agenda came their Father's blessings.

We then took some time to each write down some goals for this school year. This was adorable. It was the kids first time setting long-term goals. They each wrote multiple goals, but I thought these were cute:

E wants to "be early" (he took that from his dad's goal list). L wants to "make peoples beds".

And last, but not least, we had dessert: Strawberry Boston Cream Cake. Yum!

It was such a fun night. We all agreed this has to be our new back to school tradition.

NOTE:

I totally stole this "Back to School Party" idea from Stephanie, who I admittedly blog stock. I thought it was a cute idea, so I ran with it.

{See Honey, our family does benefit from my endless late night blog reading}