Liberty Girls

It was Cate's turn to give the narration at her club meeting today. I wasn't sure if she would do it but she said she would. She decided to tell her favorite part in the Felicity book they were reading. Her favorite part was when Felicity went and picked berries. Cate brought a picture of her picking raspberries at Grandma & Grandpa's in Idaho last summer to show everyone. She said that was her favorite part because she likes berries too and she thought it was funny that Felicity's brother was eating them all and had berry juice all over his face.

After the narration they made comfrey ointment. Cate was very excited to make "medicine" and has been offering it to all of us anytime we get a little scrape or chapped lips.

Dad's Birthday!

Scott/Dad turned 36 today. He didn't have any work today so he got some special treatment at home. Star got up early and made him french toast with a little help from Cate. He opened his presents which included ipod earphones from Star, ipod gift card from Braeden, workout clothes from Dylan, Cate & Ean so he can have something to wear @ the gym, a few shirts and book of coupons from me. Then, being the great dad that he is, he decided he wanted to take the kids to play in the snow for the day. He didn't have to do much convincing, they were so excited they put snow clothes on right away and walked around the house in them for a couple hours while we slowly got ready. It was a fun day, cold, but fun!

What a way to spend your birthday!!

Dylan & Star had so much fun together, they would race eachother down the hill!

This was the only tube ride for Cate, she didn't think it too fun :(!

Climbing up wasn't so fun, especially for dad I'm sure who had to pretty much carry Ean the whole way up every time, a great workout though :)!

Dylan's favorite way down, on the butt slider!

Ean had the most fun, he was in heaven. I thought he would get cold but he just had a ball and didn't complain once. He loved the snow so much he was just kept sticking his face in it. Crazy boy!

Cate was the only one to get cold and ask to go home. She must take after her mom :)!

The smile says it all!

These two are just too cute! They are quite a pair and Cate is always willing to play, help or mommy him. This picture reminds me a little of the pioneer pictures you see with the kids tredging through the snow (with a little less to wear of course). I'm so grateful the kids are friends and watch out for each other. What a blessed girl I am to have such a wonderful family!

Our Wolf!

Dylan earned his wolf badge and 1 gold arrow. He recieved his awards tonight at pack meeting. I'm not sure how to express his excitement. He was overjoyed, thrilled, estactic, beyond happy! If only I could just bottle an ounce of his energy and joy for life :).

Photographer in Training

Ean just loves the camera. Whether it is having his picture taken, taking one or looking at them on the camera he loves everything about it! My camera has always got some kind of grubby hand stuff on it that is left behind from him. Oh well, I know I will miss that one day!

Happy Valentines Day!

We had a very Happy Valentine's Day at our house this year.Scott started the day of love with a delicious french toast breakfast. He then had a surprise for us girls, Valentine crosages! He thought his girls needed something pretty to wear to church . A little one with one flower for Cate, two flowers for Star and three for me. Isn't he a great guy? We just love him! We had an uplifting church service where Braeden gave a wonderful talk in sacrament meeting. He was so nervous but once again taught his mom about faith when he told me he said a prayer right before he had to speak and then had a calm feeling through the whole thing. He did a fabulous job, he's an awesome young man. After church we had a nice family dinner and the wait was over for the kids' box of chocolates, yum yum.

I just had to show you Cate's creative outfit. Scott thought it was so funny and cute he had to get a quick pic before he sent her off to put on some different tights. She was so excited about the crosage, she wore it the next day too!

Valentines Day Party

We went to the annual homeschooling Valentine's Day Party last Friday. We, of course, waited until the day before to make all the valentines. They each had to make 30 so that kept us busy (that's in addition to the 100 I was making for the primary kids, I think I have cut & glued enough for a while). The kids had a great time seeing their friends, decorating cupcakes and giving and getting valentines. I'm so grateful we have wonderful homeschooling friends. It is so nice to visit with other moms so often and I'm glad all the kids are able to have lots of fun together.

Ballet Class

While Jonah and Josh were here the other day Cate got out the dress up stuff and decided they needed to do ballet with her. Star was the teacher and they were having a great time. Jonah, 4, and Josh, 3, don't have older sisters so I'm guessing this was the first time for "ballet class" for them. I just had to snap a pic to send to their dad, he was sooo proud of his boys :)!

Cate's "Perfect" Day

Last Saturday Cate came to me and said, "Mom come look at this", and dragged me into her room. She had organized her drawer and was so proud of it. (Thank you Star for setting the example and giving her the idea.) And if that was not enough she continued the day by organizing her shelves and cleaning everything she saw. She made my bed, put my clothes away and picked up my closet, vaccumed, straightened Ean's toys in the family room, put the dishes away and did it all without being asked and all by herself. Throughout the day she was very helpful and did everything she was told and that night she asked, "Was I so good today?". What she doesn't know is that this just shows me what she is capable of :)! She really is a blessing to have around and does many thoughtful things all the time. But just so no one is under the wrong impression, she is quite normal and complains quite often when asked to do her chores and lets me know how much she hates it! Sorry Cate, I don't want you thinking that you're the perfect child. Almost, but not always:).

Bedtime Madness!

Ya know when it's bedtime and you've told them to brush their teeth a million times already and you're about at your wits end ready to start losing it and then your kids come out giggling looking like this. You just have to give it to them, they are good! They know how to get mom to laugh and give in for a few more minutes.
I just had to snap these pics to capture the friendship between Cate & Ean. They are such great friends and spend a lot of time together. Cate tries to be a little mommy to him and depending on his mood he lets her. More & more though he just wants to be her equal and not be the baby. They don't fight very often but I just have to document this...The other day I could hear them playing house in the other room. Ean was yelling over and over, "I don't want to be a sister, I'm a boy!" Then I hear Cate in her sweet Cate voice, "then you can't play with me" then Ean crying "I want to play with you but I don't want to be a sister" Cate finally gave in and let him be a boy and play with her. I didn't get involved and was happy to see them resolve it on their own but it was too cute to hear Ean crying that he didn't want to be a sister and Cate insisting he be one . It's nice to know Ean can hold his own and knows who is is :)!

Heart Attack!

The Activity Day girls gave us a heart attack! They gave them to all the primary presidency along with a bag of candy. They just did it, rang the doorbell and ran so when we walked out everything was covered in hearts. So sweet and thoughtful! Of course Ean needed his picture taken since the camera was out :).

Field Trip

We had such a great field trip this month. My good friend Mari knows a beekeeper and he was willing to come and talk to us all about bees and honey. He is from CA. but moved here a few years ago. While he lived in CA. he made a documentary (more like a home movie) called "From Hive to Honey" which he asked us to watch before we came. The movie was really good and we all learned a lot. Then we went to Mari's house where he came and showed us all his equipment, answered questions and told us all about beekeeping. It was quite inspiring actually and the kids loved it.


To finish off we had yummy honey cookies and Eans favorite, honey candy :).