Happy Birthday to Brooke!

Today was our Brooke's 4th birthday. It is hard to believe that our little girl is getting so big. She is, and has always been, (minus the first four months of colic!) such a bundle of joy in our lives. She is a happy, loving girl who always puts smiles on the faces of the people she is around. We tried to make her day very special for her. We all woke up with her and opened gifts first thing before Ciera and Chloe had to leave for school. She was super excited about everything! Later, we had her birthday party. We had it at McDonald's. The children all had Brooke's favorite lunch... "chicken nuggets, french fries and ketchup". Then they played on the play place equipment for a while. After that, we had cake and ice cream, which was followed by Brooke's presents. She had a wonderful time, and I think all the children that came had a great time too! (Except for little Ryan, who was not feeling well... Sorry, Ryan!)
Later, Ciera and Chloe got home from school and the girls all got to have cake and play all afternoon. We love our Brookie and are so glad that she is a part of our family!!

Colorful Dances

Beautiful Chloe with a polka-dot vest
Ciera and her friend Karley in their western outfits


Each year, Ciera and Chloe's school does a dance show. The children work for months on dances, and then they get to perform them for their families. Each grade level does a different dance, all with a common theme. It is really great, because all the children are involved, and get to perform the dances, even if they don't have any exposure to dance or the arts outside of school. It also is a great way for the children to get some exercise (at least a couple times a week) and have fun while they are at it!
This year's theme was "Colors". Ciera's grade (3rd) did square dancing to "The Yellow Rose of Texas", and Chloe's grade (1st) did "Tan Shoes with Pink Shoe Laces" (I think that is what it is called!). They did great, and I am so proud of them! Since Dave was in Nevada, I recorded their dances for him (minus the beginning of Chloe's... I pressed the wrong button... oops!) So, here they are if you'd like to see!

Mystery

So I am sitting upstairs on the computer. I hear Brooke say to Autumn:
"Let's bring it downstairs. Hurry."
So I say:
"Brooke Anne, what do you have?"
"Nothing," she says innocently.
Clump, clump, clump go the footsteps as they hurry down the stairs.
So I get up and yell down from the top of the stairs:
"Brooke Anne!"
Then I hear Autumn say...
"Hide!"
Hmmmm.... I guess I had better see what is going on down there this time. This is what I saw when I went down...

The Yoga mat is what they had stolen from upstairs (which I don't care that they play with) but what I found funny, was that they had decided to "brush their teeth" too. Autumn climbed into the window of the downstairs bathroom and couldn't get down. Brooke had gotten her toothbrush and toothpaste and was squeezing all the toothpaste out... luckily it was a sample sized tube! Well, at least they will have toned muscles and nice clean teeth, right?

Hannah Montana in Da House!

Is that Hannah Montana playing her guitar in our living room?
Dave is probably not going to be too happy that I posted this, but I thought it was too funny to pass up.
Ciera and Chloe got Hannah Montana wigs for Christmas, and wanted Dave and I to put them on the other night while Dave was playing guitar. Being the good sports that we are, we did. I got my camera out and captured a shot of Dave in the wig for future generations to see what a silly guy he is. Ciera asked if she could take a picture of us together. So, with a little hesitation, I agreed. I didn't think it would be fair to only post Dave's picture, so you get to see us both. Aren't we great Hannah Montanas?

My camera and wallet are missing!

Autumn looks pretty innocent and adorable... but is she? Adorable, yes. Innocent... we'll see.
Yes. This is Brooke's foot. She took my camera out of my purse and decided to have a photo shoot downstairs with Autumn. I only saved a few pictures. Who wants a million pictures of the couch cushions, the piano, and the TV? Brooke, apparently.
Oh, and here is where we get to Autumn's part in all of this. While Brooke was taking pictures, Autumn got into my wallet and started emptying it of all its contents. It is a good thing I caught her before they stole my keys and went on a shopping spree too!
I guess I need to find a new place to keep my purse. Somewhere high...where nobody can reach it by standing on tip-toe, jumping, or climbing. Hmmm...

Snow Day

Brooke and Autumn playing in the new snow.
Snow Angels making snow angels.
Autumn with her "I don't want to look at you for the picture" look.
Cute little Brooke.

Today was the first day of snow in a while, so the girls were so excited to go outside and play. I got them all bundled up, and let them at it. They had a lot of fun. I am glad that they enjoy playing out in the snow so much, because it makes a long winter a little more bearable. While I am ready for the spring to come, I think they would be happy with a few more months of SNOW!

Myriad of Mistakes & Reasons to Laugh

Mistake #1:

Telling Dave that because I didn't have any commitments today (lessons, appointments, errands, babysitting, etc.) I was going to have a relaxing day.

Mistake # 2:

Thinking that my little girls were playing well together, and that I could check my e-mail and "blog surf" for a few minutes.

Mistake #3:

When it got really quiet, not running downstairs IMMEDIATELY, to see why.


Mistake #4:

Buying cat food in bulk.
This is what I found in the garage when I went down. My sweet girls had dumped out the entire Sam's Club size bag of cat food. It took me a long time to clean it all up and salvage as much of it as possible.

Mistake #5:

Thinking that while I was cleaning up the cat food mess, my girls would sit quietly and watch cartoons.

I found this when I came in from cleaning the garage. Brooke was in her underwear, Autumn was in her onesie, and the cushions were all off the couch. This is nothing new. Given the prior mess, though, I was furious. Then I remembered one of the talks at our last General Conference. It was about finding humor in situations. Finding reasons to laugh instead of getting angry. The talk gave examples of things that would cause anger or frustration, and instead of allowing those feelings to make us upset, laughing about it. That is what I am trying to do today.