We start 'em young...

Jared's choice of drink is Diet Cherry Coke. The other night he had Sophie in his lap & whenever he would take a drink she would totally go for the cup....arms out, mouth open. Isn't that terrible? Yes, terrible...but also very cute and funny! The other kids were loving it!

She's almost 6 months old. No teeth yet (thank heavens!), and she's only rolled over once. I told the kids that we all hold her too much, so we are making sure she gets plenty of floor time & tummy time. I'll enjoy this "immobile" stage as long as I can!

International Space Station

Last Sunday my Dad called & told us that around 9:30PM the International Space Station would be visible. He knew Kelsey got a telescope for Christmas, and we haven't used it yet. Dad suggested we meet in the parking lot of Brighton's seminary, so we'd have a clear view. We all got there just before 9, so we had some time to kill. While we waited for 9:29 to arrive, we looked through Dad's telescope at the moon. It's amazing to look through it and be able to see the hills and craters up "close". He also showed us Saturn, which through the telescope looks like a tiny white dot with a line going through it. To be able to see that and know you're looking at Saturn's rings! My kids were amazed. They can't believe how smart their Grandpa is to know all that stuff. We were able to see the Space Station move in the sky, it was visible for about 3 minutes. It looks like a star in the night sky. The Atlantis shuttle is docked with it right now, and we explained to the kids that there are astronauts up there right now, on that little dot moving through the sky.

I love looking through the telescope with Dad. I remember him bringing it to YW's camp sometimes, or even just out in the back or front yard. My favorite memory I think will be last year when we were up at the cabin in Island Park, Idaho with the family (almost the whole family). The stars are SO much more visible when you are far away from city lights, up in the mountains. The longer we stayed out on the deck, the more our eyes adjusted and more and more stars became visible. We saw a few shooting stars and TONS of satellites. I think Neil, Dad and I stayed out the longest. I didn't want to leave. It's amazing. It is both spiritually moving and makes you feel small. Small, but not less.

Stephanie Nielsen

My button on the right, "I read NieNie" , is this woman. I came across her blog a year ago. I must have sat in front of the computer for a couple hours, reading post after post. Jared was out of town & the kids were all in bed. I sat and read her blog and cried. She is inspiring to me. She helped remind me that motherhood isn't about doing laundry, helping with homework, and all those day to day tasks. As she says in the video: "beauty and motherhood are the same thing" and that it "is a privilege". I am honored to be a mother to my 6 beautiful children.

Tongue Wagger

Sophie has always had a fascination with her tongue. After she was born and the doctor and nurses finally cleared out, she was in my arms just sticking her tongue out and in over & over. It made me worry that something was wrong with her. Now, it's just funny. She's a very good-natured baby. At her 4 month check up she weighed just over 15 lbs....she's a chunk! It's fun to watch my kids interact with her and enjoy her as much as Jared & I do.

Ashton and I were working on his homework at the table & she just kept making so many noises! She makes us all laugh.

Mallory's Birthday

Mallory turned 4 years old yesterday, May 2nd!

Mallory on her new scooter and new helmet.

She giggled the whole time we sang Happy Birthday! She is such a cute little girl!

I made the mistake of letting her come to Macey's with me to pick a cake out. It was way too much cake for just us! But she loved it & I'm such a sucker.

OK, siblings....do you remember toys similar to these? I don't know if it's the same thing or not, but I remember having several of these fuzzy little animals. I went into ToysRUs for My Little Pony and Barbie stuff and ended up filling my cart with these. I saw them and could barely keep my voice down, I was so excited! Jared told me I was living vicariously through her, but he does it with the boys with all their GI Joe and Star Wars stuff, so who cares. Calico Critters are my new favorite thing! Kelsey & Emma helped me open all the boxes & they were as giddy as I was. The details in these toys are amazing, from tiny buttons to working night lights. Kelsey said, "I wish I could go back in time and have these toys when I was little!" Later that night who was in playing with Mallory? KELSEY! I love it. Keep them young as long as you can, I say.

Kelsey & Emma set the house up for Mallory. These toys make me wish I was little again!

Brothers, Sisters, Cousins....Family!

My nephew, Ethan, was baptized yesterday and gave us another great opportunity to get together. I forgot my camera for the Easter egg hunt, so I was glad I didn't forget it this time.

Kelsey, Emma, Joe & Ethan. They were having a discussion about which was better, Brandon Mull's 'Fablehaven' series, or JK Rowling's 'Harry Potter'.

Conner, Mallory, Wesley and Hyrum. These little rascals were having so much fun together. Here they are giving me their best werewolf face. I think Mallory lost.
The best place to hang out in any house, the kitchen!
Kelsey with Lily and Beka with Lucy
I found these two downstairs watching 'New Moon', which probably influenced the other kids decision to be werewolves.
Again, the kitchen is the best place!
Jared had a lot of questions for Joe about being home-schooled.
Hyrum came running into the front room & jumped behind the couch Jared & I were sitting on to hide. I put the camera behind my head without looking & snapped this shot. Hyrum is a cutie, and Conner loves to play with him.

Easter 2010

I love it when Easter is over Conference weekend. It makes both that much more enjoyable. It was also spring break for the kids, how sweet is that? We colored eggs pretty late because the kids did not want to do it without Jared and he was at Priesthood session. My great kids helped me clean up the house while we waited for him to get home.

We had to get a photo for Sophie's 1st Easter!

Finding the eggs