A little bothersome.

Why is it the weather never does what I think it should? We get home from all our vacationing and I put away all the kids long sleeve shirts and pants because it's summer time and they need room in their drawers for their short sleeve shirts and shorts. It seemed like a good idea. Now the sky has been overcast for the past three days and it has been rainy so the house is a bit chilly and my kids have summer clothes to wear. They have all mentioned being a bit cool. Fortunately, they are tough and have moved on. I did tell them they could get socks on and if they were really uncomfortable I would get them pants but no one has asked. I'll just try to enjoy the coolness because I'm sure we'll have the hot, humid weather eventually.

What are you picking?

No, I'm not going to talk about your nose.

The other morning, while at my parent's house, the girls were playing. Actually, they were pretending. Each had a bag and they said they were going to go berry picking.
Emily, "I'm picking strawberries, blueberries, raspberries, and cherries."
Xiomara, "I'm picking strawberries."
Kemiah, "I'm picking marshmallows."

I laughed so hard after that one! Wouldn't that be fun to go out into the forest and find a marshmallow tree!

It has been a long time

Since we have seen this. The Cub Scouts had the dads come talk to them about the future - jobs, schooling, etc. Kevin dug out his old flight suit, jacket, patches, boots, and cap. It was really weird to see him in that "outfit" because it seems like a lifetime ago that he actually did that kind of work.

Ben received a silver point that he should have gotten back when he was a Wolf. He also received his first red bead for Bear. All the boys showed off their wood project (bird house for wolves and toolbox for bears).

8 on the 8th

Marissa had her golden birthday last Sunday. It was extra special because she was able to be baptized on her birthday! What a special way to celebrate! It was doubly extra special because it was also Mother's Day - what a wonderful present for me. It was triply extra special because her Gaffa, Grammy, Aunt Alise and 6 of her cousins were here for the wonderful occasion! What a treat!

Aunt Alise started the day off by doing the girls' hair in ways that I probably will never do. They all looked adorable. Then we went to Church and enjoyed our meetings. In Sharing Time, the Primary children sang to Marissa because it was her birthday so that was fun. After Church we got ready for the baptism. She asked her Gaffa to perform the ordinance so that was special. We had a large enough group of people stay that we had to meet in the chapel. She asked her Dad to perform the confirmation. Grammy gave a talk about baptism and Aunt Alise gave a talk on the Holy Ghost. Marissa chose to play the closing song! She just played the right hand but I was very proud of her for having the courage to do it in front of so many people. It was a wonderful event.

This is what she looked like before the baptism.


Here she is with her Gaffa (my Dad) before they entered the font.

This was after she was baptized. Aunt Alise got her the shirt. The skirt is from one of her cousins and it was a joint effort to make it a bit shorter so it would fit Marissa. She loved it!

Here are all the cousins (minus the two sleeping babies). That had such a great time together!

We got home with plenty of time to get dinner ready. (We made most of it the day before just in case.) After eating the yummy dinner, we got ready to have Grandma and Grandpa Nichols and Brother and Sister Teenier come over for cake and presents. It was the largest group of people in our house at one time, ever. Grandpa Nichols made the cake again, and really did a great job with the ballerina that Marissa asked for. She placed the candles and did a great job blowing them out one by one!

She enjoyed the gifts, of course. Some of the things she received: knee pads, elbow pads, gloves for protecting her when she roller skates in the driveway; Nancy Drew books; a "How to" book on drawing to help her improve her drawing skills that she is already working on; a microscope so we can look at lots of things in detail; 2 Traffic Jam games; The Work and the Glory vol 2 book (that we love reading together as a family); some other things that I'm sure she'd tell you about if you could ask her. It's all good stuff from people who love her so very much!


Grandma and Grandpa Nichols gave her some special money (4 - $2 bills to equal her age) and everyone was impressed. They were very crisp bills. What fun!

Two Traffic Jam games from the cousins (Aunt Alise) so two people can race to see who solves it the fastest or two people can just play their own game at the same time. What fun.



Girl jewelry from Grandma and Grandpa Nichols. They really spoil our kids! I guess that's what grandparents are for! We are certainly blessed to have several sets!

Everyone enjoyed the yummy cake and ice cream!

Domonique enjoyed baby treats that Aunt Alise brought - flavored styrofoam.


It was a nice visit and I'm so thankful that my family is willing to make the effort to come out and see us during these special occasions. We all had a wonderful time and tried to really enjoy Marissa and all that she does and is and will become!

Blue Baby

This is what happens when you leave a watercolor painted piece of pottery made by Marissa on the floor where the crawling baby can reach it and put it in her mouth. Fortunately, it was watercolor, non-toxic, and came right off and didn't stain anything. The piece of pottery is missing some color but it can be fixed up as well.



This is what happens when Dad squishes her cheeks.

A few things I don't love

I am sure my kids are missing out on some things in life. Fortunately, these things aren't really all that important so the kids aren't really missing anything. Back in December, I realized that I can't stand glitter. You know, the stuff in little containers that makes the kid's crafts all sparkly?! Yeah, I can't stand it. We did a craft at story time with the stuff and I had a really hard time bringing myself to touch it. Weird. I also have a hard time with tinsel (the stringy stuff that you drape over the Christmas tree). I have a package of the stuff and I don't know why but it doesn't get used. I have recently realized that I have a hard time with the fake grass that they put in the baskets this time of year. Wow. I'm a crazy one but I just don't like having that stuff all over and it inevitably gets all over. Just a strand here and a strand there but ends up everywhere. With a crawling baby it's havoc. I wish I didn't like piles of stuff everywhere because then maybe I'd find a place for all the piles I have and my house would be organized. Oh well.

Here's the proof

that Spring may finally be here to stay! We went on a hike today through Price Nature Center, which is just down the road from us. It is a really great place - we've been there twice now. I enjoy walking through the woods with my little buddies (Kemiah sticks with me). I really enjoyed seeing all the new life poking out, so here are some pictures to share this great feeling and our little walk through the forest.

Tying up the loose ends.

Once the snow melted, the first time, I found some dead mice near the chicken yard. They were not in one piece so I was baffled as to what had happened. Really strange. I knew there were probably mice hiding and eating and multiplying but hadn't actually seen any. Then I noticed some holes at the bottom of the bails of hay. Since the hay is all over there were some strange holes all over. At first I thought they might be from the chickens and ducks just digging to find food. Today it was all made clear. I was filling the waterer when I heard squeaking. I turned around to see a chicken jump out from behind the plastic pool holding something in it's beak. I stared and realized it was a little mouse. The mouse squeaked again and the other chickens took notice. The one who had "the prize" ran all over the yard trying to hide but other chickens kept bothering her. I stood there, stunned, watching my chickens getting all excited about a little mouse. So, we certainly have mice in the chicken yard. But, I feel a little better knowing that the mouse issue will at least be kept under control as the chickens take care of them. I had no idea the chickens would be interested in mice. I hope they stay interested and continue to catch them so that the population is kept under control - sort of.