Hearing

In the evenings I love to hear….

• The kids pounding away on the piano with their lesson songs
• Jerrica reading her books out loud
• Rebecca and Ash playing pretend
• Nathan narrating a play by play of his practice or some funny story from the day
• Jacob’s trumpet blasting a scale
• Details from a practice or class that they just got home from
• Kaylee begging to make a treat and then acting like she is doing a cooking show
• Rebecca singing at the top of her lungs on her karaoke machine
• Chores being done with loud clangs of dishes or the hum of the vacuum

I know it sounds like  A LOT of noise, but someday the noise will be gone, which will mean that my kids will gone.  The noise is them, and I love it!

Shaving Cream Painting

The girls had friends over on Friday.  One of my girls begged to do the shaving cream painting.  It was so fun to see the finished masterpieces each time.  Ash and her friend loved the feel of the shaving cream and enjoyed smoothing it out in the pan.  The older girls liked the toothpick swirling.

You start out by dropping food coloring drops into the shaving cream.  Then swirl it around.  Next you lay a piece of white cardstock on top of the shaving cream and press it into it.  After you peel the paper off, it looks like the swirls are ruined.  The last step is to use a squidgy to drag the extra shaving cream off.  You are left with such a cool painting!

Here is another one with yellow in it….

 

Art projects are just tooo fun!

13 Games

We went from a relaxing snow day playing video games …..

To 13  ball games on Saturday,

13 Games!

Is that just insane!  We sure loved watching every minute of their games, and the kids sure loved being with their friends.  They are such incredible athletes.  I love seeing how hard they work in their games.

 

Detective Parties

A few weeks ago Jacob was invited to a spy birthday party.  He was quite excited and I think it had something to do with the girl that invited him being so cute.  ANYWAY, there were about 12 boys and girls that went. 

 

The mom had went all out for the party.  I wish that one of my other kids had went because then I could have gotten more details out of them.  Jacob is not one to elaborate or give me too many details.  He did say that as soon as they all arrived they played a white elephant type of game with numbered shirt boxes.   Each box had a costume and identity card that explained who they were for the night.  You could keep the box you opened OR steal from someone else.  Jacob was “Honolulu Harry” and had a Hawaiian shirt with a lei for the night. 

I guess the kitchen was Italy and they had dinner in there with a game.  Each room was a different place and contained a clue to help them solve the mystery.  My good friend went with me to pick Jacob up that night.  She was too busy teasing him about what game was played in the dark closet, for me to get any more details.  He had a blast though, and I tucked the ideas away for a birthday party for Rebecca.

Speaking of Rebecca….

She went to a fun Detective Book Bash on Friday.  She is wayyy into this detective stuff right now and she and her friend had a BLAST.  They had a fingerprint station where she got a little kit to take fingerprints.  A police detective talked with them about how to be a great detective.  She wore a disguise and got another disguise.  One station they had to figure out a little mystery with who, what, when, where and how using this book- 

Rebecca’s clue sheet for the book cracked me up with the descriptions and names that were from the book.  At the end, they each got a book of Sherlock Holmes, a small clue notebook, and magnifying glass.  The librarian did an incredible job.

I’m kind of excited to put all of this together for a little birthday party for Rebecca and her friends this summer.

Random Pinterest

I made a custom family Guess Who game for Kristy, with Spillane and Coley family members.  It was just a card that I created in Photoshop and printed up two sheets at Costco.  They slide right in the game like the other cards.

Thanks to Pinterest for the idea!  I had seen the US Presidents on a sheet.

I have found fun coloring sheets on Pinterest that keep my little girls busy with their crayon bucket. 

I have used a ton of awesome tips for cleaning and organizing that I wish I would have heard about years ago.  I love this one where you put aluminum foil in a bowl.  Pour your grease in it.  Then when it hardens, just crumple the foil into a ball and throw it away.  (I don’t know how many times I have dug through the trash trying to find a can to dump grease in)

(image from Pinterest)

Or the toilet paper rolls to hold wrapping paper. 

(image from Pinterest)

Then there is the food.  Oh how our family has enjoyed the food!  We have new family favorites to eat.  I think my family is so glad that they don’t have to eat the same food for every meal.  Alesha just called me tonight giving me a thumbs up for the pretzel bites.  We just made her Krispy Creme donuts last weekend and were all in love with the donuts.  SOOO, I’m assuming these pretzel bites will be divine as well, BUT less fattening.

Then there are a slew of sewing projects that I’m so excited to start.  Of course I can’t forget all of the gardening and yard ideas.  Mix in the holiday and kid ideas AND I just LOVE Pinterest!

What are YOU loving on Pinterest?  I would love to hear some of your recent favorite finds.

Front Tooth

Ash lost her four bottom teeth and now has FINALLY lost her first big front tooth.  It has been UGLY for quite a while now.  It was dangling and black with dried blood in it.  We had been calling her Nanny McPhee.

We were trying to get it out yesterday.  She was blubbering and being dramatic and so I said, “Ashley, quit acting like a baby!”  She abrubtly quit crying and said, “Wait a minute here!  Babies don’t even have teeth so I’m NOT acting like a baby”  That girl is always quick!

I ended up pushing it really hard and she swallowed it.  She then wrote the cutest letter to the tooth fairy with Rebecca’s help about how her tooth would now be in her poop, and she should probably pass this tooth by, but leave the money anyway.  :)

J-e-r-r-i-c-a

Mommy school is not all fun and games.  We also do school work.  

I think this little one of ours is a smart one.  She is very conscientious.  We worked on perfecting her name one afternoon.  That evening all of us were in awe of her paper she plastered on the refrigerator.  It was a blank paper that she had wrote her name on without any help.  Her penmanship amazed me.  I need to take a picture of it!

   

But then again she “may not” be that smart.  She keeps mixing up words and meanings.  Instead of saying, pass me the light blue crayon, she will say “skinny blue”.  She always tells people that she likes dark purple and not “skinny purple”.  It always makes me smile when she does her word mix ups.

Oh how grateful I am to have this little girl!

Unbroken

So I went on a little trip with my sisters.  Alesha flew into Denver and we then flew together to Nashville.  I love flying with Alesha because we get so silly together.  I was busting up laughing, and I’m sure I drove people around me crazy.  Alesha is also very creative, so it was fun sharing and talking ideas.

We were kinda backwards and had a tourist from Japan that happened to be in Denver take a picture of us.  Yes, usually the tourists ask you to take the picture, but we reversed roles.  He ended up taking A LOT of pictures from all different angles.  We felt a little like airport models on a photo shoot.


OK, maybe we look a little more like tired moms rather than airport models.


Anyway we talked before the trip, about the long flight and the books that we should bring to read on the flight.  Lee had just finished “Unbroken” and loved it.  I needed to read it and after hearing her recommendation decided that would be the book I would read for this trip.



Lee read the preface out loud to me and that was all that got read.  Yes, we like to talk and reading just doesn’t happen when we are together.  Why did I think it would?


Well since I have been home, I have been reading at night and not blogging.  “Unbroken” is such an incredible book.  I highly recommend it!  It is filled with history, and a soul that just doesn’t give up.  The resilience of this man is just amazing.  A definite must read, but not when a sister is around.  :)


Here is a link to- Unbroken: A World War II Story of Survival, Resilience, and Redemption

Last Year

Jerrica for some reason has the word “yesterday” mixed up with “last year”.  We have tried correcting her to no avail.  What’s funny is that she uses the wrong words daily and it just sounds wrong.

• “Mom, I cleaned my room last year.”
• “We had these same snacks last year.”
• “Can we do what we did last year?”
• “I don’t want to go, we went there last year.”
• “Why were you mean to me last year?”

The time frame just doesn’t sit right with the stuff she says, and it always brings a smile to me.

Army

One good thing about being in the Army is that you can take a bunch of cute Army pictures with all of dad’s stuff to hang up on the wall with all of dad’s medals and awards…

I think I need to fly back to Tennessee to help my sister, Kristy hang all of her pictures up.  :)

Stools

I have always had stools around the house since my boys were toddlers.  The stools give just enough height so that little ones can wash their hands in the bathrooms, help in the kitchen, peek out a window, reach a treat in the pantry, or even just to make it easier for them to climb in my bed (its a tall bed).

Stools have helped my little ones be more independent.  I don’t have to lift them up to the sink to wash their hands or reach a cup out of the cupboard for a drink.  They have used these stools FOREVER and now it’s just my little girls that rely on them. 

 

I was thinking the other day of how I have stools in my life that help me do and accomplish tasks.  The stool for me might be a carpool to get a kids where I can’t, it might be a friend helping me with something I can’t do, it might be just the words that I need to hear…..

I am so grateful for the stools in my life and the boost they give me.  I have all these stools scattered around my house for my kids’ independence and now realize how many stools that my Heavenly Father has scattered around MY life helping me so that I can do what I need to.

Valentine’s Day

Well the day of love has come and gone.  We packed red lunches for the kids and had our fondue dinner.  The kids LOVED their picture books.  Some of the pictures they had never seen and oh how fun to sit and reminisce some of those memories in their new books.

Stephen gave me a dozen long bottles of Pepsi instead of a dozen long stemmed roses.  He even had little roses on the cap of each.  Stephen said that he figured I would like a dozen of those better than a dozen roses.  I told him they would last longer than roses, to which he smirked and wouldn’t comment.  :)

Ashley saw them sitting on the counter and said, “Wow, that is clever.  I didn’t know dad was that clever.”  It made me smile hearing her use the word “clever”, but I had to agree.

Stephen also got me a new phone which I REALLY needed.  Sure love it and sure love him!

Stephen’s Valentine Gifts

I framed a wedding picture for Stephen…. it was nice.

I gave him a few treats during the month…. he enjoyed them.

 

BUT, I know he is REALLY going to enjoy his gift for tomorrow.

I decided that Stephen really doesn’t need all of the chocolates in a box.  He actually would like a few “other” things in place of the chocolates.  I popped a few chocolates in my mouth and jotted down a few “coupons” to replace the chocolates, for Stephen to redeem. 

The slips of paper are just like a box of chocolates, you just don’t know what you are going to get….

I know Stephen and I know he is going to like this.  :)

Crepe Paper Valentine

This month for one of our mommy school days, Jerrica and I made a tissue heart.  We cut up crepe paper and red tissue paper in little shapes.  Then we glued them ALL over a plain sheet of paper.  When we were all done we laid ANOTHER piece of paper of the top.  The top paper had a heart cut out.

It has brightened our fridge all month long.

Just Got Back

I just got back from a little vacay in….

…. just outside Nashville to be exact.

.

.

I HAD go meet this new, little one.

Isn’t she cute all tucked in her dad’s pocket!  I HAD to take her pictures and I HAD to spend time with my parents and sisters. 

Thanks for holding the fort down here, Stephen!

Valentine’s

We have been working on Valentines.  Rebecca is WAYYY into spies and detectives.  We decided to do little teeny, tiny valentines with magnifying glasses to read the valentine.  I saw the idea on creative Katherine’s blog HERE . 

This was our version…

The note inside said,

Who?  You

What?  Happy Valentine’s Day

When?  Today

Why?  Because Rebecca said SO!

Rebecca had so much fun making the teeny, tiny envelopes and then sealing them with mini heart stickers.  We then stuck them to the magnifying glasses with a touch of glue.  She is so excited to hand them out, which makes me excited.

For Ashley we did blow whistles.  The whistle has such a fun roll sound to it.  She sat there blowing “her” whistle the entire time she was pushing the whistles into the hole on the cards.  I saw her idea HERE.  We were going to put a picture of her blowing a kiss, but she insisted on blowing a whistle in the picture, and it is HER cards.  (Sometimes that is so hard for me to let them do “their” idea and not my own)

Kaylee has crazy straws that she is doing.  I will have to post hers when she finishes. 

SO love this time of year and all the sweet notes that are given!

Flash Fans

This was one of Canada’s top Super Bowl commercials.  I think the concept is so fun!

Wouldn’t it be fun to play for a crowd!  I think they need to come to Lifetime and do a commercial of my friends and I playing basketball.  :)

Crush Party

Our party was canceled and is in the process of being rescheduled.  :(  We had a huge blizzard blow in on Friday night.  School was canceled and all the Saturday basketball games were canceled.  Stephen and I were still going to have it, BUT after talking to a few of the couples in the forest we decided that we shouldn’t make them drive out on a night like that.  We were sad but look forward to having it.  I’m hoping that we will be able to do it the first weekend of March, AND I am STILL going to use my Valentines’ stuff I bought for it. 

ANYWAY, I was hesitant to post about the games on my blog because it would give it away for those that are coming.  Yet, it is so much easier doing a post rather than responding to each email and comment.  BUT after thinking about the couples coming, I don’t think any of them even read my blog, AND I know that some of you are having parties this weekend and wanted ideas, SOOOOOOO….

We went with the CRUSH theme and each of the games fall in a category of the letter.  The first is C and stands for Communication.  My sister that lives in Utah HAD her party last weekend and did a fun thing before the party for communication points.  She texted all of her girlfriends that were coming and told them that their husbands had to text Alesha (my sister) back.  The first and second husband to do so would get points for their couple’s team.  She was amazed how quickly she got the husband texts.

Here is the breakdown of the other games…

  

Here are the two posters for the people recall game.  I try to mix musicians, athletes, politicians, church, actors…  Couples have to write down as many as they can from the two posters.

These are the questions that we were going to use for the Newlywed Game….

 

Anyway, hope that helps those of you finishing up your party plans, AND if any of you invited to my party are reading any of this … I’m deducting points from you when we have the party!

Snow Day

We got some snow.

We got some BIG drifts.

We got a snow day.  :)

Big drifts mean no school, no practices …. just digging caves and tunnels. 

It also means drift jumping with dad…

We have a big berm in our backyard which created a big snow drift behind it.  The snow went up to the big girls WAISTS!