Bummer!

It is right before Easter and I am sick! I had to come home from work yesterday because I had a fever, chills, aches, nausea, burning throat... not pretty! But Layne bought me juice, medicine, chocolate, and made me soup last night and that was so nice. I think in the almost 16 years that I have been a hygienist I have only called in sick once. It is so sad because there is always much to be done. 2 maybe 3 years ago I had the flu over Easter week. Maybe this time it will be quick. I hope so because I can't sleep so good and there are all kinds of cute babies being born around here who need visiting - especially my cute little niece, Eliza!




She is so pretty! :)

Made me chuckle!

Sometimes kids say the funniest things...

The other night we were playing charades and Kavan was acting out "hugs and kisses." We got the "kisses" part and were missing the "hugs" part. So he got pretty dramatic with his actions, and Karlee says, "that must be a china kiss!"

Karlee had asked Layne if he was going to kiss me, or wait until later and roll around with me and give me lots of kisses. WOW, what?!?!

Kavan woke up this morning a little grumpy, so during our family prayer Karlee prayed that Kavan would not be "so grumpy." Kavan started to laugh a little. At the end of the prayer he let us know that he did not say "Amen" because he did not agree with that prayer!

It's so great that our kids can make us laugh - and chuckle - and shake our heads!! :)

So tomorrow is a lucky day, right? I found this on a site about St.Patrick's Day and thought it was kind of fun...

So why do we all wear green?

Probably because you'll be pinched if you don't! School children started this tradition. Green is also the color of spring, the shamrock and is connected with hope and nature.

The luck of the Irish

Want to be lucky this St. Patrick's Day? Follow this advice:

1. Find a four-leaf clover. 2. Wear green (so you don't get pinched). 3. Kiss the blarney stone. 4. Catch a Leprechaun if you can.

In honor of the festivities we leave you with this Irish blessing: May your blessings outnumber the shamrocks that grow and may trouble avoid you wherever you go!


Tomorrow should be a very good day, perhaps lucky! So wear green and have a Happy St. Patrick's Day! :)

Cute, huh?

Look at this picture....


They are really so cute! :)
Can you guess who they are?











It's Kyler and Collin.

The other night Collin and Samantha were over and while eating dinner, Collin started a discussion on being "in love" with girls. It was so funny! I love that they can still be so innocent and cute. Good times!

And I must give a quick congratulations to Collin and Kyler. Their hard work has paid off! Collin plays middle school soccer, and he scored a goal last night! Way to go - you're a super star! :) And after tryouts, Kyler made it onto one of the 4 minor league baseball teams in our county. HOORAY! I am so excited for you both! Good job, guys!

The Grouchy Ladybug!

We normally pack lunches at night so that things are a little less busy in the morning. The lunches usually consist of a sandwich, something crunchy, a fruit or vegetable and one treat or yogurt. Last night, due to soccer games and procrastination on costumes for a "book parade" we didn't pack lunches. So, Karlee packed her lunch this morning while I was helping with other tasks. I asked her if she had put fruit in her lunch. Well, I just got a call from Aunt Jana who happens to work at the school, and Karlee must have been counting her two fruity pieces of candy as fruit! So this is her lunch... pretzels, a cookie, and two pieces of candy! Jana asked me if I packed her lunch! :) Then, she asked me if I wanted Karlee to buy her lunch. I decided that she would eat her lunch that she packed, treats and all, and hopefully enjoy it. But if I know Karlee, that lunch is not going to help her get through the day. Will it happen again? I would like to say no, but honestly maybe. It's one of those "not feeling like such a great mom" moments!

Ironically, she dressed up as the grouchy ladybug, from Eric Carle's The Grouchy Ladybug , today for the "book parade."

We missed the snow!

I have lived in Georgia since 1979, and I can probably count on one hand the amount of times that we have had "playable" snow! Two Fridays ago when we were on winter break from school, Georgia had one of the best snowfalls ever and guess where we were... in Florida!
So we missed the winter wonderland that is oh so rare to Georgia, but we had a really great family vacation.

We played in Downtown Disney...

(Racing cars at the Lego store.)


(Breaking cool rocks at the T-Rex Cafe.)


(Enjoying lunch at the Rainforest Cafe.)


(They also had some great entertainment throughout the day, even though it was so cold. And hey mom, we found you a band to play in!! :) They were really so good!)


(And what's a vacation without a great bubble bath!)


We had a Happy Valentine's Day...

(with chocolate chip, strawberry cream cheese, strawberry syrup, banana waffles!)




(We even had a fun dinner and treats too, but I guess we were too hungry for pictures!)

We swam with the manatee in Crystal River...



(Karlee getting anxious.)


(Kyler was the first one in.)


(After he got in a manatee swam right under him. He said, "Umm,that was a little scary!")


(Layne and Karlee were not so sure about the cold water, so they took their time getting in. Kenzie got in, then got right back out and had to psyche herself up to get back in the water again. It was funny!)


(Oh, did I say "we" swam with the manatee - no, no - Kavan and I manned the boat)


(and ate our lunch! There were so many manatee swimming around we were just fine staying dry!)


(After about an hour, Kyler and Karlee decided they were pretty cold and needed to try to get warm!)


(Layne and Kenzie were not done and went back out to play! They had such a great time! You can see some of the manatee with them in this picture! They even found one that really wanted to play and be rubbed on the tummy and fins!)


And We explored Epcot...



(We accomplished a Kim Possible mission in Norway!)


(Loved Mexico - and the food smelled so good! We tried to taste some different foods from the different countries - I liked China (pot stickers) and Morocco best - and I think the kids liked these chocolate wafer type cookies from Germany the best!)



(The girls loved China - wonder why?)


(I got picked to play "Edna" in Romeo and Edna - kind of embarrassing, but funny!)



(Loved the fish ponds in Japan.)


(Found Mary Poppins in the United Kingdom where Layne enjoyed some fish and chips.)


(And this was the last and one of the coolest rides of the day! We were lucky enough to get one of the last fast passes offered for this ride - as it had over a 2 hour wait for most of the day - so at 8:05pm we were able to get in line and it was AWESOME, and it was done just in time to see the fireworks!)


We had a great time together, and if you ask Kavan what was the best he'll tell you, "...flying to Mars!" Rides, imagination, good food, and lots of great fun! :)

Happy Plates!

I love dinners when nobody complains. (I always think it is especially crazy when they complain about dinners they've never even tried, or don't even know what we're having for dinner and still complain - that's just crazy, I say!) I love it when everybody eats and enjoys their food. And then I really love when everybody helps clean up! It makes me happy! :)

Just like this picture of Laney. I love her smile, and the way her hand squeezes Terry's finger when she gets excited!



So cute! :)

A Treat!

After my mom's birthday weekend, my grandma got to stay with us for a week! My grandma is 84 and has some really great stories. We had such a fun time! I loved listening to her stories about when she was little and young and in a very different time! She had stories about helping her dad in the candy store in Brigham City - traveling on the train - moving to Ohio after getting married (and finding out that Utah was 100 years ahead of Ohio in time)! :) She told stories about my mom that made me laugh so hard I was almost crying.

We ate, went through recipes, did a little shopping, watched TV, played the piano (grandma taught lessons for probably over 50 years),



and I got to show her where I work. She even helped me do some housework and homework with the kids. And grandma always gets the kids practicing the piano! She's a good teacher and the kids respond really well to her! Nice work, grandma (and kids)!



And just as we were leaving to see Downtown Augusta, I got a call from the school that Kyler was sick and needed to come home. So although we didn't get to do all I wanted us to do, we did have such a wonderful time together. And the kids loved having her here, too! It really was a treat!

Now, if I could just get her to write down her stories! :)