General Conference

Twice a year we get to listen to the words of our modern prophets.  I've always loved conference  weekend however; since having kids I feel like we haven't been able to hear the talks as well.  So this year I decided to put together conference bags for the boys as well as a fun treat activity.  

For the bags, I set up two tables in the front room as their workstations.  This is where they got to put puzzles together, sort pom poms, play with play-doh, color pictures, stack cereal, and a bunch of other things. 

For the treat activity, I put different food items (marshmallows, pretzels, goldfish, oreos, licorice, etc) into jars.  Attached to the jars were phrases and/or words that would be said in conference.  Each time they heard a phrase they'd shout it out and then grab the food item.  They loved this.  

I was hoping they'd sit for at least a half hour, but they surprised me and sat for an hour.  They did this for 3 out of the 4 sessions of conference.  What a success!  I'll definitely be doing this next General Conference.  Oh, and because the boys were so focused Casey and I both got to ride our bikes while listening to the speakers.  I love indoor bike trainers!

  

Laundry (sigh)

Laundry is something I've grown to dislike.  I feel like I can never get ahead of it.  Even when I'm really good and do a load everyday somehow it doesn't all get put away.  I just don't know how to tackle it right now in my life.  So when I leave a full laundry basket in the front room and step out for a minute it's a nice surprise to come back and find sweet Eleanor in the basket.  Yes, her older brother put her there and probably shouldn't have been picking her up.  But it makes folding laundry a lot more pleasant.  

Father Son Camp Out

This year we weren't sure if the father son camp out would happen or not.  The weather was horrible so it kept changing.  The boys were excited when we found out that it was on.  It was Olliebug's first year and although he didn't go to sleep that easy Casey said he's glad he brought him.  They had a great time being in the outdoors while Eleanor and I had a great time crafting indoors.  Yeah for the father son camp out.

Baker is for the Letter B

This year I've added some stuff to my preschool mainly because Spencer knows his letters, numbers, most of his site words, colors, and all the other stuff that Oliver needs to start learning.  Now we spend time learning about community helpers and family members.  For the letter B we spotlighted our adorable niece, Bowyn, and learned about Bakers.  I made fun hats for the boys to wear while we baked delicious cookies.  Then when the cookies were finished we delivered them to friends.  Eleanor was in on the mix too.  She likes to do whatever her brothers like to do.  

Push to the Finish Race

Casey was signed up to participate in the Push to the Finish race however; when we arrived he found out that the kid he was racing with wasn't able to race anymore.  So he ended up doing the sprint triathlon race solo.  He was bummed but excited to race.  The kids had fun cheering him on and playing at the awesome nearby park.  

Olliebug + dancing = stitches

One night Ollie was dancing in his room when he should have been going to bed.  When we went to check on him he started showing us his moves.  That's when he twirled too hard and landed on the corner of the bed.  There was blood everywhere.  He hit the corner of his mouth and although it wasn't a long cut it was deep.  We called our doctor and he recommended stitches because of the location of the cut.  So Ollie and Casey headed off to the ER at 9:00 pm.  They got home around 11:30 but Ollie was still so loopy we stayed up for awhile.  Ollie is our first child to get stitches but probably won't be our last.

Eleanor's first bite

Eleanor is 6 months old now which means she gets to try food.  Well, rice cereal and anything else I decide to puree.  She was ready and really enjoyed every bite.  She thought it was funny when we let Spencer feed her.  Right now her favorites are sweet potatoes, apples, and blueberries.  It's crazy how fast she's growing.

Ollie got stung

A few weeks ago Ollie was playing on the back porch.  The next thing I knew he was screaming, pointing to his finger, and saying "bee hurt me".  I immediately started looking at his finger and hand but nothing looked swollen or hurt.  I had him put his hand under cold water which didn't seem to help.  He kept screaming.  That's when I noticed the bee sting.  It was right smack in the middle of his chest.  Poor guy really did get stung.  The stinger was still in so Casey got it out.  He was a brave boy!