Best friends

These two are the cutest of friends. True, Elle pulls hair sometimes and shrieks in disapproval if Paige doesn't do what she wants her to, but Paige is incredibly patient with her and they are usually joined at the hip while playing around the house.

Since Grandpa was taking them on an outing, I figured matching outfits would make it easier to keep track of them both. They thought being twins for a day was pretty cool.Love these girls. Seriously.

"Dancing is my life!"

It's been dance concert season at our house: a ballet recital a month ago and then 3 concerts this past weekend. Christian takes an all boys' hip hop class and loves it, Haley takes a creative dance class and Paige takes 3 dance classes (ballet, tap and jazz -- as she said, "Dancing is my life!") My niece, Ali, was also in the concerts and is a beautiful dancer. She reminds me of her mother at that age. I was so proud of them all.

Faces

Revelation

I am not a runner. Never have been. I hated having to run laps in P.E. in jr. high and couldn't ever run as far as the other kids. Over all these years, I've convinced myself that I'm just not a runner and have been content to walk instead.

I walked (and ran a tiny, tiny bit) in the Race for the Cure 5K last year and ambitiously decided to try and run the whole thing this year. But as I'd run at the track with my friend in preparation, I'd quickly lose my breath and be frustrated at how little of a distance I could actually run. Further than last year, thanks to the incredibly difficult but awesome exercise class I've been taking for the past 8 months, but still a pathetically short distance compared to most people.

Until this morning. My running partner, Steph, said to me, "I think we're trying to run too fast." I laughed out loud because it felt like we were running pretty slowly already. But we cut our speed almost in half .... and quadrupled the distance we were able to run without stopping! I was blown away. I am actually looking forward to running again and seeing how much I can improve my distance over the next few weeks. Never thought I'd use those words to describe myself.

This "revelation" for me is a huge "No duh" for all of you, but it's cool to feel some excitement about running for the first time ... ever. I'm not promising that I'll be able to run the whole 5K next month but I'm sure going to try and am excited at the prospect. That, my friends, is a first for me.

Stop it!

One of my favorite things to do is snuggle with my kids in bed in the morning. Elle is usually the first one awake and will call "Mom! I awake!" We'll bring her in bed and the next thing out of her mouth is "Kids show!" so we'll find Sesame Street or something else on tv at 6:45am.

This morning, Haley was already in bed with us when Elle asked for a kids' show. I found Dora the Explorer and then heard this:

Haley: "No! Not Dora!"
Elle: "Stop it! That my Dora. That my friend."

Spoken like a true 2 year old.

Surprise spa night

The other night, Mike and I took 2 of the kids for a walk and left the other 2 home since they begged not to go. Little did I know, Paige had a plan up her sleeve. When we got home, we walked into the kitchen and found this:She had raided my lotion and nail polish collection, borrowed my jewelry, made signs for the door, laid out a "bed" made of kitchen chairs and a paper towel blanket and had a large bowl of water for me to soak my feet. She thought of everything.I might just leave her home more often if I get treatment like this when I get back. :)

Big brothers are the best

Without my sister ....

I have 2 amazing sisters. My older sister, Erin's birthday was this week. She's been one of my best friends throughout most of my life and I've learned so much from her. Just thought I'd share a few of those things:

Without my sister ....
1. I wouldn't have moved to Bountiful. She kept sending Mike and me house-fact sheets and eventually wooed us up north. We live 2 minutes away from each other, which has been so great in so many ways.
2. I wouldn't be as familiar with near as many musicians as I am. She is a music lover through and through and is always introducing me to a new band or song.
3. I wouldn't attend as many late-night movies as I do. It's our big escape together. Not so much lately since her pregnant body needs more sleep. :)
4. I wouldn't have learned as many great parenting tips. Because she started having kids before me (and is still having them after me ... hmmm), it's been great for me to learn from her experience. Everything from how to get a 7 week old baby to fall asleep on their own in their crib to advice about raising teenagers.
5. I wouldn't have someone to shop with for last minute holiday gifts. We've often power-shopped at Target or somewhere at 10pm the night before Easter or late in the Christmas season to get it all done.
6. I wouldn't have had such a great 10 year wedding anniversary. (Don't take that the wrong way, Mike!) The 4 of us traveled to Europe together for Mike and my anniversary and Erin's 35th birthday. So many great memories....
7. I wouldn't have spent as much time as I did at the UofU as a kid. Erin acted in many plays at the U in their children's theater program and I went to many of her play practices with her. I remember exploring the Pioneer Memorial Theater more than I probably should have. See, Erin? You gave me my love for the U. :)
8. I wouldn't have such well-dressed kids. Love all the hand-me-downs.
9. I wouldn't have someone to borrow random food ingredients from. My neighbors might beg to differ but Erin is my usual go-to person for forgotten grocery items, and vice-versa.
10. I wouldn't have met my husband. You all know the story but their college crush led to my eternal marriage.

Happy birthday, my dear Erin. I couldn't ask for a better big sister.

Tooooo many clothes

My older 2 girls share a room and a closet. It's the largest closet in the house, but they need it considering the amount of clothing they collectively own. You might be shocked at the sheer volume of clothes, but I have only purchased maybe 20% of it. We are happy recipients of lots and lots of hand-me-downs from cousins.

The problem with this ginormous closet is that it frequently goes from this ....
....to this:
(I can't get these pictures to turn upright -- curses!) I find myself hating this closet and all of their clothes, which always wind up on the floor, trampled under foot. Part of the problem, admittedly, is having too many clothes. Part of it is having a 5 yr. old who loves to change clothes 5 times a day. Part of the problem is also all of the open shelving -- there are no drawers to close off the mess.

I'm sure no one else's children have closets that look like this. At least that's what I tell my girls ... guilt is one way to motivate, right?

Easter checklist

Color eggs and manage to make the previously white countertops lovely shades of blue, pink, green and yellow -- check.Special re-telling of the Easter story before the bunny madness began -- check.Finding the myriad of jelly beans hidden all around the house that the Easter Bunny leaves -- check.
Eating candy for breakfast -- check.Finding the hidden easter baskets & squealing with delight -- check. Older kids' frustration growing as they couldn't immediately find their baskets -- check. That Easter Bunny finds harder places every year ...Easter egg hunt at Grandma and Grandpa Mayfield's house after Sunday dinner -- check.Gathering all of the extra Easter candy late Sunday night; throwing it all away so the sugar-fest doesn't continue throughout the coming week (I'm talking about saving me from major candy consumption here, not so much the kids) -- check.

Happy Easter!

Babysitting

We don't own a dog. Not because my children don't want one (or continually beg for one)..... but because mom and dad just aren't willing to make the commitment. I don't want to scoop poop out of our yard. Or off of the carpet. Ick. Once in a great while, I feel the slightest tinge of "We should have a puppy" but it is quickly replaced by "Are you crazy, woman?!" when I hear other people complain about their puppies and how it's just like having a toddler. I already have one, thanks, and she keeps me on my toes plenty.

Rudy (half pictured above) is my sister's dog. She asked us to babysit him while they went out of town. Since she made my vacation recently possible by watching all 4 of my kids, I figured I owed her one. We've actually taken care of Rudy before so I wasn't entirely clueless about what it would entail. (Entail! I'm killing myself.) He happens to be a dream dog. Truly. He doesn't bark, doesn't lick, doesn't jump, hardly sheds and loves to just hang out wherever we are. My kids adore him. This week was a great lesson in what it takes to have a dog .... they all took turns walking him around the block (and quite often fought over whose turn it was), they made sure he went out in the back to do his business and they'll all get a chance to pick up his business later. Good times.

Yesterday, as Paige and I took Rudy for a walk, I told her that we would be taking him back home today. She sadly said, "But I want to keep him. He's precious and so delightful." After I stopped chuckling at her choice of language (do all 5 year olds talk like that?), I told her I absolutely agreed with her. He's been great practice for my kids in dog-owning. Who knows? Maybe I'll have a moment of insanity and get a dog someday. If I do, please let it be as "delightful" as Rudy.

Spring Fever

Spring Break is in full swing. We rarely go out of town for Spring Break since daddy's law firm doesn't recognize it as a week-long holiday. Go figure. So we're having a stay-cation ... doing one fun thing every day with lots of outdoor activities in between. (We're also throwing in a few doctor's visits for the strep epidemic at our house, but I digress....)

Yesterday's warm weather had us throwing open the windows and doors and heading outside. Christian watched the neighbor boys set up their lemonade stand in the morning and decided he would try a different tactic ... a warm, chocolate chip cookie stand late in the afternoon when people are feeling snack'ish. So we made cookies ....lots and lots of cookies.Christian wasn't sure why I kept sending his little sisters out to help him. I assured him they were good for business. And apparently they were, because they all made $13 from the venture. That kicks a lemonade sale!Of course, some of the inventory had to be sampled for quality control.Wait ... what's that?Aahhhh ... kids after my own heart. Apparently the apple doesn't fall far from the tree.Here was the strep victim yesterday. Poor girl had to watch the festivities from the window.She plans on having her own cookie sale soon, though. No way big brother can make that kind of money without her wanting in on the action.

The little girls thought it was warm enough for a "swimming party," which basically meant that they filled up large cups of water and threw them on each other. Once their teeth were chattering sufficiently, they agreed to transfer the swimming party to the tub.Gotta love the warm weather for spring break. That's a good combination.