Eating Outside

March weather has been perfect here! Too bad once April begins, it'll be 90 and then 100 and 110 and beyond. In an attempt to spend as much time as possible outdoors, we've become frequent picnicers. At first I thought it would reduce my time spent in the kitchen but I'm amazed at how much work a dinner picnic for five actually requires. Napkins, spoons, and such; sippy cups, water bottles, peeled vegetables, sliced fruit... not to mention the sandwiches which must be custom made for each individual. Let's see - we have cookie cutter shapes, no condiments at all, just vegetables, heavy on the hot mustard, or all the ingredients separated in the bag so it's not actually a sandwich but just the sandwich makings to be eaten one at a time. I do admit that it's nice to come home from a picnic and realize I've already done all the work (although I still need to wash the blanket and wipe out the food bag and rinse the sippy cups & tupperware, etc.).

I've really come to love a good picnic though. I think it's because it is real time together. No phone ringing, no email to check, no one at the door; just us! I love how being in nature or just being outside helps relax us and bring us together. I'm not sure we'll be able to brave a dinner meal in May when it's steamy hot. We'll keep it up as long as we can!

Egg Hunt

Pictures of our street's annual egg hunt! Each year we gather in front of our driveway and let the kids run through the yards grabbing eggs. Madeline was sick today with a fierce cough and runny nose. I was so sad that I couldn't be at church today for Easter... Michael would have stayed but couldn't with his many Sunday duties. I guess the more children you have, the more risk of one being sick and having to stay home.

All day Madeline wanted to be held while moan/crying for what she needed. That is, until the egg hunt! When the children were given the go-ahead to start filling their baskets, she ran right in there and started at it. Of course the candy eating afterward made her happy as could be. My children always remind me to find joy in the simple things.

"I'm hungry..."

It's a phrase we hear frequently in our home... usually immediately following dinner, too! The dishes are not even rinsed before Brendan or Audrey come pleading, "I'm hungry!" When they are in their more dramatic moods they even go as far as, "I'm starving!" It's as though we had only fed the poor children four peas for dinner. It's amazing! And quite entertaining, too.

I usually just shrug off their request and refresh their short memory that they...JUST ATE! But today I had to turn my head when little Maddie Kate came up to me with sweet pleading eyes and said, "I'n hungy." I had to ask her to say it again just to make sure I was hearing correctly. Who would have guessed that one of Madeline's first full sentences would be, "I'm hungry." I had to pull out the camera to capture the moment and the face. Check out this plea for more food...

I know well that when the kids say they are hungry, they don't really mean they are hungry for more spaghetti and broccoli, but rather they are hungry for cookies, goldfish, and Life cereal... or anything sweet. It is great that even my 20 month old thinks that by claiming she is somehow deprived of a major necessity in life that she can convince her Dad that we need more treats and snacks around the house... but it works!! I mean...who doesn't want a treat after dinner; and there is no one more willing to give in to this plea than Dad himself.

They must have learned the phrase from someone. I don't recall following up a great dinner with , "Wow, honey, this was a great meal... I'm hungry." But if it works for the kids, it might have to give it a try.

26.2...

On New Year's Day '08 I finished my first marathon in Kingwood, TX. Thanks to Michael for supporting me during the months of my marathon training! Every Saturday morning he took care of things so I could recover from insanely long training runs in my ice bath. The night before the big day, Brendan prayed "for mom to win her race." I explained that just finishing this race would be the same as winning!

Marathoners before...

Getting our numbers...
Here's the warmup shot... Michael took this gorgeous shot from the course...

On the course... And the medal display... during these pictures my thoughts drifted to the amazing similarities between finishing a marathon and natural childbirth. What a rush!

2007 Pictures

Here are some cute kid pics from 2007:

Can you find my autumnal decor in the background? This year I tried to change themes for each holiday. It's amazing how many decorative items you can find around the house or in the yard...

When the aprons come on, you know there'll be crazy fun at our house!

Unfortunately, these same poses sometimes appear at church too, especially about 25 minutes into sacrament meeting.

Brendan and Audrey saw their first live performance of the Nutcracker in December. Although I wasn't sure how much they'd enjoy it, they actually sat throught the whole thing and loved it.

Madeline, our spunky 20 month old. She's an absolute doll.

Brendan loses his first tooth...

Sir Brendan the Knight

Brendan makes his very own Lego sword.

This 4th of July cake was such a hit with B & A that we made it twice in the same week.

Madeline's first birthday

At Galveston beach

A typical Audrey pose...

Brendan's first piano recital

Battleship Texas with Kooper, Jacoba, and Mom

Brendan's first baseball season.

Too bad there's no sound for this shot... it sounded something like "aarrrrrgh!"

Audrey as a "ballerina fairy princess" Madeline watches timidly during the mentos geyser experiment (basically exploding soda into the air with a pack of mentos).


We were freezing! (Ok so it was only in the 50's - but in Houston, that's about as cold as it gets!) :)

Here goes...

My first blog entry! Hooray... after months of reading friend blogs and feeling deep emotions as I learn about recent events of old, dear friends I resolved to finally start one of our own. Here's the quick rundown of our life:

• Michael and I have been married for almost 8 years
• We met as BYU Folkdancers
• We moved to Texas and built a home here in 2004
• We have three brilliant, beautiful children
• I own a dance studio! (www.studioonedancers.com)
• Besides teaching dance and caring for the kiddos, I love to run - I just finished the Texas Marathon on January 1, 2008!!