Behold...the True Mara

A picture is worth a thousand words. And although there is not much that can be added, I will still give a little commentary. First, one of the best part of this "outfit" are the snow boots she is wearing that you can't see. Second, she wore this outfit ALL day. She got upset when she had to take it off for bed. After a whole day in snowboots, her feet were very hot, sweaty, and stinky. The hair - Karl was vacuuming (he's such a great husband!) and Mara likes to get her hair vacuumed up with the tube, so Karl got some hairspray and sprayed it while he was vacuuming it. One thing that is hard to see is the lipstick that she put on herself earlier in the day. It has worn off quite a bit, but you can still see some of it. What is there to say about the cheesy smile? It speaks for itself. So for those of you who tell me that Mara is always dressed so cute and has her hair so pretty, you see that it is all just a facade. Behold...the true Mara!

Extreme Hall Monitor

On Valentine's Day Cruz came home from school with a large, red welt on his cheek. When we asked him what happened he said that one of the boys in his class hit him with his coat and the zipper hit him in the face. When we asked Cruz what he did when it happened he told us that he kicked the kid. We asked what Ms. Cruz did, but he said she didn't see.

So, yesterday I get a call from Cruz's teacher, Ms. Cruz, and she tells me she has a funny story about Cruz. Now, Cruz is incredibly quiet at school. Yes, I know, I am sure you are so shocked by that.:) He never speaks to Ms. Cruz unless she asks him a direct question, and he whispers then. Here's the story I hear from Ms. Cruz. She was in the luchroom cleaning up after they had been in there for PE and a student comes running in saying that there are some boys fighting in the middle room (that's a small room between two of the kindergarten rooms where they keep supplies and toys). She said she went in there and Cruz and two other boys from his class were in there. Just for some background info, one of the boys is a real trouble-maker, and the other boy is the same one who hit him with his coat. So Ms. Cruz starts getting onto them and Cruz got VERY vocal. He told her he wasn't doing anything wrong. She told me that she took Cruz to the side and told him that she knew he wasn't doing anything wrong and that it was the other boys and not Cruz who were in trouble. The reason she had called me is because she was so surprised that he had actually spoken up, and thought it was great, and really hoped he would feel like he could speak up now.

I asked Cruz about it and here was the story I got. The other two boys were trying to get the recess cart out and it wasn't time for it. He was trying to stop them. He was fighting them over the cart. So, despite what Ms. Cruz thinks, Cruz was in the great big middle of it all. I guess that's one of the perks of being the quiet guy, nobody thinks you do anything wrong. So, of course I had to explain to Cruz that if someone is doing something wrong either tell the teacher, or just go sit in his seat. Don't fight them.

So, he's kicking kids that hurt him and fighting kids that are doing stuff they shouldn't. I guess I don't have to worry about him standing up for himself. Karl says he's the "extreme hall monitor." I hope he relaxes a bit before someone catches on that he's not so innocent and he starts getting in trouble. Who would have thought that of all our kids it would be Cruz who would have problems fighting at school? I'm scared to see what happens when Kenyon and Mara go.

Going to the Dentist

Today the kids went to the dentist. My kids LOVE going to the dentist. I think it has something to do with the prize they get at the end. It was Mara's 1st time. She did so well. During all of her recent trips to the doctor she refused to open her mouth when they asked, so I was a little bit worried about her opening her mouth for the dentist. When they asked, she opened her mouth so big, right away. Whew! What a relief! She did a great job, even better than her two older brothers.

The results...

Mara - perfect

Kenyon - perfect

Cruz - one small cavity that is scheduled to get filled on March 27th.

This is the 1st dental problem we've encountered with our kids, so I guess we can't complain.

What a cute Valentine!

Cruz came home from school today dressed up as a big Valentine for his mom. How sweet! He was so cute I just had to get a picture. He looks really thrilled about the whole thing, doesn't he?

Valentine's Day Toast

We have a family tradition of having heart-shaped toast for breakfast on Valentine's Day. It may not seem like much, just cinnamon toast cut with a cookie cutter, but it's a hit. I think it's the only morning of the year that all my kids want the same thing for breakfast.

Another Trip to the Doc

We knew we were leary of having a trampoline for a reason. With all the snow, the kids have been able to use their trampoline only a few times since Stokes got it for them. Well, today Kenyon fell while getting off.

I wish I had taken a picture of his arm before it got wrapped, but then again it may have made some people queasy, so I guess its just as well that I didn't. Anyway, it looked pretty bad so we took him to the UrgentCare clinic. Why does everything happen after regular Dr. office hours?
They took an X-ray and our luck must have turned, because it wasn't broken. I guess the curse of January has been lifted. He said it was a really hard hit, and that he had a lot of internal bleeding in his arm - that's why it looked so bad. So he wrapped it up and sent us on our way.

Poor Kenyon! Even though it's not broken, it still hurts. When he went to sleep tonight he said, "Maybe when I wake up it won't hurt anymore." Awwww. That's enough to break your heart.

One Very Scary Dinosaur

Mara is learning all about dinosaurs from Kenyon. She was pretending to be "too-ah raptor" (that's Utahraptor). Although I am sure if Kenyon saw this he would tell her that Utahraptor doesn't make that sound, and then proceed to tell her the sound it makes, how many claws it has, that it is a carnivore, exactly what dinosaur is its favorite food, and all other important information. Then he would go get his Utahraptor, pull out his dinosaur encyclopedia, and compare the two noticing every minor error the toy manufacturer may have made, and asking me twenty times why they made the toy that way. Can you say obsessive, one-track mind? So, however inaccurate Mara's Utahraptor impression may be, it is still very cute.

Feel the Music

Karl had been asking Cruz questions and having him say stuff to the camera when cruz suddenly breaks out into dance. Notice there is no music. I guess when the feeling comes, you just have to dance.

Snow Top 10

I'm sure I'm not the only one, but I am so sick of snow I am about to scream. Really, I need to see some grass soon, or I might just completely lose my mind. So, with all this snow, what else is there to blog about? So here are my top 10 things to do with all this snow...
10. Shovel.
9. Build a snow mountain and play "King of the Mountain."
8. Sled down your snow mountain.
7. Shovel.
6. Build a snow cave.
5. Build a REALLY big snowman.
4. Shovel.
3. Make snow angles.
2. Make fresh snow slushies.
And the number one thing to do with all this snow...
1. Shovel.

This can't be a good idea.

I am so ready for spring.

I've Been Tagged!

Thanks to Natalie, I've been tagged. I hate these things because I can barely remember what I did yesterday, let alone 10 years ago, but it's always fun to read what other people put, so here we go...
1. What was the best thing you cooked last week?
Chicken Tacos, not exciting, but very yummy.

2. If money, time and babysitting were no object, where would you go and with who?
I would tour France and Italy with Karl. Along the way my top priority stop would be at the Louve where I would want to spend several days. This is my dream vacation and not Karl's, who would probably not be too excited about several days at the Louvre. If we had to agree on where we would go, I think we would probably end up on a completely different continent; maybe Australia.

3. When was the last time you cried?
Sunday. Is it possible to get through church without crying? Maybe for people who have even the smallest control over their tear ducts. That obviously doesn't include me. I think my tear duct are controlled by some part of my brain that I cannot consiously reach.

4. Five things you were doing 10 years ago?
Who can remember these things? I had to ask Karl.
1. Moved from Arkansas to New Mexico.
2. We were always playing with our chihuahua, Paco. He was our only child.
3. Bought a truck and went 4-wheeling a lot.
4. We went on a lot of picnics in the mountains.
5. This was before kids. We don't remember that life. What did we do?

5. Five things you were doing 5 years ago?
Again, I had to consult Karl.
1. Kenyon was born.
2. Cruz was one and Kenyon was a baby. You can guess what I spent my time doing.
3. I was a demonstrator for Stampin' Up!
4. I started going back to school.
5. We were living in Pleasant Grove.

6. Five things you were doing 1 year ago?
Will this never end?
1. Still going to school.
2. Living in Lehi.
3. Karl was getting ready for graduation.
4. Having lots of fun at book club.
5. Not shoveling as much snow as this year.

7. Seven of your favorite hobbies:
This is what I could think of off the top of my head. It will probably be different tomorrow.
1. Reading
2. Reading
3. Reading
4. Scrapbooking
5. Cooking
6. Blogging
7. Sewing

8. Five favorite foods:
I'm really not hungry right now, so it is hard to think of my favorites.
1. Cheesecake, any kind.
2. Beef Chimichangas
3. Stoby's Cheese Dip
4. Smoothies
5. Tomato and cucumber salad

9. Five places you've been:
1. Germany
2. Italy
3. Puerto Penasco, Mexico
4. Yellowstone
5. Las Vegas

10. Five favorite memories: (in no particular order)
1. Marrying Karl.
2, 3, and 4. Seeing each of my kids for the first time.
5. Being sealed to my parents.

11. People I will be tagging are:
No one. I cannot bring myself to inflict this pain on another. Sorry, I broke the chain. I wonder what terrible luck will befall me now?

A "Super" Birthday

Cruz turned 6 (can you believe it?) on Saturday. He had a superhero themed party. It had to be ALL the superheros, not just one. Everyone got to come dressed as their favorite superhero. We started the party with pizza and Batman cartoons. We played games and everyone made their own lifesized superhero. Of course, the highlight of any party is the cake, ice cream, and presents. Cruz made quite the haul. He was all smiles.

Pizza and Batman

The Birthday Boy

Presents

Mara was a darling "Batgirl"

About 2 weeks before the party, Karl and Cruz did a littl science project together and grew some "Kryptonite." It was rock candy and it took about 10 days for the rocks to form. Everyone got some "Kryponite" in their party favor bag. What a fun day... thank goodness its over.