Fourth of July

Annie and Her "Twin" (Aunt Emily)
Our Annual 4th of July Family Picture

David is Turning Six!

David had a Lego birthday party today. I followed my wise mother's advice and invited only one friend per year alive = 6 friends. That was great advice and very manageable. We had a Lego hunt, A Lego Toss, A Lego Pinata and A Lego Build with candy Lego Blox. The pinata and cake were homemade--- or should I say, homely. Come on, I am the first to admit I don't have talents in the arts.....for further evidence check out the cake. Cakes are harder than they look--you need skills (and fondant--I found out the hard way) . I will never judge pictures online again. "Oh, I can do better than that..." No sir-ee--I have eaten a little humble pie. The only good part is that six year olds don't care. David thought it was the best party ever--so it was all worth it.
If you want to feel old then add up your kids' birthdays. For me, 3+7+6 = 16. That's a lot of birthdays. When my kids were born I started the tradition of writing them a letter for each birthday. I just figured out that I have writted 16 letters--- I think this year I am passing the torch to Clint. I'll have to let him know.


In other news....our kids have been begging for us to throw pies in their faces (?) Hmmm...I know, we thought it was strange too. Finally we gave in a few weeks ago and did a banana cream pie throw. The kids' enthusiasm for the activity dwindled with their age---as you can see in the pictures. Annie wanted the full throw--the boys were fine with just a little on their nose. They asked for it....

After

Annie's FHE

Annie taught another great Family Home Evening tonight. We each got food that we had to categorize as "H" (Healthy) or "NH" (Not Healthy). Matthew was disappointed to learn that ice-cream wasn't healthy. After our informative lesson we ate chocolate chip cookies.

A Time Appropriate FHE

Since Annie (7 years old) has been in charge of our Monday Family Home Evening Lessons, our attendence and attention has improved substantially. Every week, unassisted, she comes up with really great topics and games. This week she talked about watching TV on Sunday and how we can make better choices. She made a TV and had us choose between this.....

Or This.... (Daniel and the Lion's Den)

Clint and I glanced at each other so proud of our daughter......then Clint announced that his "Sunday Afternoon Meeting" would now have to be moved to a "friend's" house...Hmmm....what's going on next Sunday? Something about a Bowl.... How did Annie know?..... Kids are amazing.

A Threat?

Today we found this on our front porch....A death threat?.......Fortunately, it was just Clint's new suit. I think we'll keep it for Halloween.

How we're paying for Christmas...

My neighbor was visiting and noticed that my storage closet was filled with jars of Postum....."Oh, you guys like Postum?"... I replied, "No, actually we don't like Postum, but it is going to pay for Christmas." You may remember Clint's blog post two years ago. He got the word from a bird that Postum was being discontinued. He went around to all the local stores and purchased every jar of Postum he could find. He promised me it would be a gold mine.... I have been begging him for two years to sell it on ebay. Finally, it is time and the Postum jars are going to be history....and hopefully pay for Christmas. (If any family members would prefer Postum instead of Christmas presents...we can definitely work that out)

History Repeats Itself

I found this picture last night going through old boxes. I think I was about seven years old. My mom made my costume.
Annie--age 7. I made the costume. A fun coincidence.

Our Favorite Kiddos

Matthew would rather play iphone than get dressed up for Halloween.

We're Back!

It's been a while....here we are.

Our Spooky Pumpkin

Our other "Jack-O-Lantern"

And...When you don't buy toy weapons for little boys...they make them....

Family Pictures

Easter Kids




Our Prank on Mom






Our Newest Swimmmer (especially if he remembers to keep his mouth closed)

Our Trip to Morro Bay and Pismo Beach

The King is Alive and Well

Happy Valentine's Day to my "Soul Man". Clint performed at our ward Broadway Night reprising his high-school performance of the Pharoah in Joseph and the Technicolor Dreamcoat.

Where have we been?

Well, it's been about two months since our last post. I guess "The Tooth" took a trip. Maybe, we got a little discouraged when we learned that our targeted blog audience (i.e. grandma and grandpa) didn't even remember our blog name...or maybe "The Tooth" decided it wasn't so cool after all to be a boy-blogger....anyhow, we are back. Here's some of what we've been up to.....

What Year I Belong In....

You Belong in 1983

Wild, over the top, and just a little bit cheesy. You're colorful at night - and successful during the day.

What Year Do You Belong In?

Oh really, I wouldn't have guessed......

Free Gifts

Brotherly Love

Fall Family

Family Time

(Balboa Beach, photos by our talented friend Kelli)

Math is Two!

Our baby turned two this week. Matthew, lovingly referred to as "Math" or for those members of our family who can't pronounce that, it's "Map". Matthew is so full of energy and joy, we all love him. For his birthday, I took the kids to "Pump It Up", a child's inflatable dream land. Ever since, David has been talking about how much he loves "Pubba-dump"

Mom: How old are you?
Matthew: "Good"
Mom: What's your name?
Matthew: "Two" (while holding up one finger)
Mom: How are you?
Matthew: "Matt" (No one else calls him Matt)