Pictures

St Patricks Day

Last year I completely forgot all about St Patricks day. Its not a terribly important holiday to us, but I was really sad I had missed a chance to do something fun and holiday related for the kids. This year I was sure not to forget. During the night we were visited by Leprechauns. They played tricks on us by turning a number of things green and leaving their funny little green foot prints everywhere. They also left us a set of clues that would lead us to their pot of gold. The kids thought it was great, and I had fun adding pureed spinach to all of their food to turn it green. The weather was nice that day so we enjoyed laying in the grass searching for four leaf clovers. The kids even enjoyed the dinner of corned beef and cabbage I made. Although I wasn't too crazy about it.

Jake made up the treasure hunt clues and delivered them with his not so authentic Irish accent.  It makes me smile just remembering it. I love him so!



Each clue that was discovered made the kids even more excited.





Who wouldn't be excited to find this pot of gold?



I realized I haven't taken many photos of Autumn the past few weeks.  She is sure doing a good job of growing.  She is just the perfect chubby little baby.  I love to snuggle her like a cuddly teddy bear.



Ellie must have the most amazing dreams, she always seems to wake up with the silliest hair.  One morning she walked out of her room with this bouffant hair. She must have been dreaming about the 1960's.



Ahhh SPRING

Just as we set our clocks ahead an hour it seemed Spring decided to show up as well.  I for one was in need of the extra hour of daylight and the warm sunny rays as I have been feeling a little blue and home sick since we were not able to go to Utah for my brother Chazes's farewell. One of my least favorite things is being cooped up in the house, and thanks to the nice weather the past two weeks, we have hardly been home at all. It has been heavenly! Thank you Spring!


I'm not the only one who likes the sunshine.


 

She is even sweeter then she is cute!
(and feistier...)
Today I watched her defend her big brother by hitting a little boy who threw sand at Hudson.
She is quite the little lady!



Just about everyday we head over to the farm behind our apartment so that Ellie can see the "Ponies".





This little brown horse loves to nip, but for some reason it is Hudson's favorite.
I can't figure out why anyone would like that.

 

I don't make Hudson wear his helmet everywhere we go...although sometimes I think he needs to....
he just happens to ride his bike nearly everywhere we go. :) 



We have been able to go on some family bike rides and Hudson does a pretty good job keeping up with us.
Its been so fun to all go together. Even Autumn enjoys the ride.



Ahh the things you think you will never do before you become a parent.
Like, spending money to go watch "Elmo Live" and enjoy it.
Jake and I just sat back and enjoyed every minute of watching their little faces light up as the watched the show.

  Hudson is still in love with learning about the moon and the planets in the solar system.  It has been particularly lucky that Jupiter and Venus have been so amazing to the view lately.  We have had a lot of fun out star gazing with him.  He was really excited to get a special package of space books from Uncle Ross in the mail.  Everyday he tells me, "Mom lets talk about (insert planet name here)." We spend a lot of time talking about them, especially Jupiter, which he tells me is his favorite because it spins the fastest.  He tells me he rides his bike as fast as Jupiter. I love that he loves to learn.

March

Three little kids are snuggled up tight in their beds and Jake is off doing splits with the missionaries, so I finally have a moment to write. I have gotten really behind on sleep this week and have enjoyed the past few days with migraines. I just took a sleeping pill to force myself into getting a little shut eye. My goal is to report the past few weeks before my head gets too fuzzy as I am quite overdue.

By this time next week my little brother Chaze will be a missionary. I’m so happy for him that he will get to have this experience. It has been sad to not be able to be there to see him off…..not to mention the big pit barbecue I’m missing out on, ha ha. I really wish I could be there to sit around the fire and spend time with all my family. It will be a long time until we can all be together again, but I couldn’t be happier for Chaze. Last night we were able to video chat with him, so that the kids could see him and say goodbye. Technology is such a blessing. I just wish there was a way to send hugs as well. The people of Houston Texas have no idea how lucky they are to be getting such a great guy.

"Tamalada"
After talking with other friends from the west about how we missed Mexican food, I decided I wanted to make tamales. Making them is quite a lengthy process. I figured it would be a fun project to do with some friends; so we hosted a tamale making party. The kids all enjoyed playing together while the moms got to chat and make tamales. Hours and hours later everyone went home with a large bag of tamales, and my freezer is stuffed full of the tasty little things. I think my apartment is going to smell like Mexican food for at least a month.



Some people might not think that goggles are required for baths. 
These people do not bath with Hudson and Ellie.

 As well as practicing his deep sea diving, Hudson has been obsessed with space.  We started by studying the phases of the moon and it has ignited a huge fascination with outer space. It has been fun for me because I loved astronomy as a kid. He loves to turn his toys into diagrams of the solar system, with the nine planets revolving around the sun. Tonight he was really concerned about why Pluto is not a planet anymore. "Poor poor Pluto", he told me." "Now he has to be a dwarf."  Tomorrow the moon with be full. We have been counting it down for almost two weeks now and you would think a celebrity was coming the kids are so excited. 

Hudson's cautious riding didn't last for long.  He is back to dare devil tactics. I caught this picture of he and Ellie being so true to their own characters today.  Hudson is riding his bike and drinking at the same time.  Ellie was fascinated with her shadow and chased it all over the park. Ohh I love them! 

Hello Ellie



For about a week everyone but Jake was pretty sick.  We spent a lot of time in jamies laying around the house.  Little Autumn was such a sad sick little slug.  Fortunately she is feeling much better and back to her smiley sweet little self,
as are the rest of us.



 Autumn is so rollie pollie, and not just her chubbiness. She started rolling over last week. Its been so fun to watch her. I can see how proud of herself she is each time she does it. She also got her first freckle, which I'm sure with the genes she has, will be the first of many. 

                                          
                                                      Ahhhh time for bed! Good Night!