Families Can Be Together Forever...

"Families can be together forever. Through Heavenly Father's Plan..."
I like to sing this song to my kids when they are not being cooperative. I don't think they appreciate my singing very much.

I just wanted to get some cute pics of them in their matching chairs. My Mom has bought them all these adorable chairs from pottery barn for each of their first birthdays. Caroline's came the other day but evidently no one was in the mood for a photo op.

What can I say? They're cute even when they're not.

Sthoccer is Sthuper Cool!

This is kind of mean because Bash has a tiny lisp which I think is adorable and which he is rapidly growing out of, dang it. Anyway, he is totally crazy for Soccer (Sthoccer) and here are some great pics. In his first game he scored 6 times. 4 times for his own team and twice for the other, which I thought was very generous of him!

Bash celebrating after one of his goals. He really is a natural athlete, for which I cannot take credit. Todd is very graceful and athletic. Sadly, I am just a tad uncoordinated when it comes to sports.

Half time snack and the post-game wrap up. They don't keep score but I'm pretty sure we won!

Easter...er whatever

Easter is sort of a stressful day when you are in the primary presidency. You want to make sure the kids get the whole resurrection theme, but you also know they are all sugared up from the early-morning candy binge. Herein lies the dilemma: Do you attempt to teach them something deep and meaningful or do you take the "low road" and wind them up even more before sending them back to their parents? We tried both, which didn't go so smoothly and also explains why I look toasted in the Easter pics. I knew we were about to head home so I grabbed Jenny (second counselor and Nanny extraordinaire) and made her take a picture before their carefully coordinated outfits could get covered in chocolate. Sigh. Still waiting for those Easter-Egg hunt pics, too.

I love my adorable husband and daughter. What more can I say?

The Land of Super heroes, Pirates and Chubby Ballerinas

Here are some cute pics of the kids in various states of dress-up. They love to put on costumes. It's a real pain when potty training. That spidey suit is really hard to get in and out of.

I always thought tiny baby ponytails looked obnoxious and stupid. I just can't seem to help myself, though!

Parker makes the best monkey face!

Bash was dressed up for circus day at school.

Okay, so it's pretty obvious that I dressed her up like this.

I have a whole new appreciation for tutus as a fashion statement!

Parker makes an adorable pirate. I was showing the kids the real-life pirate on TV and they were really worried that he must have left his hat somewhere. I can't help but wonder about this new interest in reporting on pirates... does Disney control international crime too?

What a shamless way to promote a movie!

The kids also love star wars and any play fighting. Remember all of those reports that claimed if children watched violent programs they would act more violently? I really thought that was all bull. I now believe it. Spiderman, Transformers, Star Wars, and even Indiana Jones DVDs have all gone missng in our house, coincidentally.

(Relax, I occasionally "find" the movies and allow them to watch just to assure myself I am doing the right thing! )


More often than not, Parker's number one costume choice is the pirate hat (adorably too big for his head) and a batman cape.

One day I'm sure I will miss the days of super heroes and pirates.

A cold day in January

I think this is the most perfect snow angel I've seen. Of course, it was made by my perfect angel Sebastian. ;)

It's beautiful here when it snows... until it melts and turns to gray slush and muddy floors for Mommy to clean!

Here's Bash

And ParkBash has taken to sledding much better than swimming. Parker is the opposite. He hates everything cold and loves the water. Here he contributes to the snow shoveling effort in his own small way while his brother sleds!