First Haircuts

This past weekend we went to Ohio. Aunt Marsha gave Madelyn and Naomi their first haircuts.

Madelyn sat like a champ and loved the attention. Her hair is so thin and was in desperate need of a little re-shaping.

Naomi was her typical self. She sat in the chair and hardly made a sound. She wasn't sure what to think of the experience, but was still co-operative. Holding Dora helped her make it through.

Thanks, Aunt Marsha, for taking care of our little princesses!

Homemade Play-doh

A few weeks ago Will and Bruce came home from a friend's house and were so excited to share the recipe with me for homemade play-doh. We have a ton of play-doh in the house so I was not excited to make more. Will begged me to make it so we did one Sunday afternoon. To my delight, it was very simple and not at all messy to make. The kids loved how smooth it was to play with and loved getting to pick out their own colors. For the brave ones, here is the recipe:

1 Cup salt

2 Cups flour

2 Cups water

2 TBLS salad oil

2 tsp cream of tartar

Mix everything together in a saucepan. Cook until it thickens and forms a ball. Remove from the heat and knead on a floured surface. Add food coloring of choice. Store in airtight container.

Friday Night Live

Last night was the 20th annual Friday Night Live sleepover at our kids' school. This week has been "Love to Read" week at school. Last night the week was capped off with 179 fourth through sixth grade students sleeping over at the school. They have lots of fun activities throughout the night, including reading. The principal's daughter has a band and performed for them and there was also a comedian. Justin had to meet at the church early this morning so we picked him up at 11 p.m. last night, but Elizabeth stayed all night. Last year she didn't want to participate, but this year her and her best friend, Anna, decided to be brave. They had a great time!

It's the little things...

I love making the kids feel special on their birthday. It's one day they get to pick what we have for breakfast and dinner, skip out on chores, and feel extra love from everyone. This year I put these streamers up on Justin's door after he went to bed the night before his birthday. It took me about five minutes, but has received so much attention. Bruce wondered why I didn't do that for his birthday. Madelyn has the next birthday and wonders if I will hang them for her. How long will they be up? Will we do this for everyone's birthdays from now on, etc... It makes me realize sometimes such a small effort can make such a big difference in making someone feel special.

Justin turns 12!

We had such a busy day today that we had Justin open his gifts before he went to school this morning. Of course, he didn't mind not having to wait until tonight! He has a coin collection he has been working on the past few years so we added the folder for the Presidential dollar coins to his collection.

This year he was very excited about the money and gift cards he received. This past year he has taken to buying and selling stuff on Amazon. He lists stuff all by himself and is so proud when it sells. He does the research to find out what he should list it for and everything. It's kind of become a hobby for him and a great way to finance what he wants to buy!

Turning 12 is a big deal in our church. He will now be a part of the youth program at church. The timing for his birthday was perfect because this weekend he will be able to go to the Chicago LDS temple. Tonight his grandparents were here from Ohio along with a few friends from church to see him officially enter the youth program.

Top things we love about Justin:

• He loves playing with and showing off his little sisters
• Loves to bake
• Great swimmer
• Loves to learn and can find just about anything between Google or Amazon
• Loves his ipod touch and facetime with his friends
• Great student
• Dad's movie partner to see all of the super hero flicks
• Responsible
• Holds most of the Wii records in the house
• Mows the lawn

Happy Birthday, Justin!

Melts my heart

These little girls love their Daddy and they love being read to. This is one of about 20 books Naomi brought in for Aaron to read. About ten minutes after I took this picture, Madelyn came downstairs and told me "Daddy's asleep in the chair, Mom!" I went upstairs and Naomi was patiently sitting next to him looking at books (I should have taken a picture of that too)! Whenever Aaron reads to the kids he always tells me he doesn't know how I do it because it puts him to sleep! It is pretty hard when they snuggle up like this. So sweet!

Birthday fun

There is a church here that rents out this great indoor playground for birthday parties. Our kids have been to several parties and love it! Will's friend, Dalton, had a party and they invited our whole family to go. We didn't all stay the whole time because we had other activities going on, but we stopped in for some of it.

In true Naomi style, she was content to avoid the action and instead hang out with Mom and Dad.

Madelyn in the ball pit.


Elizabeth and Anna spinning Bruce.

Will and the birthday boy. These two boys are so cute together. They both love to wrestle. Dalton's mom tells me he's pretty wild at home, but I've yet to see it. Whenever I'm around him, he is always so sweet. Happy 7th Birthday, Dalton!