Snow Day Again

We had a President's Day this week followed by a Snow Day on Wednesday,
which is the second time this year we've had a snow day on a Wednesday after a Monday holiday.
Fun fact :)

We had some cooooold temps this week! I drove my kids to school for the first time this year because we were at -14 one morning... yikes. We did walk to school later in the week when it was 9 degrees though. I've decided my limit is 5 haha. 

The missionaries taught us a family home evening lesson on Monday. Asher had a well check on Wednesday and weighs 21 pounds. It's hard to not think back on when Bennett weighed that at his 6-month appointment, ha. I love how different all these boys are. Asher is in the 30th percentile and got to get his flu shot finally, since we've met with an allergist about his egg allergy. He definitely has one but not the kind of response that would keep you from being able to get the flu shot, and one that they think he'll grow out of. But it's significant enough that we're not supposed to do any exposures for the next year. Luckily he does great with eggs baked in things, like pancakes or anything else, so I'm really grateful to only be mentally avoiding straight eggs and not reading a bunch of ingredient lists. Though I felt bad when I accidentally gave him mayo on a sandwich recently and he totally reacted. I didn't stop to realize there are eggs in most mayo and ranch.

I went to a playgroup on Tuesday and it was fun to catch up with a lot of moms I haven't seen in a while. Camden was too shy to do much playing but by the end of it he decided to ride his balance bike around the gym a few times and he loved it.

Westin received a "curiosity" award at school on Friday and Camden, Asher, and I made it to the assembly. I loved going to his class afterward to hear the little presentation from his teacher about why she picked him for the award, and then he got to call on three friends to say something they liked about him. People said Westin is really good at thinking of ideas to make something fair for everyone, he helps everyone have a good day, and he is nice to everyone. We sure love that kid. He went to a birthday party with a few friends Friday afternoon and his friend's mom told me afterwards that all those boys were so polite and sweet to each other and just a great group of kids. That made me so happy to hear. She said, "I was just impressed because you guys weren't even here and everyone was so well-behaved. Sometimes I wonder if when I drop my kid off somewhere he just acts like a total animal, you know?" That made me laugh so much because we are all for sure wondering the same thing about our own kid :)

The boys have been helping me a lot this weekend and I'm grateful for them! They make laundry so much easier. Westin loves to cook with me. Bennett made all our tortillas one night for dinner and found a way to let Camden "help" him do that and it was adorable. Asher wanted Westin to pick him up a lot this week and he was always happy to do it and so sweet with him. They fight like all brothers do but they are also just having so much fun together. I love these boys.

Using our President's Day to knock out their science fair projects.

Bennett's Science Fair Project: What Helps an Apple Slice Not Turn Brown?

Westin's Science Fair Project: Does Salt Make Water Boil Faster?

I keep finding things of Ali's...
Ok not a lot. But just little reminders that we were roommates for 16 glorious days :)

Exhibit B.

Clearing out our basement!
Asher was crawling as fast as he could up the stairs to get away from Fred and George :)

Keeping an eye on that pizza.

Sweetest relationship right here.

We got sad new this week that our dear Mr. T passed away back in Fresno.
We left him with sweet friends who took really good care of him and he had a good life.
Sweet Mr. T. Here he is reaching for our raspberry bush but he needed some help to actually get one.

These two partied during the older brothers' swim lessons this week since Michael had a meeting.

Twin Day at school :)

Westin received a "curiosity" award at school,
and I took Camden and Asher to the assembly and to his class after for the presentation.
Asher distracted basically 85% of the school during the assembly...
he's not ready for elementary assemblies.

 

Valentines Day & Cousin Weekend

 We had a Happy Valentines Day! Heart attacks and a pink breakfast and little treats and a chocolate fondue dessert night. The boys really loved that. 

The missionaries taught us a lesson for Family Home Evening. I volunteered in Westin's class Wednesday. morning and Michael volunteered during a science special that afternoon. Then he took the three older boys to a hockey game later that night and they really loved it.

Michael went to book club on Thursday :) I love that the guys in our ward have a book club. And on Saturday we had fun with Katie's family. They have been sweet to come up here a lot during Luna's puppy days since we really can't leave her for very long yet. We played outside, made pizzas, and walked through Fossil Creek Park. We even saw three eagles land and eat lunch on the frozen reservoir and the boys loved watching them. We all did!

I really loved teaching about the Sermon on the Mount this week, and I loved having some sunnier days with Asher and Camden. There's snow in our future and I'm feeling burned out of winter... we're ready for a sunny trip. But March is on its way and that's always hopeful.... deceiving at times, but hopeful :)

These cute boys! They loved our sunny days this week.

Luckily they were happily swinging while I cleaned my car because...

...can you even believe this. I can't believe I'm even admitting to the fact that this happened haha. 
This sad and forgotten grocery pick up bag was zipped up and left under my empty grocery bags, and missed during the crazy days of Ali and I tag teaming all 6 of our kiddos. And we went a solid week, you guys. A solid week wondering why my car was getting horribly horrible with each passing day, with Westin even saying it smelled like the seafood department of a grocery store.
How right he was. How right he always is.
For the record, this stuff really works wonders. I have to put this here for the record because it's been a whole thing and we're already laughing about it :)
Honestly I was laughing right when I found it. Because I just couldn't believe Westin's accuracy.

Bennett's turn for a science fair project!
Time to find out what helps apple slices not turn brown. He's very serious about this.

Valentine's morning was a pink raspberry Noosa breakfast and some fun little treats.
We don't know why Camden loves to talk about Baby Yoda, but he was very excited to get a little stuffed Baby Yoda :)

He even got invited to watch a show with Camden, pretty lucky.

Library Story Time has been fun since Asher has been doing one nap some days.

Looking through that Valentine's loot!
I remember how fun Valentine's Day was in elementary school. They were so excited.

We did fondue dessert for Valentine's. 
I just used my crockpot to see if it was too crazy (and dangerous?! ha) to be a full on tradition but the boys loved it and no injuries occurred. Maybe we'll do a full on cheese fondue and chocolate fondue experience next year. Lemon oreos were a fave.

Documenting decisions... the worst. 
Gonna start delegating to Westin.

This kid! I love his bundled self soooo much.

He loves Luna's crate... can't be stopped.

Michael had a kind patient give him some front row hockey tickets and the boys were absolutely stoked. They stayed out until 10:30 and thought it was the best.

Drone time before school. They are so wildly full of energy in the mornings and by the time I drop them off at school it feels like a whirlwind.

These buddies.

Costco find.
Kidding, I did not buy these.
I was just intrigued by them??

Their first outing to a shoe store and I know floors are gross but they were having the best time.

First day back in the swings on a nice sunny morning and he was in such a funny mood about it.

Kitty looking like E.T. when I walked into the boys' room.

Cousins came up Saturday! 
Katie brought pizza kits for lunch and they had the best time.

This boy crew.

Reaching for that heart attack.

Park day with cousins.

We saw eagles on our stroll!

He's so into hugs lately and all of us can't get enough.

Especially dad hugs :)

This age is so sweet.

Luna's First Hike & Super Bowl Sunday

 Michael:
Came to High Fitness with me! That's love. My friend Aimee led a Valentine's "Bring Your Guy to High" night and since a lot of my Timnath friends are in the dental world I told him it was a required networking night :) He came more willingly than I'm letting on though, it was really fun to have him there. We went out to grab a sandwich with friends after and it was a fun date night. He also took us on a little hike Saturday morning and I just really loved a glimpse of the one-nap life that we can have now. Doing something all together in the morning without skipping one of Asher's naps was a fun feeling and Luna loved being along for the fun for the first time. She is terrible on a leash. We'll get there.

Maddie:
I loved doing a mystery shop lunch date with Michael, Camden, and Asher on Wednesday. It's unique to get time with just our two little ones when their big brothers are at school and it was just really fun. I also had an interesting meeting about ChatGPT and AI advances in writing and it was fascinating. I feel like that feels as foreign as the internet once did and will soon be as part of our experiences as the internet is now. I also loved making Super Bowl food this weekend -- Westin has been counting down to this Super Bowl from the night of the last Super Bowl. Everyone chose an appetizer for the night.

Maddie: Mozzarella sticks (forgot to cook them)
Michael: Trader Joe's Samosas (forgot to pick them up)
Westin: Chips & Dip (nailed it)
Bennett: Lil' Smokies (nailed it, even used good ol' Herr Corry's sauce recipe from my high school German class)
Camden: Shrimp cocktail. I love this boy :)

Missed the mark on the parents picks but the kids were happy! Then we added in some other easy snacks and had our friends the Schmidts over, who have three boys. They brought even more deliciousness and we all enjoyed watching our boys care more about the Super Bowl than their parents. They left in the middle of the fourth quarter and I knew as soon as friends were out the door there would be tears about the close score and I was very right... but luckily the Chiefs pulled off a last minute victory and Westin went to bed on a happy note.

Westin:
had so much fun watching the Super Bowl with his friend. It was really cute. We've been working on his science project together and he really likes that stuff. He soaks up whatever we read together and reads so much on his own. I would love to get him to write in a journal more but he is very much not interested in that. I kind of laugh thinking back on my endless piles of journals from my childhood -- we just all come so different.

Bennett:
came home sick one day this week, sweet boy. He seemed pretty miserable all day and then threw up after taking one bite of dinner. I've learned to not get too stressed about everyone else getting the same bug though, he seems to have an extra sensitive stomach to even the tiniest things, and luckily no one else came down with it. He loved being home and watching Pete's Dragon two times the next day :) I just love that movie. And I really love when my kids are home although I don't love when they don't feel great. But he was very minimally sick the next day and we just had a nice low key day together with Camden and Asher.

Camden:
keeps telling Google to play Closed on Sunday by Kanye West. Then he laughs and laughs when he says "Chick-Fil-A!" in a weird voice at the end. He has really become assertive around Luna and I'm surprised at how much he's changed there, he was pretty nervous around dogs just a few months ago. He's a joy to read books to, loves library story time, dances constantly, and entertains us all with his silly imagination. "What if..... what if Kitty was wearing sunglasses, and she was playing the piano, and Luna wore sunglasses too and got on the table and was dancing?" We all want to live in Camden's world.

Asher:
Sweet, sweet, sweet boy. He sleeps through the night now and then, wakes up once now and then. I can live in that stage a while. You get that stretch of sleep sometimes (Luna is now able to go 11pm to 7am which is a major improvement), and that sweet time together sometimes. He takes two naps if he wakes up before 7:30 and one nap if he sleeps in a little. He is a stair master, cute growler, daddy hugger, and is getting more and more words. We love him so.

Picked him up from the nurse's office and he put himself right down for a nap.
He always does this when he doesn't feel good and I just always think it's so sweet.

Chase was on the case...
but looks like he walked into some trouble.
I love walking into these little scenes of imagination all the time, in all the rooms, all the days.

We played at my friend Diane's house this week and she has a bounce house room instead of a guest room. How genius is that.
Camden was too nervous to experience the bounce house... but then when I told him it was time to go he told me he wanted to go try it. So we went back in for one slide down and he was proud of himself.
He very much reminds me of the Westin who used to go to Chick-Fil-A to watch the other kids play. :)

Westin's science project is to see if salt makes water boil faster.
So we decided the alternate title will be, "How fast can I make pasta?"
And he took this picture for that.
He's kind of embarrassed about it now (and about so much else...) and keeps saying, "Will people think I'm not smart because they think I ate all that??" It's cute but also makes me sad he already has worries like that.

Valentine's High Night

How strong is my Colorado mom vibe right now.

This looks like a family band album cover.

I love a good boardwalk.

Just a screenshot of that time I went to Home Depot for HUGE insulation pieces for our basement and quickly realized those were not getting home. Let it be known that I first drove the Corolla to get them. Then saw them in the store, went home for the van, and then learned even that would fail. So came back with Michael and all the boys and we tied them down to the roof and if that sounds like my biggest large purchase fiasco at Home Depot, it's not. The solo 21-ft ladder purchase with 18-month Camden on my hip still takes the cake.

Back up.

Now we're rolling.

My grandpa would have been 105 this week. Can't get over how much he looks like my uncles and cousins. Such good people.

Super Bowl Let's Goooooooo