A dinner that brightened our souls!

On Tuesday night, we skipped all of our soccer obligations, drove to Orem and had the time of our lives! We ended last week with sick kids. Hannah & Hailey ended up with hand, foot & mouth, and were pretty miserable for a couple of days. They didn't sleep very well, had small fevers and didn't eat great. Jack has been extra grumpy the last several weeks too. I don't know if it's just a phase, too little "dad" time, etc., but he's been getting angry over the weather, over cereal bowls, anything!

Our incredible friends, the Rasmussen's, had decided to drive to Utah (from Ohio!) for spring break to ski and see family. They were SOOOOO kind to take an evening and spend it with us. We met at Sizzler, which ended up being great because it wasn't too crowded, the people were really kind to us and we sat and visited for over 2 hours!

It was so good to see them again! The kids hadn't seen each other for almost 2 years and after 15 seconds of being shy, it was like they had never been apart. Jack was in absolute heaven being with Ethan and it's no exaggeration that his spirits were lifted that night. He laughed and laughed and has been so much happier and pleasant at home. The kids laughed with each other, Hailey R. & Kate talked and talked and of course, all the grownups did both - laughed & visited!

We got to see their sweet little Paisley - what a cute baby! All the kids had grown up so much and they were all great! A couple of little old ladies even came to our table and told us how good all the kids were (there are 11!!).

Here are the pictures! Kirsten & Ammon - thank you so much again for a wonderful night! We miss you, love you and are constantly grateful for your friendship!!

It was so great to see this boy smiling so much!

Hailey & Kate

Paisley

All 11 kids!!

All crazy 11 kids!! I love how Hailey B. & Paisley are just watching, like "what?"

Matching teeth - both top teeth out with 1 growing in

They were kind enough to bring our girl scout cookies all the way from Ohio, and we in turn, gave them 2 boxes back!

Again, more baby quilts

My sister-in-law, Beth, had a baby back in October and I sent her some homemade burp clothes that I just loved having with Hailey (my cousin Meg taught me how to make them). One of the fabrics had little skulls on it and it was from a really cute pirate line. Beth loved it and asked if I knew where she could get some. I looked online and I went back to the store where I got the fat quarter and they were out of it.

Then, a few weeks ago, I went to a different fabric store and they happened to have some. So, I knew that was the quilt I wanted to make for baby Jared. I think it turned out really, really cute!

And then, I visit teach a great woman, Tiffany, and she just had her first little girl (she already has a little boy). I always enjoy visiting with Tiffany and was excited to make her this quilt for sweet little Lauren.

What you don't like coming home to....

I went to the grocery store last Saturday and while in the check-out line, Lindsey called me. She told me Hailey had a blowout and it was all over Hannah's pants. I told her to find Jon (who was home, but Lindsey assumed was asleep) and that I would be home in a few minutes.

I walked through the door about 10 minutes later to find Hailey still sitting in her mess and Hannah still wearing her pants that were covered in Hailey's mess.

You can see Hannah's pants in the background (those dark spots are you-know-what).

Yep, it was even on her sleeves.


The other day, I also came home to some beautiful water color paint pictures of Cookie Monster hung on my wall. Hannah kept herself busy and I thought it was sweet of her to think of me. Until....I discovered she attached them to my wall with a glue stick!

A Midsummer Night's Dream

Emily's 6th grade class has been working really hard on learning Shakespeare's "A Midsummer Night's Dream." It's been a 6th grade tradition at Longview for many years and they did a great job! Emily was Philostrate and did a great job! I had gone into her class several times and helped kids practice their lines. They all pulled it off for the show and it was great!

Emily & one of her good friends, Kenzie.

Philostrate presenting King Theseus the scroll

Bravo!

A Little Bit of Snow

We haven't had much snow this winter, but when it does, the kids LOVE playing in it...

10 months

Oh, how we love this baby! I can't believe that she's 10 months old! She's sitting up really good on her own now and can even twist herself around (in order to follow all the action in the house). She is liking regular food more and more - especially bread & Cheerios. She's still not a fan of baby food (except rice cereal). She nurses 4-5 times a day and is still as sweet as can be!

Hailey - 10 months old

Pinewood Derby

Jack recently participated in his first Pinewood Derby! He loved every part of the process - from designing and cutting out the car to racing the car. He loves doing anything with Jon, so this was a fun thing to do together. He wanted BYU car and Jon was more than happy to comply with that request.

Jack with his race car

Anxiously watching the races

His car ended up getting 4th place overall and all the boys had a great time. There weren't any tears (that I saw), so the night was considered a success!

And the best part, were the treats I did....

It's a Twinkie with mini oreos stuck on with frosting - quick, easy & so cute!

"Ooooh Noooo" says Hannah Bowen

Those are never welcoming words coming from a 3 year old, especially if that 3 year old is Hannah Bowen.

She woke up yesterday morning and I offered to get her breakfast before I got in the shower. I told her to get the cereal she wanted out of the pantry. As I got her spoon & bowl, I heard she say she needed to "go potty."

10 second later, I hear "Oooooooh Nooooo." I went into the bathroom and found this...

She had forgotten to lift up the lid and had used the bathroom sitting on top of it! What a funny way to start the day!

Baby Quilts

It seems that babies come in spurts....well, it's a spurt right now! I have so many friends & family expecting babies, so I've been in the baby quilt making mood! Here are 2 that I just finished and sent to the babies...

This quilt is for sweet, little Paisley Rasmussen. She was just born a couple of weeks ago and is the most beautiful baby ever! It was fun to make this for a fellow quilter and such an amazing friend, Kirsten, because I know how much she loves quilts. I just wish that I could see this little angel in person - hopefully some time soon!

And this quilt was for Ledger Morris. Ledger was actually born back in August and his mom and I work in the PTA together. Within a few months 3 of us on the executive board had given birth. Anyway, Ledger is such a cute guy and a fun surprise for this great family (their youngest before Ledger is Lindsey's age).