Projects

After weeks of begging, Dallin and Garrett convinced Adam to help them build a tree house. The two stipulations I gave (yeah, I am a mother) were they can't spend any money and they can't nail into the tree. It was difficult with those restrictions, but Adam is super creative!

They all worked planning, measuring and hammering. They found scraps of wood behind the shed and the house.


After three weeks of working, on Saturdays for an hour or two, this is what they have! (The orange thing underneath is not part of it, just an old toddler toy)


It has a ladder, a trap door, and eventually will have a short railing so they can sleep there without rolling off! Good job guys!


The next project my boys worked on was dissecting an owl pellet. Adam happened to get one from a class he was interpreting and brought it home for the boys to see.

They pulled it apart and found all the little tiny bones of a vole.


Then, then took all the bones and glued them to a piece of paper in the shape of a skeleton. I think they found the whole thing! They were super excited to find a skull intact!

One more thing to add to my list of things I never thought I would say: "Boys, get your mouse bones off the table!" Ahhhh, the life of a mother!

I sure do miss my friend Melissa!

She came to town for a short weekend and we got to visit and catch up and it made me realize how much I miss having her around! Sadly, we let her go back to her hubby and kids, but next time... hee hee she won't get away!

Melissa came to run in a 7K in Tempe with her friend Sarah Singleton...hmm I know that name...yeah, the bishop down the street is a Singleton, Sarah is his daughter in Law!! Small world!

It was so fun to catch up and visit with so many people! Thanks for all the treats you brought and Amber for helping arrange the whole thing. It was so much fun!

We'll have to do it again soon! Love you Melissa!

5 1/2 months

Adam is such a great daddy! Little Maura has been a challenge to figure out (guess she IS a girl), but we're getting the hang of it!




We've learned that standing is fun, going for walks, sitting on laps, and eating dinner together are all good activities. Not so good activities include: lying on the floor, sitting in the swing, being alone and being in the crib.

She does like the exersaucer! Unfortunately, our old one was in the attic for tooooooo long and is falling apart. I'm looking for a new one (or new to us) that has toys attached so I don't have to keep picking them up off the floor!



Garrett took these two pictures of Maura! Great job!

I picked up my camera the other day and found that someone had taken 41 pictures....hmmm wonder who could have done that?

Could it have been the baby??

Here's a clue...



Hmm, these eyes look familiar...


AH-HA! Caught ya!

Taking a picture of yourself isn't very smart if you're a camera thief!

Nope, it's not an "I Spy" book! Today is laundry day and this is the stuff I found at the bottom of the washer....


4 pennies, die, paper clip, 2 frogs, safety pin (open), shell, blue and white magnets, eraser, pencil sharpener, staples and a hacky-sack (sp??)

I really gotta' start checking pockets!

Pretzel Girl

Maura hates to be on her tummy. She only lasts for a couple of minutes that way, but she is starting to want to roll over and grab things. This is her compromise. Her hips are down but her shoulders are facing up, seriously it's like she is a Barbie and can twist her body in two different directions!


Garrett is a budding photographer and wanted me to post the picture he took of me feeding Maura. I wish he would have waited for a better hair day and for me to open my eyes!

General Conference Weekend

I love 'church' in my PJ's!!! We should do that every week! (Hearing from the prophet would be great every week too!) I just love sitting with my boys and not worrying about them being dressed on time and having snacks and lounging on the couch!

Garrett's primary teachers gave him some games to do to help him focus on the talks-they were super fun. Our own "pay attention" game goes like this: we choose a word (or words) that a specific talk is about then when we hear that word we raise our hand. It has become a tradition.

The other great game played during General Conference was "Maura Pulls Your Hair". It was very popular this year!















Yeah, the bare foot sticking out from under the blanket on the couch is mine...love it!












Such good brothers!


















Yikes! She pulled Garrett's hair a little too hard!

Mostly, I like General Conference weekend for the great spirit it brings to our home. Only six more months until conference again!

Memories of Grandma Russell

Adam's Grandmother passed away this year. We were sad to see her go. Adam tried to get to the funeral and because of delayed planes he never made it. He was really sad he missed seeing his family and saying goodbye to his grandma.

A little while later we got a package in the mail with a few mementos. One of them was a doll for Maura that Grandma Russell loved. Adam's mom saved it for us because she thinks Maura will have red hair and the doll will remind her where she gets it. Thanks!





Just yesterday we got another package from Auntie Joy with other treasures in it! Thanks so much for thinking of us! The boys love the treats (as always) and the book is another fun memory of Grandma Russell. Love you Auntie Joy!

Happy Teasing Day!

Garrett got a kick out of April Fool's Day-but he called it teasing day. It took a little bit of explaining before he really understood what it was all about, then there was no stopping him. The rest of the day he would pinch me and say "just teasing", or tickle me or say "Maura is crying" then "just teasing"-the day was made for my little teaser!

I started it all by calling Adam at work and telling him Dallin had fallen off the monkey bars at school and was on his way to the hospital and that I needed Adam to leave work immediately and meet me there. It helped that I hadn't rehearsed my shpeal 'cuz I stammered over the words (trying to hold back a laugh) and he believed me. Then I told him what day it was and he wasn't too mad. Good adrenaline rush for him though! Hee Hee

Then, while the boys were at school I 'planted' things in the garden! When Garrett got home I told him "Look, our garden grew!"


Our garden grows baby carrots, apples, oranges, bananas, smarties and suckers! He totally believed me! How excited he was that we have a garden that grows suckers (he didn't even blink at the apples and bananas)! Then I explained about April Fool's day-he was bummed. But, he did show it off to friends who came to visit later that day and was careful to explain that it was just Teasing Day.

Dallin wasn't too surprised by it, having been indoctrinated by the kids at school-but he did think it was cute. Later he told me he got in trouble at school today. After I put on my Dallin-how-could-you face he grinned and said "April Fool's"! He got me!

Hope you had a fun day too!