Easter re-cap

We made fun cupcakes for friends and neighbors with "tweety birds" on them (or so Maura says).

The neighborhood breakfast and egg hunt is always one of our favorite activities.
Waiting in line to eat.






Breakfast is always delicious!


This year the Webelos were in charge of the egg hunt (and since I am now a den leader, I got to help). We filled a ton of eggs, then got to the park early to 'hide' them. Really, we just spread them out on the grass as far as they will go. There is always a big turn out.


It's surprising how quickly all the eggs disappeared! One of the dads said now he knows what a locust epidemic looks like! But, the Mookster and Dallin got their fair share!



The Easter Bunny found us. The kids mostly got flip-flops, silly putty, and things for a fun summer.

Adam had some early church meetings, so we got the kids up early so he could enjoy a few minutes with them before he left.


I think Dallin's favorite prize was a giant croc for the pool!


We spent most of Easter together hanging out (playing with toys) and just being together.


That's the best part of any holiday.

Oh, forgot to mention we went to the Easter Pagent with my cousin Jonathan and the Patterson's. We all really enjoyed it, Maura especially! She watched the entire thing asking questions the entire time and she had talked about it since then. I am amazed at how much she remembers and learns from things she sees. It was a terrific night.

Arizona spring evenings are so enjoyable! The days are getting almost too warm, but once the sun goes down it cools off nicely and we spend a lot of time in our yard.

Since his new job Adam has been working some long hours trying to get on top of everything, but one evening we were together and spent the evening enjoying the cool evening. There won't be too many of these left. It's already starting to heat up quickly!

Adam and Dallin played frisbee.






(There was a little showing off.)

Maura ran in circles in her dancing dress, and enjoyed the flowers.




I love these evenings!

My Aunt Jan gave me a little yellow rose bush a few years ago. She said it reminded her of Garrett.

I thought I had killed it. I planted it in the front flower box and have been trying to bring it back to life. For some reason this season has been good to it! It is blooming beautifully!





It sure does remind me of my little yellow-haired guy!

My little helper

Maura has been wanting to help with making dinner or anytime I am in the kitchen.

Her favorite job is 'scraping' the carrots as she calls it.

The only trouble is once she gets started she doesn't want to stop. She peeled the entire bag before she said she was finished.

When she is concentrating, she uses her tongue. So funny! Just like someone else I know...

It's a good thing we like carrots!

She is such a girl. It shocks me! I'm still not use to it.

This week her thing has been sleeping with an eye mask during nap time.

She found this headband in the dress-up box and uses it as an eye mask. I'm not sure where she got the idea from and it's not like the room is too light for her to sleep. She prefers a light on when she sleeps!

It is always fun to see what she comes up with next!

Sarah Quinlan

My sister in law
Mother of 1 and 1/2 (due in May)
Biological Scientist
Adjunct Professor
and
CANADIAN

She's a fun gal. I enjoy hanging out with her, but don't get the chance very often. She lives on the East coast while we bake here in the Southwest.

I do enjoy her blog though and often find really neat articles she has written about all kinds of interesting things from information about the H1N1 virus, to crazy facts about animals.

One recent writing of hers I found cleared up a lot of things for me. You see, my hubby (her brother) is Canadian as well and there have been times I've been a little puzzled with some of the language he uses. It really IS a foreign country!

So, in the event you travel to or meet a Canadian, I thought I'd share some of her wisdom with you!

Canuck- Derogatory term for Canadians, which we have heartily embraced.

Cowtown- The city of Calgary (pronounced Cal-Gary)

Chesterfield- A couch. Granted, only my grandparents said this, but everyone in Canada knows what it is.

Chinook- A warm westerly wind that blows east from British Columbia over the Rocky Mountains rapidly warming the temperature in the foothills.

Click- Slang for kilometer. Yes, the metric system, people!

Eh?- Has unlimited uses, but tends to mean "don't you think," or "Huh." Not exclusively Canadian, but one of the most popular slang terms we are known for, so hey, we'll keep it.

Garburator- Garbage disposal.

Homo milk- No, not the flamboyant version of milk, just whole milk

Hosed- Pissed, or angry

Hoser- Lived in Canada for 19 years and never really figured out what this means. Some insult I'm sure. The Canadian loser, I suppose.

Hydro- Refers to electricity...when my mom mentions her "hydro bill," I laugh.

Kraft dinner- Kraft macaroni and cheese

Loonie- The Canadian dollar coin

Mickie- Pint of hard liquor

Mountie- Member of the Royal Canadian Mounted Police

Newfie- Derogatory term for someone from Newfoundland

Pencil crayons- Colored pencils. This one I still use. Can't seem to make the switch.

Pepsi- Derogatory term for French Canadians

Pop- Soda, although some regions of the USA use this too!

Poutine- The delicious combination of French fries, gravy and melted cheese curds. YUM.

Runners- Refers to any kind of athletic footwear. Sneakers and tennis shoes still sound funny to me!

Take off- "Get outta here!"

Timbit- A donut hole from Tim Horton's.

Timmie's- Tim Hortons restaurant, virtually on every street corner, Canada's prostitute.

Toonie- The Canadian two dollar coin. I hope we don't come up with the five dollar coin...a Foonie? Really? Like we don't get made fun of enough.

Touque- A winter hat

Track pants/suit- Sweat pants

Transport truck- A semi, or tractor trailer. Have only heard my mom say this though.

Two-four- Slang for a 24 pack of beer

Washroom- A bathroom. Makes sense. I don't see any baths in most public washrooms.

Zed- The letter Z

Zellers- a department store, much like Kmart

So there you have it. The next time you speak to my hubby you won't need an interpreter!!

Thanks, Sarah!

This week is AIMS testing.

Dallin's teachers have encouraged us to help our kids eat a good breakfast, get a good rest, and come with snacks to eat during the test.

Yesterday during our morning routine Dallin came to me with his puppy-dog eyes, slumped shoulders, and that beseeching look that says "I want something".

"Mom," he said, "today I'm going to have a lot of tests and it's going to be a hard day. Please don't make me brush my hair."

Hee hee hee! Of all the things that were hard for him to do, brushing his hair was the hardest! ha ha ha!

The very last straw...his hair. Yep, just too much work.

So, if you see my son this week and he looks like a homeless child, just remember,

It's AIMS week!

We were talking about baptism during family home evening and Maura said; "I get bathtized when I am 8 and then I get a rabbit!"

"Who gives you a rabbit?" I ask. "The bishop does", she said matter-of-factly, "just like Gage got a rabbit when he got bathtized."

Now almost every day she reminds me that when she is 8 she will get "bathtized" and then the bishop will give her a rabbit.

I guess I'd better clue in the bishop that his duties include doling out rabbits. Who knew?

I found a solution to the dirty, nasty splint Maura is wearing!

SOCKS!!


I chop up a few socks or tights, cut a thumb hole and voila! A covering that can be taken off and washed daily!



It sure has helped keep her a little more presentable. Especially since she hasn't slowed down one little bit!

It's also a good reminder to her not to touch or take off her splint. She's been really good about it. Two weeks down and only 4(ish) to go!

Yesterday Daddy helped Maura lie down for a nap.

Awwww, so cute.

Especially the bear Adam is snuggling. Hee hee hee

Playgroup

Yesterday I had 9 three-year-olds over to play! You may think it was a little crazy, but honestly they play very well together!

They have grown so much since we first started this group.

Today for fun we made play dough!




They all really had a good time.

I was surprised at how long they spent playing with it! They were entertained for almost an entire hour!


It has sure been a fun thing to do and Maura has LOVED these friends! She talks about them a lot and each of them have such a fun personality.

Rylie-Maura's sister (that's what Maura says) they act like it too! They love each other and fight and are super possessive of each other.
Brighton-Loves babies! Maura always finds a special baby for Brighton and they love to play house.
McKinsey-Loves to talk about princess movies. Their favorite activity together is playing dress-up.
Ella-She is the grown-up of the group and is the mommy for everyone. She is so good at helping and solving disputes. She makes sure Maura doesn't get hurt and follows the rules.
Elizabeth-Is so good at helping Maura share! Maura didn't want her to read Maura's special book, so Elizabeth suggested they sit down together and read it. Elizabeth is so good at explaining and reasoning with the Monster!
Jack-Maura's other sister (hee hee). That's what she calls him! He is the one who follows along happily with anything Maura wants to do. (Okay, so she bosses him around, but he doesn't seem to mind!)
Parker-Maura spends most of her time with Parker telling him not to touch the birds because they will bite! He is obsessed with the birds! When I tell Maura Parker is coming to play she says "Parker the boy, right? Not the dog?" Parker and M love playing 'tigers' on the trampoline because "Parker makes the BEST tiger sounds."
Linkin-Maura is always quick to alert me when he has gotten himself in a place he can't get himself out of...the tree, the top of the slide, the closet, etc. She still talks about him being her friend and putting his finger in her nose. That will be a great story when he's 18.
Elijah-We missed him today! He is always sad at the beginning of playgroup, but after a few minutes he is right in the middle of the action. He's the one that is always into food! He will sit happily at the counter for a long time if he has some snacks!
Delaney-We will miss her! She and her family just moved and won't be part of our playgroup. Any time I ask Maura what the name of something is she always says "Delaney". Her stuffed horse, her baby, the puppet, they are all named the same thing-Delaney! We will miss you!

I sure do love all these neighborhood friends! I'm sad this was our last chance to host playgroup. They grow up way too fast!

Ditching School

While Trenton has been here we've done our best to play as much as possible. We spent a couple of days in the desert riding quads and had a great time. Dallin did miss school to come with us and it was totally worth it. I think ditching school once in a while is important!


He and Jeff look too little to be able to ride those big machines, but there was a great place in the river bed that was perfect for them to practice. When we went on more challenging trails they were content to be the passengers.

We went to Sugar Loaf Mountain just 40 minutes NE of Mesa. Sycamore Creek is a really great place to ride and relax. It was so nice in the shade and plenty of water if we needed to cool off.




Katie, Kevin and Adell joined us and had a good time.



We brought plenty of snacks and it was a good day.



My dad is such a good sport to take us all. I know it's a lot of work for him to load equipment and food and people and then he spends most of the time helping everyone else have a good time.

We would probably not do things like this if he wasn't around to suggest it and then make it happen. He is such a fun guy to be around. We have been so happy to have him and Colleen live near us for the past few months.


I've realized my brother Trenton is a lot like my dad. He is super easy going, easy to please, works hard at his job and plays hard. He is a fun uncle to Dallin and Maura (aside from the getting Maura to eat bugs *gag*) and always game to help haul the little ones around when we go places.

Thanks Dad and Trenton for a really fun vacation! So glad you could come and play with us!

Oh, Brother!

Yep, I have a brother (two of them, actually) and this brother, Trenton, came to visit.


Now you know why I don't talk about him much... :0)

He's my LITTLE brother even though he is taller than me and yesterday was his BIRTHDAY! We decided he needed a little party to celebrate the fact that he is catching up to me.

Dallin and Jeffrey (Trenton's son) with the help of Katie were the organizers of the mayhem. We pulled out the party box and they found decorations and noisemakers then made a great "Happy Birthday" sign.

We made a football cake (his favorite team is the Dolphins) and barely had room for all 33 candles.

I was surprised my fire alarm didn't go off.

Do you see all the smoke??

*cough* *cough*

We ate much cake and ice cream.

Yep, that's my dad.


It explains a lot, I'm sure.



Happy Birthday Trentie! Sure glad you could come visit us!