Nathan's Little Surprise

When I spoke to Nathan after he arrived in Orlando, he told me he had a little surprise for me. Turns out, he had rented a Mitsubishi Eclipse Spyder.


This is a nice little picture of one. The one he had was white. It was pretty neat to ride in. I've never ridden in a convertable before. Good thing we're in Florida, otherwise, we may not have been able to enjoy the top down feature. (Since our weather is soooo wonderful here most of the time and all.)

Braves game with Nathan

A little over a week ago, we got to have my brother Nathan come and visit for a few days. It was really great to have him here, and we hope he's able to visit again sometime, in the not too distant future.

Nathan arrived in Orlando on Thursday, March 19 sometime in the morning. He hung out there by himself for most of the day, but he did get a chance to go to the temple, take a little nap, and I believe he even got to catch some of the first round games of the tournament. Unfortunately BYU didn't make it past the first round this year. (I had them making it to the Sweet 16, so that didn't help my bracket. Oh well) Later that evening, we showed up at the hotel and went to dinner, thanks to my grandma :)

Now, my brother has been a Braves fan as long as I can remember. His favorite player had always been Dale Murphy. As far as I know, he's always wanted to get to go to a Braves spring training game. So, with us living in Florida, it was his perfect chance to go to a game and visit us as the same time. So, we headed to the game right after dinner.

Here is Josh just after we got to the game. After this moment, you couldn't catch him. He was having so much fun running all over the place. Thank goodness we got grass tickets, instead of bleacher tickets.

Me, Emily, Josh, Nathan. The grass seating area was actually on a steep little hill. The area was packed. Along the fence was a barrier that you could not see through, so the area at the bottom of the hill was completely empty. We thought we'd try to lay down and watch the game from under the fence. What great seats those were.

The rest of the evening, Josh and Emily were just running back and forth along the grass at the bottom of the hill, having an absolute blast. Talk about a late night, though. Their bedtime is 7:30, and we didn't leave the stadium until 9:30ish. They were so tired. Emily was out by the time we got back, but Josh was having so much fun with Nathan already that he didn't make it to sleep until 10:30. It was so much fun, it was definitely worth it, though.

One Track Mind

Today, we had a ward activity, and they provided nursery. Josh and Emily got to play with some of the other kids in the ward, and had a ton of fun. Anyhow, on the way home, I heard Josh ask something about 2. I thought he had noticed the 2 on the clock because it was 12 something. So, I asked what he said.

Josh - "Why do we only have 2?"

Me - "2 what?"

Josh - "Why do we only have 2 kids?"

Is he trying to tell us something not so subtly?

Funny Topics

Earlier today, I was picking up in the kids bedroom while they played. Out of the blue, Josh starts up quite the conversation.

Josh - "I want a baby."

I was a little surprised. So, I said, "A baby like Baby Molly?" (Baby Molly is Emily's favorite doll.)

To which he replies, "No, I want a real baby."

"Oh? Like Emily was a baby?"

"Yes."

Me - "Why?"

Josh - "I like babies."

Me - "Do you want a baby boy? Or a baby girl?"

Josh (after thinking about it for a moment) - "A boy"

I'm glad he's decided all this. I told him we'd see what we could do about it. Wow, where do they come up with these things? Maybe it's because his cousins are about to have a new little baby boy... in several months, that is.

Fathers and Sons Campout

Last weekend, March 13-14, was the Stake's Fathers and Sons Campout. Peter and Josh went and had an absolute blast. You know, I thought it would be so easy going back to having 1 child. Not so. I am so used to Josh and Emily entertaining each other, I had no idea what to do with myself. Oh well. Somehow, we survived just fine, all by ourselves. But, we were definitely ready to have Daddy and Josh back by the time they got home on Saturday.

Doesn't Josh look like such a big kid in this picture? No more toddler here!

Josh loved his first try at tether ball. Who wouldn't? You swing a ball around, and it comes right back to you. What genius.

At some point, Josh decided he wanted to play in the tent. After all, that's why they went camping... to spend time in a tent.

The campsite was on a lake. Again, Josh looks so big to me. I just can't get over how much he's growing and becoming a little boy.

Here's Josh with his friend Brandon. I love how little boys are not afraid to hold hands. So sweet.

Fun Pictures

First of all. Thank you to everyone that offered ideas for my previous post. They have been quite helpful.

Now for the fun.


Emily sure thinks Josh's baseball cap is pretty neat. She likes to wear it around whenever she notices it.

Josh is working really hard here. Concentrating on drawing with that marker on that piece of wood. Fortunately for us, he is concerned about losing the cap, so he keeps it in his mouth. Another worthy note: He understands that safety comes first. Definitely need to wear that eye protection when using markers on wood.

Daddy and Emily playing on the floor.

I bet you can't tell, but Josh LOVES the camera. When I was taking pictures of Emily, he made sure he had a chance to get his as well.

I know this is a strange one. But, Josh was so proud of this picture. He took it, and looked at it, and said "I took a good picture of Daddy." He was aware that Daddy's head didn't make it into the picture, but that was less important. Good job, Josh.

The interesting part of this picture is that Emily was throwing a fit right before this picture. As soon as she saw the camera, she was all smiles. I have such cards for children. Don't you love it? I know I do.

Ideas Anyone?

Hey everyone!

So, I am at a complete loss. What do you guys do to keep your kids busy all day everyday? All ideas are welcome! Thanks for your help.

Happy Birthday, Josh!

On Monday, March 2, Josh turned 3. Of course, if you asked him, he would tell you he is now 3 and a half. It's amazing. He went from 2 to 3 1/2 all over night. Oh how time flies. :)

Most mornings, Josh wakes up and sometimes calls for me from his bed, and sometimes comes to the gate at my bedroom door and calls. He's always soft to make sure he doesn't wake up Emily, thank goodness. Well, on his birthday, when he woke up, he came to the gate and said "Mommy" as loud as he could. I practically hit the ceiling, I was so startled. When I said "What, Josh" in my croaky morning voice, he shouted, "it's my birthday!" It was a fun way to wake up, I must admit.

My mom sent us a cake pan shaped like a train. I did my best to make it into Thomas. Wow! Shaped cakes are soooo hard. But it was worth it.

Josh had been begging all day Sunday to open a present, so we promised him he could open a gift before Daddy went to work. He ended up getting 3, spaced across the time we were getting ready for the day. He finished opening his gifts after dinner that evening. The first gift he wanted was the one int he Lightning McQueen wrapping. It was a clock. Funny. He absolutely loves this thing. He goes to check the time now, but only on this clock.

We had a birthday party for Josh on his birthday. We did it at the park. It was a cool, but beautiful day. He had a lot of friends show up, and we had a great time.

Isn't he such a happy 3 year old?

Emily sure has a thing for cupcakes. They make a perfect oval print on her face every time! :D

Thank you Sandra for helping us out with her. Our hands would have been VERY full otherwise.

Kisses

So, recently, Peter and I haven't been trading date nights with some friends of ours. It has been wonderful. We love our kids, but we love spending time just the two of us.

Last time it was our turn to watch Elizabeth, Josh got super brave. Emily was making kissy faces at me, so I said, "Emily, you want to give mommy kisses?" So, in response, Josh walked up to Elizabeth and said "You want to give me kisses?" It was so funny! She, of course, looked at him for just a moment and turned and walked away. Poor Josh.


I tried to get him to do it again, but this is the best picture I got of the two. Oh well. I guess I just need to live with the camera on my wrist. We'll see if anything exciting happens this Friday!

Happy Birthday, Peter!

Peter is now officially almost old. He turned 29 the other day. Next year, he'll be there. :D So, I thought I'd include a few pictures from his last "young" birthday.


Peter prefers pie for his birthday... not cake. Oh well. Not just any pie either. A blueberry one. So, once a year, I make him one of these. I'd do it more often, but I am soooo not a fan of blueberries. Poor Peter. I think he appreciates at least getting it on his birthday.

Emily walking on Daddy's presents. Good thing the jigsaw wasn't really breakable.

Peter displaying his new jigsaw. He was so happy to get it.


Josh helping Daddy open his new game "Sorry Sliders." It's a blast to play, by the way.

Emily really loves blueberry pie as well. I guess she gets that from her Daddy. She actually finished this whole piece, and then some.

Painting

Last month, I decided it would be fun to get some new crafts for the kids. I found some paints at the store, and let them have at it.


Painting really is a lot of fun.

Apparently, the paint also tastes pretty good. I couldn't keep it out of her mouth. Oh well. At least it's non-toxic, right?

Josh saw Emily painting herself, so he thought he'd get in on the action too. If you look closely, you can see his temporary mustache.