Snow

 Every year since we've moved here there has been one day of good snow, school is canceled and we spend the day running around outside woefully under-dressed, running back inside to warm up and change clothes, only to run back outside and freeze again. We get just enough of a taste of it that I"m grateful we don't live someplace that has real snow, but I'm also grateful for our one day of snow and wouldn't mind visiting someone who gets real snow.  

 Well this year was different, the who winter was pretty warm and the days that we could have had snow were very dry. so I was surprised when after church one Sunday I happened to look out the window to see very slow falling rain. or at least that's what I thought it was for a split second.  The kids were so excited to run outside and enjoy the snow.  It only lasted a few minutes and we totally would have missed it if I hadn't been looking out the window at that precise time but the kids loved it.  Notice Grant in his shorts, that boy has decided that he doesn't like pants and absolutely REFUSES to wear them, he has been in short in the chilliest of weather this winter.  There are some battles I fight and some that I decide are better left unfought, this was one of those.  He did put on my scarf... too bad it's more for looks then it is for warmth... funny kid.

a Valentines Date

Katelyn was so excited to get dressed up and go on a special date with her daddy,  Every year there is a try ward Daddy Daughter Valentine's Dance.  Last year Cameron said he felt like he was on a bad date because as soon as they walked into the church Katelyn ran off to find her friends and they all danced by themselves leaving the dads to chat at the punch bowl.

This year was a little better,  They had a lot of fun dancing the hokey poky and the macarena. Katelyn loves going on dates with her daddy.

There were 5 in the bed and the little one said...

 Every morning as the dawn is considering cracking my children race to be the first to get in bed with us. Despite the early hours we have a lot of fun cuddling and talking about the dreams that were just had. Grant is like me and remembers many of his dreams,  it's hit or miss with Katelyn and Dallin.
    Thanks to our oldest we have had to set a few rules for our morning cuddling time,
 1. if it's before 6am they are sent back to their room, but 6:01am is fair game. I am positive that some mornings Katelyn waits by her clock until it says 6:00 so she can be the first one there. Usually it's closer to 6:30 before we are bombarded.
2. if there is crying or fighting over who is in what spot, they are sent back to their room.  Everyone wants to be by mommy or daddy but no one wants to be squished in the middle.  it's hard to fit 5 people in a queen size bed especially since one of those people is still recovering from being pregnant with twins.  and speaking of twins, if they are awake it's nearly impossible to fit everyone happily.
3. no wiggling or squirming especially if mommy and daddy are still trying to sleep... which is most of the time.

 This morning Cameron was still working, and Peter decided he was done sleeping around 6:15am, and we had some time to smile and coo at each other before the other kids came in. and before long Lilly wanted to join in the fun and excitement.

 The kids LOVE playing with the babies,  We all love it,  it's so fun to make them laugh and smile.

 Dallin gets especially goofy with the babies, and they eat it up, they love watching him waiting for him to do something funny.

 Most mornings are pretty great at our house... that is if you like waking up before the crack of dawn.. which we do... mostly.

Birthdays are great... yippee

 This year my birthday high light was going on not one but 2 dates with my husband without kids, I might add. It was so great!  Two of my dear friends offered to watch all five of my kids so that we could enjoy some time together.  Thankfully the twins are in an easy for other people to watch stage (or so I'm told...) because they pretty much sleep from 6pm on,  so the only kids to worry about are the big kids and they pretty much play with my friends kids the whole time,  it's so nice to have good kids... otherwise I'm pretty sure there would be no dating until after the kids move out of the house.
another highlight was having another dear friend drop by with a gift,  it was very thoughtful and I felt loved.
Cameron got me this turtle pie,  it was great and I didn't have to make it.  The kids decided they would prefer chocolate cream pie, so they ate that,  it will kind of be a sad day when the kids decide they like "mommy daddy" food.  we might actually have to share...

why is it I got 3 pictures of the store bought turtle pie and not a single picture of me, Cameron or the babies... clearly my priorities are a bit skewed, or maybe the pie is willing to sit still while I snap a picture...

Just when I needed it most.

 today Katelyn decided on her own, without coercion, to do the dishes for me.

 When you're helping your happy!  and what a great help she is.  

5 Months

Time is flying by, I can't believe how fast These two are growing.   Lilly has discovered her tongue and loves sticking it out at us.  she is very cute.  Peter is such a happy cheerful little guy.   we love making him laugh.

We love having these two in our family, they are amazing babies

Lilly

Getting better all the time.

kinda....

 Katelyn is still working on mastering the art of roller skating.  we thought it might help to give the kids practice on their bikes and roller skates so we took them to the "Von Bose" park and let them ride and skate around on the sidewalk that runs around the park and grass area.

 We thought practicing on the grass might help her keep her footing a bit better, and it did help but it was still tricky.

she's getting better all the time and i'm sure before we know it she will be skating circles around us.

our little picker

Grant is a picker, unfortunately, he comes by it naturally.   he has had the scab on his cheek for a number of weeks now because he can't leave it alone and no amount of bribing seemed to work, because he seemed to do it unconsciously especially when we was asleep. so we decided to take control of the matter and put a band-aid on it,  unfortunately that only made the problem worse because apparently he is allergic to the bandage adhesive...  looks like we're back to the drawing board...

What did you do today?

 why is it I can't keep up with my blog... oh wait, now I remember...

plus one load in the washer, one in the dryer and one on the floor in the laundry room... I'd say it was quite a day... too bad we will be repeating the process in approximately 2 days...  It would be great to love doing laundry right about now...

Getting into the swing of things

 I love 4 month old babies, They laugh they smile, 

the blow bubbles with their spit... 

 They stick out their tong... what's not to love?   

Yes Lilly is wearing a boy bib, somehow we have 5 times as many boy bibs as we do girl ones unfortunately it's our little girl who spits up all over the place, so she gets to wear boy bibs... it's not the end of the world...

 We put Peter in a baby swing for the first time, he LOVED it.  actually I think it relaxed him,  he just sat there  with a look of complete contentment and then he fell asleep... should have gotten a picture of that... oh well.

 Lilly got her first experience in a swing too,  she was a little more tense but in the end she also fell asleep... maybe it was nap time? you would think that after 5 kids I would be able to read their signals better...

and of course we can't leave out the "big kids" they wanted their turn in the swing.  I'm guessing in a few years this might not be possible without getting completely stuck but for now we are living it up!

Daddy

 Cameron is amazing in so many ways but especially when it comes to being a daddy.   Even as I write this he is playing little games with Peter while he get's him changed and dressed for the day.  he's always the first to be fun loving and playful but he also helps around the house and follows through with parenting decisions.  I knew he was wonderful when we got married but I really didn't know how great he was until we had kids

I am so blessed to get to spend forever with this amazing guy.

Primary Activity

we showed up in a jammies and ate breakfast at the church while members of the bishopric introduced the new primary theme, "Choose the Right"... or something along those lines,  I love that primary has a theme to focus on each year.  it's nice to have direction.

 I know this may come as a shock to you but no, her hair does not look like that first thing in the morning... I know, I know I'm even surprised myself.

 Grant is actually this happy just about every morning,  he is one of the happiest kids I know.

my kids love and adore juice boxes, they are a rare and special treat at our house, as are fruit snacks,  I figure they are pretty much like candy, they might as well be treated like candy.

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Lilly has pretty much won the heart of the young women in our ward,  it's hard to resist those cute cheeks.

Cameron's hair does not actually look like this in the morning either,  believe it or not, he made great efforts to get his hair to stick up like that.  on the other hand, Peter's hair doesn't change no matter the time of day or night... believe me.

After breakfast the kids were encouraged to color on the tables, they were happy to comply

 Katelyn was so excited to wear her hello kitty slippers,  she LOVES them, and who wouldn't?

My Little Helper

 Like everyone else, Grant loves our two new additions.  He loves to make them laugh and doesn't seems to mind too much when they cry.  Both Lilly and Peter love watching the kids jump and Grant is always happy to volunteer. Grant was also the first to notice that Peter Loves to hear us sing "Twinkle Twinkle Little Star" and will sing it to him whenever he gets fussy.

 It's actually become pretty rear to find one the kids feeding either of the babies... especially Lilly because I think we all have experienced being drenched in her spit-up. but today Grant was happy to do it.

It's so fun to watch the big kids interact with the babies,  we all love them so much.

Lilly's First Hair Trim

One of Lilly's most distinguishing features is that little tuft of hair that sticks straight up.  So we decided to give her tuft a little trim.

 Grant had the first go at it, cutting approximately six hairs... yep, that's them, right there.

 Katelyn was the next self proclaimed barber,  and she cut a few more hairs, we feared that between Lilly's head bobbing and the unsteady hand of our other children, Lilly would get her eyes poked out, so we concluded that hair cutting session almost as quickly as it begain.

 The results were stunning... ok so no one actually noticed the change but those of us who were there knew, and we could see the difference... barely.