A Great Family Home Evening

We had a really great Family Home Evening the other night. My sister did this and I knew we would have a blast with it. We talked about putting on the whole armor of God and making good choices. We read the scripture in D&C 27 and helped the kids put on the different pieces of armor. We had things like the helmet of salvation and breast plate of righteousness. We used their Captain America shields and a piece of the race track for a sword. The boys thought it was great and Audrey was just happy to be part of the crew.

Then Spencer threw mini marshmallows and shouted temptations and the boys blocked them with their shields. Temptations like talking to our friends during primary or not listening to our parents. In the end he ran out of temptations and it regressed to things like "tax evasion". They loved eating the temptations and laughing about their over sized breast plates when we were finished.

I'm certain the boys didn't understand all of it, but they have been trying harder to make good choices and it's a memory they won't soon forget. How could they? A food fight while wearing armor, it's every little kids dream.

I Heart Pinterest!

We had a great valentines, thanks in part to Pinterest. Have you heard of it? I'm simply addicted. I have no creative bone in my body, zero. But pinterest takes everyone elses and puts it on line, with instructions. Stuff from dessert to home decor, fun sayings and motivational quotes to all sorts of crafts. It's great.

But I digress, while on pinterest I found these "super" valentines and just knew the boys would love to take them to preschool.

The boys loved sharing with all their preschool friends. Miss. Michelle gave them valentine monkeys. I caught Logan enjoying his and a book all dressed in his valentine red.

So the moral of this post, check out pinterest its amazing. And if you want an invite let me know.

We Still Love Trains

The boys still love trains, so they were in heaven when we took them to the train expo. We're fortunate that the Binghams love trains too and wanted to join us. We even ran into our cousin Alexis! There were so many trains to see and play with. All the kids got to ride behind Thomas in Anabelle.

Even Audrey had a good time. She loved this logging train. I think her brothers are rubbing off on her.

Of course everyone had to wear their Thomas shirts. One of the train stations gave away these paper engineer hats and every kid under 5 had it on.
It was a great afternoon. A word of warning for those considering going next year. We got there 20 mins after it started and it was packed (seriously packed!!). We had to park across the street in overflow parking! It's a lot of fun so if you go, get there early and expect to wait in a few lines. Also you can't touch much so be prepared to remind the little guys.

Fun Inside

It's been kind of a rough winter. It's cold outside but instead of snow we have rain. No matter how I spin it cold rain isn't nearly as much fun to play in as snow. So as a result we've spent some serious time indoors. The kids have had a great time playing with pillows. We all remember playing those games as kids. Laying the couch pillows out and hoping from one the next, or hiding underneath them and popping out with a big "surprise!". The kids have discovered these simply joys and here is the proof.

Even Audrey gets in on this game. But that shouldn't surprise you because she follows the boys around like she's just one of them.

Hiding beneath the pillows with Grandpa, lots and lots of fun. If you can believe it Penn is still hidden in there.

Making my bed has even become a game. Audrey just loves to climb up and snuggle in all of my pillows. Silly girl.

Snow?!?!

We recently got snow! You'd think that wouldn't be news ... but we really haven't gotten much this winter. This was our first big storm. The kids were so excited it was hard to eat breakfast before going out. We bundled them in layers and more layers and met our great friends, the Binghams, for some sledding fun. Even the girls got in on the fun.

We shoveled all our snow in a big pile and played on that too! The boys played outside for nearly 2.5 hours! I love that we were able to bundle them up so well they could stay out that long.

Most of that snow is gone so now we're just praying for another storm.

Christmas

Yep, we had Christmas ... and it was great! The boys are finally old enough to understand. We watched the Polar Express like 100 times in Dec and they begged for more. Every time they hear a bell ring they get a special little smile. We sat on Santa's leg and the boys had no problem asking for excavators and bull dozers. Audrey on the other hand wanted nothing to do with the big jolly man.

We visited Temple Square with all the lights and loved showing the kids all of the different creche's. Every time they'd say "Look another Baby Jesus!" This year we got to talk even more about the true meaning of Christmas. The boys arranged our manager scene so everyone was close and could see the baby. You may not know, but in addition to shepherds and wise men there were also farmers and superheros there to celebrate Jesus' birth.

Christmas Eve we played games and watched "A Wish for Wings That Work", a cute Christmas movie about a penguin. Aunt Becky even stopped by and shared in the fun, how lucky are we!? The boys wrote thank you notes for Santa and arranged cookies just so.

Christmas morning was everything it should be and more. We loved it. But mostly we love that during the holiday we get to see and spend time with so much of our family. We love the special feeling talking about Christ and his birth brings to our home and we love sharing it all with our children.

Just playing with their new construction tractors. They were so thrilled.

Audrey's been "cooking" up a storm. When she saw it Christmas morning she wouldn't open any of her other gifts, she just wanted to play with this.

Have You Seen My Toddlers?

Have you seen my cute little toddlers? All I can find are these handsome little boys. As if I needed proof they are growing up, Logan and Penn just graduated from our church nursery to the Sunbeam class. Our nursery leaders had a graduation ceremony complete with certificates and hats. They even sang "Jesus Wants Me For A Sunbeam". Here's a pic of the boys with their best friend James.

Penn decided he just couldn't sit there in front of all the parents with his shoes and socks on so he removed them in the middle of the ceremony. Logan thought that was a great idea and followed his lead. Only Mom's, not so quite, whispered promptings could convince him to at least leave his socks on. While singing the Sunbeam song Penn jumped out of his seat and danced what can only be described as a zombie dance. Needless to say we'll be praying for our Sunbeam teachers.

Not to be out done by her brothers Audrey can hardly be called a baby anymore. She must be going through a growing spurt because just before nap time she's exhausted. She pulls her blanket and binki out of her crib and curls up in the oddest places. It's acutally very cute and makes me laugh because I used to do the same thing. Even in high school I loved taking a nap right were my Mom needed to be. Fun times....