Everyday Stuff - March 2014 Edition

I accompanied the Activity Day girls on a tour of a nearby theater and was tickled
to death that Cat was enamored with the whole thing.  She was begging me to sign her up for classes.

One of my very favorite things to see, one child reading to another.

Jack started getting really excited about making pictures and signs.

This is Santa, his sleigh, reindeer, and bells on the reindeer.
All Jack's concept.

Eliza was very into having bags of things.
Vessels came in a variety of forms, including purses, plastic bags, and, her Easter Basket.

Workin' it out, Pilates style, with Denise Austin.

The kids enjoy doing homework outside on nice afternoons.
Also, Eliza enjoys climbing in the stroller with Luke... any time she can.

Jack couldn't resist buying this watering can with stickers with his own money.
Then he helped me plant a little herb garden for my kitchen window sill.

Saturday morning, at the beginning of the kids' Read-a-Thon fundraiser for school.
That weekend was pretty quiet, as Cat was determined to read as much as possible.

That weekend, Jack read us this entire book.  At school a few days later, a parent was reading
"Green Eggs and Ham" out loud to Jack's class and noticed that Jack was reading along.  She invited
Jack to come to the front of the class and do some reading, so Jack read all the rest of
it (most of the book) to his class.  I'm so proud of my little reader!

Watermelon!

During journal writing time one Sunday afternoon, Jack wanted to write the entire
narrative from an episode of "Word World."

My chubby legged baby, enjoying the freedom to climb up the stairs.

Cat was dying to make Chocolate Meltaways using a recipe in the book
she bought herself from the school book fair.

They were yummy!

When the kids found bookcases and other furniture that my Aunt gave us
stacked up in the front room, they quickly got to work setting up a store.

Cutest cashier ever.

Crazy Sock Day for Dr. Seuss's birthday.
Eliza doesn't go to school, but she wanted in on the fun, too.
She's actually wearing three pairs of socks, all of which are way too big for her.
Also, the hand holding was Cat's idea.

Love these kids!

Eliza knows how to FOLD!

I found an easy (and YUMMY) recipe for beignets, so we had a special
after school snack on Fat Tuesday.  We also enjoyed a delicious Cajun-ish
dinner that night (mildly spiced chicken in a cream sauce with pasta) which I
couldn't get the kids to eat.  Oh well.  I still count the beignets as a victory.

Game night.

Jack still loves being upside down, but the poses continue to get more interesting.

On an unusual Sunday morning, we were all ready for Church early.
Then, about 20 minutes before Church started we got a call from the Primary
Secretary asking if we knew that Jack had been asked to give a talk that day?  Well.  No.
So he sat down and wrote his own talk, then read it himself in Primary.  I'll have to
find the talk and share the contents here one of these days.  :-)

Cat is such a great kitchen helper.
Here, she's helping Daddy with dinner by getting mashed potatoes ready.

Just a little friendly wrestling in the back yard.

The kids love making a fort in our front room.
This was when our friend Emma was hanging out with us for the day.

Do you see Jack peeking over the side of the couch?
The girls had kicked him out of the fort...

Looks like Luke doesn't want that pink sparkly scarf on.
What do you think?

In March, my Grandpa passed away.  He was 90 years old and his health had been
declining rapidly over the last few months.  I was sad to think that I wouldn't see him
again in this life, but glad that he would no longer be suffering from the ailments of a
mortal body.  After dinner on the night that he died, we had banana milkshakes,
one of his favorite things.  I told the kids about his life and the memories I had of him.
One of my favorite memories is that when we lived near him in Alexandria, VA when I
was a kid, he would pick me up and drive me to the Ramada, where we would swim
at the indoor pool.  I remember him teaching me how to dive.  I loved those outings.

Later in my life, my Grandpa also discovered a love of painting.  This is a painting he gave me almost 20 years ago, and I'm so glad to have it.