Natalie's Baptism

Natalie was baptized in September along with her cousin Jaden. It was so fun to be able to have them share this experience. Natalie was SO excited to be baptized and become a member of the church. Eric baptized and confirmed Natalie and many members of our family were there to share in the special day. We are so proud of her for making this decision and for the great example she is setting for her younger sisters and brother. Natalie with Grandma and Grandpa

Natalie and Jaden with Nana

Natalie and her cousin Maddox


Natalie with Aunt Joanna and Aunt Rachel


Natalie with Eric and I


The whole family

Some highlights of the day:
-The water was freezing not warm like Natalie and Eric were expecting
-Cameron tried to climb over the glass to get in the font (he did get one foot pretty close)
-Cameron saying he wants to get "bathtized"
-Kellan telling Cameron you need to be 8 to get baptized
-Someone (who shall remain nameless) cell phone rings saying "call from ..."
-The Bishopric member taking Avery from Joanna to use as a prop which none of us knew he was going to do (uh, why is that guy taking my baby?)
-My mom giving a fabulous talk even with a terrible migraine
-Joanna being a great sport and leading the music even if she just felt she was waving her arm around
-All the friends and family that came to support Natalie and our family
-Seeing my husband baptize and confirm Natalie
-Watching my daughter be baptized and confirmed

A Trip To China

Ella and her kindergarten class took a week long trip to China. They made little suitcases and took a flight to China. It was a week of learning and fun.

The trip ended on Chinese New Year with a parade.

Chinese Dragon and all.

Ella and Harrison. Check out how big she is smiling.

Snow Much Fun

For Ella's 6th birthday party she knew who she wanted to for sure come to her party.

Harrison.

Harrison sits with Ella on one side and Ella I. on the other side.

One day Ella I. was sick and Ella told me how she got to play with Harrison more because Ella I. was gone.

She paused for a second and said, "I hope Ella I. is sick tomorrow."

Ok, not a nice thing to say, but she really likes this kid so he was a must on her list of who to invite.

We needed more boys along with Harrison and Ella's girl friends.

So the theme could not be Hello Kitty, or Barbie, or Hannah Montana.

We came up with a winter/snowtheme and it turned out to be great! The list of who to invite was a bit longer than I usually do (14 kids, all of who came!) but it worked.

First we had to decorate.

We hung snowflakes from the ceiling, had giant paper snowflakes out side and a snowman on the wall. Which was good since there was no snow outside.

When the kids arrived the got started coloring a picture for their kaleidoscopes.

Then we had a snow relay. This has got to be one of the best party things we have done. It was hilarious! The kids had to put on snow bibs, boots, hat, scarf and gloves and then run across the room, do a little snow dance and then run back so the next team member could get dressed. The kids were cheering like crazy. They started helping their teammate get the gear on and off as fast as the could. One little girl was so competitive she would start taking the stuff off her teammate as soon as they got close to the starting point. There were boy and girl items with each team and most of the kids didn't seem to mind. One boy however looked at me and said (referring to the hot pink hat)
"I am not putting on that hat. I am not putting on that hat.

There is NO WAY I am putting on that hat!"

If you notice in the picture below he is wearing the pink hat. {wink}

Such a good sport!

Then instead of party hats the kids all made headbands with crazy snowflakes on the top.

I thought they looked so cute!

Ella insisted we play pin the carrot on the snowman. I don't really think this is that fun of a party game, but it turned out that the kids loved it. They were so attentive when someone was going and some of them even wanted to go a second time. And of course the snowman now hangs in Ella's room. For now.
We finished up with cake and ice cream and presents. Ella had a great time and I think so did her friends.

Sunday Comedy

Cameron has been know by select groups in our ward for his funny sayings and comedic timing. These groups were the leaders in nursery who spent 2 hours with him every Sunday and my YW who would hear stories, sit near us in sacrament or pass us in the halls.
But since moving up into Primary, his audience has really grown.
The first Sunday my friend tells me how they were having all the teachers tell a little about themselves to the whole primary.
One teacher was telling as story about their childhood.
This individual said, "when I was 3" and Cameron immediately pipped up and said, "3 like me! I'm 3!"


Today I was walking the halls with Avery and one of the Jr. Primary teachers stops me and asks if anyone had told me what Cameron had said during opening exercises.

I hadn't heard so I was a little nervous about what he had said.

His favorite movie is Despicable Me so you are never quite sure what he might say. :)

Well every Sunday in Primary they spotlight one child.

It is really cute how they do it.

All the lights are turned off and the leader waves a flashlight around the room while reading,
Spotlight
spot bright
spot a child choosing the right.
Search this room all around
a special child must be found.
Find a girl
find a boy
find a child filled with joy.
All God's children are precious and dear
but today the spotlight stops here! (pointing the light at the child who they will spotlight)


Today when they got to the phrase "find a child filled with joy" Cameron shouted out

"ME! I'M FILLED WITH JOY!"

His teacher then leaned over and told him he wasn't the spotlight today.

When the lights were turned back on Cameron looked like this.....

Another funny happening while at church today.
During Sacrament Meeting I took Cameron with me to go change Avery's diaper.
In the mother's room the speaker was on and the person speaking in sacrament was telling the story of Jonah.
I said, "Cameron this is the story about Jonah getting swallowed by the whale."
He was staring up at the speaker on the ceiling.
The "voice" would say a few sentences and then pause.
Cameron would then look up at it and ask, "Why"?
A few more words from the speaker.
Another "why" from Cameron. A few more sentences and a few more whys from Cameron.
Then came the part where Jonah is swallowed by a big fish and Cameron looks up at the speaker and says, "my mom said that".
By this point I was done changing Avery and told him it was time to go so he looked up at the speaker one last time and said, "Bye, I have to go now."
It was pretty funny and sweet to see this interaction between Cameron and a speaker in a ceiling in the ladies restroom. So I am not sure if he thinks there is some guy up in the ceiling now or what.

A Conversation With Cameron

I had done something that made Eric roll his eyes.
I laughed as he left the room.
Times like this we will often tell the other one how much they love us.
Cameron was in the kitchen with me and I smiled and said, "Daddy loves me."
Cameron: I love you too!
Me: Awww, thanks bud, I love you too!
Cameron: I think your beautiful.
Me: Awww, you think I'm beautiful?
Cameron: Yes.
Me: I think you are handsome.
Cameron: I think you are pretty.
Me: I think you are cute.
Cameron: I think you are sweet (looks down at his lunch) like ...like .... jello!
I burst into laughter.

The Feast

Ella's kindergarten class held a fabulous feast before Thanksgiving. She was SO looking forward to this grand event. She would talk about it constantly. About the food that would be prepared. About the entertainment that was continually being refined. And about the decorations that would add to the ambiance. She also told me about the "top secret song". They weren't supposed to tell their parents about this one song because it was going to be a funny surprise. Only Ella couldn't keep this in because the top secret song was the famous "Squirly squirly" that my brother has made legendary from his preschool days. The kids were each asked to bring one item for the soup we would eat at the feast. Ella was assigned egg noodles. "Mom its not even hard to get those." True not hard. She came home from school that day to tell me about making the soup. Her job: cut broccoli. She told me she did a great job and then pointing her thumb at herself along with some jerky hip movements informed me, "If you ever need to chop broccoli I can do it for you. I am a good broccoli chopper".

~~~~~~~~~

Finally the day of the feast arrived. Eric was able to take a day off so we could go see this once in a life time event. The kids sang about 10 songs that were so so adorable. We sat at tiny tables with place mats and a candle that Ella had made. And then we ate the uh, wonderful? soup the class had made the day before. I am not sure Ella even took one bite of it before declaring it was gross and she wasn't going to eat it. I am not really sure how many of the kids did. None of the ones sitting at our tiny table that is for sure. It wasn't so bad because we had apple juice that I was rationing between every few bites. That is until Ella asked for my juice.

~~~~~~~~~

It was a great feast and even greater to see my Ella with the biggest grin on her face. We love this girl.

How Do They Do It?

The other night I was searching for a cute idea for a MiaMaid activity. I came across several blogs of very crafty people. There were tons of cute projects and crafts and cooking tips and decorating ideas and on and on. How do these people do it? I am just trying to keep my kids fed, clean, homework done, house some what clean, YW stuff done, get an occasional run in, coupon so I can get the stuff we need and stay in our budget, have FHE, scriptures, pay the bills. y\Ya know the basics. How can I squeeze in making cute hair bows for my girls, cute homemade decor for my house that by the time I finish the project will be out of style and I won't want to put it up anyways, make super fab meals 3 times a day that are healthy and my kids will want to eat, do thoughtful things for those around me, and look good while I do it? Oh and have the time to make step by step tutorials, with amazing pictures and witty commentary, for my blog about each of the previously mentioned items. Really they must have some secret. More hours in the day? One of those necklaces like Dumbeldore gave Hermione so she could take more classes? A maid? A cook? SoMeThInG?! Well I don't aspire to do all those things. Maybe one or two of them would be nice. But I am grateful for these people and their amazing talents so that when I do have the need for a MiaMaid activity or time to make some cute thing for my house, I can copy their ideas. :)