Bye Bye Training Wheels

Shayla came to the conclusion yesterday that she wanted to try riding her bike without training wheels. Daddy helped her and in less than 30 seconds she was riding like a pro! I worked more on stopping and starting with her today and she is catching on so fast. I am one proud mama!

Happy Little Homemakers

First Gavin and Issy made cookies together, then took the stroller and shopping cart for a walk around the house. I love how well these 2 play together and don't they make a darling couple?

Making a Mess, then Taking a Rest

Gavin ate an entire chocolate bar in a matter of minutes and made a huge mess with it. It was a rare yet extremely satisfying moment for him. After a thorough wipe down and change of clothes, he spent the rest of his evening chillin' with daddy. Oh what a life!

Fun with Reading Week

Shayla had a special reading week at her preschool where she got to spend time reading in different places; on a blanket outside, in the bathtub, upside down... Us girls had a great time doing it and Shayla even earned a little surprise at the end of the week for her hard work.

Crazy Little Monkeys

Jumping on the bed is becoming a normal occurance at our house. I guess there are some things I have learned to embrace the humor in and with that, the rules fly out the window. After all of the jumping I found the kids playing on the floor near my bed. I asked them what they were doing and then Shayla said, "having a tea party and loving each other." How sweet is that? The kids also love to jump on the trampoline. We had some of our favorite cousins over for a bit and it was a lot of fun for Shayla and Joelee to show off their gymnastics moves with the babies in the background; Gavin with stick in hand, and Quade and Qune with their popsicles hanging out of their mouths. Gavin was apparently being a pirate or something waving his stick around and saying "whoa" over and over. Then all 7 kiddos squished onto the love sack to eat their popsicles. What cute kids!

Feeding the Monster Swan

The other day we fed the ducks at the pond near our house. It was really windy but the kids loved to throw bread out to the ducks, geese and even the freakishly large swan. The funniest part was watching the girls back away avoiding attack, then inch forward in interest. I love it!

Spring Break in Cali 2011

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A Pirate Princess

Shayla has found a joy for playing pirates lately. She likes to get all dressed up with Eris and search for buried treasure in the back yard. Of course she doesn't like to look like a true pirate, more of a princess with a patch over her eye. She's becoming a bit of a girly girl with all of the glitz and glitter, talking on her phone and driving her pink bug around. The funniest part is that she tries to drive it with her legs crossed! I used to think that she'd be all about sports but today I asked her if she wanted to play soccer and she responds by saying, "No mom I want to be a cheerleader when I get big!"

Naughty Stage Not Over

I thought that Shayla's naughty stage was getting better but have recently found that it is probably getting worse. She is sneakier and more destructive than ever before and has now brought Gavin in on her little plots. The other day I was shocked to find Gavin covered from head to toe in marker. Shayla had even gone to the trouble of coloring his toenails bright pink! Apparently Gavin colored on my comforter while Shayla cut my curtains with scizzors and of course all of this happened within a couple of minutes. It was so ridiculous that I almost laughed when I caught them with markers and scizzors in hand. The looks on their faces were priceless. Luckily I kept my cool, snapped a couple of pics and had a good talk with them. We'll see how long it lasts before something drastic happens again. :)

Eris, Future Photographer

Eris got a camera for her birthday last year and has recently been playing around with it. It's pretty amazing some of the shots she has been able to get. She loves to take landscape shots and even poses the kids for pics. I can see a talent and passion in her for photography already!

Happy 4th Birthday Shayla!

I can't believe my baby Shayla is already 4 years old! She had a very happy birthday filled with 2 fun parties, one with family in Orem and the other at home with cousins. She received many wonderful gifts but chose to focus most of her love on her new polly pockets, balloons, gum and a "My Little Pony" card. It's possible that she could have been even more thrilled at the watermelon, animal cookies and pink cake and ice cream that she got to eat. Oh, the simple joys of life!