Flower Child

Sophie and the other Primary Activity Day Girls were invited to learn how to arrange flowers. Sophie loved the experience and brought home this darling flower puppy.

Busy Hands

See what I'm pointing to in this picture? There should be a chain there. The missing chain turns the lights on and off in my room. I made the rookie mistake of going to the bathroom and leaving someone cute and bouncy and four-years-old alone. And now we can't turn those lights on. We're pretty sure it can be fixed, and we have some additional lighting in our room, but it is a little dark at the moment.

Progress

Topher the Builder

Putting together IKEA furniture is exciting. Putting together IKEA furniture while assisted by an eager four-year-old takes it to a totally new level.

Dancing Kings

Peter and Cooper went to church prom on Saturday night. The preparations included making sure all homework and chores were completed, washing laundry, and performing any needed clothing alterations. Peter's vest arrived that morning and didn't fit as tightly as he had hoped. I had him put it on backwards, pulled it to his preferred level of tightness, then pinned it in place. I sewed a line up the back, following the pins, hoping I wasn't ruining the vest since this was all very last minute and there was no backup. It worked out fine, thankfully.

They also had to do their hair. Whoever thinks boys don't care about their appearance doesn't know my boys. I reached out to Bryan's brother Spencer, who has amazing hair, and asked for tips to give Peter's hair volume. We followed his suggestions and they worked well, very very well.

After looking in the mirror, he agreed to let me cut his hair. I did a very quick, not super thorough job, but it worked. Cooper's hair naturally has lift, so he didn't need any extra help from me or the hairdryer. By the time they were both ready, they were running late. I stood on the front step and snapped a bunch of pictures hoping for a good one. I got a few, but none that is a good picture of both of them.

Then Bryan drove them nearly two hours to an IHOP in New Jersey where they met kids from our ward (some of them live in our neighborhood) for dinner, then on to the dance another twenty minutes away. The boys thought it was fun and had lots to report when they got home. The Dedication Award for the night goes to Bryan who sat in the car during a massive rainstorm while the boys danced the night away.

The Poet Recognized

Remember the sonnet competition that Phoebe entered a few weeks ago? She was thrilled to learn that she won second place for the middle school division! Our family was invited to attend an awards ceremony at the university that hosted the competition. She was anxious about attending and being recognized for her work. That anxiety was not calmed when the woman conducting the ceremony announced that each of the winners would read their work aloud. They had not let the participants know this beforehand. Phoebe smiled and silently panicked. I was very proud of her when she got up and read her sonnet, even though she really didn't want to.

Here's a picture of all the winners:

As we left, each winner was handed a gift bag. When we got to the van Phoebe discovered that she was awarded a $50 gift card! It was both a stressful and rewarding experience for her. I'm so glad that she pushed herself to write the sonnet, enter the contest, and then read it out loud when the time came. Well done, Phoebe!

The Same Team

Topher: Mom, you're on the E Team and I'm on the Er Team!

Me: Oh? The Er Team?

Topher: Yes. Mommy and Daddy and Sophie and Phoebe are on the E Team. Topher and Cooper and Peter are on the Er Team!

I love the connections he's making as he's learning to read!

America's First Zoo

This year for birthdays we're not giving traditional gifts (except for Topher, because we think not getting gifts as a five-year-old would be too rough). Instead, each person gets to pick out an adventure for the family. Cooper chose the Philadelphia Zoo for his adventure. However, our Saturdays were so full that it took nearly a month until we were finally able to go. Bryan took the Monday after Easter off from work and we got tickets. Bonus: it was the last day that Emma and Paige were visiting, so they joined us.

I realized I took very few pictures of animals, so I guess it's obvious that I was there for the people. However, I was able to get a picture of Phoebe's favorite animal (the tiger, above) and Sophie's favorite animal. She adores red pandas and was thrilled to see this one in action. We also saw Cooper's favorite animal at the giraffe exhibit. Sadly, there weren't any elephants for Peter or polar bears for Topher. I guess we'll have to find another zoo to visit soon to include them.

It's our family tradition that the first time we take one of our kids to the zoo they get to pick out a stuffed animal. Each animal they've picked has become dear to them. Technically Topher went to a small local zoo in February, but the gift shops were closed and we rushed through the exhibits since it was so cold. We considered this a do-over and he picked out his own polar bear to take home. Bryan saw Emma admiring this cheetah and included her in the tradition, since it was her first visit to a zoo while we were with her.

Emma and Paige headed to their house when we finished at the zoo. We were happy that they could join us for one more fun outing.

Seeds

Super Cousins

New Friends

A particular highlight of our trip down to Maryland last Saturday was when my sister-in-law Leah let the younger kids each choose a doll to take home. She's been collecting used/worn/damaged American Girl dolls and restoring them. She's doing a beautiful job. Phoebe, Sophie, Emma, and Topher all love their new buddies.

Thank you, Aunt Leah!

Easter Festivities

I wanted Easter to go smoothly, so I prepared in advance. I bought ties for the boys and dresses for the girls (Burlington for the win!) and made sure they tried them on. Everything fit as of last Thursday. On Sunday morning, nothing fit, not even my own dress or Bryan's new tie. There were several explosions of emotions and figurative fires that we had to put out. We ended up being ten minutes late to our pre-church choir practice, which was especially rough since I'm the choir director.

My nerves calmed somewhat during the rehearsal. The choir did a magnificent job when it was time to sing. We had picked one simple song, How Beautiful, and one tricky song, My Kindness Shall Not Depart From Thee. They both required me to stay alert as I directed, but the second was particularly demanding. The time signature changes over a dozen times, so I practiced a lot beforehand. Both songs came together beautifully. The best part of both songs was the wonderful message of the Savior they contained. I told the choir that it was our opportunity to share our testimony of Christ as we sang, so we needed to make sure the notes we hit didn't get in the way of that.

And then we came home, took pictures, had an Easter egg hunt, and ate a delicious dinner.

A Day on the Bay

Peter's spring break was a four-day weekend and I feel like we packed a week's worth of activities into that time. On Friday Phoebe went with some friends from church to an indoor waterpark and had a great time. That evening Peter and Cooper saw the Super Mario Brothers Movie to celebrate the birthday of a boy from church. They loved it.

The next morning we drove to Maryland to celebrate my brother Jordan's 40th birthday. We had fun chatting and playing at their house before relocating to a park on the Chesapeake Bay for a cookout.

photo credit: Leah

photo credit: Leah

It was a chilly day, but we were so happy to spend it with family!

Two Peas In a Pod

Emma and Paige are back at their own house now, but not everyone was willing. When Paige told Emma that they needed to go home she said she didn't want to leave. Paige reminded her that she had to get back for school. Emma thought about it and relented, but said after school she needed to get back to Topher. Those cousins sure had a lot of fun while they were together.

Easter Best

Photo credit: my sister Paige

Cousin Adventures, So Far