Blessed

Yesterday morning we made the two hour drive down to Maryland to witness our nephew Legend and niece Zariah be given a name and a blessing. In our church this is usually done when children are infants. However, since Legend and Zariah were adopted into the family in January, they were given their blessings now as bigger kids. It was a gift to hear my brother Jordan be the conduit for both of the powerful and tender blessings.

Plus, we loved getting to see family, even if it was just for sacrament meeting.

Jordan and Leah, thanks for inviting us to be part of this special day!

 

Living His Best Life

Visible Progress

Phoebe found one of her old sketch books recently and marveled at how much her skill and style have changed. The first picture was drawn two years ago. The second picture was drawn a few weeks ago. 

I love to see the progress she's made and am excited to see what her drawings look like two years from now.

Snow Day Deals

We finally got some snow. There was enough for Cooper and Topher to play in for about thirty minutes before it started to melt. Everyone else was busy doing school. Well, technically Cooper was also busy doing school. However, Topher desperately wanted to go outside and I desperately did not want to go outside. I told Cooper that if he would take a break from school and go outside with Topher that I would cover his chore for the day. Cooper has the dishes this week and readily agreed. He thought he lucked out. Little did he know that I got a clean kitchen out of the deal (without having to wait for him to take care of it late in the day) in addition to not having to go out in the cold. I think I was totally the winner.

Based on the fun he had, I'm pretty sure Topher thought he was the winner.

I took this last night before I went to bed.

Toxic

"Mom, you know how we shouldn't stay in toxic relationships? Well, I think I'm in a toxic relationship. With math. It keeps trying to get me to solve its problems. " -Phoebe, after working on her math assignments yesterday.

The Perfect Disguise

"Mom! Can you see me?"

Different and the Same

This picture was taken sixteen years ago today. Hmm, I think one of them has changed a bit more than the other.

When I downloaded this picture I discovered that someone had titled it "Peter is Awesome! And Cute!" That's something that hasn't changed.

Jump and Dance

We all enjoyed the parade at Sesame Place, but Topher really loved the music.

Can You Tell Me How to Get to Sesame Street?

Some of our friends have season passes to Sesame Place, a small amusement park based on Sesame Street, and invited us to join them on Monday for an adventure. Bryan had to work and Peter and Cooper had plans with the other youth from church so I took Phoebe, Sophie, and Topher.

Can you spot Cookie Monster in his Mardi Gras finest?

The park was only open for a few hours, but we made the most of the time and enjoyed several rides.

We got a kick out of the Broadway show poster parodies we saw near the theater. Not pictured: Abby (instead of Annie), Scent (Rent, with a silhouette of Snuffy's trunk), Preschool of Rock (School of Rock), and Bearspray (Hairspray).

Can you see Les Monsterables in the edge of the picture?

Our whole group got to take a picture with Telly.

We found Big Bird's nest.

The whole park was celebrating Mardi Gras. That's why the kids were able to try beignets for the first time. They were big fans.

We went on one last ride while we waited for the parade at the end of our visit.

The weather was perfect and delightfully warm for President's Day. It was fun to hang out with friends in such a fun place.

Gingerbread Houses: Valentine's Day Edition

Originally the plan was to make gingerbread houses at Christmas time. December got so busy that we decided we would save them to make when Bryan's parents were visiting. And then we got COVID and the gingerbread house plan got shelved indefinitely. When we started to feel better the kids asked when those gingerbread houses would be built. It occurred to me that Christmas isn't the only time for such an activity. What if we did them for Valentine's Day?

That's why on Sunday afternoon we gathered at our table with graham crackers (a switch from our usual prepackaged kits), frosting, sprinkles, and candy.

The consensus between the kids is that they preferred the creative freedom of using graham crackers instead of precut gingerbread pieces. Topher and I both appreciated pulling out my collection of frosting tubes and using several of them up, though my reasons were decidedly different from his.

Here's Peter's house:

Phoebe's auto shop:

Topher's layered creation:

Cooper's Halloween inspired edifice:

And Sophie ski chalet:

It was a messy but fun activity.