We should have named the puppy Bubbles

 That would be contrary to the whole point of having a big scary dog though, but she sure loves bubbles.

 S. thinks it's so funny to blow as many as she can into Harleys face.

The best is when Har. jumps off the deck stairs to get the high ones. I knew she was crazy, I didn't know she was athletic.

How does it taste?

Something is wrong with your flowers mommy.

It's been a few weeks since I took this picture of the flowers with the "wrongness". 

I love these though, even if the kids cringe a little looking at them.

There is something so beautiful about the dark pedals and the edges that look like feathers.

They are not your traditional yellow tulip. 

That is why I dug them up well before the fall and plan on planting them in our next flower garden. 

Traditional yellows and reds can stay.

Jetpack mania

T. saw that his good buddy A. had a handcrafted jet pack.

As if the jet pack talk around the house didn't already take up too much time and energy, he now needed his very own.

I love the imagination of children, sometimes I wonder where my belief that I would fly someday went, when my imagination was taken over by practicalities.

These boys are convinced they are flying Jedi's of some kind. 

Sweet!

Honestly, KrispyKreme doughnuts are my favorite food.

Hooray for Krispy Kremes!!!!

Somehow, miraculously the kids like reading the scriptures

Maybe its all the candy rewards.
It's still miraculous to me.
Some of my favorite kid versions of scripture in the last 2 years:

And again it is written, thou shalt not forswear thyself, but shalt perform unto the Lord thine "OATS" 3Nephi 12:33

And now behold, those murderers and" PLUMBERS" were a band who had been formed by Kishkumen and Gadianton.
Helaman 6:18

And now, we can behold the decrees of God concerning this land, that it is a land of promise; and whatsoever nation shall possess it shall serve God, or they shall be swept off when the fulness of his "RATS" shall come upon them.
Ether 2:9

And the Lord God doth work by means to bring about his great and eternal purposes; and by very "SMALL BEANS" the Lord doth confound the wise and bringeth about the salvation of many souls.
Alma 37:7

S. likes to pretend she is reading along when she repeats after daddy. She even copies the tone of his voice. She is a crack up, its hard to stay serious and not laugh at her cuteness.

 

N. is awesome at following along and has learned a ton of scripture language, I think sometimes he is the only one who actually know what is going on.

 

T. still falls asleep much of the time.
Z. keeps us entertained making up her own scriptural language and skipping lines from time to time.
Just keeping us on our toes, I suppose.

I am very grateful to have Gods word in our home, the feeling the Spirit brings when we read is unlike anything else.
I never would have thought it possible to read most nights with 4 kids and stay sane, before the challenge from our stake presidency to read the Book of Mormon daily.
Now I know its not possible to stay sane if we don't have the Gospel in our life every day.

Everyday is swimming day....

 well at least hose day, and some day it may even be warm enough to enjoy 50* water in the pool.

 

Z. has the right idea, test it out with the toes first.

T. just doesnt care in the least, it could have a layer of ice on the top and he would still jump in full speed ahead.

S. thought since T. had a big smile on his face it must be comfortable to dive in.

That'll teach her.

What is up with the big gourmet cupcake craze?

 I've been wondering what the big deal is with the cupcake stores.
Can a person actually make a living at selling cupcakes?
Seriously?
D. makes fantastic treats including cupcakes and I was curious to see if gourmet could really taste any better than his homemade ones.

My cool kid in the cool cupcake store.
He loved his.

















It seems like my grandparents had some giant silverware like the pictured far wall, the kids loved the idea.
Z. loved hers but she has already had this brand of cupcake so she knew which icing to avoid.
















PeanutButter cupcake?
Yep, Yum.
T. liked his.
















"How's yours sis?"
"NMUMMMY"
I'll take that as a yes, well liked.
It was a fun store and had tasty cupcakes.
Better than D.s?
Not necessarily.
Just more variety.
Oh and his hours of baking are a lot more convenient, he doesn't close up at 11am when he runs out of cupcakes.

The good kind of Mudslide

Sandbox and hose create a playtime paradise for kids but a cleaning nightmare for mom.
Rule was that once school was out the hose could be brought out(in hopes that the weather would warm up enough to wear swimsuits and not difficult to clean outfits).
First day out of school the hose was on full blast most of the daylight hours not surprisingly.




















Once darkness hit so did the exhaustion of so much fun.
Moms love that part.
"Can we flood the sandbox again tomorrow?"
"Please?!"

Fearless

T. has been begging to have his training wheels removed.
The bike is a little tall for him but that isn't enough to stop his fearlessness.
He tipped over a dozen times but didn't give up.















How does 2 wheeling feel?
2 thumbs up!!