Grammy and Nicolas Ball It Up

Grammy and Nicolas playing with the basketball hoop set he got for Christmas.  

He is pretty dang good and gives Grammy a run for her money.

Cooking with Mom

Nicolas and I have prepared quite a few things together in the kitchen. I have never let him use the stove and he was stoked.  He did an excellent job and the pancakes tasted fabulous.  Looking forward to many more cooking experiments together.

Poem Recitation

Before Nicolas switched schools, he was responsible for reciting a poem every term in front of his entire class.  He had to use a prop and act it out.  He was graded on his ability to memorize and recite the poem.  He performed flawlessly and received a 100% from his teacher.  Unfortunately, I did not get any pictures of him during the recitation, but I did get a picture of the prop.  The poem and prop are shown below.

Mice

Rose Fyleman

I think mice are rather nice,

Their tails are long,

Their faces small,

They haven't any chins at all.

Their ears are pink,

Their teeth are white,

They run about the house at night.

They nibble things

they shouldn't touch.

And no one seems

to like them much.

But I think mice are nice.

Babysitting 101

What do you do when you need to babysit 3 kiddos, plus your own, and you need to get a few things done around the house.  Look and see :)

Nicolas on the "iPad for kids."  

 Little Miss Em on the Leapster.

Maddie Moo on the DS.

Not pictured above. Jarem in the pack-n-play napping and Momma Wendy at the kitchen sink doing dishes.  Happy Saturday folks!!

Dino Dig

Nicolas has had a pretty challenging week with a hairy eye appointment, healing head and loads of homework.  He really wanted D to come over and play today and I agreed.  The two boys have had so much fun.  Currently they are playing "paleontologist" in my kitchen and digging for a dinosaur.  I love those two so much.  Just what Nicolas needed today.

 Random pic of the "HOLE."

2012 Thus Far

2012 has been fairly interesting, to say the least.  We have spent many a day and night doing this:

and this:

We experienced crummy illness, a surgical procedure for Nicolas (couldn't get a great picture) and lots and lots of playing with Addy Cakes while her parents cared for preemie twins.

I am finally on the mend (mostly), Nicolas' head is healing nicely and the twins are home.  Life should return to normal sometime soon.  Stay tuned.......

Precise Language

Mr. Nicolas is quite the character these days.  From him tonight, "Mommy you seem to use very precise language." When I asked him what he meant he said, "You add extra words to your sentences to make them more fun."  Awesome!

2011 In Review

2011 was pretty dang awesome.  

We accomplished many great things, grew closer to family and friends and have so very much to be grateful for.  Shall we take a walk down memory lane?  Here goes:

4 babies were born into our extended family and we are in love with every last one of them.

 Jarem Smith - Born April 6, 2011 to Shem and Jenny

Jaycee and Graycee Dana - Born December 14, 2011 to Jessica and Nate

Taya Noel Peterson - Born December 28, 2011 to Vanessa and Mitch

We vacationed at some gorgeous and memorable locations.

We experienced many "firsts."

We had a blast with friends and cousins.

We spent a lot of time with Nicolas' BFF Dallin.

We had some EPIC holiday celebrations.

I got to see my teenage heart throb (ok, he's still my heart throb, who am I kidding?) in concert for my birthday.  It was one of the best nights of my life for sure :)

I survived many challenges, pushed myself to the next level, pursued passions and met some amazing people.

Life is good.  We are so happy and CANNOT wait to see what 2012 has in store for us.