Kutter's Turn

Kutter's dimples are still pretty much my favorite thing about him. They show up in the most unexpected places and times! We see them when he's happy, sure, but also when he is feeling shy, a little bit sheepish about something he's done, and when he's concentrating really hard! They ALWAYS make my day! His latest loves: He is still definitely all-boy. Soccer is his very favorite thing, but he loves anything that involves testosterone. He thinks his bunk bed that Grandpa built is the coolest thing ever and Mickey Mouse has seriously risen in his estimation since our trip to Disneyland!

His latest funny: I dread waking him up for preschool -- it is the never ending struggle. Although he seriously loves preschool, he is just NOT a morning person and it usually takes him forever. This morning he jumped right up with a huge grin and explained that he had been pretty worried he wouldn't get to go today. "I had a dream that spring break was over but they wouldn't let us go to preschool because it was too cold and we couldn't do anything and it was just so sad!" I felt so bad laughing at him because he was so relieved!

Also, when I picked him up from his first soccer practice and asked him how it went, he responded by saying "pretty good, I think the other kids will all get the hang of it eventually. I'll take it easy on them til them". No ego there!

His latest dislikes: Pink is still a huge problem at our house. He can't play with the pink bouncy ball. He refuses to sit on the pink chairs at school. He won't even eat the pink jelly beans! I've never seen a kid so afraid of a color before!

Kutter also really hates anything to be wrong with Brielle. He is usually so stubborn, but he will go out of his way to make her happy if she's sad. I've seen him smack his head or dramatically fall to the floor to get a giggle out of her. It reminds me of Boo and Sully from Monster's Inc.

She definitely brings out the best in him ... at least for now!

Okay, Hayley....

....I accept your challenge. I do think my children are much cuter than the peaches, so I'm gonna try a lot harder to take pictures of them this week! In fact, I've decided to share a little update on each of them at some point during the week. I'll start with little Brielle, since I was already dying to share this pic... Her latest loves: Well, mostly shoes. She loves all shoes and is constantly begging me to change them for her. She's found all of the shoes that don't fit her yet and she clearly already knows which are her favorite (the fluorescent pink flip flops, Hay). She has also figured out that Dad's shoes are the easiest to get on if mommy is not inclined to help her at the moment. In this picture, she is extremely proud of herself since I expressly forbid her to change shoes because we were trying to get ready for church! The part you can't see is that the boots have spurs on them, so she did a little tap dance for me in the kitchen. What a goof!
She also has a very disturbing love for bologna. She could eat it all day long. And she calls it "brownies". Yes. This disturbs me.
Her latest phrases: My latest of recent memory also comes from Sunday morning. Jody was snuggling with her before he left early for his meetings and he finally told her he was gonna have to leave. She just looked up at him so sweet and said, "NO. Hold you all day long!" Yeah, he was probably late for that meeting!
She's also taken to throwing all of her clothes out of her drawer and rummaging through them. When I finally asked her what in the world she was doing, she looked up at me all innocent and said, "I wanna buy this"!
Her latest dislikes: Mess. I think I've corrupted her. She threw an enormous tantrum while playing with a friend today. It wasn't that she didn't want to share her toys -- she just really, REALLY wanted to clean up! She screamed, threw herself on the floor, and even kicked, until her cute friend finally gave up. Brielle instantly jumped up and put the hopscotch tiles neatly back into their package. What am I gonna do with her?
Clothes. She seriously loves looking at them. She apparently loves shopping for them. However, she refuses to wear them for any lengthy period of time. I don't remember the other kids doing this, but she would run naked all day long if I let her. I am extremely tired of wrestling her to the ground to get her dressed, just to do it all over again in twenty minutes. Help!
So that's 1 down, 3 to go. Wish me luck!

How do ya like them apples?

I finally decided I had better do something about the 3 cases of apples that I have had out in my garage since Christmas. My friends have all been canning like crazy --- applesauce, apple butter, apple jelly. Sounds waaaay out of my league. We've tried, desperately to eat all of the dang things, but I can only eat so much fruit before the fruit dip comes out! I can't stand the thought of them wasting, so I decided to take my very first stab at canning.

Breje and I made a girl's night out of it and it was so much fun! She happens to be way better with the peeler/corer/slicer than I am, and she was such a trooper about staying up way late with me so that it never got boring.

We had so much fun that I ran into town to buy another box of jars so that we could do more. I think they are absolutely beautiful!

I think Jody thought he was being hilarious when he suggested, at 11:00 that night, that it would be great to be able to take a couple homemade apple pies to work the next day. Joke's on him! We stayed up until 1:30 am baking them, because we couldn't bear to open up those lovely jars already when we still had tons of apples! It was not our usual girl's night, but I'm sure we'll remember the fun we had everytime we open one of those jars.

BORING!

I think about the most exciting thing to happen to us since we got home from Disneyland was Brielle falling asleep on the living room floor. Yes, this is seriously pathetic. We know! Seriously, I think I've still got a bit of the post-vacation-blues, and they're running right into the why-isn't-it-summer-yet?-blues. It's not a fabulous combination, but we're working on it, folks.

Our only major bright spot in the last couple weeks was how great Breje and Trayson did at their piano festival last weekend. Festival is not nearly as fun as it sounds -- just ask my kids! It is so NOT a party! They have to go into a room with just a piano and a judge who takes notes on how well they play 2 songs. They have to memorize these songs and then play them as perfectly as possible and they only get one chance to do it. This sounds absolutely terrifying to me and I am so proud that they are even brave enough to try it! (Who am I kidding -- I am still proud that they can figure out how to read the dang music! How are they my kids?) Their piano teacher was super proud of how well they both played and we just found out they both received superior ratings-- the very best they can get! Whoo hoo! I am extra glad that I took them to Boise afterwards to celebrate. We went out to dinner, did a little bit of shopping, and then saw a movie together. I couldn't believe how much I enjoyed hanging out with my big kids! Thanks, guys!

Magicalness

"Magicalness" is my SIL's new word to describe Disneyland and I am totally stealing it! Thanks, Ames, I am positive they will be adding it to the next edition of Webster's, cause it's the only word that really fits our week in that happy happy place!

I'm not sure how to keep this post from becoming unbearably long -- 8 adults, 7 kids, 6 days, 2 parks, about a million Disney characters, even more churros-- all wrapped up in magicalness. It's tough to summarize. Vacations sometimes don't live up to our expectations, but this one did.

We averaged over 10 miles a day! (is that child abuse? strollers were involved, I promise!) and yet everyone managed to stay happy most of the time. I think I'll just show ya'll the pictures to prove it!

This is Brielle waiting in line for her very first ride. She waited forever to get on the coaster in Toon Town, and then found out she was too short, but doesn't she look so happy?Everyone got a chance to meet a few of their heroes during the week. The girls got to meet most of the Disney princesses -- except for Brielle, who apparently found them terrifying! Hayley's girls were utterly star-struck, though and it was fun to see that Breje was still just young enough to get excited about too! I think one of Kutter's favorite moments of the week was getting to meet his hero --Lightnin McQueen!And Pluto was just so darn cute that I had to get him in here, too!I loved that there are quite a few rides that everyone can go on together. The jungle cruise was a big hit with everyone, mostly because it was a fun challenge trying to get Brielle and Simon to look excited about something. The two of them spent most of the week trying so hard to drink it all in, that they couldn't be bothered with any extra emotional displays!

The carousels were another thing we got tons of use out of. Grandma and Amy were especially good sports about taking all the younger kids on it whenever we were off doing something they were too little for. I'm pretty sure their heads are still spinning, but don't the kids look thrilled!

We never get any family pics, but I finally remembered to hand the camera over and get this one in front of the falls at California adventure. I think I mostly wanted proof that I still knew where all four of my kids were by the end of the week!

Grandma Linda made sure that all the kids were completely ready for the fun we'd have there. She got them all mouse ears and autograph books and they were so excited! Notice that Grandpa was the only adult willing to don one. Grandpa was a fun surprise on this trip, and we actually decided to give him the "most improved" award for this vacation! If you've ever been on a trip with us, you know that staying up late, spending tons of money, eating bad food, and trying to keep track of everyone is usually a bit tough on him. This time he took it like a trooper and truly seemed to enjoy it. I don't think I saw him shake his head once!I think my favorite part of this trip was watching all the kids together. They have always been close, but visits are usually pretty short for us and it was so nice to get to see them just be themselves together.
Trayson and Sienna are not the usual twosome when we visit, but she started following him around like a little puppy last week and he just ate it up.

Breje and Ady in front of the castle -- what could be more beautiful, right?

I always get tons of Trayson and Simon together. This one is definitely one of my new all-time favorites. Cody, did you teach him that pose?
Brielle is finally old enough to start forming stronger friendships with her cousins, too, and they had more time together since they were always waiting for the big kids to get off rides. They don't look too upset about it, do they? Whew, that was a ton of pictures! Sorry! Thank you guys, for getting us to come along and for all of the entertainment along the way. (I have a seriously amusing family!) Thanks a million for helping keep track of my kids -- I know they wouldn't have all made it home without you!