Whitney's Star Wars "Jedi Training" Party

Whitney had a super fun birthday party!  We had 8 kids show up, most of them in Star Wars attire!  So fun! (But of course at the last minute Whitney decided to wear her SW shirt instead of the R2 or Jedi costumes...)  When the kids arrived they got a Jedi Training Academy badge and a "light saber", and commenced "practicing their moves".  This is Whitney, Will, Piper, and Tyson, moving so fast they were a blur! :)

 Then we played a game where you had to use the Force to hit Darth Vader heads (Easter eggs) while blindfolded.  And as we were finishing the game.... Darth Vader showed up!!  (Eric of course!)  He was quickly attacked my the young Padawans!

 After trying to take down Whitney, Darth Vader was eventually overcome and surrendered. 

 After another game, the Padawans were ready for their final test- the Jedi Obstacle Course!  This was the first obstacle- swinging over the pool of water- accomplished with the help of Jedi Master Derek!  And here's a good place to say- THANK YOU Derek for all your help!  He came early and helped me set up decorations and the obstacle course, then was so much help with the kids until Eric could get there!  And after that even, so Eric could chase Owen around!  It was cute, Derek was almost as excited as the kids to be at a Star Wars Party, and I couldn't have gotten everything done without him.  Love having him close by!

 The new Jedis enjoyed some Yoda Soda,

 mini pretzel light sabers me and Whit made,

and Light saber cake,

(Courtney, Piper, Whit, Ellaina, and Reese)

 and Leia cupcakes!

Whitney's friends gave her such cute presents, and she did a great job of being grateful :)

 Overall it was GREAT!  Oh and here's a pic of Kate in her Jedi robe I made for her (and one for Whitney).  What a cute Jedi Master!

CA trip pictures from my phone!

I forgot to post these.  Also I need to steal some from Melissa's blog because SERIOUSLY, she gets the cutest pictures of the kids!!

Our awesome car trip.  For part of the ride Lydia could not handle Owen staring at her constantly, but then they became friends.  Here they are sharing goldfish, so cute!

 Owen and Jenna size comparison.  She is such a cute little tiny girl!

 Love the matching hair boys!  Owen and Caleb will be good friends some day. :)

 cousin races

 It rained one day, so the kids got to play in the "rivers" that flow down the street, and the tadpole pond!  Good memories from my childhood!

 Whitney got to see real pigs!!!  And other animals, at Jenae's school farm (for FFA).  It was super fun.

 And Owen just wanted to hug Lydia and Jenna at every opportunity!  So cute.

update on my fitness :)

Since you're all dying to know... I did it!  Met my goal.  I lost 10 pounds in 3 months!  The first month I upped my exercise and just tried to be smarter about my eating, and I started tracking my food but didn't worry if I went over because I was still nursing Owen.  The next 2 months (March and April) I was super strict about staying under my allotted calories and tracking everything, I finished nursing Owen, and upped my exercise a little more.  By the end of April I had lost 10 pounds!  So now I'm trying to lose 3 or 4 more, just to have a little cushion, but I'm not being very strict.  I'm still tracking my food most of the time, because that really helps me be accountable.  But I take one or two days off per week, when I'm really busy or it's a holiday (like Whitney's birthday or mother's day!).  Also I'm counting on my increased running over the next 6 weeks until the Ragnar to help me out with those couple of pounds.
Anyway, I just wanted to say, "I did it!!"  because back in January I was not confident that I would be able to lose 10 pounds- at least not that quickly!  (Well it seemed quick to me- I have so much more sympathy now for people who have a lot to lose!  It's hard work!)  So I'm pretty proud of myself. :)

California Trip

Picture overload!!

So I decided to be crazy and take the kids, without Eric, to California during Katelyn's Spring Break!!  It was sometimes hard, but overall so great.  Every day there were so many moments that made it worth the drive just for that ONE moment!  I really hate leaving Eric, but it had been a year since we'd been to Madera, so it was time.  And since we picked up Katrina and Lydia in St. George, it was even better!!

So here come the pics of some priceless moments:

Whitney was deathly afraid of this "crack" in St. George the last time we went, but this time she decided to be brave and go through it!  I was so proud of her!  Kate took her through, since I couldn't get through holding Owen.

Then some nice girls helped them find their way back down to me.
My little adventurers!

Owen at my Dad's farm!  He LOVES animals, especially dogs.

He loves climbing on things, and getting dirty,

and apparently he loves tractor magazines!

Owen wanted to stay in the tractor forever- all the cool buttons and levers!

This was taken at my grandparents' house in Chowchilla.  I spent a lot of time there as a child, so it has great memories for me!  and they still have all the same cool old toys!  The look on my grandma's face when 5 of her granddaughters were there with all their little kids running around was worth the whole trip.  She was so delighted to help the kids find toys and give them snacks.  And my grandpa sat over in the dining room while we had our "women talk"- description of my cousin's latest baby's birth :)

And of course this is priceless: Sister time!  We didn't get to see Jenae that much, since she was right in the thick of FFA competitions and track practice and spring musical (In the Heights) rehearsals and seminary, not to mention homework!  The girl is crazy busy!  But here we all are at Opening night of her play (she was just a background person, she didn't have time to try and get a bigger role, so she enjoys just being in the group numbers). But I did get to be with Allison Katrina and Melissa all day every day, what a treat!  And my mom lots and my Dad quite a bit too!  And it was just so good to be with Allison and her kids and see how marvelously okay they all are after these last few months!

Meanwhile my kids got cousin time!  Since Eric and I are both the oldest, Natalie and Caleb are and always will be the ONLY cousins my girls have that are close to their age!  That makes time with them extremely valuable!  And they made the most of it. 

On the trampoline,

having Easter egg hunts,

reading reading reading- especially exciting since Natalie can read now too!

Oh and Owen had his cousin time too- the lucky boy has 3 cousins with 8 months or less age difference from him--and they're all girls!!  He loves Lydia!  (and Jenna and Cleo!)

 The kids also played lots of Star Wars,

 had quality Grammy and Grandpa Jamie time,

 and my personal favorite, spent hours playing in the empty lots on both sides of my parents' property.  This was my childhood!  This was me and my siblings, out there in the spring in the beautiful green pretending all kinds of hilarious things.  I love to see them getting to do the same thing. :)

I love this picture, because one of the most priceless things about this trip was that the girls really got to know Caleb!  Last time we saw him he was only 2 and couldn't really play with them.  But now he's 3 and a fun little chatterbox and they loved him!  It was super cute, he and Katelyn got along really well actually. :)  And of course they love Natalie!!

 Then there's these two, the little blond twins, born just 2 weeks apart.  They were interested in each other, I'm excited for when they can play together!

 Owen and his only boy cousin- until Katrina has her baby!  We are so grateful for Caleb!

 And last but not least, I must say something about these two, the best travelling buddies ever!  Not only was the drive a breeze for me with another adult there to help me and keep my spirits up (even when the AC didn't work for the hottest 3 hours of the trip--awesome), and my girls definitely behaved better since it wasn't just me there for them to complain to (Owen couldn't possibly have been better- he was a little thumb-sucking angel the whole ride!), but also I got to talk to my sister for 9 hours straight each way!  What a blast!  We covered every subject under the sun and I even learned things about her that I didn't know!  Great, great times.  We love Katrina and Lydia!!  "No way!" And her amazing husband Phillip who changed my tire for me when I got a flat no joke 2 blocks from their house!  What a blessing it didn't happen any earlier or later when we were in the middle of nowhere!  I love knowing the Lord is watching over us and feeling His protection. :)

Good trip. 

The End.

Easter

Highlights of Easter:

Whitney waking up super early like she does on every holiday and birthday!

 Sleeping beauty woken by her sister!

 Owen knew what the candy was and immediately started eating his Cadbury egg with the wrapper on!  I helped him get it off and he chomped a huge bite of chocolate and creme!

 Whitney wanted a picture with her beautiful dyed eggs.

 I think Katelyn ate her entire chocolate bunny that same day...she's a chocoholic!!  ALso notice her biting from the side- poor girl has been missing her front teeth since before Christmas!

 Owen got to do his first easter egg hunt!  He picked up one piece of candy and he was good!  He just kept looking around at all the other kids. (He loves other little kids and is always trying to hug them!  Our little social boy!)

 The dresses I made the girls and the cute outfit I bought Owen at Walmart!

 So- I REALLY love making my own patterns.  So much.  I love sketching ideas and picking my favorite and figuring out which fabric pattern and type will work for that look and then figuring out how to make the pattern pieces so the dress will look right--it's great exercise for my brain!  And then I'm just nervous through all the cutting and sewing until I can see it starting to come together, and then I'm impatient with all the little finishing details just wanting it to be done so I can reach THIS moment: when I put it on my beautiful child and it looks adorable! :)  

 The only thing that didn't turn out like I planned it was the ruffle at the neck- it was the last part of the dresses that I did and I realized too late that for it to look right it would have to be INSET in the yellow- it was NOT supposed to be hugely puffy like that!  But I would have had to cut the main dress piece to try to put it in and I was too afraid I'd ruin it-- thus the puffy throat ruffles.  Oh well, you can't have it all! 

Owen the little man.

 Oh and I made myself a matching skirt.  And earrings.  

 My cute Kate.

We had a really happy Easter, reflecting on what the Resurrection means to us.  I am so grateful for my body and that I can live again, with my family, FOREVER. :)

First-grader

Katelyn's about to finish up first grade in a couple of weeks, unbelievable!  So here's a picture I took of her a couple of months ago on a typical morning- eating breakfast and doing math homework. :)  Except this day was special because it was her first page of MULTIPLICATION!  

We shouldn't have been shocked when our smarty-pants first-grader-in-a-second-grade-math-class came home with multiplication homework, then division homework....but we were totally surprised!  Didn't we learn those things in 3rd grade???  

Well, she sure can handle it, along with subtracting 3 digit numbers, some easy fractions and basic geometry.  

What can I say?  She has really good genes. :)

Owen at 15 months

Wow it's been a long time!  We didn't have a computer for about 3 weeks, and then lately I've been imtimidated by the catching up!  So here's a current post to start.  

Owen is 15 months old, or 1 and a quarter years old!  Crazy!  I feel like he's suddenly gotten old.  Probably  partly because I finished nursing him right before he was 14 months, which seems so long ago!  babies always grow up fast in my eyes after they're done nursing.  

But the thing that's made him seem the oldest is definitely his 

TALKING!

I can't say he's my earliest talker, because we all know Katelyn talked really well at a ridiculously young age.  But I had always heard that girls were more verbal than boys, so I assumed it might take him a little longer to speak-- not so!  Here are the things he can say:

mama

dada

"suss" for sister

"at" for Kate

"gog"-dog

"woh" -woof

"da-dune"-all done

"moh"-more

"chs"-cheese

"beh"-bread

"uh-bey"-strawberry

"wa-mah"-watermelon

"ba-ah"-bye

"hah"-hi

"nah"-good night

"beh"-bear

"baa"-blanket

go

"ca"-car

"ow" cow

uh-oh!

"oyoyo"(while shaking head)-no

"ah" (while nodding)-yes

"ba"-ball

"buh"-banana

"buh-buh" (with a squeaky cooing noise)-baby

"t"-treat

"ee"-ear``

"ah-sss"-outside

"sh"-shoe

"ju"-juice

"ba"-bath

"ba-poom"-bathroom

"be-t"-breakfast

Owen is so sweet and pretty obedient and loves "helping" sweep or do dishes or laundry.  He follows directions really well like "throw away your trash" or "find your shoes".   He gives hugs and kisses- to us and to other babies he meets. :)  He has started to develop an angry scream (thanks girls for your bad example!) but he's pretty easily pacified, or gives up easily if we ignore it.  He gets into EVERYTHING- he's way more curious than the girls were at his age!  He's developed a love for shoelace-type strings and cords.  The funniest thing he loves to carry around is my blow dryer for some reason!  Basically, he's adorable. The end.