Another Jilly-ism

A couple of days ago Jillie had out my biggest mixing bowl. She could hardly fit her arms around it, yet she draped a towel over the top and lugged it around the best she could. Ever so often she would walk by me and whisper, "Shhh, doggie sleeping!"

"Oh," I answered, "Your doggie is sleeping in there?"

"Mmm hmm," she would reply and walk off, only to come back and do it again a couple of minutes later. I found myself wondering which of the many stuffed dogs she was playing with today.

A little later she changed it up somewhat: "Shhh, Fluffy sleeping!"

"Your doggie's name is Fluffy?" I asked.

"Mmm hmm."

Well that didn't narrow it down at all since all our stuffed dogs are soft and fluffy. Finally, after about 20 minutes of playing like this, the mystery was solved when Jillie reached in that gigantic bowl and pulled out...a tiny rock, smaller than a pencil eraser.

As she placed the rock carefully in my hand I asked her, "What's this?"

"Fluffy," she answered, matter-of-factly.

Whatever you say, Sweet Pea...

Savannah's 7th birthday

My sweet Savannah turned 7 on Friday, and on Saturday we had a birthday party for her. She invited several friends from school and from around the neighborhood and everyone had a great time! We did face painting while the guests arrived, and then everyone went outside for water gun/water balloon fights (despite the overcast, cold day!). Then it was present time! Savannah received so many nice things, she was so excited.

After presents we had a pinata which everyone got to take a whack at, then Savannah finally got to bust open.

Cake time! Savannah designed the cake, telling me exactly which colors she wanted and how it should look.

Finally, we did some balloon tying while the kids waited for their parents to come get them. It was a great party! Happy Birthday, Nan!

The Fathers in my Life

Happy Father's Day to all you dads out there, and especially to three special individuals in my life:

My Dad- Daddy, I love you. You have always been one of my best friends and I can't even come close to expressing how blessed I feel to have you as my dad. I have always known that you love me, and have always felt protected and confident knowing you are always there to back me up, no matter what. Some of my greatest memories will always include you, whether it be playing basketball, late-night cleanings at the health club, or singing Oldies off-key at the top of our lungs. Thanks for being such a great dad.

My Father-in-Law- Chris, you are the greatest dad-in-law ever. Even before I met Jer you treated me like one of the family, and I never doubt that you love me like a daughter. I love how you make family time such a priority and you're always there with a game or a story, keeping the party going! You're a great dad and grandpa, and we love you.

My Husband- Jer, you truly are my love for eternity. You are the best husband and father I could ever have hoped for. I love that our kids look at you with eyes that show how much they trust you, love you, and feel protected by you. They have great self-confidence and I know one of the main reasons why is because they know how much their daddy loves them and will always be there for them. I love you so much, thanks for being as wonderful as you are!

Oh, the innocence of youth!

So for the last couple of months I've been reading the older girls the Ramona Quimby books by Beverly Cleary...I'm sure most of you remember those (if not, they're worth reading, get them from the library!).

Well, last night we were reading in Ramona the Brave when we got to a party where Ramona is so angry she decides she wants to say a bad word. She announces her intentions to her family, who wait in shocked anticipation. Ramona takes a deep breath then shouts out, "Guts! Guts, guts guts!" Of course, Ramona's family laughs in amusement and probably relief. Later on, Ramona asks her mother, "Isn't "guts" a bad word?" Her mother replies that guts really isn't a very nice word, but there are worse words.

At this point Savannah interrupted and said, "Yeah, there are worse words!"

"Like what?" I asked

Savannah answered in a low voice, obviously nervous that she was actually going to say it out loud:

"You are a jerk!"

Thank goodness...!

Finger-Licking Good

Nope, I'm not talking about KFC, I'm talking about the awesome ribs Jeremiah made for our family last Sunday. I tell you, he might not seem like the type but Jer really likes to cook now and then; and when he does, he doesn't just do it mediocre. He goes all out, making his food completely amazing. So Sunday morning comes and before church Jer put together his own dry rub, slathered it on the 2 racks of ribs, and popped them in the oven to slow cook for over 3 hours while we were at church. When we got home, the house smelled amazing! So then he made his mom's BBQ recipe (which is also mouth-watering), and finished the ribs out on the grill, basting them with BBQ sauce so they got nice and sticky. By the time we sat down to dinner as a family, we were all so excited! This is what the ribs looked like before we dove into them:

And here are pictures of our kids enjoying dinner...for a change!

And finally, the finished product:

Thanks, Jer, for such an awesome meal. By far the best homemade ribs I've ever had :)

T-ball, anyone?

So last Tuesday Savannah & Kamrin started T-ball. Have any of you ever watched a bunch of 5 and 6 year olds playing a sport? Maybe I was a little older when I played T-ball, but I really thought that our team was awesome...now I'm not so sure! The girls' team is so cute and funny to watch! At bat, the rule of the league is you can only run 1 base at a time, then after a certain number of players have batted that inning, everyone out there runs the bases. I like this rule because it keeps the games fairly even and the kids actually look like they know what they're doing. The only exception was Kamrin's first game when she stepped up to bat for the first time. I could tell she was a little for nervous but like a trooper she stepped right up, took a deep breath, and swung as hard as she could. She completely missed the ball but the bat hit the tee, knocking the ball off. Although the ball hadn't rolled more than a couple of inches, Kamrin dropped her bat and took off at a dead spring toward 3rd base! They of course called her back and had her try again, and she did a great job. It really was so cute!

Here's a picture of the girls before their first game:

This is Savannah at bat:

Here's Kamrin batting:

This is Savannah running home after a grand slam!



And here is Kamrin running home...when she runs, people around us comment on how fast she is!

Here is Savannah playing 1st base, Kamrin is the player covering 2nd:

Good job, girls, Daddy and Mommy love to watch you play and are so proud of how hard you work and your good attitudes!

Jaxon crawling...almost!

This is a video of my sweet boy, growing up so quickly!

Kamrin's Graduation

Yes, that's right, I have a graduate! A preschool graduate, that is. Last week, Kamrin graduated from preschool and it was just so cute! She learned a lot this year, had a blast, and made some good friends. I can't believe she'll be starting Kindergarten soon!

They had a nice program including many songs they've learned this year, interspersed with nursery recitations done by smaller groups that gathered at the microphone. Kamrin's group did "Humpty Dumpty". Then they all got to walk down and each get a little diploma.

Two of Kamrin's closest friends were Thomas and Aiden, boys from our church ward whose moms I carpooled with throughout the year.

Kamrin's teacher was named Holly, and she thought Kamrin was pretty awesome!

Congratulations, Kamrin! Mommy and Daddy love you and are so proud of you!