I love dioramas!!

A few weeks ago, Eli had a project in school. The assignment was to pick an animal that lives in Utah, find out some facts about that animal, and make a diorama depicting the animal's habitat. I was really excited about the project. Eli chose the cougar. Mike helped him do the research. I helped him with the diorama. It all worked out perfectly.

I blog about this not to brag about what an awesome job he did on it, but to brag about how proud I am that I didn't just jump in and do the whole diorama for him. I know that he's perfectly capable of doing it pretty much by himself. I just wanted to do the whole thing because I have always loved doing dioramas. I remember making them in school and I just wanted to relive those days.

Fortunately, I didn't. I let Eli help. He actually did a lot of work on it. He did all the cutting, gluing, arranging, and selecting of materials and pictures. I just cut out the cougars, helped him place and hold stuff while the glue dried, and kept him going on it. It was a really fun project to work on. I think next time he gets an assignment like this, he can just do it all on his own and I'll do my own diorama. Do you think his teacher will mind if I send it in to be graded?

Funny things

Yesterday I was having a conversation with Eli about nose picking. He's at that yucky stage where he picks his nose and then it bleeds and it's soooooo gross. I was reminding him that nose picking = gross buggers. So he said, in a very matter-of-fact way, "That's why they say 'Don't pick your nose!' " Then Leah exclaimed in a loud, happy voice, "I pick my nose EVERY DAY!"

Yesterday evening, I was helping Eli floss his teeth. I don't do this very often, so I think Leah was confused when she saw what I was doing. Here's the conversation we had:

L: What are you doing?

M: Flossing Eli's teeth.

L: Oh, are you a dentist or a mommy?

I wonder what she would have said had I told her I was a dentist.

Noah has developed some very nice manners. He's pretty good at saying please and thank you, especially when prompted. He also likes to encourage others to have good manners too. Whenever I burp and forget to say excuse me, he'll say, "Mee mee, Momma." (translation: Say excuse me, Mommy.) If I don't say it right away, he'll politely repeat himself until I do.

Happy Birthday Sweety!!

Today's Mike's 30th birthday!! Wow, I'm now married to an old man! Despite his advanced age, Mike's still an awesome father, wonderful husband, and great man. I love him!!! Happy birthday Sweetums!

Guess who lost their first tooth today...

Pics of the Faves

WILD and CRAZY Spring Break 2010!!!

Wanna know which wonderfully exotic place I went?

ST. GEORGE!!

All of you: Wow, that's sooo cool!! I've always wanted to go there!

Wanna know what kind of wild and crazy people I went with?

MY KIDS AND MOTHER-IN-LAW!!!

All of you: You are so out-of-control crazy! Wow, that's wild!

Yeah, I know. It's "off the hook"!

My in-laws have a house down in St. George. We decided to go with the kids since Mike had to work and my father-in-law teaches at BYU and hadn't finished up the semester yet. So the guys were out. And we, as strong, independent women figured we don't need men to have a good time, so we decided to go from Tuesday to Friday. We had a great time! Here are some of the highlights:

Each kid got their own pair of sunglasses. Noah wore his most of the time. I think it's because he finally got to wear glasses like his big brother.

We went swimming every day. That was my favorite part! I love swimming. I know there are no pictures of me in the pool to prove it. That's because it was my camera and I was taking the pictures. Coincidence?

We went on a walk. Notice how I said "a", singular. We only went on one, even though there are many walking trails in that area. That's because there was at least one child complaining the entire time we were out. They all took turns, but most of that complaining came from the child that really wanted to go on the walk in the first place.

The kids had lots of fun at a really nice playground across the street. There was lots of room to run around, play soccer, and blow bubbles.

We even included a popcorn movie night! The "movie" was a DVD of classic Loony Tunes. Everyone needs to get them!! It's so wonderful to see old Bugs Bunny and Road Runner cartoons! They are so much better then the crappy cartoons on TV today! And my kids love them too, so much so that I couldn't get them to look at me while I took their picture.

And to end on an exciting note, as we were leaving, I found a dead lizard in the garage. I picked it up to throw it away, but showed the kids first. Leah loved it. She kept saying, "It's so beautiful. It's so beautiful." And it really was. It doesn't look it, but that little thing is very colorful. Leah was so enthralled that I was worried she was going to kiss it or something, so I quickly threw it away.

And that was my wild and crazy spring break. Wow, how can I possibly top this next year?

Noah and the Egg

Once upon a time there was a delightful little family in which the children wanted to dye Easter eggs. Upon learning this, the wonderful mother traveled into town and traded a few gold coins for magical dye.


The older children leapt for joy upon their mother's return and immediately began their creative labor.




However, the youngest child, Noah, wept bitterly for he knew he was forbidden from dying eggs because he was not yet of age.



The mother and father saw his sorrow and decided to allow him one egg to dye, but first gave him strict warning. "My dear son," his father said, "Please use caution when dying your egg. Hold fast to it at all times. For should you drop it, we shall all suffer great misfortune." The little boy paid no heed to his father, but instead excitedly began his labors.



The evening continued with much festivity and delight. The older children remembered their father's warning and held fast to their eggs while decorating.



After some time, little Noah finished his egg. Feeling great pride, he admired his natural skill and craftsmanship.



Unfortunately, he neglected to maintain a firm grip on his egg and it slipped from his hand and fell onto the floor.



"Quick, my son!! Catch that egg before it escapes!" Noah's father commanded.



"Oh no! What shall we do?" little Noah's elder brother exclaimed.



"AAAAAaaaa!" Noah's sister screamed. And then she fainted.



Realizing his terrible mistake, Noah summoned all his courage and leapt into action. He cornered the rolling egg and snatched it up.



He returned the bewitched egg to the table and there was only one thing to be done. Little Noah destroyed his beloved egg, the egg he had put his whole heart into, his first Easter egg.

Unfortunately, the damage was irreversible. Had little Noah but listened to his father and held fast to his egg, great misfortune could have been avoided. That egg would have been made into egg salad fit for a king. Instead, it had to be discarded. Hopefully, little Noah gleaned a valuable lesson from this experience and will follow strictly his father's words next year. But that remains to be seen.