Happy Birthday Eli!!!

Our big guy turned 7 yesterday!! It is so crazy to think that I've been a mom for that long. I'm pretty sure I'm not old enough (or mature enough), but for whatever reason, Heavenly Father trusts me to have him in our family. He's so funny and cute and he has the softest cheeks and the skinniest arms!!

He had a great day yesterday! We had a special birthday dinner of corn dogs, home-made mac and cheese, and steamed broccoli and carrots. Then some family came over for presents and dessert. Eli wanted ice cream sundaes, which I gladly provided.

Since there's no school today, we let the kids put the tent up in the living room and sleep in it. Only one of the three made it all night. Noah only lasted about 30 minutes before he was kicked out.

This morning, Eli got breakfast in bed (part of the reason why we let them sleep in the tent. Can you imagine trying to give someone breakfast in bed who sleeps in a top bunk?) Ironically, Eli had been out of bed for an hour and a half before he got his breakfast in bed. He even came to the store with me to pick out the donuts. Then, when we came home, he happily climbed back into the sleeping bag!

As for the rest of today, Eli's allowed to stay in his pajamas all day and play video games! I'm pretty sure for him, this is the best day ever!

Official review for the last weekend in January

The official investigation has been submitted and accepted. The Bell/Burgoyne girls did successfully engage in girls' weekend the last weekend in January. All criteria were met and enjoyed by the participants. Here is the list of required activities along with proof of completion.

General cuteness

Modest swimsuits for swim-time fun and for catching the lifeguard's eye

Pretty Sunday outfits, including hair, make-up and accessories

A little jewelry catalog shopping

Sparkly nails

Ice cream sundaes

A little bit of cardio at Pump It Up to work off the ice cream sundaes

A cruise in the sports cars

Not pictured: Chick Flicks and lots of chitchat

We apologize for the delay in the report. This was due to illness, nap time, etc.

It's so entertaining being a mom!

I just have three quick, funny stories to share. They made me laugh, so maybe they'll make you laugh too. And all three happened on the same day.

1. All three kids really like to put the dish washer soap in the dispenser, so I have to make them take turns. Usually, Noah does it because he doesn't have any chores, but the other day I asked Eli to do it. Noah heard that he wasn't chosen and started to fuss. Before he could get really mad, I asked him to show Eli where to put the soap. Noah loved the idea of telling his big brother how the job is done and he got really excited. I said to him, "Noah, tell Eli what to do." In a really excited voice, Noah then shouted, "ELI, WHAT TO DO!! WHAT TO DO!!"

2. I was playing dolls with Leah and she wanted the dolls to play "Hot and Cold". Her doll went first hiding the object. When my doll started to move to find the object, Leah just kept saying, "Colder... colder... colder." It didn't matter which direction I moved my doll; I kept getting the same response. I told Leah, "That's not how the game works. You can't keep saying colder. The temperature has to change when my doll moves closer to the toy." My doll tried again, moving in different directions. This time, instead of saying colder, Leah said, "Temperature... Temperature." When I asked her what that meant, she said, "Temperature is warmer than cold." Fortunately, by the way Leah was saying the word temperature, my doll figured out where the hidden toy was. We stopped playing "Hot and Cold" after that.

3. I was cooking dinner and I had two ingredients left to add to the soup I was making. I had them ready on the counter next to the stove. Leah came over to where I was standing and asked about the two ingredients. I told her, while pointing to each, "This one's sour cream and this one's heavy cream." Right after I said that, Leah proceeded to pick up the measuring cup with the heavy cream in it. I'm guessing she wanted to see if it really was heavy.