Who needs toothpaste?

I walked into the kitchen the other night to find Mitchell with his chocolate cake and a toothbrush.

He was carefully dipping his toothbrush into his cake

then brushing his teeth with it!

Who needs toothpaste anyway?

I'll take chocolate any day of the week!

Derby Day

Because we are a boy family, we know we have many years of Pinewood Derby's ahead! Our first Pinewood Derby experience was fun. However, because we were newbies, we didn't know very many tricks. So this year, we came armed with graphite and quarters to tape to the sides of the car to add extra weight. The cars were super speedy, and more importantly the boys had a lot of fun!
Josh made a diamond back snake car,and Matthew made a squiggly BYU car.
And not that it matters but Matthew would be disappointed if I didn't add in the humblest of ways that...his car had the quickest time!

Marble Art

Every day Mitchell asks me if we can do a project.
This week his favorite was marble art.
1. Put a sheet of paper in a box.
2. Squirt some paint on the paper.
3. Put a marble in the paint
4. Roll the marble around and around in the paint.
5. Wa la! Marble art!

A Fablehaven surprise!

Tuesday, March 23rd was a big day in our house! It was the day that Fablehaven #5 was released! Josh absolutely loves the Fablehaven books and has read them over and over again.
So, Tuesday morning I surprised Josh by checking him out from school during lunch!

We drove to the store so he could pick out his own copy!

Then we ordered lunch,

and Josh started the book as soon as he finished his last bite!

He read for hours after school, and the next day he came to me with tears in his eyes. "I'm almost done," he said. "I don't want to finish it because then it'll all be over..."
He still hasn't read the last 10 pages.
He just can't quite bring himself to be done.
Oh I know just how he feels...
Isn't reading wonderful?

Hole

Our new house has been officially started! Our weedy lot has been magically transformed into a great big hole!

Celebrate!

What do you do when your sister is expecting her first little boy? You get together with your mom and sisters to CELEBRATE! We gobbled treats, went to "The Princess and the Frog," and ended the evening with a yummy dinner!
I have the Best. Sisters. Ever.

We missed you Aubrey!

Snap Shots

My camera and my hard drive have been out of commission, so for the past several days I've been taking snapshots with my heart:

CLICK A leprechaun treasure hunt with Shamrocks leading to the final clue on Caleb! The hunt ended with a pile of gold and a bucket of GREEN army men!

CLICK Green oatmeal

CLICK Matthew helping Caleb with the Cougar Fight Song

CLICK My Magnet board covered with all our NCAA brackets- Even Mitchell's which is covered in scribbles. (I might add that I'm currently in the lead!)

CLICK Mitchell singing the words to I Am a Child of God in his sleep.

CLICK All 5 of my boys with brand new fuzzy haircuts.

CLICK Caleb smiling at me and then REACHING out to me with one arm on PURPOSE!

CLICK The birds came back!

CLICK Two afternoons at the park with all of my little boys!

CLICK A late night snuggle with my 10 year old. We started by watching the basketball tournament, and ended with a heart to heart about school and friends. tender.

CLICK An spontaneous lunch date with my husband.

CLICK Watching Josh and Matthew set up a pirate treasure hunt for Mitchell. Mitchell was in full pirate character as the big boys delighted in watching him hunt for the treasure of dum dum suckers they hid for him.

CLICK The record score in a single move in QUIRKLE (by yours truly...24 points)

CLICK Josh and Matthew looking out for each other at recess. I'm so proud.

CLICK My boys snuggling with me for story time even after I spent the afternoon nagging. I'm so lucky.

The good thing about these pictures... I don't even need a memory card. They are stored in a safe place in my heart forever.

2 boys over 8

Means two boys in Cub Scouts!
Pinewood Derby here we come!
Thank goodness I asked for an electric sander last Christmas!

Congratulations to Matthew for earning his bobcat!
How 'bout a round of applause!

Lucky

Tonight after I tucked Matthew in, I noticed a little pile on his dresser.
I asked him about 3 items and he told me why he saved them:

A white paper clip: "They are the luckiest kind"

A 'flat bottom' screw: "They are super lucky"

His fortune: Participation in sports will bring you a lucrative career "I am so lucky...that means that for sure I'll be a professional baseball player!"

It really must be the month for GOOD LUCK!

The gift

The other night Josh came home from a birthday party with a great big smile on his face. He told us that he had used most of his tokens at the arcade to get a dart gun for Matthew. He knew Matthew had been wanting a dart gun, so he returned some items he had previously picked for himself and traded it all for a dart gun for his brother. He couldn't wait to show him!

Matthew had gone to bed before he returned from the party, but Josh couldn't wait. He woke him up to show him. Before Josh could finish telling him about his gift, Matthew yelled "I don't want it!" Then he turned his head refusing to even look at what Josh had bought him. It broke Josh's heart. He had tears streaming down his face when he came down the stairs to tell us what happened. "I gave up my tickets to get Matthew something special, and he doesn't even want it."

Dallan tried to reassure him by saying, "You know, that warm feeling you had inside was the Holy Ghost helping you to know you made a kind choice, don't let Matthew's reaction take that away from you."
Josh replied, "I think it might be too late." My heart just ached for him.

After I tucked Josh in, I was thinking about the Savior. I wondered how often we turn our backs on His gift. I wondered how my older brother feels when I refuse to see what He has given me. How His heart must ache when we don't see that He is offering us all that He has.
I'm thankful for that lesson I learned from my boys. That night I prayed with more gratitude and my heart was filled with love for Him who has given me everything.

Incidentally, When I spoke with Matthew the next morning, he didn't even remember Josh's visit. He must have been asleep and was grouchy to be disturbed. Later I heard him apologize to Josh and explain what happened. Josh's heart filled right back up with that warm feeling as he saw Matthew accept his gift with gratitude and love.

Quarter Questions

My older boys have a list of responsibilities posted on the cupboard.
It looks something like this
* Morning work (bed, teeth, clothes)
* Piano
* Reading/homework
* Pet
* Caleb time
* Clear Table/empty dishwasher
* Mom's helping hand
* Cub scouts
* Personal prayer and scriptures

Every night at dinner I ask a quarter question pertaining to one of their responsibilities. I might ask "Did you practice your piano without being asked?" "Have you checked on Lu Lu (our pet bunnny)?" "Did you help mom with a smile?" "Did you spend some time with Caleb today?" etc. If they can answer YES to the question then they get a quarter from the jar! We also have a jar of dollar bills so they can trade in their quarters when they have enough.

What works for me: They don't know what the question will be so it's making them more mindful of all their responsibilities.

What works for them: I have to e mail the question to dad in the morning so I can't just ask a question about something they haven't done just to prove a point. (Yes, I'm devious like that.)

What will the quarter question be today? You'll just have to wait until dinner time to find out!

Moody Ramblings

Josh: "They say crochet is a gentlemans game- but I've played it before, and the temptation to misuse these things is terrible...."

Matthew: "Life would be a lot simpler if we lived back in the cave-man days. Then we could just throw on our leopard skins and hunt."
Dad: But Matthew, don't you know you'd be hunting for meat. You don't even like meat."
Matthew: I guess I'd have to be a vegetarian.

Warning: Kissing

A few days ago Mitchell told me in his most serious voice, "Mom, an angel came down and told me...
NO MORE KISSES!"
My boys say they think kissing is gross. Sometimes Dallan and I like to share a slurpy smooch right in front of them just to hear see them gag and groan. Whenever we're watching a movie with kissing in it, Josh and Matthew turn to each other and yell, "That's YOUR favorite part!" Usually they prefer tickle torture, wrestling and back scratches. When I kiss them goodnight, they like to "wipe it off," but I remind them that mom kisses always stick! I know that deep down they need kisses from mom that always stay with them and never wipe off.
It's going to take more than a visit from an angel to stop the kissing around here. Sorry boys.
SMOOCH!
"Ewww!"

XOXO

Mitchell the great

Mitchell the great has a grandpa who is pretty great himself.

One day Mitchell might let Grandpa win in a sword fight-

especially if he starts getting too old and serious.

But I don't see that happening any time soon.

Do you?

The box with a hole

I love Valentines day! I love the hearts, the candy and the love notes. I even love making Valentine boxes. I pulled out all of my scrap book paper, pipe cleaners, googly eyes and stickers and prepared to help Matthew make something spectacular. He pulled out his orange Nike box, a pair of scissors and jabbed at it until he made an opening.
"I just want a box with a hole," he said.
"But Matthew, you can't just bring a box with a hole...Let's decorate it to look FESTIVE!"
"No, Mom, I just want a box with a hole."
"But Matthew, I even bought these red plastic garbage cans you could use! You could just put a sign on it that says I won't be a grouch if you give me a Valentine. "
"Fine, you can put that sign....on my box with a hole."
"But Matthew, then it wouldn't even make sense..."
After a few minutes of dousing Matthew with my creative juices, we settled on.... a box with a hole. It is his box after all. And it was just the way he wanted it.

Luckily, I made my own Valentine mail box earlier this month. Every day we've been writing compliments to each other that we put it the mailbox. We raise the you've got mail flag then read them at the dinner table.
It makes me smile every time I look at my box and Matthew's box. They epitomize the difference between me and my boys. They'd rather use their creative juices to make the paper tanks that line the dinner table, next to my box. And you know what, that's just the way I like it.