Short FOUR

Happy birthday to my little 4 year old angry elf!  You are still the sweetest... angriest person I know!  You love everything boy and you are super chatty.  Just after your birthday... you were playing out back with one of the neighbor girls... she was quite a bit taller than you were and so you asked her how old she was.  She told you she was four and you stopped to think for a second.... "well, your a big four and I'm a short four!"  But for a "short four" you have a pretty big personality and we love having you in our family.  We had a blast celebrating your birthday with a construction party!  Building zones... demolition zones... and dig sites.... all things little boys dream of!

Spring time

Decided to get out and enjoy the nice weather at Ashton Gardens.  The tulip festival was just about over and we went with a bunch of our friends.  It was so pretty... but quite the hike with three kids and a giant camera!  Pretty sure their favorite part was feeding the fish.  Next year we will have to go even earlier when the tulips are even prettier!

Twinners

These too couldn't be more alike... from their physical build to their personalities... these two are like two peas in a pod.  They just seem to get each other and love spending time together.  We thought we would do a little photo shoot with grandpa's super cool excavating equipment and the boys.  He loves getting to ride in it and helping pick up rocks.  The house my dad was working on was absolutely beautiful at the mouth of Little Cottonwood Canyon... we love when he works close to home so we can visit more often. 

School Pictures

Love Eme's mid year school pictures.  She didn't even try to hid her teeth this time!

Easter Sunday

I am loving celebrating holidays at my house now.  When our kids were little... we went to the party... now the party comes to us and I love it.  We celebrated Easter at our house this year with everyone and we had a blast.  The weather was so nice so we were able to have the kids egg hunt out back.  We played our games for our money eggs... and no shocker, Tanner came in first... again.  My favorite game we played this year was hunting for safety pins in a bin of white rice... my mom didn't bring a blind fold so we all had to play with a box on our head... it was pretty funny.  The big kids felt like Tanner and I had a home court advantage when it came to finding our Easter baskets and eggs... but we didn't find them first... and we were crossing our fingers that the others wouldn't find their money eggs so that we could find them later!  No such luck.  I also loved having Gil to celebrate this Easter with us.  He is the center of attention at every get together and we love him so much.  I can't believe that next year he will be walking around and participating in the Easter egg hunt... I just want time to slow down!

Eme's school Easter Egg Hunt

When Eme came home from her Easter Egg hunt at school, she was pretty disgusted.  "Mom, they mad us paint and hide hard boiled eggs... and they are so gross!"  Yep... she might be mine!

Dance Dance Baby

Emerson was soooo looking forward to her final performance for dance this year.  She performed at a cheer and dance program instead of her year end recital because we were out of town.  I had promised her half way through the year that if she would just stick it out till her performance.. she could be done... she was so over it and wanted to do tumbling or karate instead.  I really have loved watching her dance and progress and i think she looks darling all dolled up... but she was done and I'm not going to force my kids to do anything they don't want to.  So hopefully in the future she will get back into dance... but if not, she sure looked cute doing it young. 

Midnight Easter Egg Hunt

Every year we celebrate Easter a little early with the Purser's.  This year... we added a few new things to our tradition... like hungry hungry hippo human style.  The kids had a blast and we ended up having some fun relay races and games after we played.  We all left feeling pretty dizzy and sick... except for the kids.  Then it was back to Purser's for the annual bouncy ball drop and midnight hunt (or 8 pm).  The bouncy ball drop is one of my favorite things and the kids love having it "rain" bouncy balls.  Due to the fact that we all have kids for partners during the hunt now... the competition isn't as intense and there are fewer injuries... but it is still a lot of fun and we miss a ton every year.  It's a lot harder in the dark, especially when the littles hold the flash light. 

Happy St. Patrick's Day

Eme's school had a really fun balloon rainbow and class party to celebrate St. Patrick's Day.  Tanner always turns a few things in the house green (which really grosses me out) but the kids seem to love it.  It's always nice to have a random fun day to celebrate this time of year. 

Glass Slipper

There are two things Thatcher hates having on... a coat and shoes.  Because of this... there are several occasions where we end up somewhere and he wont have one or the other or both!  One such occasion was when we joined my parents to see the new movie redo of Cinderella.  We got to the movie theater and he informed me that he didn't have any shoes.  Just my luck... I didn't have a spare pair of his in the car... but I did have an extra pair for Eme.  They just so happened to be her sparkliest pair and I made him wear them.  Hoping that the embarrassment and shame would be enough for him to never leave home again without shoes... my plan back fired and he thought it was the coolest thing ever.  So it looks like the glass slipper fit after all... almost!

Basement Progress

As much as I love our new house... I have been missing our basement playroom from the old house.  It was so nice to have a home for all of the toys and my house was less torn apart all of the time.  We decided to finish part of the basement so that we could have that back.  Tanner and Oscar did a fantastic job and it turned out amazing.  I love the built-ins and finish work that Tanner did and the kids love the swings.  One night when I was gone for a girls night... I came home after ten and found all 3 boys working in the basement.  Not exactly what I was hoping for... but I guess the basement got done that much sooner because of it.