"I hope they call me on a mission"

Grant's nephew, MaKade got his mission call. His parents invited all of their families over for when he opened up the letter that told him where he will be serving for 2 years for our church. They made it a fun event for all the kids. They asked everybody to predict where they thought he was going to be asked to serve, and then everybody was supposed to dress up to represent that location. It was fun to see how creative people where with their outfits. This is the low-down on how our family predicted:
Grant said that he was going to be called to Portugal (so he borrowed one of his dad's European hats).
I said that he was going to Brazil so I wore shorts (brrrr!) and a yellow shirt and had green nail polish on my toes that you could see because of flip flops (again, brrrr!)

Ben and Trevor predicted Texas, so the cowboy gear came out.

Karmin's vote was for Disneyland, so she wore her Disneyland shirt and mouse ears.

Lydia predicted China and so I put her hair up and had 2 pencils sticking out of her bun. It looked adorable, but she was not excited about having pencils in her hair, so it only lasted about 2 seconds.
Piper said Norway, I'm sure, so she wore her bear hat.



We all enjoyed the night and were so excited that he was called to the Ukraine!
(131, 139, 154)

Sous-Chef Trevor

I have been trying to find more fun Sunday activities to do with the kids. I have found that since they like to cook, Sundays are great days for me to teach them while I'm not in a time crunch to get dinner done. It has been a lot of fun for all of us. Karmin wanted to make a few different desserts, so I was busy helping her...she is doing really well at measuring. Trevor decided he wanted to make dinner for us. However, he wanted to make something he had never made before. He was so beyond making mac and cheese or top ramen. After studying a few different cookbooks, he settled on making crepes. He did it all--measured, mixed, melted...everything. He even twisted the pan to get them thin and round. I was so impressed. I have so underestimated my children's abilities. If they keep going at this rate, I may be out of a job!

2nd Annual Hot Dog Roast in the Snow

Back View

Front View

We have had a wonderful winter! It has been a nice reprieve from last year. It did snow this week though, but it was nice. It was the perfect amount--a lot of it all at one time, and then it started to melt off the streets almost the next day. For our "Saturday Fun Thing" we built another fire pit today. I didn't get to help the whole time because I was feeling a bit under the weather, so I volunteered to go inside while Piper was awake. They had a very tall chimney, and seats for everyone. After the hot dog roast and smores, they actually put a tarp over the top to keep warm. I think everyone was outside for about 8 hours working on the fort and/or enjoying the fire. We learned from last year to not have the fire directly on the snow (because fire melts snow and then burns grass), so we had the fire in the lid of the fire pit that we usually use during the summer. That worked better--because it didn't burn as much grass! We are still learning, so each year it will get better and better.

6 months

Piper had her 6 month check up today and she staying right on track with her sisters. (I haven't looked back at the boys' stats for the same time period yet...I'll add that to my list of things to do!) At this same time they have all been 16 pounds and 26 inches long. She is doing so well with her eczema and that means my eating is going well too. The only thing that I have completely eliminated is oats and I eat nuts in moderation. Can I tell you how much I love eggs and milk! She is such a joy and is constantly smiling. She ADORES Ben, loves Trevor and Karmin...and is starting to laugh at Lydia as well. I'm so curious to see what her personality will be like. I think time is going by way too fast with her. I love all the quiet moments (that are few and far between) that I get to hold, snuggle, and just memorize her. We all love this girl.

Little Miss Piper

Look who's sitting?

 And look who is just so darn cute?

Pearly Whites

Ben got to start off the year by getting his braces off. He was so happy that it didn't hurt to get them off.  I think he looks like a handsome guy. The first half of his orthodontic experience is over!

New Things

For Piper, not Papa

New Year. New Tooth!