Rainbow Rice

This week I made my 1st batch of colored rice ever. How in the world have we survived without these colorful little gems around our house? Ok I know how we survived-we had less mess, but not as much fun!!

The colors are so vibrant and cheerful! We glued it onto cardboard letter cutouts, but it didn't stick very good after the glue dried. I think I'll just make Rebecca some more just to play with.

The pickle jar is the perfect place to house the rice too since both the girls LOVE this rice and the pickles that were in this jar!

Lamp Post Bird's Nest

When we got back from Kansas City one of the kids noticed that there was the start of a birds nest in the lamp out front. I've always wanted a bird's nest in the lamp, so I was more then happy to let them live there. It's an old gas powered lamp that hasn't worked since we've been here. We've wanted to put a solar light in, but they beat us to the lamp this year!

Within days the lamp went from housing a little nest, to housing a gigantic nest. At one point there was a pile of twigs under the nest that they tried to get in but couldn't, so we cleaned them up.

The birds are slowly warming up to being around us. At first they flew away at the slightest noise or movement. Now we can be outside with them as long as we aren't too close. If they do get scared they fly up in the tree and watch us, then come back when we've moved farther away.

It's fun to sit on the porch and watch the birds. The larger one will perch on the bar and call out to the other one. Then you can hear the other one somewhere in the tree calling back.

The nest is so packed in that it's actually a tunnel for them to get in through, and then there is nesting materials all around them. Seems like the perfect place to keep eggs warm!

We are loving these sweet little birds and are hoping that they will lay eggs and we can watch their babies grow up!

Corrine and the Tooth Fairy

Corrine has had a VERY loose bottom tooth for the past few weeks. She's been playing with it and complaining that it hurts to chew on the tooth, but she wouldn't for the life of her pull it out.

Saturday night she was in bed when we both got home. She came into our room and was telling us how wiggly her tooth was. I was so ready for it to come out that I told her that if she pulled the tooth out right then that the Tooth Fairy would leave her something and so would I.
She went straight out and got the pliers to have dad help her get the tooth out. Her tried to pull it, but she got scared and wouldn't let him.
Then all of the sudden she was holding the tooth in her hand.

That night the Tooth Fairy left her 4 quarters and I left her a pack of gum.

The next morning she woke up to find 3 quarters, a pack of gum and her tooth in the plastic bag she had put it in. She asked why the Tooth Fairy didn't take her tooth. I told her they must have been so tired they forgot it.

Sunday evening the sister missionaries came over for dinner. In the middle of dinner Corrine jumps up and runs to her room. She tells us that a friend at church had told her that the Tooth Fairy might have come back while she was at church and left her something else. She climbs up onto her bed and finds a quarter and she can't find the tooth anywhere.

I'm laughing because the quarter she found is the missing one from this morning and the missing tooth is a mystery to us.

The next morning she finds the tooth still in the bag and is confused why the tooth is now back. I told her if she gave me the tooth I'd keep it safe.

Oh this tooth just doesn't want to give up. First it won't come out of her mouth and now the Tooth Fairy keeps forgetting it. The next tooth she looses better be easier!

Kansas City Temple Open House

Last weekend Johann and I went with our Stakes mini youth conference to the Kansas City Temple Open house. We also toured Liberty Jail, The Independence visitors center and Far West. We had such a great experience that we wanted our kids to be able to go through the Temple.

This morning we got up at 5am to get on the road to make it to our 11:45 tour. All the kids were so great getting up so early. Ammon especially surprised us. When Johann woke him up, he got right up and went straight to the van. They were all so excited to go to the Temple.

We stopped in Des Moines for breakfast at IHOP. The kids had never been there before, so it was a huge treat to go out for breakfast. We had 3 funny face pancakes and a baby cakes pancakes. As we were eating we could see really dark clouds coming in.

By the time we were done eating it was pouring outside. We drove the next few hours in the rain, but as we got closer to the Temple the clouds got lighter and the rain stopped. When we got there the sun was coming through and we could see blue sky.

The tour was wonderful. There were so many tours and people in the Temple that we had to wait at times to go onto the next part. The kids were amazingly reverent and taking everything in. In the sealing room we made sure they all got to see into the eternity mirrors.

After the tour we took some pictures out front. A guy going in for his tour asked if we wanted him to take our family picture. Of course we did, and he knew what he was doing and got some great pictures for us.

After the Temple we went to Schlotsky's for lunch. Again we left nothing! The kids have fallen in love with their soups and sandwiches just like Johann and I.

Rebecca-"We brought blankets and slept in the van because I was really tired. The Temples is Jesus's house. I didn't see Him in the Temple but I just feeled him. I like Jesus in the Temple."

Ammon-"Mom they said there were 12 oxen around the baptismal font, but I only counted 5!"

Corrine-"My favorite part was the sealing room and the celestial room because of the mirrors. I liked how quiet the celestial room was."

Simeon-When I told him he had been so reverent in the Temple he told me "I couldn't not be reverent in the Temple!"

I LOVE this picture! It shows the kids unique personalities so strongly. Simeon is touching Rebecca, Corrine was done taking pictures and there for was done smiling, Ammon was being his usual sweet silly self and Rebecca wants Simeon to leave her alone!

Outside Liberty Jail

Next we went to Liberty Jail. When we got there there were only a handful of people. We thought we'd have a small tour. As the missionary started talking to us before going into the actual jail area the room kept getting fuller and fuller. By the time we went into the jail there were blond little kids everywhere! There must have been a big family group with lots of cousins there and there were almost all blond. Such a different things for us with all six of us brown haired!

After the jail we headed home. The sky was clear in Missouri, but north of us we could see rain clouds. As we got into Iowa the rain started and we drove the rest of the way home in rain.

Today was such a wonderful day! The kids were all so good driving for 11 hours, behaved so good everywhere we went and we all had such a beautiful, calm, peaceful day. Today truly was a day we wanted to go on forever and a day we'll always remember!

Simeon's new intrument

This winter Simeon switched from the trumpet to the baratone. Simeon was struggling to hit the high notes on the trumpet, so his band leader had him switch to the baratone.

Wow this guy is big! It takes up so much more room then the trumpet did. It's also so beat up and scratched, that we could probably run it over and no one would notice!!

Rebecca and Ammon really like to play it and both can get some really loud notes!

"I'm Nuked"

Tonight after Rebecca's bath I couldn't pass up the opportunity to snap some pictures of her fresh and clean wrapped in her hooded towel. This towel was given to Simeon as a baby shower gift. It has since been used by each of the kids. It used to have a bear on it, but after so many washes the bear is no more, but it's still loving called the "bear towel."

The sun was shinning in from my bedroom window lighting up the hallway and it made the perfect backdrop for this sweet girls tender moment.

I'm getting a little melancholy lately when I think that this summer Rebecca will turn 3! Three years old is a big thing. She can do so many new classes and activities, and she'll officially be a preschooler, no longer a toddler. Since she's the last of our kids I know I'm struggling a little more with seeing the days pass by as she gets older.

And don't get me started on Simeon. He'll turn 11 on May 9th and that means in our ward he'll be with the Young Men for scouts 2 weeks a month. Man these kids need to slow down on the growing!!

Did you know that in 2 years she'll be going to kindergarten roundup. In 2 1/2 years she'll be at Lemme as a kindergarten? Crazy to think about. Why can't my baby girl stay a baby, or even a toddler a little longer?


Rebecca such the sweetie combines the words 'naked' and 'nuddy' to get her very own word "nuked". It sounds like 'new-kid'. It's the sweetest thing ever! Reminds me of when Ammon would say "cow o-te" for coyote. I love it so much that tonight I even video taped her saying it, because before I know it she won't say it anymore.

I love these sweet kids of ours! I love watching them grow and learn new things and I love being a part of that growth.

Easter

Our sweet neighbors invited us to their church's Easter celebration on Saturday. We were excited to go along with them. We had a pancake breakfast, then the kids had Easter stories and crafts. After they had 3 eggs hunts divided up by age. Since I stayed with Rebecca during her hunt I got to Ammon's just before he started and found Corrine and Simeon after they were done with theirs.


Sunday-
The kids were very excited to hunt for their Easter baskets this morning. We didn't want to give them too many things so they each had just a few things. The boys had tie tacks and a rubber frisbee (so they don't get som bruises playing disk battles Like Tron). Corrine got a CTR locket and notebook, and Rebecca got a I am a Child of God necklace and a bubble tumbler.

Dad the Egg eyed Zombie

We hid the eggs in the basement before church because the grass was wet. We his 24 small eggs and 1 large "golden" egg. The golden egg was golden because it had 5 pieces of gold Werthers carmel candy's inside. All the other eggs only had 1 piece in each.
We hid 1 of Simeon's eggs too hard and we could never find it!! Lucky kid who finds it now and gets the candy inside!

After church we went to Grandma & Grandpa Smiths for dinner and an egg hunt. This year the hunt was simpler then past years. Each kid had a color or style of egg and they had to find 8 of them. Of course each kiddo got a $1 in on of their eggs. They were hidden harder for Simeon, Corrine, Ammon and Jonas and easier for Ian, Rebecca and Audrey.



Then they got to find their baskets. Rebecca spotted hers right away on a low tree branch. Ammon's green basket was next to a tall weed with more weeds on top of it. Corrine's was in the hosta's and pretty hard to find and Simeon was super excited that his was up in the tree and he had to climb to get it.







The kids had a great time with all the Easter festivities yesterday and today.

Growing a green thumb

The past few years we have been slowly expanding our garden. Years ago we had a few pots with tomatoes and peppers on the back deck, then the next year our pots grew bigger, then we made a raised garden box so that we could grow a few more things.
This year we're going to make 2 more raised garden boxes so we can expand even more because we're having so much fun!
I decided to be ambitious, and frugal, this year and start as many of our plants from seed, so we needed to start early to get more growing time.
Since this spring came early and warm, we had luck right from the start with our seeds!

March 9th
Simeon, Ammon and Rebecca planted sweet peas, pumpkins and tomatoes.



Within days we have little pea and pumpkin sprouts. The tomatoes took a little longer to start coming up.
The containers got funky being in the house like the directions said to do, so we started taking them outside during the day to help dry them out some and prevent more funky stuff on the pots. It helped stop any new funk from starting.

March 18th
Just 9 days later and the peas and pumpkins were already an inch tall! They were starting to shoot roots out the bottom of their containers.



Mrach 19th
The girls had so much fun transplanting the peas and pumpkins into to their bigger temporary home. Their roots were all over the outside of their pots.



March 26th
The peas weren't doing so good in their pots. The potting soil was drying out to quickly and they were starting to get too droopy each afternoon. They got moved to the permanent home in the the garden. Within hours one of the plants had already attached it little green vine to the support lines strung for them!
The pumpkins stayed in their pots because it was still early from them to go in the ground.

April 1st
Today we planted another 2 rows of peas directly into the garden. We're hopeful that they will do as well as the first batch we planted.

Ammon took this picture of me putting up the support line above the new pea seeds we planted tonight. You can see the green onions growing nice and tall in this picture. Last year these were as thin as a blade of grass. This year they are already so thick and tall.

We are loving watching the process from little dry seed, to sprout, to leaves and growth and spilling out of the pots growth! We're excited to see what these plants will produce this summer. We're thinking that we might even try to save some seeds from our crops to grow next years crop.

It's been just less then a month and we have so much growth from these little seeds. It's really helped build our confidence in our growing green thumbs that we have so much growth already! Now I know why my dad loved growing a garden so much. I find myself going out and checking on the plants more often the kids do!

In a few months I may be rethinking the idea of having so many pumpkin plants growing in our yard!!