It stinks in here...

When Sam's nose has been offended, it looks like this:

He's usually the offender. I must document, it's one of my favorite expressions.

Camping...Part II

So, we are not really campers. My last camping experience was when I was pregnant with Aubrey (hmmm...maybe that's why it has taken me so long to try it again). So after the boys camped last weekend, I thought we should do it again with the whole family - this weekend. Two times, in two weekends, and we probably will not go again for some time. The reason for condensing our camping experiences, was to rent this baby:

A yurt. This is how we camped:
- no tent set up
- electricity
- heater
- beds
- flushable toilets (not inside the yurt, we had to walk a ways for that)

It was pretty awesome. They are very popular in Oregon, so this was the only weekend we could get one.

The only down side? A wild pheasant. I kid you not. We were warned about him upon our arrival - apparently a woman was attacked last weekend (and by attacked, I mean pecked at). He just happened to live behind Yurt B - our Yurt. Let me educate you on defending yourself against this wild animal. NEVER turn your back on him and use a broom when needed. Thankfully he went to bed early so we could roast marshmallows. We did not tell bear or ghost stories, but we did tell some wicked pheasant stories.

Boys Camp Out, Girls Camp In

The boys went camping last night with the ward. I think they had fun...roasting marshmallows, playing basketball, volleyball, and other manly sports. They camped on grass, but still came back dirty, smelly, and tired.





This is what they looked like by mid-afternoon...



Aubrey looks forward to our girls night all year long - I'm pretty sure she gets more excited about it than the boys do. We crafted...



I highly recommend painting miniature tea sets, see how much I got into it?



Next time, I'm going to need my own set (I was a little disappointed that I did not get to paint the tea kettle).

We painted a little more, this time on our fingers and toes, watched Lady and the Tramp, and ate lots of candy and popcorn.

The next norning, we had a tea party with Hello Kitty. Very girly, very fun.

King Chad

Once a week, I have an art class with the kiddies. My dad used to teach us art in the summer and I loved it. I'm trying to pass on the tradition, although I have no where near the talent my dad does. Anyway, this week we are working on Egyptian heiroglyphs, specifically profile portraits. To make it a little easier, I took profile pictures with my camera and then edited the images in Adobe Elements. The technique I used can be found here (and can be used to make coloring pages), along with some great ideas for yet another quiet book (I'm always looking for ways to keep the kiddies quiet).

Now we just have to paint on a little eye makeup and a nice Egyptian hat - he should look quite royal.

On the Hunt

I love Easter - the candy, the easter hats, the egg hunts, the new dresses - but not so much that it overwhelms the true meaning of the holiday. I like it simple and sweet.

We had lots of fun at the ward egg hunt (although you wouldn't know it from the looks on their faces), on a beautiful saturday morning!

Later, I dressed the kiddies up, and made them say cheese fifteen million times (you can tell by their expressions). And all they got was a juice box out of it! We did stop to pick daisies and play a bit. It was so nice, I didn't even care about the pollen - we stayed out all day. It's amazing what I am willing to do for sunshine.

Do you not love Sam's hat? I love his hat.

Yep, Chad had definitely had enough.

Growth

This week's theme is GROWTH. Aubrey spent one afternoon playing dress up in her Tinkerbell costume. I couldn't help but think her Tinkerbell days are numbered, making this moment all the sweeter for me.

And just to show how much she has grown in the last two and a half years, this is another dress up pic from November of '08. It goes too fast!

Strange

I was a little EXCITED (P52 theme, week 14) and a bit confused to see my kiddies want to sit so close (all opting to sit on one chair) while watching TV. Immediately following this photo, Sam came to his senses and ran to another chair. Just a fleeting moment.