Things I never thought I'd say...

As our children are getting older, I find myself saying things that I never thought I would have to say ALL THE TIME. Example from today:

I walk into the girl's room where they are playing with a friend and see Benson's Marine Animals trading cards stuck to the wall.

Me: Grace, why are the Marine Animal trading cards stuck to the wall?
Grace: We're having a Sea Party.
Me: Grace, HOW are the Marine Animal trading cards stuck to the wall? (said as I notice a tube of chapstick laying on the floor)
Grace: Um...chapstick.
Me: (suppressing chuckle) Grace and Sabrina, we NEVER EVER use chapstick to stick things to the wall! Actually we NEVER EVER use anything to stick ANYTHING else to the walls EVER.

I give them points for creativity. A sea party? Chapstick? Wow

Girls ONLY Trip

Since Mike and Benson were going to be gone at the Fathers and Sons Campout and Aunt Sarah was graduating from high school, the girls and I headed to Bartlesville for the weekend. We left Thursday afternoon and came back Monday afternoon.

On Friday morning we went out to Woolaroc with Grandma Stacey, Aunt Kathleen, Spencer, and half of the public school children of Tulsa and the surrounding communities. I have never seen Woolaroc close to as busy, but we still had fun checking out the animals and museum and playing on the playground.

On Friday night we headed to the stadium for graduation. It's hard to believe that Sarah is old enough to be done with high school. As I was thinking about it I realized that I have a child who is only 1 year younger than Sarah was when I graduated from high school. And hopefully we will not have to attend another high school graduation until that child is old enough many, many years from now. Congratulations Aunt Sarah, we are proud of you and all that you've accomplished!

On Saturday, Aunt Julie and Uncle Ryan invited us to their land to ride the horses.

And then we finished the evening at the Kiddie Park. We have finally reached the day where NOBODY cries on the rides at the Kiddie Park, which I think is a big milestone. For a cute video of Spencer and Breeny on the boats, go here.

We missed Daddy and Benson but we still had a very fun and busy weekend! We know they had lots of fun as well. And the drive home went so well that I have hope again that we may actually survive a trip to Utah in a few months.

Fathers and Sons Weekend

This is Mike, I'm writing this post because Jess says we're way behind on blogging and I'm trying to help her catch up. So a couple weeks ago was the fathers and sons camp out. Jess and the girls went to Oklahoma for a visit for the weekend and Benson and I had a "man weekend" (so to speak, anyway). We had tons of fun playing games, going on hikes, sitting around the fire, eating hot dogs, hamburgers, s'mores, and pancakes, etc. Benson loved the games we all played. We played bocce ball and he was very keen on WINNING, but unfortunately for him, we did not. (See the video below of his explanation of the game.) But we did have a lot of fun playing. His favorite game was tug-of-war. He jumped in anywhere he could whenever anyone was pulling on that rope. He also thought the skits performed by the young men and Elders Quorum presidency were hilarious. Honestly, one of his favorite and most anticipated parts was just sleeping in the tent. We shared an air mattress which did not work out very well. We've had it for a long time and it finally gave up the ghost during the night. I ended up flat on the ground, although there was obviously still a little air in it because my weight pushed it all to Ben's side so he still got a decent night's sleep. Benson especially liked going on hikes "during the Triassic Period". I'd like to say I taught him everything he knows, but he surprises me all the time by knowing way more than me about the most random of science facts. He's like the Ken Jennings of Kindergartners. Luckily for him, not only was he blessed with the gift of intellegence and memory retention, but also with the gift of self-confidence. Even if he was incorrect in a recitation of some science theory, you'd believe it anyway. Jess just pointed out that I misspelled intelligence a few lines up. I think I'll leave it just to emphasize my point, that he gets his smarts from his mother.

A face ONLY a mother could love...

and even then it's still a stretch! I really love (wince, shudder) this stage!

Jillian's Roll Over Minute

As of today, Jillian will no longer stay on her back, she almost immediately rolls to her tummy every time you lay her down.


I went in to check on her while she was napping this afternoon and it really hit me how big she has gotten! She is starting to look a little ridiculous in the cradle and since she's rolling over now, it's probably not the safest place for her anymore. As soon as school is out we will set up the crib and move Jillian into a room with Sabrina. Benson and Grace will share the bunk beds in the other room. It is still unbelievable to me how fast 4 months goes and what a difference it makes.

Jillian - 5 1/2 months


Jillian - 6 weeks