Tubbie Conversation

Gracie and I were taking a shower this morning.  I was shaving my legs, and her face lit up when she saw the razor. 
She said, "I want one of those for my birthday when I'm older!" 
I said, "Sure, you can have one when you're ten." 
She said, "Are you ten right now?" 
I confessed, "No, I'm 31." 
Her eyes got really big, and she said, "Wow!  I can't even count to 31!"  Don't remind me. 
Then she said, "Is Daddy 31?" 
"No, he's 33."
(Eyes as big as saucers again) "He's had 33 birthdays?!!  That's a lot."
Yep, wow.

Mom Fun Weekend

Wow!  I haven't posted for a long time.  Mostly because I've been AWAY on a Mom Fun Weekend with my favorite friend, Melissa.  Yep, just the two of us!  No kids, no dishes, no laundry!  Look: we didn't even have to make our beds!

Although I think our maid had it pretty good.  Here's our view of the beautiful mountains from our window:

And the inside of the hotel was equally nice, complete with a water feature:

We went to work immediately upon arrival, and stopped at the mall.  I bought a nice new skirt, and we got smoothies.  We went to dinner on Thursday night at a great restaurant that I recommend to everyone.  It's called the Montana Ale House.  It's in the old railroad station, and the food and service was spectacular.  If you go on Thursday night, they have the best soup I've ever tasted.

The next day we spent the morning window shopping in downtown Bozeman.  Who knew it would be so fun?!  My favorite store was this one:

They had the cutest stuff, and I found myself wanting to own a store like that!  Everyone should go.  It's super cute.  We went to a movie -- in the middle of the afternoon on a weekday!  Although we didn't end up staying for the entire thing, because the father ended up dying, and it hit too close to home.  Besides, we didn't want to be thrown out for bawling.  We went to Burger Bob's for dinner.  We did more shopping on Saturday, and went to another great restaurant, Bozeman Bistro, for lunch.  They had gourmet food at regular prices, in a neat old building.  We also stopped at the Pioneer Museum, which was in the old jail.  It was creepy and fascinating at the same time.  Then, we saw Bill Cosby perform that night.  He was so funny!  I was disappointed when it was over, thinking it had only been a one-hour show, but when Melissa looked at her watch, it had been over two hours!  What an entertainer!

Every mom needs to have a Mom Fun Weekend.  We were gone for three days, and I am completely refreshed.  We'll go again very soon.

And here's a picture I thought was just too cute.  All four of the little kids were stuffed in the sandbox together, enjoying the beautiful weather.

Funny Grace Trilogy

As we were riding in the car on the way back from the doctor, Grace said this:

"I just need to tell you that I'm going to scratch my booty."

Then, a few moments later, she said:

"My booty is my leg."

Then:

"I love you, babe!"

Wow.

Hanging Around

The kids really wanted to go to the park after dinner last night.  It was really cold, I thought, but they wanted to anyway.  Kids don't feel the cold the same as adults do.  So here are some pictures of the boys hanging from various things, Gracie pouting about something (I can't remember) -- complete with her black eye (compliments of Joey).  Matt had a great time, of course, and we had to drag him out of there. 

We were glad for the distraction from the boxes, Opera music practice (I need to remember to practice more often because my hands and back are aching), and new home searching -- among all the other things we have to accomplish every day.  One of these days life is going to be a little more boring.  I hope.

Really Funny

Andrew posted this "wanted poster" on our refrigerator.  It had been there for a day or so, and we have so many of these drawings laying about the house, that I hadn't really paid attention.  But last night I really took a look at it.

Just take a look at the name and crime of this fugitive.  I asked Andrew if he had caught him yet, and he said "No.  And he's killed a lot of our guys!"

Good luck with your hunt of the "Asunater", buddy!

Easter Morning

The Easter Bunny ate the carrots!

See?

A basket filled with allergy-free candy, a notebook for church, and a cup for collecting the chocolate eggs!

Gracie found lots of eggs.

Matt found them and ate them all at the same time.

Some were pretty high.

Andrew's were the hardest to find, but he got them all!

Fun at the Park

My kids sometimes do really weird things.  For example, Joey takes his socks off every time he goes #2 in the bathroom.  He doesn't know why he does it, but he does it.  Haley used to hide coins in her sock drawer.  Andrew used to stand in the trash can, and sit in the cupboards.  Grace licks things.  And Matt gets an orange to sit with Daddy.  We don't quite understand this tradition that he's made up, but it works for him.  He grabs an orange, and that's how Daddy knows he wants to sit on the couch with him.  He does not want to eat the orange, and if Daddy peels it, he gets very upset.  He just wants to sit with dad, with the orange.  Weird.

We took advantage of a break in the weather to go to our favorite park with the cousins.  Matt is very excited to be able to do all the big kid stuff by himself.  He only tried to run away once or twice.

Here's a group pic.  The only one missing is Zach -- and Haley was there, but was too mature to be in the picture with the little kids.

We love to swing!

"I'm so thirsty!"

Up in the tree, Andrew found out that sap is very sticky and doesn't wash off very well.

April Fools' Day

Ben and I had fun rigging our house the night before April Fools' Day.  We put plastic wrap on the kids' doors, so they walked into it in the morning.  Trust me, that's a lot less messy than putting it on the toilet.  Who wants to clean up that mess?  I clean up enough bodily functions every day -- I don't want to add more.

Andrew thought it was funny, Haley did not.  She still can't believe how dumb we are.

I also turned the milk blue.  The boys thought that was hilarious.  They were a little afraid to try it, but it they found out it didn't taste any different.

Later in the day, we had everybody over for dinner -- enchiladas.  We also made cookies to decorate, since we can't do eggs.  Cookies were just as fun, but pretty messy.

This is the sugar crash.  He just plopped down on the floor, and then he was up until 10:00 PM.  Fun.

Spring Break

We're officially on Spring Break and not going anywhere!  But, we do have our Utah cousins here, thank goodness.  We started the week off with a nice lunch from the microwave (plus some apples -- organic, I might add).

Then Matt got his elbow stuck in the chair, again.  This happens almost every single day.

He and Shoji waited for scraps at the edge of the table.

And Gracie did her best impression of a model.  I think it is pretty good!

Emma, Grace, Matt and I went to IHOP for breakfast this morning.  Matt was a nightmare.  He wouldn't stop grabbing all of the syrups, salt and peppers, straws, and silverware.  He wouldn't use his fork because he thought it belonged on the windowsill.  The crayons belonged on the floor, and the seat was a wonderful bouncy trampoline.  The other patrons thought he was precious and the wait staff was relieved when we left.

I'm sure our week will be filled with many more adventures.  But right now, I have to go pack something because one of these days we're going to have to leave this place, and I hate procrastination.  I also hate packing.  Plus, Matt keeps saying, "mo mo mo" and he acts as if I should know what that means.  If anyone can translate, please let me know. 

I'm in Trouble

I know I'm going to get in trouble for this:

Matt just wanted to be like Gracie and I -- painting our toes pretty colors.  Ben's going to tan my hide, but you have to admit that's pretty cute!

I'll take it off later.  But for now, he's happy.  No harm done.