"I knew it was a bad idea!"

As a parent, these are never good words to hear from your kid. Especially when they are heard right after a loud popping sound and a wail.

One of my boys (I won't mention names) thought it would be cool to shoot their brother in the cheek with an airsoft bb gun! Another one of my boys agreed to it! Huh?

Of course, he thought it was empty (or so he says). Of course, I didn't know they had them outside (bad mommy moment). Of course, I gave them a thorough vehement lecture complete with "You could've shot his eye out!" Of course, I tried not to laugh. Of course, I cursed their Uncle James who gave them the guns for Christmas. Of course, I cursed their dad and Uncle Scott for realizing on a camping trip that they don't hurt that much and so tried to shoot each other all weekend. (love you uncles! boys will be boys!) Of course, I said a thankful prayer that it wasn't worse than it was.
And of course, I grabbed my camera.

I think it was most poignant that he was wearing this shirt...

"I DO ALL MY OWN STUNTS" it reads.
I found the culprit like this...


He was sobbing with remorse! "I didn't mean to. I didn't mean to. I'm sorry. I thought it was empty. I promise." While the poor victim was sobbing "Owww, I knew it was a bad idea. I knew it was a bad idea. I knew it." The fact that it was a premeditated idea that they both agreed to is what floors me! Can't you just picture the younger saying to the older, "Hey, what if I shoot you in the cheek just for fun?" It could be argued that Jake deserved what he got for agreeing to it!
A good lesson on listening to your instincts, I'd say.

Later the culprit told me that he shot himself in the foot (with his shoe on) "20 times" right after it happened because he felt so bad. Love it when the figurative becomes literal. Get it? "Shot himself in the foot" (I crack myself up).

A few more shots of the swelling...


About a half hour later I hear these two fighting over what to watch on t.v...
"Well, you shot me in the cheek, so I get to choose!"

I have a feeling he'll be using this as leverage for a while.

Post edit: A little while later I notice my 3 year old grab his "Juma" (his blanket) and his pillow from his bed and bring it to the victim tucking it in around him. "Here you go Jakey. A feel better." So sweet.

St. Patty's Day and Horseback Play

Hannah's Girl Scout Troop got to go Horseback riding on St. Patrick's Day after a shortened school day due to Conference Week. Hannah was so excited!

The girls got trained on all things horses--safety, grooming, etc.

The instructor asked if anyone was nervous or scared and none of the girls raised their hand. Then Hannah's shy little arm comes creeping up. A couple other girls raised their hands too after Hannah. It was so cute--no one wanted to admit they were nervous until someone else admitted it first.
Her cute troop...

And then it was time to ride...
Hannah had the pleasure of riding Woodstock, the lone all-white and highly coveted horse. The instructor matched girls and horses according to size and Hannah was the lucky girl. It didn't turn out that Woodstock was such a lucky horse, however. Woodstock liked to go fast and literally rode the tail of the horse in front of her. Hannah had to "Whoa, whoa" ALOT and her arms got tired from pulling back on the reigns so much. But she loved it and bonded with Woodstock. Much more exciting than a boring horse!



Here's Woodstock tailgating again...



Up in our beautiful hills...


So fun! After riding, they got a delicious St. Patty's treat...


And then they got to go explore the barn and feed some animals...

They got ice-cream cones full of feed to pass out to goats, chickens and pigs...(the animals actually love the cones to eat!)



Hannah's first attempt at holding a chicken...

She got it finally. Mady of course was an old hand as she has a couple of these of her own!...

And then there were tiny baby ducklings to hold...


It was a great way to spend St. Patrick's Day!

A for Effort

Hannah got this cute little number for her birthday back in December. We had a rainy day (or many) a couple weeks ago, so we decided it would be the perfect thing to do...
See how cute the little cakes look on the box...

Um, well, our fondant didn't really ever get to a consistency that you could "roll out with a rolling pin" and by this point in all our concocting we decided that the creamy consistency still tasted good so here's our finished product...

Not quite like the picture!
We had fun though and that's all that counts.


Two thumbs up!

Hannah's First Dance Competition

(I'm a little behind as this took place on the first weekend in March!)
It was such a fun day. Total mom and daughter day and it brought me back to my dance competition days...Stage make-up, bobby-pins, loads of hairspray, costumes and all!

Her team was the cutest hobo's you've ever seen. (and very refreshing next to all the scantily-clad 6 year olds walking about backstage!! Seriously people!)
(back at the studio...)

This cracked me up... she was stretching before going on stage...


Waiting their turn...

They were adorable and did a great job! (Unfortunately no cameras were allowed in the show!)

Phew. All done.


Such great girls. Love them all. So fun!

Happy Birthday Baby!

35!
I love you so much!

In the words of your mom from your birthday card (who said it so perfectly and shares my enthusiasm of adjectives!)

"We love you more than mere words can express. You have always been a delight to raise {insert be married to/be acquainted with/be siblings with/be friends with/work with/etc.}--easygoing, kind, loving, FUN, well liked by all ages, sweet, funny, helpful, energetic, Mr. Fix-it, ready to party, responsible, extremely good looking, reliable, tidy, organized, inclusive of all, good driver (despite others on the road), friend to all, tender-hearted, spiritual, loyal, obedient, and SO many more outstanding qualities and I'm not even the slightest bit prejudiced!!"

Perfect words from a mother and dittoed by a wife. And I'll add "a wonderful father and husband." You must have had some great examples in your life!

I hope you have a wonderful birthday and know how much you are loved and appreciated!
We love you!

Rainy Day and Reminiscing

It pretty much rained non-stop today and we pretty much weren't prepared. No raincoats, no umbrella, nothing.
I left my house at 9:30 and didn't really come home until the kids were done with school, so from the gym to kindergarten to lunch to errands, Alex and Owen and I had to sprint from one thing to the next. At one point after a long, wet run (the gym had an annoyingly full lot for a Friday and we had to park far, far away) we hurriedly slammed our car doors, panting, soaked and laughing in the warm dry haven of the car, and I turned back to see the most euphoric look on my 6 year old's face...this serene, happy smile with dreamy faraway eyes.
"You loved that didn't you?" I asked.
"That was awesome!" he replied breathlessly with his cheshire grin.

It made me think of this day back in October...

And many other rain storms where the first thing he wants to do is go run out and play in it and often does. It made me think of a time when he was not even 2 and I was watering some flowers outside our old house and I accidentally turned with the hose and got him all wet. Worried that the shock of the water and the strong water pressure would cause some tears (his older twin siblings still wanted me to hold a washcloth over their eyes when I rinsed their hair in the bathtub! (I chalk it up to first-time parenting)) I quickly dropped the hose to scoop him up with apologies and hugs but to my surprise... "Again! Again!" my little 18 month old cried. And for a solid 20 minutes I did just that... Sprayed down my baby to squeals and laughter. "Again, again," he cried if I ever let up.
This kid has an affinity for water.

Where my twins would cling to me like starfish when toddlers in the pool, Alex would wiggle to get loose and try to push off me to swim away. He learned to swim when he was 2. He's never used goggles; doesn't like them. He eerily smiles at you underwater with his eyes wide open. He learned to dive and swam to the bottom of our 8 ft deep end before the twins (who are 3 years older than him). He does flips off of piers into cold Lake Tahoe and jumps off of boulders into Bullard's Bar. He loves the ocean and boogeyboarding and tide pools. He rides the scariest waterslides that his height will allow him (or that he can sneak onto--think "the Toilet Bowl" in a sketchy Mexican waterpark. yikes.) He loves watersports like tubing and kneeboarding and wakeboarding. I can't wait so see him dominate the 6 & Unders at swim team this summer since he was an alternate for 1st heat last year as a 5 year old!
I'm convinced he's part fish.
I'm looking for gills.

"Can I get my swimsuit and rain boots on when we get home?"
"Maybe after school, buddy. We'll see..."

My Brownie

Knock-knock, ding-dong...

(Check out those badges!)
We always love cookie time around here!
Delivering to our court...

She had them organized by house and labeled with the name and amount...



Too cute!