I can't believe April is here!

After months and months of anticipation and list making.... Eliza finally turned 6! She is growing up so fast. She is doing great in Kindergarten but likes to put up a fight each morning about going!










Her birthday also was the first day of Ian & Eliza's rock climbing class! They had a lot of fun going up and down the wall and playing games.

 We just finished up Spring break here in Idaho. We spent it at home with a few outings around town. Mike took the kids to a cave, we went to the playground, played with friends and finished up with a swimming excursion to Blackfoot pool.

And this coming Saturday officially marks one year since I didn't die! (I seriously sobbed through the Downton Abbey when Sybil dies because I kept thinking "that could have been me!!") Finn has been so strong since he was born my little 4 pound baby. He hasn't had more than a runny nose all winter despite being exposed to strep throat and RSV multiple times. 

 His brother and sister fight over him constantly but I wouldn't have it any other way. He crawls and climbs everywhere and I can't walk through the grocery store without everyone stopping to googoo gaga at him every 5 feet! Can you blame them?

 We are getting excited for the summer! Mike is running like crazy getting ready for his big 50 miler. We are also planning some camping trips and a lot of sleeping in (yeah right!) We are working on expanding the garden and some spring cleaning. This kind of sounds like a Christmas letter. Happy Springtime to you and yours!!

p.s. Happy Birthday to Aunt Julie too! !

From the mouth of a child...

Today Eliza says... "Dad, is that a picture of you and mom?"

What??? Apparently I need to either get her eyes checked or try a little bit more with my appearance.

But maybe I should not be too worried about the opinion of a person who will actually sleep in a diaper box on top of a chair.

Cold Cold Cold and Belated Birthdays

We started the new year off in Rexburg! We hit the sledding hills with Charlie & Ellie and their parents. It was freezing (as the weather in Idaho continues to be..) We have had a ton of snow this January and have had a lot of single digit temperatures. 

The next weekend brought birthday festivities! The annual party was moved to Boise this year where we celebrated with delicious chocolate cake that was suberbly frosted by Abby. The kids all got along great and had a lot of fun together. We went to the Boise Aquarium.

 Eliza and Afton dressed alike so we could spot them in the crowd.

 The puffin were my favorite animal/bird/fish at the aquarium. Thanks Boise Stubbs! I don't know if we can top that next year.

And this little baby continues to grow and change. He crawls, pulls himself up, stays up all night and all sorts of crazy things. He is 9 months old and a dainty 14 pounds. He has gained 10 pounds since birth, Wahoo!  And he is amazingly cute. We like him. We would like him even more if he would sleep sometimes!

Why do I try???

Each year I have the same brilliant idea to take pictures of the kids in their Christmassy Sunday clothes. 

You might remember such photos as this...  

Where Eliza refused to stand next to Ian. 

Or these from the next year...Where I couldn't get either of them to look at the camera. 

  

Ready for this years photos? This one is called "climbing the ladder on Grandma's Christmas tree" or "leave me alone Mom."

"I'm going to eat my brother's ear off" 

 Finn was looking at some very distracting cousins. By the time I get them to actually sit still and look at the camera, they will be too big to look cute dressed up in Christmassy clothes and the pictures will just be creepy and postable to akward family photos or something.

 Merry Christmas to all!