Swimming Lessons-

We just finished up some swimming lessons. Owen took a level 1 preschool class all by himself (I still think it's crazy that he's so grown up) and Ava & I took a Parent & Tot class. It was fun to have to go swimming twice a week.

Ava was very clingy the first class but after that she loved the water and especially jumping in. Mostly we play & hang out in the water and she practiced some things like floating on her back, floating on her belly, hanging on to the side of the pool, trying to get out by herself, jumping in (for this you need to count to three or say ready, set, go so that you train your baby not to jump in without you knowing- not that this would ever happen), going under the water, kicking her legs, swimming with her arms and then we also say some songs like Once there was a snowman, Motor Boat, Motor boat go so fast, and well, I can't remember any more right now. It was fun to hang out with Ava. Probably my favorite was when we started practicing jumping into the water- I would count to three and hold my fingers up and Ava would scrunch up her little shoulders & hold both her index fingers to count number 1 with me. It was pretty cute.


Owen's class was just at the other end of the pool where Ava & I were- it was fun to see what he was doing. Owen also got a lot more comfortable in the water. He practiced the monkey crawl (moving around the side of the pool with your arms), how to get out of the pool by himself, putting his head under water, jumping in from the side and going all the way under, kicking straight legs on his back & his belly (and played red light green light for kicking), swimming with his arms scooping big ice cream scoops, and probably my favorite was when I looked over and saw him standing on the stairs with his arms straight in the air with his hands together waiting for his teacher- they called it 'chop, chop timber'-he was standing tall like a tree waiting for his teacher to come chop him down then he would fall over and practice swimming by holding his arms still up and kicking.

My favorite part....

Owen just finished a 6 week tumbling class. He was lucky to do it with his cousin Olivia. They had a lot of fun together. At the first class he was very unsure about it and didn’t listen to much, if anything that the teachers asked the kids to do but ever since he’s told me he is a good listener at class and has had a lot of fun. He learned how to do log rolls, somersaults, a bridge, superman pose (yes it’s awesome), and practiced cart wheels. Parents could only watch the first & last class so I was pretty excited to go see what he'd practiced. Both sets of Owen's grandparents came to support & watch. Before the class started he & Olivia were running around being crazy and having fun...

Owen with Huff & Phillips Grandparents-

As soon as the teachers started gathering the kids together in a circle to start, Owen fell apart and never shook out of it the entire 45 minutes. It was pretty crazy- he just sat by me, cried and watched all the other kids have fun. Every once in a while I'd tell him how much fun it would be to go play with all the other kids and I even offered to go with him but it was a no go!
So, after it was all over, I'd have to say my favorite part of the class was the happy part before it started :).

Whoah Huh?

This is a regular batch of Puff Pancakes that grew the biggest I've ever seen! See how the edge fell over it grew so tall???

Ava's curls/mullet/ whatever you want to call it...

Ava's hair is getting longer and sometimes it flips/curls pretty cute. After her bath one day her bangs had this awesome whirly-do that stayed that way all day.

Captain Batman

Today after church, Michael (Owen's cousin) was playing at our house when their Aunt Cathrine drove by. Both boys ran over to her car.
Owen yelled "I'm Batman."
Then Michael yelled, "I'm Captain Moroni."
Not wanting to be outdone, Owen yelled " I'm Captain Batman!"

And here's a fun picture of Ava looking out our front window-

Cabin

We got to spend a few days way up in the mountains enjoying nature, a cozy magical cabin, good food, and fun company.

Truman, Owen, & Tucker- ready to play in the ton of snow that was still outside.

Owen loved to eat the snow.

Owen pretending to be asleep by Truman. It took them a long time to fall asleep together in the bunk but had a blast together.

Coloring in front of a big warm fire. (Also, notice the lady in the background. She came up to the cabin just a couple weeks from her due date- ya crazy- even crazier is that she wouldn't let us carry in all of her & her two kids bags- what a trooper!)

Ava loves baby Elliot- She was so excited to sit by him and be by him.

Hot tub-

Thanks again Emily Ann- we had a blast!

Easter Weekend-

So, this is really late but here it is anyways-

Baby Animal Days- It was so crowded this year and we weren't up for waiting forever in many lines so we didn't get up close with many animals but what we did see was fun and it doesn't take much for kids to have a good time.

Owen with some big Oxen.

Ava was excited about all the animals. She was pretty unsure about touching these goats until she got brave enough, then she'd giggle and wanted to tell someone about them.Michael & OwenMadalyn, Owen, Ava & Michael.

Madalyn, Owen & Michael.

On Saturday we went out to the river.

Sandpile-

Ava was fascinated by the river.

Michael holding the fish he caught. What a gooberhead!The ride up to the top of a hill to throw Easter eggs down. Easter Sunday.

Strawberry Freezer Jam-

Everyone has their favorite jam recipe that they grew up with or whatever but if by chance, someone is looking for an awesome freezer jam recipe- this one is sooooo good. It tastes like real fruit. And yep, it's as easy as it sounds!

Fruity Freezer Jam
recipe came from Nettie Linton

Combine:
2 cups sugar
3 Tblsp. Clear/Sure Gel (clear gel has worked best for me)

Add:
5 cups raspberries (or other fruit like blended strawberries)

Mix until sugar is dissolved.
Then add ½ cup light corn syrup.
Put in containers and freeze.

Hooray for Spring!

I love spring- nice warm days but not to hot and random rainy/snowy days mixed in there to snuggle up and stay inside.

Doesn't get much better than this.

Ava is excited to walk around on the grass this spring.

Play ball!

Ava thinks anything that Owen has or does is the coolest.

I was looking for Matt & Owen the other night and found them in our front yard like this- watching the cars or bikes go by.

Book Sale

If anyone is in my town today or tomorrow morning and wants to go to an awesome children's book sale with brand new books cheap give me a call/ email me.

Eliminate the r-word!

I'm not trying to be over the top about this but I cringe any time I hear the r-word and I'm hoping if people knew it was such an offensive word it wouldn't get used, even in jokes.

Eraser Story-

I came upstairs this afternoon and didn't see Owen in the living room so I went looking for him and found him in our bedroom where I'd put his art easel. This weekend he got some chalk & an eraser for the blackboard part (a prize for staying dry an entire day- wahoo!). Anyways, he was sitting on the floor holding his eraser rubbing a pen mark on his hand. He was sad & a little surprised when it didn't work.

Lemon Pie

Anyone that really likes a lemon pie that almost bites you back with very thick whipped cream instead of that no good meringue stuff and who doesn't care if it looks pretty, is welcome to come over tomorrow and help me eat it.

Domestic dispute (Emily vs. kicked open doorknob)

Do you ever feel like you get beat up being a mom? Whether it's as a human punching bag, human playground, the cracking skin on your hands from being wet so much from wet wipes and dishwater, pregnancy or the other million things that are just part of being a mom? Well, last week I took a hard hit when I was getting Ava dressed in her room when all she wanted to do was escape. While putting on her clothes by her closed door, that doesn't really close it more just gets stuck and jammed, I totally didn't think about Owen wanting to come in and especially didn't think about him kicking the door as hard as he could to get it open. So I was very much surprised as the doorknob whacked into my cheek bone. Anyways, I don't remember the last black eye that I had or the my last cry from pain. It's not awful but man it hurt. And this picture was the best I got before Matt came upstairs from putting Owen to bed- it was weird enough taking pictures of myself I didn't want to do while Matt was around.

My Little Leprechan-

Happy St. Patrick's Day! Found this pattern & some other fun St. Patrick's Day stuff here. I totally forgot it was St. Patrick's day until after breakfast so I feel bad I didn't do green pancakes. What other St. Patrick's day food is anyone else making today?