Lucky 13

Salt Lake Temple - May 25, 1995

Happy Anniversary to us! Wow, look at those KIDS!? Big hair and fluff included, it was the perfect day. It's amazing what changes happen in just 13 years--3 degrees, 7 moves, a few ups and downs, 5 kids...and better suited for each other than we could have realized back then. What will the next 13 bring? Babies and elementary kids now...to teenagers, college, missions and marriages then? Yikes. Talk about change.

Cold Turkey

Yesterday something sudden and mysterious happened to Fisher. He woke up, left his trusty blanket and pacifier in his crib to start the day, and returned to this at naptime:


It is/was his pacifier.

If only you could understand how much he loved this thing. It partnered with his blankie and has brought him such a high level of joy and comfort that I've wondered for months when I should break him of it, especially with a baby brother who has one of his own. I've tried "losing" it before, only to eventually give in and "find" it again (it's true that parents get tired with age), so on a whim yesterday morning, I pushed my sentimentality aside and snipped off the end. When he picked it up to put it in his mouth at naptime, it just slid to the side of his face and got stuck in his neck. He was utterly surprised. In the moments that followed, I basically convinced him that he sucked the thing to death...just not in so many words. Now we say it's "all gone" and try to giggle about how silly that is. He would feel SO betrayed if he knew it was me. Instead, he is confused, a little bit sad, and half-entertained by it. I think we'll be okay.

Onward and Upward

Yep, we finally broke down and got a tramp. We've debated about safety for years...but there's so many around that we figure they're probably better off with one at our house too! Plus it's FUN and great exercise and they LOVE it. (No injuries, no injuries...)

AND...

Happy Graduation!

Connor is ready for kindergarten! Wahoo!

Riverton 2nd Ward Spring Musical

I mentioned that we've had about 6 practices/week going on for the last 2 months in preparation for the ward music show? Well, it has happened (a week and a half ago) and it was a HIT! A look in pictures:

Rick, as the lion in "The Circle of Life." He "hah-senyah'ed" and everything:

Brayden--in Oliver cast, Hercules solo, and Rockin' Robin swing dance:

Maddie in aquatic dance number "Storms of Africa" and the cast of "My Favorite Things":

and Connor--as the sun in "Morning Has Broken" and as Jaques in Cinderella Work Song--these two numbers really stole the show:

I can't say enough how GREAT they did! But PHEW. Every production has such fun results, but we are happy to reclaim our weeknights. Priceless memories. The kids all "miss" the s

The final number and curtain calls:

Oops

I accidently blanked out our blog and don't have time to fix it. It's been needing a makeover for a while, but...dang. I need help. On a completely related note: Katy!! Have I ever told you how beautiful, talented, and creative you are? My eyebrows are going up & down but no pressure. ;)

Tew!

Hypothetically speaking, is it possible to turn "terribly two" on your very birthday? No reason.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY FISHER!

You can't tell, but he's blowing really hard in the next picture. He had the right sound, but no air movement because he kept his lips together. The candles didn't even sway. He just kept "blowing" until they mysteriously went dark...

So, even though he's 2 and doesn't really get the whole "birthday" thing, everytime we said "Fisher, it's your birthday!" or showed him a present, his whole face turned surprised and he'd take a dramatic intake of air. Like he totally got it.

Making "2" is a very advanced thing to do with your fingers. He's all set for "5" though. After working on it all day, he just started crossing all of his fingers together.

Staring at how handsome he is in the videocamera:

What to do with a lawnmower, the calm version (since they'd been doing it for 5 minutes straight before I videoed it):

In addition to mowing down siblings, he also discovered that it is HILARIOUS to let a mylar balloon bang into a ceiling fan. Endless laughter.

WE LOVE YOU FISHER-MAN!

You are FAR more wonderful than terrible. :)

Meaningless Entertainment

So, I took the blogging addiction quiz that Katy & Mel took (I'm 51% addicted), but was far more intrigued by the "How Many 5 Year Olds Could You Take in a Fight" quiz. Funny questions and I was surprised by my results. Maybe admitting I'd pick up one child to throw at another pushed my number up. (I've been known to use a child I do or do not know as a human shield at those river rapid-type amusement park rides to avoid getting wet, so who knows what I might do under attack?) Silly. Too bad I don't have time to explore the other quizzes...but it's Fisher's birthday today and the first of two Ward Spring Music Sensation performances tonight! We made it to May 16th! WHOOPEE!

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Created by OnePlusYou -

Well, I did take the time to explore one more quiz. The "How Much Money is Your Dead Body Worth?" quiz. My "Cadaver Calculator" figured $4055. I'm not sure that one was worth 3 more minutes at the computer.

Just to be clear, I don't support violence toward children.

Changes

We had a surprising appointment with the Stake Presidency a couple of weeks ago bringing some changes around here as Rick was put in the bishopric. Since it's a new call, we don't really know what we're in for. We eased into things yesterday with no regular meetings on Mother's Day, but our first Sunday without him on the bench with us. It went...pretty well! Brayden and I tag-teamed until the baby fell asleep, and as the hour ticked on, I began to feel a tiny sense of victory that we were making it through with no major incidence. Novice mistake. Our goal for next week will be no body tackling and yelling. Plus it'll be the true test with us being totally on our own from sun up. Think we'll make it?

Zoo Day

Today the 3 boys & I went to the zoo in the name of another preschool fieldtrip (didn't we just have one last week?) Fisher was totally mesmorized by every animal in the zoo--mimicking their sounds, studying their every move, shushing the napping ones...he LOVED it. Connor, on the other hand, could have cruised through the whole zoo in 45 minutes. Regardless, here's a look at the boys on this beautifully crisp spring day. Just trust us on the animals being there...they didn't make the cut.