The Famous Girl

Saturday, Kevin and I were able to compete in "The Amazing Race". Some friends of ours put it on and it was SOOOO much fun! I will have lots more on that later, this story has to do with later that evening, after the race, at dinner with all the teams. 

At dinner that evening there were quite a few kids there. I mean, there were 15 teams, plus the two couples who put on the event, and, lets face it, we're Mormon. There were alot of kids there!:) As dinner ended and everyone was hanging around chit chatting, the kids decided to play some games with the lemons sitting around.

They had a little competition of their own to see who could eat the lemons without making a sour face. Even worse, they licked some salt, then the lemon for some of the braver kids.

A little back story here,  when Halli was a baby we gave her a lemon for the first time expecting to see the most hilarious face, turns out though, she LOVES the things! Seriously, they're one of her favorite fruits!

So later that evening, when I went to check on the kids before going to bed, I found this on Halli's bedroom door. I love this hilarious little girl!

Translation:

Famous girl

She can eat a sour lemon without making a sour face! Happened on March 5, 2011 age is 7 in a half (hehe) she weighs 60 pounds. She can also eat a sour lemon that has salt on it all gone, AMAZING!!!!!!

This girl is so dang funny!

Houston IS beautiful...sometimes!

We have had the most BEAUTIFUL weather here for the past couple weeks. Absolutely perfect, and early enough in the year that there are almost no bugs out, yay! So, we've tried to get out and enjoy it, though probably not as much as the kids would really like.

I had to take some fun pictures one day while the kids were out playing, since we don't get this amazing weather for too long.

Yes, my kids are messy eaters, as are all kids. Unfortunately, this picture shows just how much I clean them up afterwords. Halli would have never had food on her face an hour after lunch. What can I say, I'm letting a few things slide, and I think she looks adorable!

I absolutely love watching them play nicely together! these two can actually be really sweet together every now and then, and I love it!

You gotta love a newly potty trained kiddo. Seriously, love the undies! I suppose it's better than crack though, right?:)

We like chalk mustaches, WAY better than milk ones! add that to the jam on her face and she's one very messy little girl, but oh so happy!

Although we've had amazing weather, it turned yesterday and it was really cold in the morning, just in time for a great photoshoot. Poor little kiddo was FREEZING, and I felt so bad, cause the weather had been so amazing up till then. But, what do ya do? That's march for you.

The {former} blob

We've given our little man a new nickname.....

THE BLOB!

(said in the most endearing and loving way that you can possibly mean!:)

He got that nickname cause he's big, and he's a blob. :) He doesn't move too much, or at all really. Although on thursday night, he rolled over for the first time! Can you believe it. He's only 7.5 months old, what a quick little guy.:)

I really was SUPER excited when he rolled over, I really didn't think he would until after he was mobile. But at the rate he's going, it's going to be a VERY long time before that happens.

I LOVE this little smile, so freaking cute!

So I suppose now that he can technically move, by rolling over, in one direction, he's no longer a blob. But for the most part, he doesn't roll much, so he's still mostly a blob. But a super-duper cute on!

The same night he rolled over for the first time, he also did something else.

Something bigger.

Something I've been waiting SO very long for.

Yep, our little man finally slept through the night. I feel like I might actually be a normal functioning person some day.

(Okay, as normal as I can be. :)

But I'm just so excited that he made this one huge step, sleep is a very good thing, and I have missed it!

The best part, is that our happy, smily, adorable little man, is now that much more happy, smily and adorable. I know, you're thinking how that's possible, but it is. I'm well rested, and that can affect everything, including how adorable my sweet little man is!:)

What time is it?

I really don't know where Kevin comes up with these things, but one day not too long back, he started a new chant thing that he taught to the girls. I guess there was a game on or something, (shows how much I pay attention, right?), He started yelling to the girls, "What time is it?" and they would yell back, "Game time, HOO!" Okay, that last word, is kind of more of a grunt. I can see I'm going to have to get this on video at some point.

It's actually pretty hilarious, especially when Lexie does it. She was chanting it quietly all during sacrament meeting on sunday. 

When I picked her up from nursery on sunday, the nursery leader had a funny story about our little Lexie. When it was time to clean up the toys, he asked all the kids, "What time is it?" obviously expecting to hear back, "clean up time!" But instead he heard our little Lexie answer, "Game time, HOO!"

Lets just say Kevin was one proud dad.

As a side note, minutes after hearing that story, I was buckling Lexie into her car seat and realized I had brought her to church, and sent her to nursery, commando. Yep, she wasn't wearing undies. It was totally my fault, Halli told me before we left, but I was too busy and totally forgot. I even have extras in my purse, but just didn't know she needed them. I think having a fourth child may have slightly fried my brain.

Under pressure

Saturday was a great day. I got to get my hair done, go take some pictures of a precious newborn, who was absolutely adorable, and then come hang out at home with my awesome family. Between mine and Kevin's schedules, it's been quite awhile since we've had a saturday at home with nothing going on. I've missed days like this.

We spent some time in the afternoon outside on the trampoline enjoying this gorgeous weather we're having...yep, february in Houston can be pretty gorgeous. In fact, Halli and Peyton spent a good part of the afternoon in swimsuits jumping on the trampoline with the sprinklers on.

Anywhoo, Kevin started teaching Halli how to do a backflip. She was a little scared of doing it, but eventually, she got it. She was doing them like crazy! She is SO excited to show Blake this afternoon that she can do it. There is one problem though, after dinner she went out to try it again, and sort of forgot how to do it.

She's psyching herself out and to watch her, she isn't even trying, but it's just because she's scared. She's basically throwing herself onto the trampoline on her back with out even jumping up. It would be funny, except it makes her so sad that she can't do it anymore! When she realized she couldn't do it, Kevin was gone getting our pizza, and when he came back he tried to help her figure it out, but it wasn't happening. Sometimes, we just get in our own way, and she just wasn't getting it.

So she came inside, very depressed and laid on the couch in tears. It was bathtime, and Kevin didn't want to give the girls their baths, so he made Halli a deal, if she could go outside, and do ONE backflip, I would have to do baths, and I also agreed to make the girls cookies, but she only had ONE chance! I don't know how I got stuck with baths in this deal, but I had been watching Halli all afternoon, and wasn't sure she would be able to do it.

We all went outside, and stood on the patio while Halli climbed onto the tramp. It was funny, cause as we were standing there waiting, we could hear her talking to herself, getting ready to make one final attempt. Finally she did it, she jumped...and flipped. She didn't land on her feet, but she did a backflip nonetheless.

It was such a small thing, that in the long run won't really matter, but Kevin and I looked at each other and were just amazed at this awesome girl. That trait right there will serve her so well in life. I don't know if it's because of our sports backgrounds, but both of us have been in that situation countless times. Where you only get one chance to accomplish something. One chance to make a freethrow, one chance to clear the bar, or any number of other things. But whatever the obstacle, we were so impressed with her ability to focus on the task at hand, walk herself through it, and do her absolute best! Kevin and the other girls stormed the tramp and tackled Halli, all of them screaming at the top of their lungs, her sisters were beyond excited for cookies!

I am going to LOVE watching these kids grow up and succeed at whatever is placed before them. I truly hope Kevin and I can allow them to fail, so that they can do the hard work and really appreciate when they do succeed. Sometimes it's hard to be a parent and to watch your children do hard things. This morning, Halli got back out there and again couldn't do a backflip. Someday, she'll get it, but for now, she has to struggle until she can overcome her fear. That's hard to watch and not be able to do anything about it. But I love this girl and her determination, and I can't wait to see what else she'll do!

The amazing race ~ Valentines Edition

In our house, valentines is usually done for the kids for the most part. Kevin gets me roses and I'll get him something little and then it's about the girls. This year was a little different though.

We have such a great ward and some great friends, so some of us got together, and the girls planned a super fun activity for the boys. We did alot of planning and prep, and on valentines we got together, made the guys all change into their "I <3 my wife" tshirts, (that were all made by the girls of course), and sent them off on "THE AMAZING RACE ~ Valentines Edition"!

I don't have pictures of most of the tasks they had to do, but for the first one, we sent them off to the high school. This was their first clue:

Klein High school is the very first place,

You would go to practice if you want to run a race.

Get your heart rate up and enjoy the view...

Get a good workout, while you find your next clue

While at the high school they had to make some valentines cards for their wives. They did a great job too, super cute, very quickly made cards!:)

Once they finished that, they got their next clue:

Now that you’re out of breath, you’ve completed your task!

Return to the place where, with our love, you can bask.

Obey all the traffic signs, and drive with care,

For if you do; kisses will be waiting for you there.

When they came back to the house, they found a coffee table FULL of hersheys kisses!

A heart shaped sea of hersheys kisses!

Then, they had to find the ones with the stickers on the bottom. The catch being, that if they picked up one without a sticker, they had to eat it.

Lets just say, they were getting a little sick, and kinda quit eating them. After picking up a few handfuls and finding a couple of stickers, we called it good and gave them the third clue:

You've met him before,

the mans name is a killer

add to that a weed,

that might need a tiller.

Find out who this man is

and go visit his mother,

to find a new task to complete

that's like no other.

Now, this clue might seem a little odd. To understand it, you'd have to know that when playing ball, Kevin sometimes goes by the name, Killaweed. I don't know where that came from, but there ya have it.

So they headed over to his mom and dads house where they made bunches of candy necklaces and after making each one, they had to make two free throws.

Once they finished there, they got their fourth clue:

Your wife's favorite candy bar, you will see,

When you return to the house at 9923.

Arrange them correctly, you must get it right,

Or you will be staring at candy all night!

They came back to the house, and had to each pick out their wives favorite candy. It took a few hints, but they did it! We had one final clue left for them:

You've made a card, but have you got your sweetheart a bouquet or gifts, yet?

If not, do it now, or you’ll be quite upset

When you reach the finish-line

And have to turn around.

The race isn’t finished until these things have been found.

The finish line, and your fabulous prize

Are waiting at a place familiar to your eyes.

Make your way through traffic,

Obey all the signs

And step on the mat of this home for some sweet Valentines!

*NOTE- YOU HAVE BEEN GIVEN 2 DOLLARS FOR THE COMPLETION OF THIS FINAL TASK

Unfortunately, it was already getting too late, so we didn't get to that last one. The boys were starving. The 25 kids we had at the house were getting tired, the food was ready, and it was time to eat.

Now, the whole time the boys were off galavanting around (that's a fun word that doesn't get used too often, isn't it?) all the wives were at the house slaving over dinner! Okay, some were slaving over dinner, others were keeping an eye out for kids, some were holding babies, and really, with 25 kids all in one house, it just gets a little busy, don't you think?

Allie made her delish garlic chicken, and my favorite ceasar salad, in the BIGGEST salad bowl I've ever seen. Seriously, it was huge! I don't have a picture, so you'll just have to take my word for it!:)

We also had SOOO much candy! You have to have a candy buffet whenever possible. That's my theory. You just can't go wrong with them....ever!

We had lots of fun valentines decor, that some of the girls brought. But also, since I forgot to take pictures of them, check out the picture of Halli right beneath the red wood sign. That was her valentine for school. Cutest idea ever, I love it! They were personal, and adorable. Hopefully you can see it well enough.  If you can't, it's a picture of her holding her hand out, and we cut the paper and stuck a pencil through, so it looks like she's really holding it. I love them!

Had to throw in a picture of my very own valentine, cause he's a hottie, whose also super sweet and thoughtful, and loads of fun!

The whole gang finally got to sit down and enjoy some time together over an amazing dinner! Check out Sean and Allie, I think JJ may be making them a little baby hungry....I'm just sayin!

What a fun group of people, couldn't ask for anyone better to spend valentines day with!

Oh, look, there's Halli. I don't think I saw her all night with all the kids running around. She was in heaven having so many friends over!

The whole gang again, all showing off our matching shirts.

I really love these girls that I was able to plan this fun night with! We had so much fun planning it all out, making, and ruining, lots of shirts, and just trying to do something fun for our hubbies.

Everyone here, minus one girl have had at least 3 kids, and one of these ladies has had 5! The one who has one little boy at home is 5 MONTHS pregnant with #2, betcha can't even tell which one that is! These are some seriously beautiful women...inside and out! Someday, I hope to be like them all!

We had such an "AMAZING" night! The next day, I was a little pooped, but it was well worth it. I have SOOO much candy at my house right now.

Seriously, check that out!

It could feed an army....a chocolate loving army!

My girls may be in heaven. I have no idea how much candy they've eaten the last few days, but I do know that it's WAY too much! I keep finding evidence all over.

I found these fun UDAMAN dandy bar covers here, and we made them for the boys for their reward for a job well done.

Remember the Hershey kiss game? Yeah, I have just a few of those hanging out at my house!

I also made some fun designs for the envelopes for the boys to open. Probably totally unneccessary, but I did it anyway.

I also did a little design on the clue itself!

I didn't want to forget that Kevin brought me the most gorgeous tulips. I LOVE tulips, really, they're SO beautiful!

He was also super sweet and brought each of the girls a white rose. I just love that man!

He also brough all four of his girls a chocolate covered strawberry...super yummy. Have I mentioned how much I love that man?

My house finally got decorated for valentines day. It's kinda festive, and since I did it a little late, I think I'll keep it up through february!

I kinda really like my new valentines wreath, it's super girly and fun!

What a great valentines day! Maybe this will have to become tradition, maybe not, but either way I had a blast and I'm hoping everyone else did too. I'm just a little tired today, so off to bed for me!

Bingory!!

Ever heard of "BINGORY"? It's kind of a mix between bingo, and memory, and it's kinda fun for the kiddos. I had made some valentines bingory boards a few days ago, and thanks to the awesome weather we're having right now, we had lots of time to play.

I was going to print out the cards and the matching game pieces with a cute paper backing, and it would probably be good to laminate it too. But, we didn't have time to do that, the girls were getting fiesty, and mean, and driving me crazy! So, excuse the unfinished games!:)

Even Lexie got the hang of it, and had fun. She even won the first game!

Everything is more fun when there's candy involved too.

Please excuse the fact that we were all in our pajamas. We didn't leave the house today at all...you know, serious weather conditions. There was supposed to be snow, but all we got was ice...super fun for kids expecting to wake up to snow.

It's pretty simple to play. You cut out enough pieces to that you have one match for every piece on very kids game board. Does that make sense? If you have 4 kids playing, you'll need matching pieces for every one of their games. Then when they pick a card, they put a candy on the matching picture on their board. 

Simple as that, the first one to get four in a row wins!

 I only made 4 different boards, but the great thing about this game is that everyone could have the same board if you wanted them too. Because it all depends on what card they pick, it doesn't matter if their boards all match!

If you want to play bingory, go here for the free download!