It's Fun to be Five!

Emily was eating breakfast this morning - homemade waffles - when she yelled, "Mom, guess what? I love America's Favorite Syrup''!! You know your 5-year-old is getting good at reading when she wants to read the syrup bottle! We love you Emily! You are an amazingly bright and fun little girl!

Bubbles Bubbles Bubbles!!

We had some fun with home-made bubbles yesterday. Emily and Josh really enjoyed trying all the different "tools" to see which would make the biggest bubbles. A regular old drinking straw made the most traditional sized bubbles. Emily got some good ones by blowing into the small end of a funnel. Josh got some really good ones by blowing into a string tied between 2 straws. My favorite of all, though, was when Emily started blowing them out of her mouth because she had so much solution on her when she used the funnel! What a cute little Santa she makes!

What can YOU do with a slinky...??

...Besides the usual walking it down the stairs of course!! Josh got quite creative playing with our new slinky today. From an "eye falling out" to a Santa beard to Mr. Muscle Man, the uses are endless. Get one today and see what YOU can do with a slinky!!

The Fruits of Our Labors

After what seems like an eternity of working in the dirt, rocks, and heat, we finally got our grass in last week. Green is such a better color than brown and gray! We are very pleased with the way it all turned out. This is a good shot of our front yard.

And this is a good shot of our back yard. Everything just looks so much nicer when the dirt and rocks are covered up. This is my favorite part of our yard. The rock walls that our builder put in really come to life with the grass in place.

Now we can start cleaning out all the dirt that has collected on the patio and in the basement. I think we could plant flowers in the basement if it had just a little more sunlight!

Loose Tooth, Part 2

Emily finally lost her tooth on May 26th. She got so tired of it wiggling around that she had her dad just pop it out! Of course, it started bleeding, so she ran to the bathroom and we tried cleaning up the mess. As she was standing there, watching everything in the mirror, her eyes suddenly rolled back in her head, she started wobbling around, and she fell on the floor!! Our cute little princess had passed out! She looked around and said her head was spinning. I looked at her and she was as white as a ghost - her lips were as white as her teeth! Suffice it to say, I think we'll not let her see any more blood!

It looks like the fun of lost teeth is just beginning for Emily. The one right next door to the lost tooth is wiggly too. Probably won't be long before the tooth fairy comes back!

**It's probably obvious, but the reason this posting is so delayed is because Emily was pretty sick for quite a long time. Thankfully, she's all better now and mostly back to normal.**

The Little Things

I recently spent three days in the hospital with Emily while she recovered from a very severe case of pneumonia. She had been sick for 10 days before we finally figured out what was going on. I know we have all gained an extra measure of grattitude for the things in life that seem so little but are really huge when it comes down to it. Little things like:

• Tylenol and Ibuprofen to help a raging fever
• a doctor who really knows what she's doing
• the ability to breathe without difficulty
• the ability to move around on your own
• the comfort of the Holy Ghost
• the power of a priesthood blessing to soothe and comfort a restless child
• all of the modern medical conveniences and knowledge that can allow a child to recover from something that, 100 years ago, probably would have taken her life
• PORTABLE OXYGEN!!!
• antibiotics
• x-rays
• FAMILY!!!

I could probably make a list a mile long, but don't have the time or space. I am always awed at the love and concern shown to us by family, friends, doctors, and most especially Heavenly Father. I know we wouldn't have made it through any of this without each one of them. A gigantic THANK YOU and WE LOVE YOU to each of you!

Congratulations Graduates!

We had Joy School graduation last night. It was definitely the event to top all events! The kids have been participating in Joy School since January. We have been in a group with 3 other families in our stake. Josh was the youngest participant, and Emily, of course, was the smartest! For the graduation ceremony the kids sang their favorite Joy School songs, got diplomas and mortar boards, and walked to Pomp and Circumstance. It was so cute! I was in charge of making the mortar boards. I think they turned out really cute. I just used squares of foam posterboard (like you use for your science project display) that were already black. Then I glued on bowls that I had spray painted black and added a yarn tassel to top them off.

Emily thoroughly enjoyed herself. The event was held at her best friend's house - another Joy School participant. She had so much fun jumping on the tramp - in her dress even (not something we would normally let her do) - and playing with her real pom poms. Her hair really sucked up the static electricity! She sang her heart out on all the songs and walked gracefully across the stage as she received her diploma.


Josh, on the other hand, doesn't care much for these big social gatherings. Even though he had been around these people for the last 5 months, he appeared to have a little bit of stage fright. He stood on the stage looking at us all like we were a bunch of lunatics! All he could think and talk about was getting his "graduation hat and pom-pom (the tassel)." When it came time for him to receive his diploma, he froze and wouldn't move until I put my arm around him and walked across the stage with him. Pretty typical for Josh.

This was such a fun night for our family. It's always fun as a parent to get to watch your kids shine and enjoy the absolute sweetness that oozes out of them.

Artwork of a 5-year-old

This is what happens when a five-year-old sneaks the camera out of the house when her mother is paying attention to the work that needs to get done and not her children! This first one is Josh being Josh.


This one is just looking up into the sky from our backyard. Quite artistic! I think we could sell it as a postcard!

This one is a mega close-up of Emily's Dora watch. Does anybody know what time it is??

Happy Easter 2006

This is a little late in coming, but I just couldn't resist posting these pictures. We had an Easter celebration at Grandma & Grandpa Larsen's house. Among the activities was coloring eggs. I think Josh & Emily got tired of trying to use the flimsy little dipper that comes with the kits. So they just used their hands. Emily did quite a nice job of sticking with the color theme of her outfit, don't you agree?!! She sort of looks like she's turning into the Hulk! I'm not sure what look Josh was going for, but it's definitely his personality to try some of everything! There was still a little bit of color on their hands for Church the next day, but fortunately not too obvious. Give 'em an inch and they take a mile!

What a Mess!

We had a guy come trench our yard on Saturday so we can put in a sprinkling system. The kids were totally fascinated as they watched him maneuver around in his little tractor. We did have to change the trench layout that we had worked so hard on that morning - measuring, spray painting lines, etc. In the end, everything worked out, and we got a whole bunch of deep roads, dirt piles, and more rocks to clear away. Home ownership is so rewarding!!