Fall 2012 winter /spring 2013

I cannot believe it has been four months since I have blogged. Time sure flies. I will give and update... Lillian- Is in kindergarten and loving it. She is so smart, kind and sweet. Learning to read comes naturally to her and she enjoys the challenge. She is a good older sister to James and Madalyn. Lately they all have been playing well together. I am glad they all came into our family so close together so they can take care of one another. Lilly is over the American Girl Doll phase and into the horse phase. She has a savings jar to save up for a horse. We also told her she had to buy the property to keep a horse on and she agreed. I told her that we will pay for the food when she saves up enough for a horse. :) She is a very determined kiddo. I love her ability to be a leader and her compassion for others. She likes to spend time listening to music with the cd player and sit at her desk in her room. She also likes to write special notes and do math. James- He is enjoying preschool. He is growing and it is like watching him turn from a little boy into a kid. Sometimes that makes me feel sad to see time passing so quickly. I love his sweet tender heart. He is into superheros, and Mario Cart. Allen took James camping with the boy scouts a few weeks ago. He loved having a man trip with dad. He also loves playing catch with dad. The funny thing is that he throws stuff to people when they are not looking. Sometimes funny, sometimes not.... James was in soccer last fall and he is on the same team this spring. He is more focused this year. Last year he was a great ball handler, but would get distracted and forget where he was going. This year he is aware of the goal. He will do great this year as long as there aren't and mud puddles to play in. Oh, he is fun. James is starting to play with addition and subtraction. Madalyn- She calls herself my little mom. She helps me with everything; dishes, laundry, cleaning up books, cooking, and anything else. She is very smart and observant. She has moved from toddler bed to the bottom bunk (queen size). Lilly has the top bunk. (We recently got Lilly a real mattress for the top bunk.) Madalyn started being potty training last Christmas and has done well. It is so so so so soooooooooo nice to have all the kiddos out of diapers!! Freedom! Her personality is fun and playful, but also sarcastic and stubborn. She already know some letters. Dog- We decided to get a dog. We needed to find a dog that was hypo-allergenic because of my allergies. I wanted to get a schnauzer because they do well with families and don't shed. I found a dog online at the Salt Lake Animal Shelter, it was a black schnauzer. Allen went to see the dog and brought him home to us that day. We named him buster, Maddie calls him Busterd. ha ha. Well, we took him to the groomers (a very very old lady who grooms dogs in her basement). She said that the dog is not a schnauzer, but a wired-hair pointing griffon. She also said that the dog is 8 years old and hasn't been taken care of very well the past few years. I was concerned, but we had already committed to this dog and I didn't want to give the dog back like last time. Well, Buster turns out to be a good dog. He is mild, obedient, house trained, and doesn't shed too much. I just need to keep up on vacuuming and dusting to keep my allergies down. Lillian loves to pet the dog and have responsibility for the animals. Chickens- One of the chickens got eaten. (Maddie's named bob) I gave her my stuff in fluff and we renamed it bob. they are still laying eggs. Buster likes to chase them but I don't think he wants to eat them. Nevertheless, we keep them in the coop most of the time. Mom- I am so excited for spring time. I want to get working in the garden but am a bit discouraged because of the lack of results of last year. There are so many rocks and a lot of clay. I learned that I need to get to the ground with a pick ax. I also want to prune the trees and attempt to save some of our dying trees. I did zumba a lot in 2012, but I haven't been as faithful in 2013. Allen was working on a project at work for about a month and he was working 18 hour days. That didn't leave much time for zumba. Winter was a challenge for me but the sunshine is coming out. Allen is currently working normal hours. This pas week was spring break. I tried to do some fun things with the kids. We took a trip to the zoo and got a membership! We will enjoy going back many times this summer. The kids all did painting on canvas. We hung all the art in the front room. I am so proud of their creativity. Allen- He loves reading to the children every night at bedtime. He reads scriptures and a chapter book. The kids love spending time with dad. When he becomes the tickle monster the kids run to the couch, the safe zone. The kids sit on the couch and sing church songs because if they stop singing the safe zone isn't safe anymore.