FEBRUARY

GROUNDHOG DAY & SUPERBOWL LII - I've really had a desire this year to be a fun mom again.  I feel like I used to be one, but I've lost my steam thanks to reality.  There's always this to do or that to do or things to pick up and clean or somewhere to run.  None of it is that important, but it has to be done and just drains you.  We have to do so many mundane things day in and day out that you start to lose enthusiasm.  I've felt like over the last couple of years it's more about surviving than thriving for my mom skills.  Which is something I want to change.  One easy way I've found to bring more "fun" into life is to celebrate holidays.  I will never be one of those moms that goes all out with decorations or parties or anything like that, but I do think I can put a bit more enthusiasm into holidays for my kids.  So for Groundhog day I made these little treats that look like the little groundhog peeking out of his hole for the kids to enjoy when they got home from school.  It was pretty fun and Kinsley was so proud of me!  :)  I just need to make sure that my only way of celebrating things is with sugar!  The Groundhog saw his shadow so that means 6 more weeks of winter.  It has been such a mild winter and the weather has been great lately, so my kids think that it will definitely be spring right away.  But I swear that groundhog is always right so I'm betting on 6 more weeks of non-spring weather.

Super Bowl Sunday again.  I tried to plan a little buffet of things to eat and asked Jed his opinion.  When I think Superbowl I think of pizza, nachos, burgers, etc.  Jed suggested soup...?  I love soup, but c'mon!  So I did a nacho bar and we made little football cookies. Kasen pulled out his flag football Eagles jersey to show his support. I guess all that manly football watching cause Kasen to feel the need to do something else manly - shaving.

A couple of pictures from earlier in the day.  Dallin and Kasen doing origami bookmarks.  Dallin thinks he can do everything the other kids can do.  And Dallin eating.  He is such a messy eater.  His favorite food is pasta with red sauce.  He will eat bowels and bowels, but he ends up covered from head to toe.  Dallin is a messy eater in general and we usually change clothes multiple times a day.

Dallin loves football so much.  He wore his football shirt too and stayed with the big boys pretty much the whole game making noise and yelling.  He is such a funny kid.  The girls got a little bored with the game.  We watched halftime but mostly worked on our own projects.  Kinsley and I worked on her kiwi crate and she made some fun things: a claw grabber and a game to use it for.  Then she set up a little carnival for everyone to come try it out.  Ava worked on family history and did some editing on her website for National History Day.  She is so consumed with it and has such a busy week this week that she felt like it would be ok to work on some school stuff on Sunday. 

VALENTINE'S DAY - At the last minute I signed up to help in Kasen's class Valentine party.  On the signups the teacher kept sending out no one had signed up for anything besides bringing treats.  So I signed up to do a craft.  I taught the kids how to make origami heart bookmarks which they thought were cool so it worked out ok.  Dallin was my helper and did pretty good since I just kept feeding him dum dum suckers the whole time. 

Kinsley's class also had a Valentine's party and both kids were excited to open their valentines when they got home.  Kinsley's class all made a robot Valentine bag to carry their things in which was pretty cute. Kinsley's teacher also gave everyone a cute little pink dog.  The older kids' activities right now rule our life so Ava had volleyball and Kasen had basketball practice.  They don't get home until 8:30 so there wasn't much time for celebrating.  I had spent the night making homemade lasagna, salad, breadsticks, mini chocolate cheesecakes so when everyone got home we could at least eat together.  But then Jed went to the store afterward to buy flowers and didn't come home until 10:30pm so all my plans failed.  Plus my flowers died the next day - seriously - so it was like Valentine's day hated me this year.

SCHOOL - Kasen came home the first of February with a packet on a project to be done at home for Valentine's day.  He had to make a Valentine's box using simple machines (ie. lever, pulley, wedge, etc.).  Jed helped him come up with an idea with stuff lying around in his bedroom.  Kasen was so proud of it.

Ava has been working like crazy on her website and we are all very excited for her.  All her edits and work had to be locked in and completed by February 14th.  She has really put her whole heart and soul into this project and has spent so much time researching and reading.  She was reading the book below and told me one day she wanted to try and set up a phone interview with one of the authors.  My first thought was to tell her it would be highly unlikely a busy doctor/author would respond to her email, but I decided to encourage her (fun mom) and let her attempt contacting him.  Wouldn't you know within 48 hrs he had responded and said he would gladly provide a phone interview with her.  I was shocked!  So a few days later Ava interviewed (she had made a whole list of questions and topics to ask/discuss with him) Dr. David K.C. Cooper for over an hour.  It made me realize how much I don't even attempt because in my mind I've already decided all the ways I could fail in trying and so before anything has even started I've given up.  The naivety of youth is sometimes such a blessing.  Here is a picture of the book she read and the dr she interviewed and also her opening page on her website she created. The website was located at: http://43349695.nhd.weebly.com/

DALLIN 21 MONTHS -This little boy is so funny right now.  He is so in love with Toy Story and will beg to watch it everyday.  He packs around his friends all day wherever he goes.  He talks to them and can say all their names.  He also likes to pack around the Wii Football game case and yell "Football" all day long too.

Dallin is still a wild man though.  He runs away from you whenever you need him to do something and is constantly trying to escape outside.  He is usually pretty happy, but can still throw some major fits.  It seems like the terrible 2's have already started!  He loves taking baths and he loves bath bombs.  He calls them "fizzers" because Kinsley always tells him to watch them fizz in the water.  He never sits still unless he is watching Baby Einsteins and now Toy Story.

The other things Dallin loves right now are football and basketball.  Whenever he talks about either one of them he always gets this growly deep sound to his voice.  It is so funny.  One day while I was exercising downstairs and Dallin was playing near me, he decided to wander into Kasen's room.  He came out after a few minutes with Kasen's Manning jersey and the Broncos helmet and wanted me to put them on him.  Kasen wears his jersey a lot, but it is crazy to me that Dallin knows it is "football."  I pulled out the little kid Bronco jersey so he can start wearing it too.  He still loves the song "Baby Shark" and so while in Target the other day I saw a shark hat and put it on him.  It lasted for about 30 sec.  He liked looking at the shark on the hat, but wasn't a fan of wearing it.  When Kasen was this age he would never take a ball cap off.  So we have quite a few just waiting for Dallin.  He likes to put them on for a quick second, but that is one thing he hasn't followed in his brothers footsteps with.

Whenever Kasen gets home from school he wants the tv on right away to some sort of sports game.  I think he watched every minute of Olympic coverage this month.  When it wasn't the Olympics it was basketball or football game reruns.  Dallin started picking up on the tackling.  He would charge people for no reason and yell "Tackle"!  His favorite people to tackle are Jed and Kasen of course.  He also has his little Broncos football ABC hard book that he packs around everywhere.  He flips through each page just jabbering a million miles a minute like he knows every word.  He can say "kick", "touchdown" (while holding both arms up like the ref does), and "run".  Jed and the kids have also taught him some basketball moves.  He can do a spin move, dribble (by touching the ball to the floor), jab step (usually includes a lot of other steps too!), and triple threat.  He is so funny.  I can't believe a kid can like sports as much as he does.  Hopefully he will continue to be big for his age and then maybe he will be good at playing them too.

THE MONTH OF FIRSTS

FIRST HAIRCUT - As much as we loved his curls, it was time to tame them a bit.  They were getting a little out of control and looking like a lion's mane.  I decided to take Dallin to the professionals because I didn't think he would sit still for Jed.  Dallin was so terrified of what was going on that he sat really still mostly.  He didn't try to get off the chair, but he did keep turning his head each time the lady got close to his ears with her scissors.  Luckily, she was fast and it only took about 10 minutes.  His little chubby face in the pictures just cracks me up.  It's like he is saying, "What the heck is going on here???"  He was pretty happy afterward and looked like an older boy which is the only thing that stinks about a baby's first haircut.

FIRST VB TOURNEY - Ava started club volleyball season the first weekend of February.  She is on the 13 Premier team so she is the only 12 yr old and 6th grader on her team.  There are only two girls on the team that have played club vb before.  So the whole team is new to playing club.  Ava was pretty nervous for the first tournament.  The team had a spaghetti dinner/bonding party the week before, but Ava always wants to do her best.  She played middle blocker and had some great plays.  Her serving started out a little rough, but by the end of the day had gotten a lot better.

Since it was our first tournament we weren't sure what to expect.  Games started at 8 am and Ava had to be there before 7:30.  I can't remember now how many matches they played but it lasted all day.  The players stay with their team all day.  They have a cooler for lunch and snacks and their own gallon jugs of water.  Even when they aren't playing they don't come sit with their families.  They always stay together which I think is really positive.  We had to go to a different school half-way through the day and the players have to ride together. 

Kasen had a tournament all day as well, so Jed was with him and I brought Kins and Dallin because Ava's tournament was just right up the road from our house.  Kinsley brought her jump rope and kept entertained with it whenever there was a break.  Dallin was a nightmare.  He hated being strapped into his stroller, but would just run straight to the court if he wasn't in it.  He pretty much cried all morning long.

The first tournament was pretty rough for the team.  They lost every set in every match all morning.  So they ended up in the bronze bracket for the afternoon.  Things weren't going so well there either.  Finally though, in the last match they won their 2nd set.  It was the winning point and Ava served it and the other team shanked it out and we won that set.  It was so exciting because Ava was serving it and they were all so excited to actually win!  They ended up losing the 3rd set though so they were the last place team in the bracket and Ava was pretty frustrated.  I don't think we got home until 6:30 pm.  Kinsley stayed with me all day and she deserved an award for sitting on bleachers that long in one day!

FIRST CLUB BASKETBALL SEASON - Club sports are no joke.  They are so much better as far as improving skill and opportunities to play competitively, but they take up sooooo much time.  Kasen also has practices two times a week and tournament games nearly every other week on both Friday nights and all day Saturdays.  Luckily they are all here in the Treasure Valley.  He really loves basketball and has improved a lot.  Jed goes to every practice which is a good thing most of the time and sometimes a bad thing! lol 

Kasen's team was really good and won most of their games.  They even won quite a few entire tournaments.  According to Kasen and Jed, Kasen was a really good defense player but has to work on his offensive playing.  Mostly ball dribbling and shooting.  For most of the boys it was their first time playing club ball and was a lot more intense than YMCA playing. 

It is crazy how intense sports are for kids these days.  There are teams Kasen's age that are traveling all around the Northwest to play.  If kids want to play sports they have to do it at such an intense level which most of the time I think is ridiculous, but if they don't then they will just be so far behind in skill they would never be able to play later.  Kasen has really enjoyed basketball this season and he loves playing, but also watching college and NBA games in his spare time.  He even rewatches games he likes.  He loves the Golden State Warriors.  He would be outside everyday shooting if it wasn't so cold.  When he does go outside he makes up his "dream team" (a mix of his friends and NBA players) that he imagines are playing with him.  He is constantly shooting baskets on Dallin's little hoop in the living room.  It is fun to see him like something so much. It will be fun to have him be able to practice so much outside as the weather gets warmer too.

FIRST PIANO LESSONS - I started the kids in piano lessons with a teacher I found in the area.  Her name is Yelena Frolova and she is from Russia.  She has a very strong accent and was a little hard for the kids to understand at first.  But she is very good at teaching piano and is very nice.  The kids each have a 30 minute lesson once a week and then have to do 15 minutes of music training on the computer as well.  Kasen was pretty mad at me for making him take lessons.  The girls were excited.  I was getting sick of being yelled at or told I was wrong when I tried to teach them piano.  It is so hard to teach your kids stuff sometimes.  And honestly I think it is good for them to learn from other adults sometimes too.  We will see how it goes...

FIRST DANCE - The middle school had their 1st school dance for Valentine's day.  It was semi-formal so Ava chose to wear a dress with leggings.  Her friends talked her into going and we picked up some girls from the ward on our way.  Ava had me curl her hair and she looked really cute.  When I dropped them off I said, "Turn around and smile for a picture" and they all just sprinted for the door.  I have successfully become the nerdy, uncool mom! I was nervous she wouldn't have fun or no one would ask her to dance but all her friends would get asked.  She went with friends to get ice cream after and when she finally got home she was still smiling.  She said she had lots of fun with her friends and that most of the kids just danced in big groups with their friends.  The dance was for 6th, 7th, and 8th grade so there were a lot of kids there.  She said there were mostly 8th graders that danced together during the "creepy, slow songs."  So she didn't dance with any boys - which she was ok with - but neither did her friends, and she had fun so it was a successful first middle school dance event. 

FIRST KID DATE - Something I have been thinking about for over a year now is that Jed and I need to spend some more one-on-one time with each kid.  We do a lot together as a family, but I think it is good for them to spend time alone with their parents too.  My dad would always take each kid to dinner on their birthday without anyone else.  It was always something I looked forward to and enjoyed. It made me feel important and special.  So in my quest to be a "fun mom" again and because I feel like the idea keeps coming to me as promptings from the Holy Ghost, I announced we were going to start doing a kid date once a month during FHE.  Jed was a little surprised, but he is always so good to go along with things that strengthen our family.  So the kids got to draw straws and Kinsley drew the winning straw.  So she got to go on the first kid date with her dad and I.  We decided that the kid can pick an activity of whatever they like and want to do with their parents that will last about 2-3 hrs.  Kinsley really wanted to go on a horse ride, but it was so cold on her day that she changed her plans to going and getting sugar cookies and hot chocolate at Great Harvest Bread.  My girls love the sugar cookies there!  While we were there we told Kinsley all the things we love about her and asked her what she liked about herself.  She said 5 words that describe herself are: nice, cute, awesome, funny, and a good older sister.  Jed said his 5 words were: beautiful, stylish, thoughtful, kind, and a good friend.  I said: good student, looks out for kids who are lonely, not afraid to make new friends, silly, and a great hug giver. As we were walking back to the car we chased birds down the sidewalk.

Kinsley has a hard time making decisions (which seems to be a common characteristic for middle children I've decided).  She couldn't figure out what other activity she wanted to do on her date.  We stopped at a ceramic painting shop, we drove past the library, we talked about movies, etc.  Finally she decided she wanted to go to the dollar store and look for new stickers for her princess sticker book.  So that's what we did. 

When we got home we ended the date with a staring contest.  Kinsley always wins!  And can we just give a slow clap to her on how well she coordinates her shirt and socks here.  We sure do love our Kinsley!  I asked her what she learned about herself from her kid date.  Her reply was, "That I'm really special!"  These kid dates are going to be a great thing!

FIRST SLIME & PLAYDOH - We are way behind on the slime train.  Ava has been asking me to make slime for years I'm sure.  Honestly, I just hate stuff like that and so it was never my priority to go find and buy the ingredients.  I kinda' feel bad about it.  Definitely what I'm talking about when I say the not very fun mom stage.  Anyway, Ava bought some slime from her friend for a bunch of candy.  She was so excited to bring it home and play with it.  She ended up getting stuck all over something and then it wasn't so fun anymore and I haven't seen her play with it since.  Kinsley got some playdough from the dollar store from her dad.  Also something I've always hated.  I hate how your hands feel and smell after touching playdough.  Anyway, she had fun with hers too until I started finding playdough chunks everywhere around the house.  Then she got it taken away so hopefully it was a first time and a last time for both slime and playdough here.

ALL THE IN-BETWEENS - We continued to have eye problems in February too.  Kinsley's eye ended up getting infected and Kasen got a black eye from a shoulder in basketball practice.

The girls were my reading stars all month.  (As a disclaimer, Kasen reads a lot too I just never caught a picture of him.)  Kinsley's favorite books right now are the Owl Diaries and Kasen really likes the Who Was series.  Ava has always been a bookworm, but there were quite a few days this month when I would look at the clock and realize she should have been home already.  Every single time I would find her walking like a sloth down the lane and up the driveway because she was reading.  I'd tell her that if she just hurried inside then she could get comfortable and read where it's warm, but she said her books were just too good to wait that long.

Ava had New Beginnings this month.  She is the Beehive Secretary and had to give a talk about For the Strength of Youth.  She also had to spotlight one of the new beehives coming in and make a poster about her.  She also volunteered to bring 4 dozen homemade oreo cookies - yes as in 48!  It took her quite awhile, but she did all the baking by herself.  She said she never wanted to make homemade oreos again. :)  Speaking of spiritual events, Jed and I finally went to the Meridian temple to do a session.  We were both embarrassed to realize it was our first time going since the temple opened in November.  It is just really hard to find 3 hours to go with kids!  Every time we go I tell Jed - "I really wish they had a shortened version of the endowment session."  Every other ordinance is quick and you can do 5-10 names in an hour, but endowments not so much.  As much as I love the temple, I have a really hard time feeling peace and uplifting feelings after an endowment session because of how long it takes and the disaster I know I'm going to come home to after leaving my kids alone for that long.  On a more positive note though, Ava has continued to work on family history most Sundays and has a nice stack of names for us.  So the next week Jed came home early one day to do some charting and Dallin was asleep so I went over to the temple and did some initiatory for the names Ava was baptized for when she turned 12 and went for the first time.

Here are some fun pictures of Dallin.  Kinsley gave him her sunglasses one day while we were in the car and he really liked them.  The other picture is what happens when I'm making dinner and I ask Jed to please keep Dallin out of the kitchen.  From 5-7pm is truly the witching hour and Dallin gets so whiny and destructive.  He will destroy the kitchen in about 10 minutes if I'm in there cooking and not giving him attention.  So this day Jed decided to do the obvious thing and he and Dallin attacked Ava for a good 30 minutes by chasing her around.  Dallin thought it was fantastic fun.

A couple pictures (taken by Kinsley actually) showing how animated her siblings faces are when they are watching the tv screen.

Last but not least, one evening I took this picture of Jed holding Kinsley and Dallin.  They both love to run up to him when he gets home and give him big hugs.  It reminded me that I had a similar picture of Jed holding Ava and Kasen at about the same ages.  It doesn't seem that long ago and at the same time seems like 1000 years ago too.