March

Our kids were dismayed that we still had snow when March started.  More than just a little.  But they do think it's funny when the snow on the garage hangs down like this until it falls.  And I think kids will always eat snow.

Molly had her first chance to teach Young Women's.  Her topic was the Atonement.  She prepared everything largely on her own.  I would have loved to be in that room to listen.  She said after that she thought she had done a pretty great job and I am sure she did.

Molly had a "food video" assignment for her journalism class.  She was supposed to make a movie while preparing some food.  She threw around a bunch of ideas but when she saw that I was going to make lasagna one Sunday afternoon, she decided that would be a good day to film her video.  Justin was her videographer and she did all the editing.  She is so creative in these videos she makes!

Stockton was a huge help in taking out the bathroom floor.  He really got into it!  I think he was trying to get out of doing his homework and practicing his piano. Another night, he helped get all the nails and staples out of the floor.

Ivy got so good at staying up and waiting for her "bidnight snack" that I started giving her a slice of bread instead of a fruit snack.  I figure the bread wouldn't rot her teeth quite as fast.

Justin teases me for being older, but it is only by 15 days (16 days on a leap year).  He turned 37 on March 14th.  Just like one of the kids, he was able to request his favorite meals and cake.  For breakfast he wanted an egg casserole and bacon.  I made one with hashbrowns-it was good but not my favorite breakfast casserole that I've made.  I think I would do less hashbrowns if I ever made it again.  He also wanted bacon (I bought the already cooked kind) and whole milk chocolate milk.

He had a work meeting/lunch and so he got his birthday lunch at Tucanos.  He was happy about that and so was I...it was much better than anything I would have sent him with.

For dinner he wanted bulgogi and refrigerator pickles. And he stuck with his homemade twinkies for dessert.  For his birthday, he didn't want gifts.  He needs a few camping items for the summer (sleeping bag, hiking boots) and so he gets to pick them out on his own.  He has really been needing a new suit and Mr. Mac had their buy one get one for $1 sale in March so we'd been waiting for that.  And he bought an inverted table to stretch his back-although that was our HSA money so doesn't really count as a birthday present.  I got him two little things-a book about Lou Gehrig (because our library didn't have it) and a bigfoot T-shirt because he just listened to a bigfoot podcast and is almost a believer.

Ivy wanted to play a game so I told her to go choose one and she came out with the Harry Potter Lego game.  Stockton and Brynn play HP all the time and it has carried down to her.  She makes her own rules and I let her.

Molly's friend, Roxy Tobler, had a friend lunch in the middle of a school day.  It was fun for Molly to get checked out for lunch and go to Roxy's for a yummy lunch.  Roxy's mom sent me this picture and I don't know any of the girls except for Roxy, who is the cute redhead in the back, and Molly obviously, in the front.

My mom likes to take me birthday shopping but it was a little crazy the weeks around my birthday.  She ended up giving me money and then we got together when life slowed down a little.  I really wanted a new dress to wear for Brynn's baptism and so that was our mission.  Ali and Lucy came too which made it even better.  So glad I have sisters and am close to my mom!  I love these kinds of days!

Ivy and Lucy

The days finally started to warm up...hallelujah!  More and more snow melted everyday and the kids took advantage of those patches of brownish grass.  Everyone has been a little happier now that we can go outside more.

We love to go outside as a family on Sunday afternoons after dinner and Come, Follow Me time.  The day tends to get long when we are inside all day.  Stockton has been so excited to play baseball outside so we have done a lot of that.  Justin doesn't need much convincing to get outside and play catch.

 

trying not to be grossed out by her eating that crusty snow

Stockton did a couple of leprechaun how-to-draws on St. Patrick's Day.  Our milk was turned green and the kids found some chocolate coins in the fridge by the milk.  That's about the extent of my St. Patrick's Day celebrating.  I did try to find green for all the kids and myself but it was a little trickier being on a Sunday this year.

Ivy was begging me to sit down and play Nintendo with her.  I would have but I was trying to get a few things done before piano lessons started and kept putting her off.  Molly came home then and saved the day and sat and played with Ivy.  Ivy likes to sit in her lap and hold her hands and act like she is the one that is actually playing.

The kids started riding their bikes to the bus stop again.  It's still too dark for Molly to ride her bike in the morning but probably in a few weeks it will be okay for her to ride as well.

We didn't make a craft this month, but Ivy and I did make some pink glitter slime instead.

Ivy has gotten a lot of practice on her bike as well...riding it around the table and island.  She likes to ask "Alexa" to play "baby shark" and she happily rides it around and around and around.  She is getting pretty fast!

It's tradition for all of us to fill out a bracket for March Madness.  Some people take it more seriously than others (ahem, Stockton) but it is fun to see how we do and who can beat Justin who tallies up the scores at the end of each tournament day.  One point for first round correct picks, two points for second round, four points for third round, etc.

Spring seasons for baseball and soccer both started on March 23rd.  Stockton was playing in a tournament in Salem and had three games.  Justin took him down to the first two and I drove down and met them with the girls for the final game.  This team has improved so much in the last 1 1/2 years and instead of being the team that everyone beat up on, they won all three games!  Stockton couldn't keep the grin off his face.  When he got in the truck after the first game, Justin said he stretched his arms above his head and said, "Ahhh, it feels so good to play baseball!"  He truly loves it.  Molly had a game later that afternoon in Cedar Hills so I took her to that while Justin took the three younger kids home.  If we can avoid dragging all the kids to every game, that is preferable.  Molly's team played so well this game and ended up winning 4-2 so it was a great day for our kids!  Life gets a little hectic this time of year but I really love watching them and cheering them on and wouldn't trade it for anything.

Here is a quick update on the bathroom project.  Justin took out the toilet and the vanity, tore up the tile and replaced the floor, and we hired out the tile since Justin was not confident enough to do the shower tile on his own.  Doing that took a huge weight off his shoulders.

Justin took a lot of pictures of Ivy sleeping this March.  I think I got all the sleeping pictures off his phone.  She is very angelic in sleep, if not always in the daytime.

 We all laughed when we saw Ivy putting her cute little face up against the glass on the front door.

The last week of March was Kindness Week at school and they had a different theme each day.  One day they wore hats.  Molly was nice enough to lend her penguin hat to Brynn.  Stockton almost wore the wolf hat that he got at Great Wolf Lodge but then decided to stick with his Jazz hat.

Molly took some selfies in Ivy's tent while we were waiting for Justin to join us for our night-time prayer.

Sometimes Justin is working on the bathroom late, after the kids are in bed.  The noise doesn't bother Brynn but it's hard for Ivy to relax and fall asleep.  I usually let her lay in my bed and move her back to her room when we go to bed.

Crazy sock day.  Brynn borrowed a couple of different socks from Molly and pulled them up high.  She was most excited that she got to wear her new overalls.  Stockton didn't do crazy socks.  He debated about wearing shorts with long socks but decided he didn't want to do that after all.

I love when these Contraption blocks come out.  Stockton built this ramp down the stairs with a pipe that was out with the bathroom project stuff.

Brynn wore these fake glasses around for several days.  They actually looked pretty cute on her!  Stockton and her were cracking up one morning when she clipped a hair clip to her lip and to the glasses.

I let Ivy have a movie day (only when I really need to accomplish things and Brynn's baptism was the next day) and she lined up her princesses so she would have some company while she watched.  I was upstairs cleaning the loft. 

Justin thought he was so funny taking this glamorous picture of me.  I was coloring my hair and had a shower cap on my head while it was setting.

The kids love challenging Justin to fussball tournaments.  When Molly and Stockton team up against Justin and Brynn, they can usually beat him.  They get excited when that happens and run around the house celebrating. 

We ended the month outside with some trampoline "Karl Malone" dunks and more baseball practice.  Bring on the spring!