Saturday we saw the movie Monster Vs. Aliens and everyone loved it, including me.
Sunday we went to American Fork to attend church with Adam's younger sister Trinna. Her precious baby girl was being blessed that day. It was so great to be there for it.
Monday I took the kids to the dinosaur museum, and then went there again that evening because they hadn't had enough. Here is what kept them busy. They built dinosaurs with these soft, stuffed dinosaur parts:
Played on dinoaurs:
Played with minature dinosaurs in sand & water:
Dug for dinosaurs bones with special brushes, like real paleontologists do:
Tuesday we went to the Hogle Zoo and it was freeeeeeezing. So here is the only picture I took, indoors with the stinky giraffes. My cute Mom is holding Lucy:
The kids had a fun time. I'm so glad they got to know my parents a little bit better. By Wednesday morning I was ready to go home. So I loaded up the kids & car and drove home in one day! It was nice to have a few days of Spring Break at home with Adam. Utah was fun but the drive was long. I don't think I'll be doing that again any time soon.
I used her camera to take pictures of the kids, so I'm still waiting for Jen to send me copies. Jack & Caleb hadn't seen each other in over four years! But they had no problem getting to know each other. They hit it off right away, just like they did when they were two. Jen is an amazing hostess and made us a delicious dinner, and a huge yummy breakfast. Then she sent us off with lunches packed for the drive. Thank you Jen! You are super-woman!
J.F.Y.I., we went to Petco because I thought it would be way less stinky than the 'other' pet store in town. Well- it was less stinky. However, they hardly had any animals. We had to be content with small snakes and fish. It was kind of a let down. So- if you're wanting to see lots of animals (i.e. dogs, cats, turtles, guinea pigs) then you have to be willing to put up with the stink.
For the second year in a row I could NOT find a shamrock cookie cutter. Nevertheless, my kids still had a great time using whatever cookie cutter they wanted to:
This year I tried to explain why we celebrate St. Patrick's Day . . . they were way more interested in decorating cookies:
We had Grandma & Grandpa Nebeker over for a St. Patrick's Day feast! (Shepherd's pie, Irish Soda Bread, peas, Grandma's yummy green jello, and green punch. I'm so upset I forgot to snap a picture of it!) After dinner we frosted the cookies:
Grandpa arrived with a CD player playing Irish music. The kids were thrilled! They couldn't wait to finish dinner so they could return to the living room and dance. We listened to it as we ate, it was so much fun! Thanks Grandpa- for bringing the Irish jig to our house.
In the morning, before Jack left for school, I got on Youtube and showed my kids what a bagpipe is, and what it sounds like. Sometimes I just love the internet. The kids thought it was pretty cool. Jack was so excited after school that day- because a REAL person had played the bagpipe for the kindergartners. He was thrilled. 
After school we loaded up the kids and drove downtown. First we went to Sonic for dinner, because we were in a hurry to make a show, Playhouse Disney Live! It was basically like watching the Disney Channel- except Handy Manny was a real person instead of a cartoon character. But the kids LOVED it. Here we are waiting for our corndogs at Sonic:
And here we are at the arena watching Playhouse Disney Live!!!
I don't have any actual pictures of the "cutting" because she sat on my lap the entire time, crying as if it was the worst torture in the world. It was close to lunch time so I came prepared. I had chicken nuggets, french fries, and soda with me. Every once in a while she'd take a bite of a french fry, or a sip of soda- and then she'd resume her sad cry. We were probably an interesting sight: Lucy sitting on my lap, with her hair all over us, and me shoving fast food in her mouth in between sobs. I'm a great mother, huh? 
So . . . why do we spend money on toys?!? 
It was 100% Owen's idea to have a "bug" cake:
Although this cake isn't a work of art, A LOT of time went into it's preparation. Adam literally drove all over town looking for fake, plastic, bugs on terrible, icy roads. How hard can it be, right? Well, our #1 go-to store was closed due to excess snow on the roof- the 50% Off Card Shop. So he tried the Dollar Store which was also closed because it's excess snow had literally collapsed the entire front of the store. Adam tried Wal-Mart, Michaels, Target, Wal-greens. All he could find were flourescent green, stretchy spiders. Sorry Owen! We tried. You're worth every ounce of driving to look for fake, plastic, bugs!
Lucy insisted on opening a few presents herself. Owen was an angel and said, "Here Lucy- do it like this!" He would then try to show her how to tear the paper while it was in her grasp. She wasn't too keen on his help. Thanks for being such a gem Owen. 
Aunt Coco, Uncle Tyler, Grandma, and Grandpa came with lots of love, hugs, and gifts:
We saved the best gift for last. We had it hidden behind the couch with a blanket draped over it. We played the hot/cold game until he discovered it. He exclaimed "Awesome!" about a dozen times tonight, after each present was opened. (Owen used to have a bike, but Adam ran over it one day. Owen loves telling Grandma each time she comes over, "My Dad ran over my bike." Now he can't say that anymore!)
Let them eat cake! Poor Owen, being a middle child doesn't allow much room for independence. As you can see, he had plenty of help with unwrapping gifts- and blowing out the candles:
We love you Owen. Here is a brief synopsis of how you spent your third year: You spent much of it coloring. You would color and draw for hours and hours. Many times you'd get frustrated because you couldn't draw what you imagined. You'd often throw your pencil or crayon across the room and let out an angry yelp. At preschool you were the first to point out if your friends weren't staying in the lines. You love to dig! There's plenty of dirt in the front yard. You love to just sit and dig away! You and Jack also loved making dirt soup with "spices" as you called them. You're always willing to cuddle and for that reason we call you our cuddle bug. You're a terribly picky eater and before each meal you ask, "How many bites do I have to eat?" You are literally addicted to milk and sippy cups. However, this birthday saw you weaned of sippy cups! Hooray! You spend hours with your legos. Dad and I are always amazed at your long-term concentration, whether it's coloring, legos, or lincoln logs. You are amazing at entertaining yourself. You love Jack and miss him when he's at kindergarten. You'll often ask, "When's Jack going to be home?" You're incredible gentle to Lucy and you love babies. Whenever I baby-sit other children, you are so nurturing and helpful.
The boys were thrilled to receive new lego sets. Adam is so great about actually playing with the kids. Here he is helping them set up their legos:
Lucy had a blast with her princess tea set, from Grandma. Every few minutes she would come running up to you shouting, "It's ready!" Translation: "The table is set and you're invited to a very special tea party."
If she wasn't having a tea party then she was 
or C) Attacking or hitting her brothers. Here she is, caught in the act, about to whack Jack for no apparent reason. She's a girl, does she really need a reason to be angry? Apparently, a lot of toys and love is too much to handle.
Fortunatly for us, the diva crashed unexpectedly at 10am, on a pillow in front of the television. Not only did she have a busy morning, but she was up twice during the night. Adam & I were sound asleep in the basement and didn't hear her upstairs. So poor Grandma & Aunt Coco each got a night-time shift with Lucy. I think her restless night partially explained her erratic behavior:
The boys were so gracious and patient. They opened up each gift, one at a time, taking turns. They were so sweet and appreciative. I am so blessed to have such special spirits in my home:
Here's Jack with "Transformers" the DVD. He's already watched it a half dozen times:
Despite the terrible snow storms and icy roads, we had a warm, cozy, beautiful Christmas Break. We ate at IHOP one morning, it's tradition. We saw a few movies, ate out way too much, snacked on Hickory Farms late at night, went sledding, gorged on Sea's Candies, read lots of books, and nobody got sick the entire break! I felt so richly blessed to be healthy and with the ones I love.
Grandma Nebeker has a knack for making things look beautiful. You could call it perfectionism, although that word sounds too conceited and she is the nicest woman I have ever met. Anyway, fortunately her perfectionism passed to her son Adam as well. When it comes to cake decorating, tree decorating, or any sort of project that requires detail- I am NOT to the one to do it. I let my artistic husband or mother-in-law do it!
He even took a break from football to help with the gingerbread house. My kids know me too well. The instant I attempted to ice the house Jack started yelling, "Daddy!!!!!!!" He immediately came to the rescue:
As if this wasn't enough, Grandma kindly make sugar cookies for the kids to decorate as well. Owen preferred to lick his like a dog:
Lucy was in cookie and candy dreamland . . . . as illustrated by her zoned-out stare:
Jack took his decorating quite seriously. He definitely gets it from Adam. Notice his pink tongue sticking out as he concentrates?
