Wicked Fun

Well 2015 is off to a great start. This last week has been full of Birthday celebrations for Andi. Sunday we had a family dinner and celebrated with both families. She's known for a while that she wasn't having a friend party this year because we had something big planned for her. So Sunday we finally told her and she was so excited.

Yep, tickets to see Wicked. This picture is blurry, but for good reason. We sang happy birthday and Peter sat nicely on the bar stool, but the moment the song ended he was on the counter and blew out the candles before the girls could get to them. 

So Thursday after school we drove down to LA for the show. I was looking forward to taking Andi out to a grown up restaurant, but instead we ended up at Denny's. And this is how we felt about it.

 Thad and Andi share a love of pancakes, so I was out voted. So much for a big grown up night out on the town. But the show more than made up for the "dinner".  The pantages is such a cool old theater. Our seats were front and center Balcony, which we think is the best spot in the house.

I was a little worried that Andi would not be able to stay awake through the show because it started at bedtime. We are pretty serious about bedtime around here, so Andi was pretty shocked that we were staying out that late. But she loved it. She's been listening to the music for months, and was completely enthralled. The only little issue we had was when Fiero an Elpheba start kissing and she asked me if they were married. When I said no she yelled, "eeewwww, gross, they can't do that!" Luckily it was loud enough that the people sitting next to her weren't bothered.
Andi also went birthday shopping with Grandma and picked out a fishing pole. She may love wicked, but she's still her Daddy's girl.

 We lost a "pet" this week. The little silkie chick Sammy brought home in August decided this week that it was a rooster. Luckily there is a place in town that will take roosters and we were able to return Midnight, instead of "dispose" of him. Sammy was very sad to see him go, but day 3 of the noise, he understood why we had to get rid of him.

And this is just a perfect demonstration of daily life with Peter. I rakes the leaves into a pile, and he followed behind me raking them back out. It's like this all day, every day, like his sole purpose in life is to hinder and destroy. It's a good thing he's cute.

And thing one and thing two here are at each other constantly. They wrestle and rough house and pester each other from the minute they wake up till they go to bed each day. I thought a 4 year age gap would keep that from happening, but it hasn't. This was a rare moment of peace brought to you by Phineas and Ferb.

2014 Wrap Up

December is gone and I feel like we sprinted through it.  The month was full of festivities and we enjoyed them all. We started out with a couple attempts at family pictures in the backyard on our own. And though we were able to get some good shots, I think next year we might actually hire someone. Mostly because my kids listen to other people much better than they do me and I was ready to throw them all out the window by the time our short little picture session was over.  I know you won't believe me when you see their cute smiles in the pictures below, but trust me, it was not a fuzzy warm experience.

Thad and I went to our annual grown ups christmas party, this year with an ugly sweater theme. Ours matched, and were "vintage" from his moms attic. I'm a little sad we didn't get a picture in our sweaters, but there were bells and puff paint and hand print reindeer antlers. They were sweet.
We Christmas caroled with my family. I took Andi to see the Nutcracker for the first time and we had a great time. The kids had their Christmas sleepover at my parents and helped them pick out their Christmas tree. Thad and Andi both participated in the talent show at our ward Christmas party. Andi on the piano and singing with the primary, and Thad sang in a Men's quartet. The ladies in our neighborhood had a girls night to get to know each other better. The relief society had a lovely dinner and activity. Thad and I celebrated our 11th Anniversary with Dinner and the latest Hunger Games movie. We celebrated Grandma Richards 94th birthday. Tenille & her boys came to visit for a few days. And we had Thad's office Christmas Party.
And amidst all the hustle and bustle, we had sick kids and projects going on! This was the Sunday before Christmas. While everyone else was posting pictures of their families in cute matching church outfits, this is what our kids looked like. Thad was singing with the choir, and in another small group during sacrament meeting, so I was home on kid duty.

Our project for the month was to build a new cabinet over the stove to hide the hood. It turned out perfect! I showed Thad a picture I liked and he went to town.

Obviously he had help. Peter HAS to be involved in everything Thad does. He loves Daddy time and comes running the minute Thad walks in the door every day.

This happened a few days before Christmas. Thad devised a new punishment/chore for the kids. Usually he just sprays out the chicken coop, but if the kids need some discipline they now get to clean it out with a broom and dust pan.

With a mask and gloves of course. Safety first.

Christmas Eve we had the traditional dinner and program with the Bulkeley's. Sammy participated in the talent portion for the first time ever and played a little song on the piano. Andi played a song as well, and then it was time for the Santa Letter.  The believers are dwindling in number, but we all had a great night.

Christmas Day was low key and peaceful. We opened presents and then my parents came over for breakfast as no one else was in town this year. Then we skyped with Bradon while the kids played with their new toys. We finished off the day with Dinner at my parents. Again, a smaller group than usual, but it was nice.

Apparently we are too busy enjoying ourselves to take many pictures, that's literally all we took. Peter loved the train table and spent 90% of the day there. Sammy liked it too.
I got new couches for Christmas this year and love them. We went for a sectional and I was worried about how much of the room it would take up, but they are so comfy it's worth it.
 This beauty was taken a few days ago. Thad threatened to send the kids to bed unless they rubbed his feet. He stoops low sometimes.

And this is what we call Church Peter. One of us usually ends up sitting in the car with him and when we try to take him back in for nursery this is the look we get.

We are looking forward to 9:00 meetings this year and being the first ward in the building so there will be plenty of time out rooms available. We really have to break this habit and get him to sit through the meeting.
We have been truly blessed this year and are looking forward to what the new year holds for us.

Falling behind

Tis the season for life to get busy. And we have been, but when I skip blogging for over a month I can hardly remember what we've been doing. If I were better at writing Bradon letters on his mission I'd have things documented, but I'm no better at that these days than blogging. Poor Brado.  Halloween happened. Peter actually participated in the pumpkin carving and could not get enough of lighting the pumpkins. That kids has some serious piro tendencies that will need to be addressed.

 Andi's bat, Sammy's mean face, and peters happy face.

Our ward had a trunk or treat a few days before Halloween and Andi went as Maddelyn Hatter and Sammy went as a Pirate.They had a great time running around playing games and getting candy. Then they got to go around the neighborhood on the night of, and we've had candy coming out our ears.

Thad and I went to a grown ups Halloween party this year, which was a lot of fun. We took home the trophy for best couple costume.  I must say it was pretty epic, and we made that mask out of plaster strips molded to Thad's face.

Sammy's birthday was that week as well, and though we already did Disneyland and a family party for him, his class at school managed to make his day pretty special. That and I made him a cake roll.

Report cards came home and both kids did great this first quarter. Andi even made Principles list with straight A's and got a free pass for Johns Incredible Pizza. So we did that for FHE and the kids were in heaven. Peter ran from game to game and did several laps of the place before the night was over.

The kids have a new favorite game with Thad. War. They all have their own little nerf guns, peter included, and they use the couch cushions for bunkers and shoot each other. It used to be played by throwing blocks, but now we've graduated to real weaponry.

Both kids finished up their sport seasons the same weekend. Andi teared up a little leaving her game, but was pumped about getting a trophy.  She really enjoyed volleyball, so we may be looking for another program for her to do.

 With her coach

Sammy's team, minus one, at their pizza party.  Such cute funny little guys.

The fall carnival at school was a big hit again this year. They always have a bunch of blow up toys for the kids, from bounce houses, to jousting rings and giant slides. Andi & Sammy faced off in the jousting ring, and I think they both ended up falling without really hitting each other.

I love all the crafty things that happen in Sammy's Kinder class. Last week he came home one day in a pilgrim outfit which consisted of a paper hat, color and tie. But his Native American costume later in the week was even better. Complete with headdress, vest, and quiver of arrows.

We've been checking things off our project list again. Thad poured concrete on one side of the house, and I helped. For reals. I ran the concrete trailer and helped smooth it out once poured. It wasn't a whole lot of concrete, but it makes such a difference now that the bikes and scooters are parked out of the dirt. I've only taken one picture that shows any of that project, but really that picture goes with a different story.
We have a red neck fire barrel that we use to burn boxes and stuff. Yes we have a recycling trash can, but it's only emptied once every two weeks and that is not nearly enough to keep up with Thad's amazon habit. Anyway, Thad burned stuff last week and left the barrel on the side of the house. I was in the house one morning and realized Peter had been quiet too long and found him out in the barrel. Apparently ashes make a great sandbox substitute. Ugh.

We also built the window seat I've been wanting since we moved in. Okay, I've wanted a window seat forever. Clarissa had one in her room, Punky Brewster had one too, and I've always wanted one. And now I do and I love it. Thad doesn't love it like I do, but he's seen the value in the added storage, and he put it together regardless of his feelings about it, which I love him for.

Thanksgiving was at our house yesterday and it was a great day. None of our out of town family came in this year, but we did have both Thad's and my family over, so our gathering was sufficiently large. Not really large enough to justify the two turkeys that we cooked, but we cooked two anyway. It was the inaugural run of the deep pit, and just in case things didn't go as planned we also cooked one in the oven.  The deep pit worked out beautifully. Best turkey I've ever had. It literally just fell apart, no carving necessary. I think that will be the new tradition. But we had so much food left that I sent everyone home with 9x13 pans of all the fixings and we still had a whole 9x13 of just turkey when they left. Luckily it's amazing and we'll have no problem getting through the leftovers.

Fall-ish

The fall is flying by, and it is finally starting to feel like fall. At least Bakersfield fall, which means it's in the 70's and you can wear long pants, but only till noon, then it's back to shorts or capris. Our weekends have been filled with soccer, volleyball, and projects. Having to share project time with sports is new for us, and has been a bit of an adjustment. But the kids are enjoying their activities.
After game one Andi was already  having Olympic volleyball dreams. She has a good solid serve, but this far that's really all that happens. They had an official volley happen at this last game and the girls were so excited.

Something finally clicked for Sammy a couple of weeks ago at his game. He realized that if he just charged after the ball the rest of the kids would basically move out of his way. These actions shots make me laugh. It's a miracle he still has a tongue.

On the project front we are 90% done with putting crown molding in. We love it, and put it everywhere but the kids rooms. Now all that's left is the caulking, and I think that might take more time than the installation.

 Thad has been talking about putting in a deep pit since we moved into this house. I just kept waving it off like he'd get over it. But a few weekends ago he started digging a hole, and now there is a massive steel pipe in it.  I guess the upcoming thanksgiving dinner motivated him and we'll be smoking turkeys this year. In the mean time the kids have enjoyed the hole.

Oh, and this happens every time he's working on something. The kids love to "help" daddy. They help so much he can't get anything done :)

I finished a small project that I just love. I found this beat up old trunk at an antique store that someone had spray painted blue, even all the cool metal details! So I brought it home, stripped the paint off the metal and wood, and repainted the rest. My hands were blue for days. It's now a toy box in the front room and it's perfect.

Kelsie and porter have been here for a couple weeks hanging out. While they were here we took the kids to Disneyland for Porter & Sammy's birthday. I took the older kids while Thad stayed home with Peter and it was the best Disney trip we've had in a while. My kids have been tall enough to ride everything for a while, but this time they were brave enough to ride everything. Sammy didn't like Indiana Jones, and Andi wasn't in love with Splash mountain, but they both loved the Matterhorn. And the line was so short we rode it twice. We did all the usual rides too with everyone, but got to take off a few times to do the big rides with the big kids. It was a really good day. 

 Thad doesn't love Disneyland, but I really do.  We might have to make this a more regular thing. We had family birthday dinner for the boys while thy were here as well, and then a grown ups only dinner out for Dad's birthday. We've never really done grown up only things with my family, but it was great. Again, this might have to be a more regular thing.