Children's Museum

Sorry it has been so long since I posted! I lost my camera charger/computer cable and just found it yesterday. We went to the Children's Museum and the girls loved it! We got a family pass so we can go back. We only made it through 1/2 of the museum in the 3 hours we were there.

This mirror was really fun although a little terrifying when I had 24 kids. They liked counting how many Julias and Adrias there were as Ben moved the mirror.Adria sang "Twinkle, Twinkle" which every one thought was very cute.They had a bunch of crafts but the paint-your-own-face was definitely the highlight for my girls.In typical Adria fashion, she was a tiger. Very ferocious as you can see.Julia was a kitty, she did everything except the whiskers.They played outside in the water area for an hour. It was their favorite part! Only hunger finally made them leave.

I'm the Map

Last weekend Julia listened as our Prophet, President Monsen, taught us important things. I don't remember exactly how Ben and I explained it to her, but today during church someone mentioned President Monsen and Julia whispered in my ear, "He shows us which path we should take." At first I was stunned by the depth of her perception, then she continued, "We want to go to Heaven and we ask him which way to go, just like the Map." It brought tears to my eyes and I was very amused by the analogy. The Map is Dora's friend who always helps Dora to find her way. I often feel like I should be doing a lot more as a mother, but today I felt like I had given my daughter the most priceless gift, a map back to our Heavenly Father. I don't mean to brag on myself, but rather on my very perceptive child who put those pieces together on her own.

Mad Scientist

Today Adria asked herself what would happen if she mixed water, dishsoap, popcorn and powdered hot cocoa. The answer, an early bedtime and a cranky mom. I used a lot of paper towels because I couldn't sweep the popcorn because of the water and soap and I couldn't mop the soap and water because of the popcorn. I've mopped my floor 4 times since Monday. I love my little scientist.

Happy Birthday dearest Adria

Hey little sweetheart, happy 2nd birthday. I can't believe how grown up you are. I wish I could freeze time and keep you just like this. I know soon enough you will be rolling your eyes at my hugs. I am so grateful for your sweet spirit. At 2 years old you already know your ABCs and how to count to 15 or 16, sometimes you even get to 17 before you start at 13 again. Your daddy and I know that you are brilliant. You want to understand the world around you and you want to do it on your own. Most of the time when daddy or I tell you not to do something, you do it anyway. We know you aren't being naughty (usually) but you just want to know for yourself if the candle really is hot. You have so much energy and you devote it to exploring at full speed. If I had a dollar for every mess you have made so far, I would buy an island and a private plane to get me there.

Along with your need to learn, you also have an insaitiable need to love and be loved. Every morning I wake up to your sweet little arms around my neck and a kiss. Then you say, "Wake up, mommy! I hungry!" and you grab my hand and take me to the kitchen. I am not a morning person, but I love waking up to your unconditional love. You always give me hugs and kisses when you make a mess or I get frustrated. A lot of times I just get kisses for no reason at all. You are a peacemaker at heart, you always get very upset when anyone is fighting. Julia probably won't see that though since you really love pushing her buttons. I know you just want her attention, but it drives her a little crazy.

You like watching some TV shows, but not for too long. You think there is just too many other things going on for a distraction like TV. You always ask to watch Go Diego Go! but you are more attentive to Dora the Explorer. Occasionally you'll sit for a few episodes of Curious George. Which reminds me, you LOVE puppies. (You didn't get that from me, by the way.) Whenever you or Daddy sees a dog, the two of you run over and try to pet it. Our neighbors' dog gets kisses from you all the time. (yuck, dog slobber) I hope you had a good birthday, little one. Mommy and Daddy love you very very much!

Happy Easter

It is really fun to have 2 kids who are excited for holidays. They build each other's anticipation and it makes it fun to watch. Although, watching it around 8am would have been better but I guess excited kids don't sleep in on holidays. We did a few Easter egg hunts this year. The girls really got into it. By the third one they knew exactly what they wanted. Julia wanted all the pretty eggs, pink, purple, etc. Adria realized that if I held her basket, she could use 2 hands to throw in as many eggs as possible. Here are a few pictures from our most successful egg hunt. I think they were anticipating lots of kids. Do you see how many eggs there are!? Yeah, and notice how many kids are lined up...uh huh. Unlike a few of the moms, I didn't use my purse as an overflow. There's enough sugar in this house already. Dying eggs was new for my girls. Adria had all 6 of her eggs in 6 different colors within about 60 seconds. She catches on quick and then goes at it with all her energy. Julia took about 30 minutes to make sure she liked how all the eggs looked. So fun to see their personalities. On a more reverent note, at first I was sad that General Conference fell on Easter weekend because I love all the lessons on Easter Sunday, but yesterday as we listened to the prophet I changed my mind. Julia and Adria lasted through almost 40 minutes of watching the morning session. Adria sang to all the songs with her random notes and words. Julia watched about 1/2 of the afternoon session as well. Every 30 seconds she would ask what they were talking about which actually helped me to listen more intently. Seeing my family sitting tightly around our computer screen watching the prophet was a very special moment for me. I am so thankful for this wonderful weekend!