Saturdays are the best!

Last night we went to dinner with the Bennetts and stayed up late talking and chatting while our kids played. That meant that we all woke up a little later this morning.  Aaron and I could hear the kids quietly making us breakfast in bed. They made toast, got yogurt and oranges. It was all so sweet. Once we finished we got to work around the house. We made their chore list a little longer than usual. There was no complaining however because they were all having play dates after lunch which was a nice incentive. Plus, it was really fun working together. Nikki went to a ballerina party, she's wearing Mary's old ballet outfit. Mary played all things girl with her friends and Noah, all things boys with his friends until dinner. It was a good day.

Brotherly Love

As Cameron is growing and changing Noah is becoming more of a playmate. They wrestle, act like dogs, build forts, ride bikes, play ball....it's awesome. Cameron jumps with excitement when Noah returns home from school each day. They got matching hair cuts today, and they just look so old.

Dinner Date

I had a long primary presidency meeting this evening. It started at 4, so I made dinner in the crock pot before I left. I was planning on staying at the church building afterwards for the enrichment activity that began at 7, but decided to go home because I had been gone so long already and Nicole was kind of sad when I left. It's a good thing I did because when I got home I learned that Nicole had waited for me to return home to eat her dinner. She wanted to eat together. What a sweet moment. (And what a sweet husband who got them all ready while I was gone).

A bedroom fit for a king

I've been transforming our bedroom slowly into a dreamy soft oasis in celebration of our tenth anniversary this June. We have been talking about getting a king sized bed for a while, especially on nights when little bodies squeeze us out of our comfortable spots. So I started buying new king-sized headboard, bedding, new nightstands, lamps..... you get the picture. The duvet I bought is just laying on the top of our old comforter and mattress right now. but soon it's sides will reach the edge of the headboard and it will be a big fluffy cloud for this queen to rest her head. We're working on painting the old queen sized bedroom set into storage on the other side of the room. These lamps arrived today. And it's all just very exciting.

Meet Forever Family Man

One of our primary presidency's responsibilities is to do sharing time for each ward conference in the stake. Our first one for the new year is this Sunday, so we are meeting to plan it around our theme Families and Forever. We will be sharing our ideas and making it cohesive. I am planning on bringing this police puppet I transformed into Forever Family Man who uses his prayer and scripture powers to protect families from attacks on the home and keeps families forever. I'm excited to see how our presidency will make the idea come together. In the meantime I am, excuse me, the kids are having fun playing with him.

Getting back into the swing of things

No more lazy mornings, the vacation has officially ended and I feel a little mixed with emotion. I love getting back to a normal routine, but I miss the kids being home. I took Nikki to a play date and Cameron didn't want to return home. So we did a couple of errands before we picked up Noah and Nicole. The missionaries came over for dinner and shared a message, we counted it as our family night lesson. When they left we sang some songs, performed some talents, and played a game of charades. I love Nicole's music directing in this picture. She learned how to conduct from her Aunt Sarah; I think it's pretty darling.

All Four in Primary

Mary started her first Sunday in senior primary and loved every minute of it, especially her teachers Brother and Sister Dean. Mary loved being in the same room with all her big cousins and sitting in the baby chairs. Noah had a great time in CTR 6 with Sister Crowe and Sister Stone. He won the super singer award today and was so excited for his starburst treat. Nicole had me go to class with her. She has Sister Anna Rietmann, the 18 year old granddaughter of the Robinsons who is in college. She was absolutely darling in there and I enjoyed watching her in her first calling ever. Cameron had his nursery graduation and then the six 3 year old boys left for their class. When Andrew returns there will be seven boys in Sunbeams...no girls. Cameron loved being in singing time and watching all the big kids. He dragged Grandma with him to class, literally, which he loved as well.