Why do we buy the kids toys?!

The first part of this month my dryer went out so Chad took me to get a new front load washer and dryer. Yeah me! This was way exciting to me. I know, pathetic to be excited about a washer and dryer but I was.

This, however, was very exciting to the kids because of the very large and cool boxes they came in. They came up with so many things to do with these boxes that I seriously wonder why Chad and I have spent any money on toys for them. This is what they came up with....

Bowling, parking lot for Hayden's cars, swords for good guy vs. bad guy, and houses for the pet shops

Bowshack gets a "bowshack"

For some unknown reason, when anything happens to Hayden aka Bowshack it always involves his head. This was the case on our trip to the Yuba House. Hayden was playing in one of the rooms with Wayne's little nephew, Wyatt, who was visiting with us one evening. One minute they were playing fine and the next Hayden comes out of the room crying. I was making dinner so he climbed on Chad's lap for some love. He eventually calmed down but I knew he had to be hurt because he doesn't usually cry like that. So, I went to check him out and when he climbed onto my lap Chad noticed a good cut on the side of his head that was fairly deep. Amazingly, he wasn't really bleeding much but Chad thought we should probably either staple it or super glue it shut. Neither of which we had, but luckily Wayne's mom also is an EMT and was only 20 minutes away. We called her and she came with cutter's, to shave his head, and super glue. Hayden was not happy about the whole situation, but we eventually convinced him that it would be okay and he let Chad doctor him up. This was the result.....

About a week later, this was how it looked...an ugly scab with a nice bald patch on the side of head that was beyond my capabilities to fix.

So, we took him to get his hair cut in a bowshack, which is what Hayden calls a mowhawk. This is the only thing we could think of to fix the whole hair situation.

This is the end product. The lady was not listening to what Chad and I where telling her which was totally frustrating so it turned out to be more like a fohawk. Nonetheless it looks much better and Hayden still thinks he has an awesome "bowshack."

Kenzie says, "ICE FISHING ROCKS!!!"

A few weeks ago, Chad was invited to go ice fishing with a friend of ours (Wayne) at the Yuba house. This is a house they own by Yuba State Park. Wayne's wife and I decided we needed to come along for this fishing trip, instead of being left behind with the kids. So, both families went to have a fun and relaxing weekend.

The kids thought it was great to be with their friends, to stay up late, play in the snow and, most of all, to go ice fishing for the first time.

Hayden, of course, was really excited for about the first 10 minutes. Nothing happened in those 10 minutes so all interest was lost and he spent the rest of the time playing in the snow, exploring, and playing on some rocks.

Courtney was the most patient of everyone. She was bound and determined to catch her first fish. She first tried it standing up, then sitting down. By this time Kenzie had already caught two so Courtney decided to try a new hole. Almost as soon as the line was in the hole she caught her first fish, a decent sized perch. And she was so excited!!!

Kenzie was very excited to catch her first fish as well. When she did, it turned out to be very small perch but was too excited to throw it back in the water so we let her keep it (picture in the top right). The next fish she caught was a very good sized trout that she really worked to reel in. Then she moved to a different hole, like Courtney, and caught a few more perch. She of course now thinks that ice fishing "rocks" because she actually caught something!

Chad had a lot of fun that day too. He caught a decent sized trout and several perch. He was also the only one to catch a Northern Pike (picture in the top right), so he was pretty excited about that. The day was beautiful and it was fun to see the kids catch their first fish.

Chad reeling in a big trout! (With my annoying voice in the background. I need to be more aware of that when I am recording.)

The rest of the time we ate yummy food (food always tastes better for some reason when you are camping), drank hot chocolate in front of the fireplace, watched movies, and played games. The kids had so much fun they are already wanting to plan another trip to the Yuba House.

Chad is now a pretty good ice fisherman, anyone up for it?

Valentine's Day Recap

The girls' Valentine's party at school this year was on Friday. I of course wanted to do a simple Valentine's bag for them to take to school but they of course had a different idea. So, Thursday evening we spent the night making Valentine's mailboxes. Nothing like procrastinating until the last minute - right?! We actually had a lot of fun making them and they turned out pretty cute, I just wished we had spread the activity out during the week.

I also wanted to do something fun for their hair that day and this is how it turned out.

The girls had a great day at school and came home with a bunch of candy and goodies. Courtney was especially beaming because she found out she has a little admirer. She was the only one in her class to get a chocolate rose from Jordan T. This of course took me totally by surprise. Who has a crush on a little girl in first grade??? Don't they still think at that age that they both have cooties???

Luckily I think she was more excited about the chocolate rose than the fact that a little boy likes her. However, Chad and I are thinking that this is awfully early to be starting the whole boy thing. I think Chad is going to have to be polishing his shotgun a lot sooner with this little girl than we had thought!

On Saturday I attempted to make heart shaped scones. This didn't turn out so well so we had a buckaroo breakfast (eggs, sausage, hashbrowns - the works). Chad went to work and the girls played with friends are our house. Later that evening our ward was having an adult Valentine's day dinner and dance, which included babysitters for the kids. YEAH!!! However, plans quickly changed when Chad was paged to the ambulance garage. So, the kids and I ended up eating pizza and watching a movie. I wish people wouldn't get sick on holidays!!!

P.S. I know this is really late for a Valentine's Day blog but I didn't get a chance to do it earlier - things were crazy around our house!

Kitchen Makeover

A week ago Chad went out of town for some training to Moab. So, instead of doing the not so fun stuff like laundry and cleaning bathrooms, I opted to paint the kitchen and surprise him. He of course came home very surprised but at least he liked the color.

Well, this little change prompted an even better change that I have wanted to do for awhile. Chad decided to get some tile on Monday and make a backsplash for me. YEAH!!! Needless to say, we have been very busy the past couple of days laying the tile and grouting. I guess I should clarify the we. He did the tiling and I cleaned my kitchen (stove, fridge, behind both and cupboards - all of which was very gross)

Chad considers himself an expert now and I am ready for him to start another tiling project!

Before.....

During....

Finished Project!

Don't you love it?

My good looking hubby