Easter Weekend

We had a great Easter weekend. Our friends, the Fennimores, came to visit and brought the sunshine with them. Our girls had lots of fun with their kids, Max, Olivia, and Isabel. We went to Discovery Place

They were a huge help with Siena's birthday party

We enjoyed some Southern BBQ (Talia liked the lemons from our drinks)

On Saturday we went to Latta Plantation (I forgot my camera). We had a fun Easter Sunday with the Fennimores and Burtons. The kids colored eggs, hunted for treats, and we all had a delicious dinner (thanks Carrie!).

We loved spending time with them. Thanks for making the long drive down south Fennimores! You are always welcome!

Ode to Siena

Siena turned five last Friday. How did that happen?! My baby girl can't possibly be that big! She has been such a blessing to us. We love how smart, creative, and loving she is. She is so patient with Talia and is better than her parents at cheering her up. Siena makes friends wherever she goes. I'm always amazed when we go to the park or museum how she seeks out and befriends children (and adults) of all ages. She tells great jokes, stories, and makes up the best songs. She is a talented dancer. Her latest ambitions include singing veterinarian and cowgirl and I have no doubt that she'll succeed at anything she sets her mind to. We love our sweet lady bug so much! Happy Birthday my pretty girl!

Congrats Spencer and Becca!

My baby brother Spencer got married on March 8th. He and Becca Paulson were married in the Mt. Timpanogos temple. They are a really cute couple and just glowed the entire day. We're so happy for them! The whole event was a blast. It was so fun to see all the grandkids in their yellow outfits. I'd say the highlight of the reception (for us) was dancing along with the band (Spencer's friends).

I loved seeing friends and family that I haven't seen in a long time. Siena even caught the bouquet! Afterwards she said to me, "Mama, it's like a dream, a dream come true!"
Because the wedding was in Utah that meant we had to make the trek across the country (4 hour flight) with the girls. Siena was easy as pie (DVD player - best investment ever) and Talia was wild. At one point during the flight I just covered my face and said "I don't want to see you anymore!" She thought that was a great joke. I'm afraid the people around us didn't think it was so funny. She was a little better on the flight home. Here's to hoping she'll become a movie junky before we have to fly again in June.

Mike stayed the weekend but had to get back to teach classes the following Tuesday. I stayed for another week with the girls. We had a great time bowling, playing MANY games of Guess Who with Uncle Paul (the nicest uncle EVER!), trying out grandma's piano, enjoying Aunt Stinky's bed head (she's going to kill me for this one), catching up with old friends, and spending time with Duncan and Larsen family.

Due to the generosity of Christina and the grandparents I was able to go to St. George with some of my high school girlfriends for a couple of days - without the kids. Robyn, Wendi, and I ate, slept, talked, shopped, hiked, and ate some more. Wendi is pregnant so we tried to keep her morning-sick belly full of Nielsen's frozen custard, french fries, Cold Stone, and candy, candy, candy. I wasn't hungry for several days after we got back. It was so relaxing and fun. Huge thanks to Robyn's parents for letting us stay at their house. We finished our trip off with an early birthday party for Siena with some of her Larsen cousins. In true Larsen style it was total mayhem with happy kids and tasty treats.

It was hard to say goodbye to gorgeous Utah but it was nice to get back to Mike and our beds.

Rethinking my showering buddy

During a long shower yesterday, I composed a post (in my head) about how great it is to shower with Talia. She is terrified of the bath lately and will tolerate a shower if I take it with her. We're lucky enough to have a larger than normal bathtub/shower in our master bathroom so it works out nicely. I get to kill (or bathe) two birds with one stone. I also get to see her cute little bum (what's cuter than a wet baby?!) as she wanders around the shower busy with whatever "project" she has come up with the shampoo bottles and bath toys I've brought in. I don't have to worry about what she might be destroying around the house as I shower so I can indulge myself with longer than normal time under the relaxing warm water.

These are all the reasons I was I thinking up until I heard a little grunting sound. You might imagine my dismay as I looked down to see that she had pooped right there in MY bathtub. She's done this in her bathtub and it didn't seem to bother me that much - you kind of expect kids' bathtubs to be pooped in once in a while. There seems to be something sacred about my tub though and she had defiled it!

All I could think, as I made some naked mad dashes between the shower and the toilet, was that I wished I hadn't given her so much to eat for dinner the night before (sorry for the visual), why do we have such a large mirror right there? (again, sorry for the visual), and GOOD GRIEF! Being a mom is so awesome.

Sucker for a Museum

I'm a sucker for a good children's museum. Mike likes to call me a "leave-the-house-mom" because I get cabin fever very easily. Museums are a great alternative to sitting around in my sweats eating bon-bons (does anyone really do that?) or blowing an entire paycheck at Target. I also love taking the girls to them because they get to play and discover things they wouldn't at home. I usually like playing with the exhibits too. And, if I'm lucky enough to go with a friend, it's a great time to get some adult conversation and not feel like I'm neglecting my children. The item in my wallet that gets used almost as much as my credit card is my museum pass. It gets me into science museums all over the country for a bargain price. Thanks to Jennette for sharing the beauty of the pass with me a few years ago! I took Talia to Charlotte's Discovery Place yesterday with some friends and as you can see from the pictures she had a blast (I did too).

The Ultimate Compliment

The other night we had some friends over for dinner. During the chaos that ensued after dinner (six adults, five kids under 5) Siena ran up to our friend and said "Shelley, I like your style!" I just hope I'll get the same compliment some day (preferably when she's a teenager).

Mama's Little Helper

This morning as we rushed to get everyone out the door (when are we not rushing to get out the door?) Talia decided to help out by emptying the dishwasher while I wasn't looking. I love the "helper" stage even though it's definitely a mixed blessing at times.

Watching her reminded me of a funny story from when Siena was about the same age. I had just come home from grocery shopping and was deep in conversation with Mike as we put away the groceries. Siena pulled things out of the bags and said "helping, helping" as she handed them to us. We were shocked out of our conversation when she handed me an egg carton that was half full (eek!). The other six were in the bottom of a grocery bag (only 3 broke). We couldn't get upset and just laughed it off as we cleaned it up. It also reminds me of the story about my little brother (Scott) dumping eggshells into a huge batch of bread my mom was making. She ended up baking it anyway (we're still not sure if she knew about the eggshells before or after the bread came out of the oven) and we had to eat very crunchy bread for a few weeks!