The question marks above denote my indecision on future children, however the exclamation mark denotes Liberty’s decision to be done with diapers.  I’m tellin ya, stopping cold turkey and going straight into underwear is the only way to go.  It’s messy for a day or two, but they figure it out so much quicker!  I did the pull up thing with the first two and this way was much faster. 

She graduated to PINK underwear once she got #1 AND #2 mastered. 

Yay for pink underwear and Yay for Liberty!!!

Kids grow up.  I’ve always known they do that, but I still don’t want it to happen.  In my heart I want them to be the chubby faced little three year old forever.  But they will grow up whether mom wants them to or not.  Tonight Reagan went through one of those rites of passage that tell you your child is growing up.  He finished the sixth Harry Potter.  For those of you who have read this series, you will understand why that is significant.  To those who haven’t, all I can say is, Read the Book!  Reagan read until way past his bedtime but we let him because you can’t put a Harry Potter down in the last three chapters.  I knew it would be hard for him to read of Dumbledore’s demise, and so I nervously waited to see how he’d react.  I peeked in on him as he was reading and sure enough there were some sniffles and his cheeks and eyes were red.  And then I left him to finish, my heart breaking for him.  It was silly of me, to feel such anguish but I couldn’t help it.  This was the first time he’s read a book on his own in which one of the most beloved characters dies.  He really struggled when I read them Where the Red Fern Grows, and that’s a relatively short book.  He only had a few hundred pages to love those dogs.  But he’s been friends with Dumbledore for thousands of pages now. 

It’s hard to read about death.  Especially in our day and age where most kids don’t deal with it on a daily basis like they did hundreds of years ago.  It’s a hard thing, learning to deal with the harsh realities of life.  And for most kids today, one of the first times they do that is by losing a loved one in a book.  We’ve all felt that pain.  It changes you.  Matures you.  Tonight I had to relive that through the eyes and heart of my child.  He was very quiet when he came downstairs to say goodnight.  We just sat together hugging each other for a while.  He didn’t want to talk about it, which is significant for Reagan.  I told him that I cried when I read the book and I was an adult.  I don’t think that made him feel better.   He went to bed and I actually think he cried himself to sleep.  In the cover of darkness he could let his tears out onto his pillow.  Much better to do it that way than with Mom I guess.  I can’t wait for him to finish book #7 and experience the joy of triumph when Harry vanquishes his foes.  And knowing he will get that sweet reward almost makes tonight a little easier to bear.  But it’s still hard, this growing up. For moms too.

This year we made not one, but TWO pinewood derby cars.  Luckily this will be the only year that happens.  It wasn’t too bad, though.  Rock let the boys do all the work themselves.  He’s pretty much hands off, which I appreciate.  He is not the perfectionist I would be and lets them make the call on when they are “done”. They each did their own design, cutting and painting, with only a little help from Rock and the dremel.  That means our boys will never be first place, but I think they are ok with that.  Their cars looked amazing and they were very proud I think.  Both boys won at least one heat, which is all I can ask for.  It was so fun to watch their little faces light up with glee when they won. 

This row of chairs was reserved for the scouts once the race started.  Cade was so excited for his first pinewood derby that he picked out his seat long before it started.
Here are the cars.  Once again, animal themed.
Reagan’s car was a shark.



He won 3rd place in his Den. 

Cade’s car was, of course, a Peregrine Falcon.



This most aerodynamic bird didn’t win first place for speed, but Cade took it well.  This is the first year we’ve been involved in a derby where they did not make up individual awards for EACH boy.  I am totally ok with that.  I think there are too many trophies and awards given for just showing up.   In today’s society children do not know how to lose.  So I’m glad they just gave awards to those who actually won.  But there was a small part of me that wished they had done an award for looks because ours looked awesome!

Last week Alli and I took Liberty to buy some shoes.  As we steered our cart into the shoe aisle, Liberty saw the perfect pink shoes and it was love at first sight. You could actually hear the music playing as she reached for them adoringly.  “It’s Love” Music
She held them tightly in her hands all the way to the checkout stand where we made our purchases, but only after prying them from her to ring them up.  Then she hugged them all the way to the car where we were able to finally bestow them on her feet.

It wasn’t until we were outside and actually saw the psychedelic shoes on her feet that I started to regret my decision a little bit.  Allison was already of the opinion that they were a bit loud, and as we went into the next store, I was just opening my mouth to share my regrets with her when a mother and daughter passing us looked at Liberty’s pink shoes and the mother exclaimed, “Oh aren’t those shoes cute, honey?”  I shut my mouth.  And then, as we walked through the store, everyone noticed the psychedelic pink shoes.  And if they didn’t notice and comment to Libby, she would point them out.  In the frozen food aisle, the canned food aisle and the checkout line, Liberty made sure people took notice of her pink shoes.  “I have pink shoes. They’re so cute,” she would say, stretching her feet out  for them to admire.  This is the child who up until this point would hardly even smile at the checkout clerk.  She tends to be rather reserved around strangers, but not that day.  Oh no.  She wanted everyone to see her treasure.  And thanks to how loud they were, everyone did. 

She has since worn them everywhere she can.  Even in the cupboard where she often hides. 

Spring Break Addendum:

In writing this post, I discovered that I forgot some cute stories about Liberty from Spring Break so I will share them here.

When Liberty sat chatting with her Aunts in this picture:

She informed Allison that “When you grow up, you can wear a pig costume too”

Then, on the last night my parents were here, Grandma was helping Liberty say her prayers.  Now, you have to understand before I continue, that whenever my mom is visiting with her grandchildren she has a bag of Mother’s pink and white animal cookies on hand.  And Liberty, of course, is a big fan of those cookies and enjoyed eating them all week.  Now back to the prayer.  Grandma tried to help her get started and thank Heavenly Father for her family, but Liberty would have none of that.  Instead she said, “I thank thee for the cookies.”  When Grandma tried to get her to ask for  a good night’s rest, Liberty said, “Please bless the cookies.” And when Grandma tried to get Liberty to thank Heavenly Father for Jesus, she said, “Please bless us to have more cookies, in the name of Jesus Christ, Amen. 
Her prayers have not been answered yet.

And lastly, I just have to share that as I sit typing this post, I actually have a little girl doing my hair.  This is a first for me.  It’s kind of  like water after a drought, ya know?  “Mommy!  You’re a girl!”  “Mommy, you look so pretty!”  accompanied by squeals of delight.

 Though I am thankful for animal cookies too, I am most grateful Heavenly Father sent me this little girl. 

We just had a fun week with my family for spring break.  We had gorgeous weather and fabulous company.  Or maybe it was  fabulous weather and gorgeous company.  My sisters were awakened by wild animals one morning.  Ok, so a pig is not a wild animal-at least not the cute pink ones.  But the fox is definitely wild.

Libby stuck around for a little girl talk.

Pigs in a Blanket  (note: there is only ONE pig in this blanket even though Alli is trying her best to look like one.)

And what pig encounter would be complete without a Piggy-back ride?!

Last year Allison spent her spring break with us in New Jersey.  We could only take her to Washington DC and NYC.  This year to complete her bucket list, we took her to……

The Boise Zoo!!!

The kids had fun, even if it was a step down for Al.

This was totally his idea.  He walked right up to this tiger and stuck his head in.  I was laughing so hard I almost forgot to take the picture.

Reagan took good care of the little ones.

The petting zoo was a hit.

Reagan got nose to nose with the tortoise.

I figured Liberty was too old for a stroller now but I was wrong, so Grandpa took pity on her.

We saw several of these mama geese sitting on their nests around the zoo.  They would not budge no matter what we did or how close we got. 

This should have been taken on President’s day, but I was too lazy to come to the zoo just to take this picture.   I wouldn’t have gotten to be in it if I had.  Thanks, Al!

Aunt Janie hooked us up with an amazing pool party while everyone was here. 

Libby was terrified of the water, but she loved holding this puppy.  Thanks again, Aunt Janie!!  We had a great time!

I saved this rare gem of Derek for last. He loves spending time with his family so much he can’t stand it.

We love you too, Der Bear.

My sister, Alli is now officially as exciting as the Easter Bunny- according to Liberty.   My family came to visit for their spring break this week and at dinner on Friday, the night Alli was expected to arrive and the night before the Easter bunny comes, Liberty said very matter of factly, “Alli and the Easter Bunny are coming.” 

Alli and the Easter Bunny just missed each other but Alli was able to enjoy our Easter egg hunt and baskets Saturday morning.  Well, enjoy might be a strong word.  Liberty woke her up at 4:30 in the morning calling for me.  When I didn’t hear her, Al finally went in to take care of her.  Then the boys woke dear Auntie up again at 7:00 so they could find their Easter baskets and eggs.  It was a little shocking for Allison to see how excited my kids get before a major holiday.  I’m not sure she’s fully recovered from the experience.  But in her defense, it would be shocking to anyone.  They get bouncing off the walls hyper and wake up at 5:00 in the morning on Valentine’s Day.  You don’t want to know what they are like on Christmas.  It is ridiculous.  But we all survived and here are the picture highlights from the morning.

Pink Peeps

After stuffing himself with candy, Reagan jumped right into the book the EB brought him.

Enjoying the 70 degree weather after a grueling morning of egg hunting and candy gorging.

To make up for the trauma we caused Allison that morning we left her a nice note.

Later that day we had another Easter egg hunt outside with the whole extended family.
Waiting to go outside

The Grandparents really enjoyed seeing their grandkids


Dad finally got to meet Dustin this weekend.

And Derek spent quality bonding time with Lincoln.