Epic

Wow, I am exhausted...the past couple of weeks have been EPIC.

1, The flu, (the nastiest one ever), went through the family. Tim and I both were pretty wiped out for about a week a piece...ugh.

2. Then Tim took Josh to Seattle for a Quarterback Camp. It was pretty intense, they drilled and practiced for half day Friday, all day Saturday, and half the day Sunday. Josh really learned a lot and had a good time though.

3. Tatym turned 12!!! She had a big ole "back woods bbq", with all her friends. We cooked up ribs, brisket, cole slaw, beans, and dozens of cupcakes. They had a great time, and we loved watching her and her friends. We played a few "minute to win it" games, and a marshmallow spitting contest.


4. Easter Sunday was beautiful. We went to Stake conference, then had everyone over for a prime rib/turkey dinner. Yum. Followed of course by a massive Easter Egg hunt. Thankfully the weather cooperated and we enjoyed the sun.

In other miscellaneous news: Tatym ran the 400 meter dash at the District Track meet and qualified to compete at Regionals. She was sort of forced into track, but I think she decided it was kind of fun.

I received my first dandelion bouquet of the season. All the dandelions were wrapped in a shiny gum wrapper. Precious.

I fished out of my disposal the other day: 4 plastic eggs, 1 rock, 1 container of dental floss, a magnet, and a dime. Thanks Cooper. No wonder it wasn't working.

Josh's wrestling season got hijacked by the flu, then football camp, then Tatym's birthday, so I don't think we will make the trip to State this year...I'm okay with that!

Our kids, especially Tatym and Cooper, have Bieber fever to the max. Cooper loves to sing "baby" all the time, and while he was at first confused when Tatym said that Justin Bieber was "hot", he now thinks he is at least warm.

Photos

Thanks for the great photos Jon! Getting 7 people all looking sort of decent is about impossible, but I think we managed a few. It does make me realize that I prefer to be blond in photos...the brunette is a bit harsh. Oh well. This is Marlo's 6 month photo shoot, that took place at 7 1/2 months. I just wanted her to be a little more steady sitting up! Isn't she cute???

March Mayhem

Just cause she's cute:

For some reason, March is always crazy. This year is no exception. Tatym is doing track, and had her piano recital and festival a couple weeks ago. Josh is wrestling, which basically consumes our Tuesday, Thursday, Friday nights, and all day Saturday. Piper is in gymnastics still, and the coaches keep moving her up classes. They want her to try out for the competitive team in May, but I haven't quite decided on that yet.

Cooper is so fun and hilarious. He talks constantly, still loves his Boise State, and his shoes. His burn is healing amazingly well, and I doubt there will be a visible scar...phew.

Marlo just hit 7 months,( insert sniffling noise here) and is learning all sorts of cool stuff, like how to sit up, (still a little tippy), how to crawl, how to eat food, and how to suck on her toes. She is so sweet and fun. She is definitely a bit feisty, but I guess when you are born puny, maybe that is what happens. She loves to grab anything she can, and shove it in her mouth, which keeps me on my toes. She loves to scrunch up her blanket and chew on it when she is tired or trying to fall asleep, and she adores her siblings. She is super social and will give a huge smile to anyone who is talking anywhere in her direction.

Tim took his annual Bandon golf trip a couple weeks ago, and loved every minute of golfing, even in the sideways rain. He is threatening to take up road biking, and I am getting ready for golf league to start again, trying to catch up on 6 months of book keeping, trying to keep everyone fed, clothed, and happy . I keep really busy caring for this big ole family of mine, and it's awesome. Spring is around the corner, and all I can say is Hooray for sunshine and warm weather!

Burn

Poor Coops. He always climbs on our island. He eats there, he watches me fix dinner there, he makes messes up there. But on Saturday, he stuck his hand on a hot griddle there. I had my back turned. I felt/feel horrible. Like really horrible. He cried and cried for a couple hours. I had to hold his hand in ice water, then keep it wrapped in icy cool clothes. Luckily Aunt Susie, the Nurse, was here to help with the wound care through yesterday. Now we are on our own.

He isn't in great pain anymore, but we have to keep it covered, and clean, and trim off the skin as it dies. Ew. He is one tough kid. Now he calls his blister, his egg. He walks around saying, " I hurt. My egg." WHAT??? I guess the blister looks kind of like an egg? Or he says, " My hand sore. Cloth." He likes his wrap to be very clean and new all the time. Rather tricky with a 2 year old. Sigh.

These photos were taken 3 days later. I couldn't bring myself to take pictures the first few days.

Happy Half in Phoenix

We went down to Phoenix on the 10-15th. The weather was positively perfecto. Tonya and Alan let us use their house down there, which is AWESOME! The kids had so much fun just swimming in the pool all day long. Our friends the Taylor's came too, and Jessica, our built in babysitter. We shopped, we ate, we swam, we watched Brandon organize the Val Vista Olympics, and mix us some drinks while we tanned. It was super relaxing and fun!

Marlo celebrated her half birthday there! She rolls over both ways and scoots everywhere. She refuses to eat or drink anything that doesn't come straight from mama. She coos and smiles all the time, and is so sweet. We can't get enough of her. Loving that baby girl!