It's a good thing they're cute.

In case you haven't figured it out yet, I'm very boring - but my kids are cute. This blog is mostly for relatives and friends who live far away, and so I've given up trying to be clever. Just enjoy the pictures, will ya?

OK, how do you flip pictures? And how do you get them in focus?

This last picture is how we found Q asleep a couple days ago. She's now crawling, and can pull herself up to a stand in her crib, which means that if I don't get to her fast enough after she wakes up, I find diapers strewn around the room. (She grabs the clean diapers from their basket and flings them around.)

Ella quote: "Maybe if I'm quiet as a moose, I can catch a bird!" No, no typo. She said moose, not mouse.

Lear quote: "Hey you, I got you an invitation to Smack-You Land!" Said to the bad guy in a computer game.

**Too bad for you who are my friends on Facebook: no new quotes. My little brain can only hold so much info, so you might get lots of repeats.

**Gasp!** A New Post!

OK, I know, it's been a while. Sorry.

Cory's been busy with school and another top secret project. I've hardly seen him in the last month. I'll be glad when he's done with school in another year or so. We also took our home off the market - the lot we had reserved was sold out from under us by someone who was ready to build right away, so we just threw in the towel. We'll try again in a year or two. We're actually not upset about it at all. We love our house and neighborhood, so it's no great loss.

I've been working on stuff for the Utah Flute Association - we had our yearly festival a couple weeks ago, and since I'm the President, I was in charge. No pressure! I stressed about it for weeks and weeks, but it all went very well. I'm glad it's over!

Q has been super cute! She's decided she doesn't want to sleep as well as she used to lately, but she's still the best sleeper of all our kids, so we'll take it! She's not crawling yet, but she's so close! E was walking at 10 months, and frankly, I can wait for Q to get ambulatory. That way I can put off baby-proofing stuff for a little longer. She has also learned to wave at people, which I really enjoy - she waves at people at church, in the grocery store, at the dinner table - and I love seeing the smiles that immediately appear on everyone's faces when she does it.

Speaking of E, she has been occasionally letting me fix her hair. In case anyone needed proof that I do know how to fix my kid's hair, here it is! We call this the princess braids.

Not bad, huh?

L is such a smarty pants - he is reading at a 5th grade level - wow! I can't really take credit for it, other than setting an example of a love of reading. He actually says bedtime is his favorite time of day, because he gets to sit and read his books (as if he can't during the rest of the day). Cory can ask him questions in French, and even though he can't always answer in French, he does understand almost all of what is said. His teachers gave us glowing remarks about him at parent/teacher conferences.

He and my girls are such a joy in my life. We may not be rich, or have all the toys, or be doing all the things we wanted to with our lives, but having these sweet kids make up for all of it. Now, if I can just figure out how to keep them liking me when they're teenagers...

L quote: "Mommy, you sure made me some cute sisters to love!"

E quote: "Look, Daddy - there are girls playing basketball on the TV!" We felt bad that she thought only boys could play b-ball. She recently saw some "chee-litas" on the TV, too. Cory asked her if she wanted to be one of them or one of the players, and she said a player. He was very proud of that.

Deep Thoughts from My Kids

We were at a gas station in Scipio, Utah, waiting for Cory to go to the bathroom. This was our deep conversation.

E: Where's Daddy?

Me: In the bathroom, going potty.

E: He's doing his business? (This is what we tell the kids when they need to leave daddy alone in the bathroom.)

Me: Yes! (I was laughing pretty hard.)

L: Daddy's business is going poo!

Me, still laughing: So, what's my business?

E: Cleaning!

L: And taking care of Q!

Me: So, what's E's business?

L: Being cute!

Me: And Q's?

E: Being cute, too. And eating num-nums. (Num-num is what we call mother's milk.)

Me: How about uncle Bronson? (He was with us at the time.)

L: Sleeping!

A couple years ago, L told his Sunday School teacher that Daddy goes to work and brings home the bacon. So, if you're using euphemisms to describe things, be careful! The literal memory of children may just come back to bite you.

AND- one more quote from E. We went to the St. George Parade of Homes this weekend, and she said this while looking at an incredibly opulent bathroom in a four million dollar home:

"This house must cost a LOT of dollars! Like one or even two!!"

If only.

San Diego!

We dropped everything, and went to San Diego for a weekend! I've been whining to Cory (and yes, I admit, it was whining) that it seems like everyone else gets to go have fun, we always stay home, because we're too cheap/boring/busy/uber-practical. I was feeling jealous about everyone else's Hawaii/Disneyland/Tahiti/Italy/(you get the picture) vacations, so he gave in, and took us to San Diego. And it was fun! We went to Sea World and Cabrillo National Monument - and it was 70-75 degrees the whole time! Bliss! Especially after the 20-30 degree weather we've been having at home. I even got a little sunburned.

This is us at Cabrillo National Monument - it was beautiful there.

L and E touching starfish at Sea World.

I love this picture! I got lucky, because I don't usually take cool pictures like this. That's a sea turtle and a grouper in the tank. The grouper was huge - 400 pounds or so.

And Cory and Q at Cabrillo. She was such a trooper! In fact, she was the easiest kid the whole trip. Such a cutie!

L quote: "There it is - Sea World!" Said with extreme reverence and awe.

E quote: "I don't want to go home! I want to stay in Sea World!"

Me: "But Cosy and Rex (the cat and fish) will miss you."

E: "Nothing misses me at home, because nothing is mine! Rex is L's and Cosy is yours! I have nothing!"

Quotable Kids

Q: Aaahhh! Eee-oooo! (OK, So she really doesn't say much yet, but she loves to try to grab the water in the bathtub. That, and I needed to find an excuse to post our latest blackmail pic.)

E: Mommy, how many grandmas do I have?

Me: Well, you have Nana and Grandma, Great-Grandma, and Grams. Your great grandmas from my side have passed away already, so you never met them.

E: Did they die because the didn't eat enough vegetables?

Me: So, why do we celebrate Christmas again?

L: Because it's when Jesus was born.

Me: And why is Jesus important?

L: Because when Jesus was baptized, the Holy Ghost was born. (We set him straight.)

E, whispering: Mommy, you have to be quiet in my room when you're feeding Q at night, because my ears don't ever go to sleep like the rest of me does.

Cory and the Girls

I think he likes having daughters, although he says he's not looking forward to paying for two weddings. How can anyone resist these two sweet faces?

I've been trying to take pictures of all the cute outfits - here's a pretty one.

And I love this smile!

I'm blanking out on kid quotes. I'll be better next time.

What we've been doing

There was a blizzard here in SLC, supposedly. Most businesses closed down early and sent people home, schools got cancelled, and events too. We haven't had a blizzard warning from the National Weather Service in a very long time, so everyone took it very seriously. Then, just about nothing happened. I went and bought firewood, just in case, and we ended up celebrating an evening at home with a disappointing blizzard outside by having a fire and hot cocoa. Not a bad way to spend an evening.

Q is just about six months old! Her birthday is in a couple days, but I decided we'd have her first meal on Thanksgiving. I made more than I thought she would eat, and she at the whole thing. She must have been really ready for it, because she was opening her mouth for the spoon and swallowing like she's been doing this all her life. I'm glad it went so well - but I am sad she's growing up so fast.

Q with Nana, Thanksgiving day, at Aunt Karen's house. It was a fun day!

Aunt Karen made dress-up skirts for her nieces, and here is E modeling them. She was in princess heaven.

And finally, here is my big boy, and his latest missing tooth on the bottom. He is currently without four teeth, and has lost six total so far - with one more on the way. Any more and I'm going to have to feed him the same mush Q gets.

I drive 32 miles a day taking L to school and back, and the kids and I have a lot of deep conversations while we're driving. Here's an example:

L: I found a Tyrannosaurus Rex tooth on the playground today!

Me: are you sure it's not just a rock?

L: Yes, because that's what fossils are: bones that have turned into rocks over millions of years.

Me: Umm, ok.

E: I think it's a plain rock, L.

L: No, it's not!

Me (Trying to head off an argument): Well, save it, and if you meet a paleontologist someday, you can show him and ask him about it.

L: Or, I can save it for when I'm a paleontologist.

Me: I thought you wanted to be a kid doctor. Did you change your mind?

L: Yes, because I can't do both in college, right?

Me: Probably not. Both take at least six years of college, maybe ten.

E: So, L will be gone for a long time?

Me: I'm sure he'll come home to visit.

E: Well, I want to be a paleontologist, too, then.

Me: You don't want to be a ballet teaching mail carrier anymore?

E: No, because I want to be with L. I'd miss him if he were gone that long.

And one more E quote: "You can only miss school if you're sick, or if you're in Disneyland."