Hail....

I was online, chatting with Steve at work, when he told me there were marble-sized hail coming down at this office. Within five minutes that hail storm made it to our house. The kids all ran to windows, throwing open blinds and curtains, to get a closer look. It was amazing to see how quickly the ground was covered by this hail.

Reading with Grandma...

Emily loves books. Grandma Lockhart found a new book for Emily called "Goblins". It was sweet to see the intensity on Emily's face as Grandma read the new book to her.

Emily calls her new book "Globbins" and loves to sit down and read it frequently each day since Grandma brought it to her.

A girl and her bunny....

Emily was having a serious discussion with her bunny....just had to take a picture! Then I realized that there was some beautiful natural light coming in the window above where Emily was sitting. So I tried to be as quick as I could be to turn off my flash and of course she changed position and this is the shot I caught!

Is Santa real?

Emily was tossing and turning last night, trying to get comfortable with her new cast. At one point she wakes up and tells me there are ghosts. I tell her that it's silly, there are no ghosts. She then asks, with a sad voice, "IsssSanta real?"

Purple please....

I took Emily into the Orthopedic doctor today and he ordered a cast for three weeks. We will go back for another set of xrays in three weeks and see where we go from there. As you can see, she isn't too put out with her pretty purple cast.
She is moving her arm and using her fingers more today too. She has licked her cast a few times too. Funny kid!

"And I went wee....."

(click on the photo for a larger view)

We have just returned home from 3 hour visit to the ER with Emily. She fell earlier today off of a big toy play structure and broke her arm in two places. There is an incomplete fracture in her forearm and another just above her elbow. They placed in her in a half-cast type splint and wrapped it with an ace bandage and then put her arm in a sling. We will see an Orthopedic doctor on Monday for further review.

In retelling her story to her brother Emily says, "I fell off the toy and I went wee...." This is kind of funny since she cried after falling. I kept a watch on her arm for the next few hours and the swelling didn't go away, she wouldn't let me touch it and and she wouldn't move it. After a consultation with our family Nurse, Aunt Mary, off to the ER we went. We are so glad we did too!

She was such a trooper during our visit to the ER. We brought along my laptop/netbook and the kids watched Elmo and Caillou during long wait on the doctor to review the xrays. Emily wasn't too happy in xray when they straightened her arm and she wasn't too fond of the Doctor either. She really perked up after her arm was splinted and supported.

This is the first broken bone we have had with any of the six kids...amazing! (now I just jinxed myself didn't I?)

They say the funniest things...

Emily: Mom, I'm thirsty for a corn dog

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Emily loves oranges. She loves them out of a can(mandarin oranges), cut into slices, and peeled to pull apart. She will eat an entire can of the mandarins. She had one orange sliced and ate that entire orange herself. Then she was able to get a brother to peel one for her just a short time later and she ate MOST of that one too.

More Spring Break Fun....

One of the activities we all enjoyed during spring break was bowling.

Emily fell asleep on the way to the bowling alley and continued her nap once we got there too. When she did wake up we got her some bowling shoes and they brought over a frame making it easier for her to bowl too. She loved it! She tried to pick-up a bowling ball a few times but they were just too big. The kids learned that real bowling is a bit harder than bowling on the Wii.

Girls will be girls...

Aren't they cute?

Logan's Research Project Presentation....

Logan is currently attending Idaho Virtual Academy. During middle school, students have to participate in the annual Project Fair presenting either a science project or a passion project. Logan had to do the passion project this year in conjuction with writing a research paper on a topic of his choosing. It was quite a busy ballroom at a local Marriot hotel with around 150 students presenting their projects. It was a great experience for Logan and I am glad he perservered! It was a great learning experience not just for the writing and presenting of his work but to have the satfisfaction of completing a big task and gaining the knowledge that he CAN do it.

Set-up and waiting to give his presentation to the judges.

His topic, self-chosen, was Juvenile Crime and Law. He looks like a little laywer don't you think?

Logan had many people stop and ask questions while he waited for teachers to come for his presentation.

Logan gave a six minute presentation and did quite well. He was able to expand on his presentation with the information he had read during his research. Logan hopes to go to the Renaissance High School in Meridian which has a Law program to prepare you for College and Law School while still in high school. His grade was a 49 out of 50, an A. He proscrastinated his research for this project until the very end and wanted to forget about doing the presentation all together. He took home a blue ribbon and was happy that he had finished the project!

Do I really have to share my toys?

Emily is a very happy girl almost all of the time, really. So when she starts to throw a fit, which doesn't happen often, we just want to laugh. Today we have three extra little boys here for the day and they all want to play with Emily's toys. She was a little upset by the thought of having to share. Her brothers and sisters are so much older and don't try to play with her toys so sharing is not part of her life at home. She does share very well at nursery at church however. This photo captures the drama and it just tickles us!

Incase you notice the green marks on her hand, another two-year old moment explains the marks. Emily was coloring, which she will do many times a day, for over a half-an-hour, sitting at the table or laying on her tummy on the floor. Emily comes to me and says "look Mommy, a happy face!" She was so pleased with herself. She had drawn a happy face on her hand. I told her what a lovely happy face she had drawn and then I reminded her that we draw on paper only. It warms my heart everytime I see the green marks on her hand. She was just being a two-year old and it is quite fun to get to be a part of her life!

Boys....

Need I say more?

Rummy....

My sister and I learned how to play 7 card Rummy from our Grandpa Haller when we were kids. We would play games with him everytime we visisted. Today my sister and I still play this game. Now the children have started learning this game and play with their Grandma any chance they get. And now they are playing with each other for countless games, one after another. Today I found Jonny and Logan on the floor, near their computers, taking a break from school and playing Rummy.

Moose on the Porch Block #3

Block #3

This was a nice and easy block, just the center to get matched up. This would be a fun block to do for an entire quilt. It would be quick and easy too.

Dissecting a chicken wing...

Jonny had to dissect a chicken wing for a Science Lab. He is so happy to eat them when they come out of the oven. However, dissecting one almost made him a vegetarian!

Pinwheel Sampler Block #4

You can find the instructions for this block at

Pinwheel Sampler Block #3

Block #3

You can find the instructions at

Pinwheel Sampler Block #2

Block #2

I am really enjoying the Pinwheels....

Easter...

Every holiday is so much fun with a little person and all the excitement they feel and show!

Emily had spied some eggs in the backyard and was pleading with us to let her outside.

"I see eggs, let me outside!"

We didn't hide too many and she didn't care. She was all about eating the chocolate.

I'm ready to go outside....

Emily LOVES to go outside, especially with the big kids. Once they head out she is busily trying to get ready to go too. She knows she needs her coat and socks and shoes. She forgot the shoes this time and never mind that her coat is on upside down and she is still in her jammies. She did get a hat on...she just wanted out!

Spring?

It is supposed to be Spring now. The weather is crazy and unpredictable. The lawn is trying to green-up. Logan mowed the back yard for the first time this season. You would think it was winter they way he is bundled up with this ear muffs, gloves, and big coat!

Easter Bunny Rail....

We started our Easter celebrations a week early and boarded the Thunder Mountain Railroad for the Easter Bunny Rail. It is about a 3 hour round-trip ride from Horseshoe Bend to Banks, ID. They have dining cars with gifts and food as well as passenger cars, and the outdoor cars. The cars for this train came from as far as New York and New Orleans. They had blankets you could cover up with while sitting outside.

The kids had a blast moving all over the train. We started in the car that had tables and everyone colored/decorated their bags for the Easter egg hunt. We dined on hot dogs and water, mmmm.....! After a time in the outside cars, some of us moved to the inside cars where you could enjoy the sun coming through the window while watching the beautiful scenery go by without the wind in your face!

The kids had fun taking photos during the trip. We had three cameras going most of the time and one Flip camera taking video too. When we arrived at Banks everyone got off of the train for a little Easter egg hunt for the 11yr and under crowd, which only includes two of my kids now. There wasn't much else to do during out little stop in Banks.

The Easter bunny was walking around the train during the trip handing out candy. Emily really didn't want much to do with the Easter bunny but she would take the candy just fine.

We had a great time!