April Fools!

Yes, I know this post is just a few days late... but give a prego lady a break. A few days before April 1, Michelle H. and I conspired on a great prank for our dear true-blue, BYU-fan hubbies. We got things ready, got some help in putting our plan into motion, and covered the office in

RED everywhere!

I came to the office later that morning, but everything (balloons, streamers, signs) was taken down. The only thing thing left was a Ute logo on the dart board. Then for dinner that night, we decided to be totally backwards and eat dessert first...

and dinner last.

Imagine the kids' surprise to find the cupcakes were made out of meatloaf (with colored mashed potatoes on top) and dessert was toasted angel food cake with orange frosting. The kids got into April Fool's day themselves too:

Sunshine spent the whole day saying silly things and then immediately saying "April Fools! HA hahahahah!" For example... "We're moving to China!" or "Mom you're having a girl baby!" or "Mom you're a mo-mo! April Fools!" What does that mean anyway?

Cloudburst made a secret list of what she wanted to do on April Fool's Day. She kept telling me, "Mom, don't look at my list behind the couch!" Then that day when Tornado was thirsty, I went to get a cup of water from our bathroom, and there were no cups or toothbrushes! She came running in laughing, so I asked her what else was on her list. That was it. Thank goodness for short lists.

Tornado is apparently an alien, judging by those eyes. And he spent the whole day repeating exactly what Sunshine said. In fact, he does that every day.

And you can see what a simple sense of humor I have... I still think it's a great computer trick to change somebody's eyes! Hopefully you had a great April Fool's Day!

Winds of change...

...were blowing today (literally and figuratively). In church, Thunder was sustained as the Bishop of our ward. As a family, we are excited. This morning, we told the kids and asked them, "what do you think this means?" Sunshine chimed in, "that means Daddy will be really old," and Cloudburst added, "and you will be a Grandma!" After church the kids were very excited to go visit the Bishop's office and see who was sitting in there. As a family, we have prayed a lot about this, and feel peace and excitement. Our ward is just great and we look forward to this new journey for our family.

Bowling up a storm

Last week we went bowling with some friends. While this was not such a pregnant-friendly activity, the kids loved it!

Cloudburst had fun choosing the ball, looking at the different colors, and had a great dance to follow up every throw.
Sunshine kept trying different methods to make the ball go the fastest- kinda hard with the bumpers and ball ramp.

Tornado did NOT want anyone to help him carry his ball. He picked up that 8-pounder and lumbered over to the ramp...
got the ball up there most of the time by himself....

and ended up beating everybody with the high score of 121! Not bad for his first time bowling.

The big 3-0

No, I'm not 30 years old, I'm about 30 weeks pregnant! I might even be 31 weeks, depending on which counting method you use. This is totally the home stretch! So why does May seem so far away???
This was taken before Thunder and I left for a business dinner honoring top Utah businesses.

I must say I can't complain too much. By this time in my last pregnancy my hips were sore most of the time and walking was painful. This time around I have kept up on my exercise (3 times a week, anyway) and I feel pretty good. My hips and pelvic bones have started to hurt at night, but sleeping with a million pillows helps (one under my torso, two under my head, one between my knees). I also wear support socks every day, which is helping with the emerging veins on my upper legs. Lovely. Oh, and a little self-tanning lotion never hurts...

Toothless Wonder

Yesterday I returned home from a church meeting to hear Sunshine screaming excitedly, "Mom the coolest thing in the world happened!" And then Cloudburst ran out to meet me holding a ziploc bag with something very valuable in it...

Her first tooth!

Cloudburst carried that bag around with her all day, showing and telling everyone we saw. While I had been gone, Thunder noticed how loose it was and pulled it out for her. She said she didn't even know he pulled it out, so it must have been ready!

I can't believe my baby girl is big enough to start losing teeth!

Before and After...

We decided a while ago that it was time for change with sleeping arrangements. We even played "Musical Beds" a few times to try things out (yes, we called it that, and the kids still ask to play it again). We eventually decided that Cloudburst would move into the guest room to have her own space, and Sunshine and Tornado would start rooming together. The baby will get the last room, which will also double as our guest room now. So we officially have a Boys Room and a Girl room to have fun with! So I got a few colors of vinyl and went to town on my Cricut:

Before:

After:

Before:

After:

And then this past weekend we completed a project that I've been wanting to do for a while... get control over the toys! We had toys in a cabinet downstairs, and also in a closet upstairs. And then they pretty much ended up all over the house, just waiting to get stepped on in the middle of the night. No more, Mama's had enough!

Before:

After:

All of the toys are now upstairs in the closet, nicely organized by toy type. Now, if you look VERY closely, you may notice the new door knob I installed... with a LOCK on it. Ha ha! Cloudburst and Sunshine kept asking me why we needed a new door handle. I just told them it was because Tornado kept making messes. Well, that's one-third true...
And this pic I had to throw in to show you Tornado's new wardrobe options... they now include underwear! Yes, we are in the midst of potty-training. He's had a few accidents, but is definitely starting to get the hang of things. It helps to have the whole cheerleading squad in the bathroom to throw him a party whenever he does his business. Having a big brother and sister definitely has its perks!

Dear Cloudburst,

My one and only daughter,
Happy Birthday! I can't believe that I am a mother of a big 6-year-old. I still remember the day you were born, with your dark hair and tan skin (yes you were born darker than I am in the summer).
I hope you felt special that morning. We had a special monkey bread breakfast (no nuts!) and then you got to go to school, where you received a special delivery from a special visitor! Yes, Dad came to visit his Princess and brought you some beautiful pink roses. You were beaming when I came to pick you up with your friend for a special lunch!
We decided to start a new family tradition this year- we are going to alternate years for family and friend birthday parties. But you have made such a good friend in school and wanted to share your birthday with her. What could be better than a birthday lunch? And let me tell you, you and your brothers were beyond excited when I said you could each get a Happy Meal and play!
Later, Dad came home from work and you opened your birthday presents. You were so excited to see new clothes, books, a towel, a sleeping bag and things for your new room (this is when you moved into a bedroom by yourself)! The whole day, you were so grateful and appreciative of the special attention you were getting.
I still can't believe what a good little reader you are. This morning I noticed your light on at 6:30 AM, and you were up reading! You work so hard to figure out the words, and now you are really getting into some great stories.
You and Sunshine are such good friends. I hope you don't miss rooming with him too much! Now you both have sleeping bags, so maybe it's time for a sleepover.
After your requested dinner of chocolate chip pancakes, we went to the Build a Bear workshop, where you and your brothers got to each make a new friend. You chose to dress your bear in baby clothes. You will be getting a new baby brother in just 11 weeks, and you are already telling me how you will help. I am glad you will be old enough to remember this new baby when he comes to our family.
Here you are with your brothers and your bears. You do have a great time with your brothers. You are such a good helper with Tornado; he doesn't even ask me for drinks anymore, he just goes straight to you. And you and Sunshine spend hours outside together, even if no one else is outside with you. I'm glad you guys feel like you are on the same team.
After building a bear, we came home to eat a bear! I had a few helpers who made sure the balloons were decorated just right.
This year we made a puzzle cake that is made out of differently shaped cupcake holders that fit together. You sure do love your sweets! You can eat chocolate faster than anyone I know. That's why your eyes are so brown, right?
As I was sitting downstairs at the end of this fun day, I kept thinking about how big you are getting. I just want to hug you tight enough to keep you small forever! But I am so proud of you and the good choices you are making. I want to remember all your fun smiles and crazy forward rolls. And wouldn't you know it, as I was thinking about how much you are growing, you came downstairs and showed me your first loose tooth! You really are getting big. I love you very much!
Love, Mom

Love in the air

We love to stretch out holidays around here, so why not Valentine's Day? We started last week with a fun hair-do for Clouburst (I found it here):
I don't usually do too much to her hair because of her beautiful curls, but this was fun. A few days later we had just a couple friends over and made some Valentine's cards.
The kids have a Valentine's Corduroy book that we read and followed (we made Valentines and then had cupcakes). We are still finding sparkles on the floor but it was fun!
On February 12 Cloudburst's school had a special pageant to honor President Lincoln's 200th birthday.
The gym was packed and Sunshine and Tornado had a great time running around in the back with all the other boys. They have no trouble making friends wherever they are.
And then it was time for Cloudburst and her class to dance the Virginia Reel! In this clip, Cloudburst and her partner are the head couple.



Now, a little trip into the past...................... about 6 years ago, Thunder and I planted a tree next to our house in Idaho Falls. After planting the tree and running errands, my wedding ring was lost! I searched high and low, made dozens of phone calls and tearfully told Thunder that I couldn't find it. Since then I've worn a lovely ring that my grandmother gave to me before she passed away. That is, until a few days before Valentine's Day, Sunshine came over to me with a small box and asked "will you marry me?" And inside was this!

I just love it!

For the actual day of Valentine's Day, we were able to drive up to our friend's ranch. What a nice break! R and M have a beautiful cabin in a stunning setting up in Idaho. Snow-covered hills stretch out as far as you can see, and it's wonderfully peaceful and quiet.
Thunder took all of us on a ride on a snowmobile and everyone took turns sledding and enjoying the outdoors. Cloudburst studied the snowflakes and noticed how beautiful they were up close....
Sunshine just preferred to eat it.....
and throw it. R and M also have two kids and they all played very well together. M is also preggo, about 2 months ahead of me, so we waddled around together. We had a great time, so thanks for some great memories!

The snow... and some lovely visitors

So today was a CaRAZY drive to school. Since Cloudburst is at a charter school, I have the lovely privilege of dragging everyone off in the car around 7:30 am. Today it was snowing again, but we have dealt with lots of snow, right? I learned to drive in the east, where we had ice storms and blizzards all the time. Hey, I even used to drive with my windshield frosted over (remember those fun times Amanda/Becca?), so a little snow should be no problem, right?

This is my lovely Nissan Quest. I really do like this car. But today, she couldn't quite make it up the hill to school. Cloudburst's school sits atop a fairly steep hill (behind the Timpanogos Temple, for those of you familiar with Utah). We started up the hill, and about half way up, the car in front of me started fishtailing, making me step on my brake. That was it. No more momentum. We were stuck- half way up the hill. "Go mom, why are you stopping?" Gee thanks kids... why don't I just go, it's just a little snow right? I figure I can't make it up the hill, so proceed to back up to turn around. I get stuck a bit more, and am now perpendicular to traffic. I can see the lady driving a Jeep behind me, and I just wave to her apologetically. I try to turn the wheel to turn to go down the hill, when the car starts sliding sideways down the hill. Towards that Jeep.
Ahhhhhhhhhh!
The jeep backed up a bit and I was able to get enough traction to turn and go down the hill. But I still had to get her to school. We drove all the way around to another road up the hill, a more traveled road (1100 East). We barely made it up this hill. I was on the side of the road, gaining traction from the new snow, getting slower and slower as we went up. By the end the kids and I were all shouting "go...go...go...GO!"
And then a big cheer at the top!
Cloudburst was about 15 minutes late, but she was not the only one. By the time school was over, all the snow had melted and the roads were clear. But what an adventure! Of course, Sunshine told me to try going down the slippery hill backwards. That would be fun, he said.


And here are a few random pictures of deer that have been in our back yard. We've seen them a few times poking around for food in the garden or on the bushes.
Now that the snow is melting we have discovered piles of poop around the whole yard!