Short Fuse

I try really hard not to yell at my kids. I try to keep our home a calm place. BUT, I discovered that when I'm sick, which I've been for the last couple of days, I have a short temper. Every loud noise and fight wears on me. So today I found myself screaming these words to my kids....

"STOP IT RIGHT NOW! THERE IS NO YELLING IN THIS HOUSE!"

Yes, I realized at the time how ridiculous it sounded but I did it. Fortunately for me all I got back was a "sorry mom".

I hope to be feeling better soon.

Week in Review

Charlie had his very first soccer game, which is really just a practice. We all went to watch him on Saturday morning and he did such a great job. His coach in a young British fellow and he kept the kids attention for a whole hour. Mike and I sat in amazement as the kids followed his instructions.

Drowning in his uniform

Mom left the basement door open and our sweet little Moe tumbled down the stairs. These are her rug burns. I am grateful that I didn't see it happen. Jane is still talking about it.

Dad gets credit for this one. This is a baseball (you know the plastic kind with holes) hit to the face.

We'll try to be better parents next week but really there are no guarantees.

Wedding Bells

This is Paige. She is the first Crosland grandchild to be married and we're missing it! She is so fun, smart and beautiful. She is getting married today in Utah.

This is Mike. We haven't met him yet but they are coming out to DC this Sunday and we'll finally get to meet him. He is doing an internship here for the summer so we plan on seeing them a lot. Congratulations guys!

Spring Break

We don't have any children in school yet but we couldn't resist going to Disney World for my nieces Spring Break.Charlie and Jane with "her" castle in the background.
Proof that Moe was with us
This is us just before going into "It's tough to be a bug"
(11-52)

Jane has been talking about seeing princess' for weeks. Honestly I got a little tired of hearing about it. The 30 minute wait was worth it. We were able to meet Princess Aurora (Sleeping Beauty), Belle and Cinderella.

Other than the Princesses and the Castle Jane was perfectly content playing in the dirt while everyone else went on rides.

Charlie on the other hand is an adrenaline junkie. He barely made the 40 inches mark to go on Splash Mountain and The Tower of Terror which he rode each six times. This roller coaster ride is one that we snuck him onto. Mike had a code word for him as we approached the employees. He would say "Go TT" and Charlie would immediately go up on his tip toes and walk that way. There were many adults that smiled and laughed. Charlie was never afraid.
Kim and baby Tate (he is my great nephew and only two months old) Cute I know.

Mickey and the Family (12-52)

Charlie, Mom, Jane (13-52)

Cody, Aubry and Charlie after Splash Mountain
Jane and baby Mya

Aubry, McKenzie, Dave, Mike, Jane & Charlie
Aubry, Kim and her sweet little Baby Tate hidden in the stroller, Cody and Jane

Dave, Debi (my sister) and McKenzie

Yep. he really fell asleep at the dinner table. We all felt this exhausted but it was a great trip.

Easter Weekend

We started out our Easter Weekend with an egg hunt at our friends house. ( I have since nominated them for all future egg hunts) The little children looked for eggs on the grass while the bigger kids had to head out into the woods. The Yance family owns about 10 acres of woods so it made for a very fun afternoon.These are the boys who did the hiding.

Rick, Eric (it's his house) Mike, Hans and James Maggie Sunday morning.
When we came home from church we discovered that we had been "egged" in a good way. There were about 80 colored eggs placed all around our yard. There is someone in our ward that secretly does this to a family every year. The kids loved it! The day was beautiful and we had so much fun finding all of the eggs.

Dad had to start carrying the baskets because they were way to heavy.

Check Me Out Baby

Okay honestly, I love these pictures. They totally make me laugh and this whole experience was all of seven hours ago.

Story: Being a sweet loving mother, I was blowing up balloons for my kids and friends to play with. After blowing up four balloons my mouth started to hurt and I felt like I had a canker sore. Then my eye started to itch and I just kept scratching and scratching.

My girlfriend Sumer told me to stop scratching and go and wash my hands. I didn't see what the big deal was but she was the one staring at my face. I guess maybe I am allergic to latex. I've never really had an allergic reaction before but it was kind of fun. I couldn't stop staring at myself. ( I know you're thinking "what's new?" ) Doesn't it totally remind you of the movie Hitch?

Oh and YES, I will be counting all three of these pictures toward my yearly goal.

Count em 8,9 &10-52

PAUSE!

This story makes me sound real pathetic, but it must be shared.

Last night at the dinner table Jane was asked to say the prayer.

We were all being reverent as she began when Charlie blurted out "Pause". I gave Mike a quick confused glance and Jane continued on with her prayer. Again the shout of "Pause" came from Charlie's mouth.
Is he for real?
Then he began to get frustrated because she was still praying and he said, "DAD, Make her PAUSE! I have to go to the bathroom!"

Oh the modern child. I don't know if I can really blame him. We have the capabilities to pause a lot of things in our life....

CD's in the car
Movies
Video Games
Live TV for heaven sake

I got the hint. We will be having more outdoor play and story time.

Perfect Sunday

I love Conference weekend. I love being with my little family and listening to all of the talks that have been prepared for us. Friday we had a stormy day and Saturday was a little cooler but Sunday was perfect. Normally we have nine o'clock church but yesterday Conference didn't start until noon. We decided to go and take advantage of the good weather and try to wear the kids out a bit. The turtles and frogs are starting to show themselves again so we ventured out to find them.

As we approached the bridge and stream we noticed that there were puddles and flooding all over the trails. Charlie and Jane couldn't resist. I noticed them from afar after it was too late. So I just decided to capture it.

They were soaked and certainly worn out.

7-52

We are trying to eat a little better at our house and so every Monday morning I make two loaves of whole wheat bread. The kids love to help any time we are baking. This is what I look like each morning before getting ready. I hope this is the last scary picture you'll see.

Running Away

The other day while driving in the car Charlie was teasing his sister. (this is not out of character for him) I let him know that we would be home any minute and he would be sitting on time out. This is when he informed me that he wouldn't be sitting on time out because he was going to run away. Mike's quick response was "fine, then I'll help you pack."

I'm not so sure that was the right thing for him to say because Charlie seemed to be pleased and excited. I tried to tell him that I would really miss him and he turned to Jane and said "you want to come with me?"

I asked him what he would do when he got hungry or scared and he said "then I'll just come in the house". I'm not quite sure he knows what running away from home is yet. He seemed to have a nice camp out with his sister so I guess that took care of the teasing.

Oh Why Did I Start This?

You know this is really a stretch and struggle to get myself behind the camera. I didn't know I was signing up for something so hard. 6-52