A Mom's Gotta Brag!

Colin and Robyn played in their first fiddle contest today. They did AWESOME! I was so proud to be their Mommy!

They both played in the Small Fry Beginner Division.
Robyn scored 738 points out of 900. She played Liverpool Hornpipe, Margarette's Waltz, and 4-String Polka.
Colin got 778 points playing Woodchopper's Reel, Edelweiss, and Florida Blues. (I love Florida Blues - you can't help but dance when he plays it.) 778 was enough to send him on to round 2 this evening where he played Camptown Races. He ended up getting fourth place and a big trophy. How exciting!

I gave them each $5 to tip their accompanists, Scott and Skylar. When the kids tried to give them the money, they refused to take it and told the kids to keep it.
Colin said, "But my Mom gave it to me to give to you."
Scott told him, "Well, you get to keep it then. You earned it."
They took him at his word and kept the money.


It was a long day that started early and ended late. We got home just before 11:00 PM - the poor kids were all fiddled out!

Reading and Writing

We like to start young at our house. :)

Views from the Kitchen

As the mother of all these children, I spend excessive amounts of time in my kitchen dirtying dishes and then cleaning those dishes. I thought I'd let you into my life to check out the view from where I stand. It's a beautiful sight.

Not all Work

Spring time is not all work. We also are loving playing outside. We pretended we were camping this weekend. I cooked outside in the dutch ovens and Randy slept in the tent with Colin, Robyn, and Grace. Caden was kinda grumpy over his newest tooth so he and I slept in the house.

Spring Time!

I love spring time! This year is even better than last year - the kids are actually getting helpful! Fabulous!
The kids each have their own gardens this year. Colin planted strawberries and celery. Robyn planted corn and beans. And Grace planted every seed packet she could get a hold of. At least we squared her garden before she started planting so it is a little bit organized. She has a few squares of onions, some of carrots, some of radishes, a pumpkin, some beets, and several squares of lettuce. She has a LOT of thinning to do, but planting sure was fun! Randy is growing the tomatoes and peppers this year and I am growing broccoli, cabbage, peas, cucumbers, sunflowers, herbs, and potatoes.
The trees are doing well. We have tons of almonds, peaches, nectarines, plums, and a few cherries, apples, and pears. The grapes are growing like crazy and the strawberries are looking good. Hopefully the raspberries grow berries this year. I think I over fertilized them last year so all we got was leaves.

My Baby?

Do you see this boy?!!
He is walking all over the place just like a real kid. Today he decided to kick it up a notch and carry the broom all over the house.
Luckily the broom is big and not so easily lost as the other things he likes to carry all over the house, such as - the toothpaste, my deodorant, hair combs, the recorder.... He sure makes life exciting. :)

Painting

We are going to have to rethink how we do things around here now that Caden is a "big Boy."

Sand Dunes

Last week my Mom surprised us with a visit. We had a blast playing with Grandma. We took her to the sand dunes one day and to the park the next.
These are pictures we took at the sand dunes.

So Big!

Darn kids, they grow WAY to fast!


This boy just walked six steps! We were all sitting on the floor, just finishing up our nightly scripture study, when Caden let go of me and walked toward Robyn. I think it scared him when we all freaked out on him. He won't do it again for a picture. I have been telling him for weeks that he can't start walking before Ella does. We checked Katie's blog today and saw this post. I guess Caden took that as an ok to try. Darn kid, he's not even 10 months yet!
(Christina, maybe you better get some freezer meals all ready for this stage.)

Yesterday, Caden opened the bathroom drawer, took out Randy's comb and combed his hair.
Today, he picked up the telephone and held it to his ear. Later, he put a lego in his mouth and when I asked him what was in his mouth and he took it out and threw it on the floor.
I cannot believe how fast they learn!

The weather was AWESOME this weekend. Robyn is my outside girl and she is teaching Caden to be an outside boy. They played and played together. It was so fun to watch. I love it that Robyn is such a great babysitter. She takes good care of her baby brother.

Who does THIS boy remind you of?

I think he looks like Uncle Brad, but apparently he got some of his talents from Uncle Darron. GROSS! He also got his love of my cooking from Uncle Darron - if he could he'd "go to Big J's" every night.