Good news and Bad news

The good news is my camera is NOT broken. 

The bad news is I only thought it was broken because I'd replaced the battery backwards.  Really.

Priorities

What the kids are doing in this picture makes Kirk and I both nervous, but for very different reasons.

I don't like how high up Erilyn is. I mean, c'mon. Do you even want to think of what could happen if she fell? But Kirk doesn't have a problem with it.

On the other hand, he does have a problem with the kids sliding down things. I once gave them a big inflatable toy to slide down the stairs on, and he kind of freaked out. He also thinks trampolines are dangerous.

I guess the really interesting thing is, if Erilyn being so high up and Anthon sliding down a slide on a foreign object makes Kirk and I both nervous, why are they both doing those very things and us not doing anything about it?!

Hmm...

Sittin' Up Baby, Hands and Cameras--In No Particular Order

I love that Tanner watches his hands, and I love even more that he laughs at what he sees there. Not only are they two of the most fascinating things he's ever seen, but they're funny, too?! What luck!

Also, Tanner is now officially a "sittin' up" baby. Sigh.

He loves the new perspective.

And I have to admit, it's kind of cute. Especially when he's in the tub (not pictured). I've quickly learned that he's a much worse splasher than Erilyn ever was, but not as bad as Anthon (still is), so that's a bit of a relief.

Way to go, buddy!

And finally, my camera died. These are taken with my phone, which Kirk insists is just as good, when you can clearly see it is not. For one thing, I can't zoom in on Tanner to be able to cut out the clutter in the background. I know, I know. I could edit. But seriously. Who has time to edit pictures? It's all I can do to get them loaded and filed accurately on the computer and then blog about them!

Pueblo Grande

Even though we lived in Mesa for nearly four years, we never really did any of the touristy things, so this trip I tried to do something uniquely Arizonan with the kids. It ended up being more Arizonan than we thought it would be because we all got sunburned. THAT is definitely Arizonan.

Here we're visiting the ancient ruins of the Hohokam Indians who inhabited the valley for about 1500 years.

Looking at these pictures now I can see Anthon's exuberance for life. He is so expressive! Sometimes I get frustrated and tell him to hold still so I can get a good picture, but really, I LOVE these pictures of him! They are so Anthon.

Here, Erilyn is pouting because she's hot. She does look a little limp.

The funny thing about this trip is that when we toured the ruins the first time, they were totally bored, hot, tired, and whiney. It really wasn't that hot, about 85 degrees, but that Arizona sun can fry you in a second. Anyway, I got so frustrated that I finally just dragged them to the car, until I realized I hadn't taken any pictures. So, I made them get out so we could go pose for some pictures, and we ended up touring the ruins a second time and this time they loved it! Anthon kept saying, "Mom, can we go see their little houses again?! Mom, look over here!" So strange. I'm glad at least that we left happy and satisfied.

Baby toes

I just noticed this today....

I just love those little toes sticking out! It makes me think of a hitchhiker's thumb...like he's saying to me constantly, "Pick me up! Pick me up!"

A few of our favorite things...

...about spring break at Gramma and Grampa Morgan's.

• the kids LOVED their backyard.  I'm still not sure what they did out there, but they spent the better part of several days out there completely unattended and completely happy.
• The beehive in the backyard.  Thankfully, no one got stung!
• Picking grapefruit at the temple with Grampa
• Making cinnamon rolls with Gramma
• Visiting the ancient ruins at Pueblo Grande
• Meeting and playing with cousins
• Getting to watch Gramma's Disney movies (on VHS!  I'm not sure they've ever seen a VHS tape...but they have now:))  This was a special treat for them because I can count on two fingers how many Disney movies we have.  Sad, I know.  Erilyn adored The Swan Princess.
• Getting sick...not a favorite thing, but memorable.
• Breakfast baggies--we put eggs, hashbrowns, sausage, onions, cheese etc in little ziploc baggies, wrote our names on them, and then boiled them in a big pot.  Breakfast in a bag, so fun!  Thanks Gramma!
• Anthon having to stop every 20 minutes to go to the bathroom.  DEFINITELY not a favorite, but very   memorable.  Unless he was asleep, we literally had to stop about every half hour.  I made him stop drinking, but it wasn't just pee....this goes back to the getting sick memory...

We had a great trip.  Our kids are road warriors.  Really, they are awesome travelers.  It's the only way we can drive 18-20 hours straight with them, one direction.  It's a good thing, too, since all our family lives far, far away!

And THEN we came home to this...GLORIOUS SNOW!

Saying goodbye

Gramma and Tanner--love that smile, babycakes!

Anthon said today, "Mom, I ALREADY miss Gramma and Grampa!"

Erilyn was so upset that we had to leave that she wouldn't stand to take a picture with Gramma and Grampa. This was the only way we could get her in one. Silly girl. She said to me yesterday, the day we got back, "Mom, we can please go to Gramma and Grampa's house again? I love them." So sweet!

Picking grapefruit with Grampa

Gramma and Grampa Morgan live across the street from the Mesa, Arizona temple, where Grampa works. There are dozens of grapefruit trees that are for public use, I guess you could say, and they are so yummy! Grampa took the kids over one morning to pick some for us to bring home.

Erilyn's balancing act. She can't walk on a sidewalk without doing it. At least not that I've seen.

I think we're set for grapefruits for a while! Thanks Grampa! The kids loved it, and now they love eating the grapefruit they helped pick!

Yummy!

Making cinnamon rolls with Gramma.

I love how Erilyn is all decked out. She found that necklace our first day at Gramma and Grampa's house and basically didn't take it off for the next week. Love that girl!

Open House Night

At this desk.

Anthon giving Daddy the tour.

Anthon and his sweet teacher, Mrs. Young.

Dippin' Night

We're trying out a new tradition. Sunday night Dippin' night. I make all kinds of things we can dip for dinner. The kids love the hands on approach to dinner, and I love the easy, casual Sunday cooking.

Here's Kirk being a pain in the butt, as usual. It took three tries to get a picture this good and even this one is snarky. Punk.

Anthon's classic seal of approval: the belly rub and simultaneous declaration, "Mmmm! This IS good!"

Erilyn--typically--being tentative about getting her fingers dirty. She eventually warmed up to the idea.

My boys

I love how Tanner is holding on to Anthon, and how he looks at Anthon when Anthon talks to him. I also LOVE listening to Anthon use baby language to talk to Tanner. So cute.

Tanner at the park--love those chubby cheeks!

Erilyn's first time playing family soccer at the park...go girl!

Cutting with Erilyn

I love these books. I highly recommend them. They're a little pricey, but they've been perfect for Erilyn. This is one of their beginner books, but Erilyn still has fun with them.

Valentine's Day Breakfast

I left this picture in here because it shows Anthon's new obsession of putting something in the picture at the last minute. This time it was a fork.

This is my Kirk. I love him!