Do the presents ever stop...

Noah basically got four "birthday" celebrations! What kid doesn't love that? He was so excited when his presents came from Grandma and Grandpa Conrad! It was hard making him wait until Nate came home from school. He loved his presents and had a great time shooting the rocket in the house. Now if it would just get warm enough to use the slip and slide we would be in business!
Noah also had a fun party in Logan with all of my family. We had our annual bowling party and cake, ice cream, pizza, and LOTS of fun! Of course in my excitement I failed to bring the camera! So if anyone who was there wants to send me some of the pictures I will be happy to post them! We had a great time and are so glad to have two supportive families who love our kids so much!

The singing...

Here is a video of Noah blowing out his candles. It is a good thing Aidan helped him fight the smoke. Who knows what might have happened!

Noah's 5th birthday...

Somebody is five...

My baby is FIVE...can you believe it??? How does that happen? I swear just yesterday he was my skinny little baby and now he is just my skinny big boy! It boggles my mind! Noah is such a special boy and I don't think I could make it through the day without him. He is my biggest and best helper! He is so imaginative and funny! What a joy it has been to watch him grow and change these past five years! I just can't imagine life without him! Happy Birthday Baby!!

An early and late birthday bash...

We don't get to see Aunt Tiffy as much as we would like...especially considering that she really doesn't live too far away. She came and spent the day with us the Saturday before Noah's birthday. We had such a good time. We hadn't seen her since before Aidan's birthday so he was able to open his presents too. He must be one of the slowest gift openers ever. He takes it piece by tiny piece! Noah was just excited to open presents early...a kid after my own heart! It is just sad it takes so long to get together. The kids had so much fun and were sad that Tiff had to go home that night! It was a great day and they loved all of their gifts! Thanks Tiff!

A star in the making...

Here is a little video of our Talia singing! She makes up the funniest songs and stories! What a joy she is!

Grass...

Here is Asher's first time in the grass! We have loved watching all the kids put their feet in the grass for the first time. All of them hated it...especially Noah! Not Asher...he seemed perfectly content! He loves to be outside!

The reason...

The four reasons I get to celebrate Mother's Day! I am blessed!

Peace...

My favorite time of day...love that little peaceful face!

Shiner...

I fear one day someone will report us...I swear it was an accident!! Talia jumped and Noah came down at the same time. Head to the cheekbone=black eye!!

While the cat is away...

This is what I get for leaving flour out on the table when I am baking! I made cinnamon rolls and left the flour on the table while the dough was rising. I went upstairs and came back to these little bakers in action. I wanted to be mad but it was actually pretty cute. I was more mad the next day when I was still finding flour in all over. They had a ball and were really sad when we had to clean it up!

The BEST job...

Some houses try to hide the fact that childen

Shelter there

Ours boast of it quite openly the signs are

Everywhere

From smears on the windows

To little smudges on the doors

I should apologize

I guess for the

Toys strewn on the floor...

But I sat down with the children and we played and laughed and read,

And if the doorbell doesn't shine their eyes will shine instead.

For when at times I'm forced to choose the one job or the other..

I'd like to be a housewife, but first I'll be a mother.

My friend Allison had this on her blog a while ago and I thought it was the perfect description of my life right now. I never thought that I would have any kids let alone four! I am so grateful to be their mommy and hope that they know that I would never trade the time I have with them for all the money in the world. Being a mom is the hardest thing I have ever done. I spend more time frustrated and on the verge of tears than I would like. I am learning more every day and hopefully by the time they move out I will have it all figured out! This time in my life is going by far too fast so this year I am going to play more and worry less. I really do LOVE my life and I know that being a mom is the BEST job in the world!

Joseph or a Jedi???

My sewing skills are limited...seriously limited! This week I made Talia some skirts for church because she has outgrown a lot of her dresses! I thought I could save us a little money and make a simple elastic waist skirt. They turned out pretty well actually. Once Noah saw me making something for Talia, he wanted to know what I would sew for him. I told him that I didn't know how to make anything other than skirts. He then asked for a Star Wars cloak like Obi Wan wears. Are you kidding me??? I told him I didn't know how but that I would look for a pattern and see what I could do. There are no EASY patterns on the internet for a Star Wars cloak. I told him I couldn't do it but he said "sure you can Mommy...you are smart"...so...I did it! I cut up and old sheet and made him my version of a Jedi cloak. So this is what you get when your four year old has tons of faith in you! Now I know that it looks somewhat like Joseph in the Nativity scene but Noah thinks it is pretty awesome and just think...we don't need a costume for the Christmas story this year!

The battle wound...

Here is the latest picture of the battered little man! It is healing nicely! His poor scarred head...we are going to invest in a lot of Mederma!

The wonders of glue...

A day at the emergency room really wears a guy out!

Talia hit Noah in the head with a mop...yes...a mop! Why you might ask? Because she was mad at me! Makes sense right? I sent her upstairs to get dressed because it was almost noon and I thought it was time. She did not agree. She began throwing one of her regular tantrums and Nate did not approve. He was home for lunch so he sent her to her room to get dressed too. She screamed and stomped up the stairs. No more than 30 seconds later we hear screaming! Not just the normal crying that is the largest part of my day...but the kind of screaming that you know is going to involve blood. Noah came down saying Talia hit him. When he came around the corner his head was just gushing blood. It was everywhere! I freaked out and threw the baby on the couch...okay...gently placed the baby on the couch. I layed Noah on the floor and tried to get the blood to stop. We tried to put a butterfly on it ourselves because we are cheap and didn't want a trip to the ER but it wouldn't hold. So we loaded all of the kids up and headed to the hospital! They were really good and Noah had a surprisingly good time. They were able to just glue it which I hope is cheaper than the last set of stitches we paid for! It was an eventful day and Daddy even got back to school before his lunch break was over!

Kindengarden anyone???

It is with a tear in my eye that I report that we registered my baby for kindergarten...or kindengarden as he calls it. He had been looking forward to it for and entire month and it finally came! He woke up at 7:00 and got dressed in his "kindengarden" clothes..."you gotta look good for school Mom". Our appointment was at 3:00 so lets just say it was a LONG day! Grandma and Grandpa with the puppy came and stayed with the other kids so Nate and I could take him together! The whole registration and testing had a pirate theme which Noah loved. The principal was dressed up like Captain Jack Sparrow which scared the pants off of Noah but he did get his picture taken with him after a little coaxing! So he officially starts school in August! I hope the summer goes REALLY slow...I want my baby to stay little for just a while longer!

The pigs...

While we were home for spring break, we went to Tyler's to see their new baby pigs. Aidan and Noah were in love. They stood right by the railing and just smiled and giggled! Talia was a little more afraid so she stayed right with her good Aunt Sarah! They had a lot of fun and were sad when we had to go home. One of the pigs is named Ashley...too bad they found out it is a boy! Sorry Maynard!!

Precious...

I just love these two pictures. I love the way my boys look standing side by side...they are growing so fast! Aunt Sarah and Talia...can I just say she is infatuated with Sarah. Whenever they play house she is ALWAYS Aunt Sarah! So glad she is part of our family!

Minnie...

The kids have a love-hate relationship with Minnie. Usually they are terrified of her...she is a nice dog as long as she is nowhere near them. This was a rare day when she was actually nice up close and personal. She really is a sweet dog...I hope they learn to love her more often! It was nice!

Easter egg hunt in Grace...

Wouldn't we all like to spend our Easter just like this? He slept right through it all!
Aidan got a ball and a bunny! Doesn't he look like he hit the jackpot?
Talia got a little bunny which she gave to Asher...because he is little too! Such a sweet girl!
That's my egg lady!!
Noah got some fun airplanes that we played with for the rest of the day.

We decided on the spur of the moment to take the kids to the Easter egg hunt at the fairgrounds. We barely made it but it was a lot of fun. Noah was in a different age group than Talia and Aidan. I stayed with Noah and Grandma and Aunt Ashley took the other two. They had the grounds taped off and eggs and loot scattered all over. Noah wasn't sure what to do but once he got started I had a hard time keeping up with him! The others had to have a little coaching on what to do but I think they had fun! All in all it was a really fun morning. They got lots of stuff and we were done in thirty minutes! One of the benefits of living in a small town! I think we will do it again next year and see if Asher wakes up to participate!

Easter egg hunt at Grandma's

We had an Easter egg hunt at my parent's house for the kids. Since their attention span is only a few minutes, we didn't actually hide them. Nate put some behind the tree or under the deck but nothing too difficult. They had fun just running around and picking them up. Everything was going well until Aidan started crying...then it was all over! I love Easter...the kids get the eggs and we eat all of their candy! They should have more holidays like that!

Blue M&M's...

Who honestly licks an M&M? Honestly??? Apparently Aidan thinks it is much more fun to lick them before eating them! It was funny until I saw that he had wiped his face on the couch. Now he is restricted to certain areas while eating M&M's! Good thing he is cute or I might have been a little more upset!

The cereal...

Okay...here is Asher's first few bites of cereal! If you are smart you will turn down the volume and just watch in blissful silence. If you decide to listen, I apologize for the other crying (WAILING) kids! Just be glad you only have to listen to it for 45 seconds...I listen to it ALL DAY LONG!!! Anyway...consider yourself warned...oh and I love my kids! Promise!

Is it already time...

How does this happen? Why does it go so fast? Here is my baby's first attempt at eating cereal! I will admit that I didn't get him started as fast as I should have. I think I just don't want him to grow up too fast! He is having a hard time getting the hang of it! We try twice a day and still we end up with most of it on his shirt! He does look cute with all that cereal dripping off of his chin! Hopefully we start getting a little more in the tummy!

Primary pajama party...

Okay, the pictures are in the wrong order but the kids got to go to their first Primary activity. It was a pajama party where they served breakfast. Noah talked about it every week for a month prior to the big day. In Primary they just kept telling them to wake up and brush their teeth and come to the church. So being the "obedient" kids they are...that is EXACTLY what we did. Too bad it didn't start until ten and they were up at seven. It was hard waiting for those few hours. They had to bring quart jars so they could "plant their seeds of faith"! They had so much fun. Their little project never actually "grew"...just smelled really bad...so we planted herbs instead! They love watching them grow! I hope they always love church as much as they do right now! I think they would go to Primary every day if they could!

A first...

Here is my handsome littlest man in his tie for Sunday. I bought this tie for my future baby before I was ever even pregnant with Noah. Now I have been able to use it for three good looking men! He looks like he really enjoyed church...(sorry about the "finger"...he really isn't flipping anyone off...I don't think...)