Birthday Week

                                           

Last week was birthday week at our house, starting with Andrew's on Tuesday. Since he sticks anything he can in the peanut butter jar and asks for peanut butter on his hot dogs, I made him a chocolate cake with peanut butter frosting. It was quite tasty.
                                           

He got a big boy bike for his birthday. It has a special vrooming feature and so far, that's the only part that's been used.

For the past couple of months, every time he says a prayer, it goes, "Thank you for this day, I know you live in heaven.....now what?"  He has also been asking a lot of "how" questions.  How do airplanes work? How do pipes work? How do birds fly?  We've watched some educational YouTube videos.

                                                
On Saturday, we celebrated Grace by swimming at the YMCA and having Dunkin' Donuts since I didn't feel like making (and eating) another cake. No one complained.

Grace likes squeezing herself into small places, taking things off shelves and out of drawers, and climbing stairs. She loves Preston and Lauren and gets super excited when she sees Lauren walking down the sidewalk from the bus stop.

                                                   
The past year with Grace has been tiring, but we think (hope) that we've finally figured out that the way to get her to sleep through the night is to put her to bed at 6:30. She's up by 5:30 regardless of when she goes to bed, so this might be the solution. Wish us luck. Please.

And then we got six inches of snow.

Winner

Entering contests runs in the family. I've entered my fair share and in the past year, I have won several.

Two Christmases ago, I won a $100 Peapod gift card (grocery delivery service). I used it to stock up on all beef nitrate free hot dogs, laundry detergent, ziploc bags, and much more. It was awesome.

This past Christmas, I won the Minions movie from Boston Parents Paper. I haven't actually seen it, but from what I've heard driving in the van, it seems pretty funny.

Most recently, I won a shipment of specialty cheeses from Cabot. It was supposed to be a selection of cheese, chocolate, and berries, but I only ever got the cheese. We either need to have a cheese tasting party or I should donate it to the local food pantry because the kids are picky about cheese and really only like yellow cheese and Preston can't have dairy. I do like the cheese slicer and the cheese board, though. And the cheddar shaker cheese is really good on popcorn.

UPDATE 3/28/16: Just as we were walking out the door to go to VA last week, a box of strawberries showed up. They were giant and delicious. I'm expecting chocolate any day. Also, the cheese slicer broke.

 I am pretty disappointed that I didn't win the new GM or Buick vehicle (up to $80,000) that I entered to win last year, and I have yet to win a large denomination gift card from doing the surveys on my receipts, but I will keep doing it, because winning is fun, which I why I voted for Trump. I would like to win so much I have a headache from all the winning. Wouldn't you?

Trip to Utah

We went to Utah last week since Lauren had the week off and it had been a while since we had been and most of Preston's family had not met Grace. It was nonstop fun and excitement. The only thing that would have made it better was if we could have hung with the Woods. And if we had unlimited funds to spend in the BYU Store. 

Now the pictures. Grace was super adorable the whole time, so most of them are of her.

The view from our guest room.

On Monday we went to the Dinosaur Museum...

...and the Curiosity Museum, where Grace stole the show at the water table.

On Tuesday, Preston and the kids went skiing.

Grace and I hung out in the lodge.

I was bad and took this picture while I was driving.

On Thursday, we went to the Provo City Center Temple and BYU.

I got a parfait for Grace, then Lauren decided she wanted that instead of ice cream. She changed her mind pretty quick when she saw the boys with the ice cream cones. 

Thing 1.

Thing 2.

On Friday, we went to Texas Roadhouse, where Grace decided that Aunt Kelli's chicken looked pretty appetizing.

You lookin at me?

On Saturday, I tried out Paul's hoverboard. I don't want one. Andrew also got to see some big trucks.

Here's some other photos from the week.

The kids did well flying, but as they say, there's no place like home. 

Sunday Selections

This year, our ward music chairperson is having families choose the Sacrament Meeting hymns. I can't wait until it's our turn, although I really need a whole month.  Today, while I was sitting in the car for an hour and a half while Grace slept, I spent some time thumbing through the hymn book trying to decide what I would choose. I have two Sundays planned out.

Week 1:  Opening:  Praise the Lord With Heart and Voice
               Sacrament:  How Great the Wisdom and the Love
               Rest:  Hope of Israel
               Closing:  Sabbath Day


Week 2:  Opening:  Welcome, Welcome, Sabbath Morning
               Sacrament:  'Tis Sweet to Sing the Matchless Love (long version)
               Rest:  Hark, All Ye  Nations
               Closing:  Children of Our Heavenly Father



Your turn:  Tell me what songs you would choose if you were in charge of Sacrament Meeting for a day.

Unrelated, but cute photo

What We're Reading

Preston: Cougarboard, American Realist Literature

Emily: On Agate Hill - I bummed it off Janet's bookshelf back in September and I've enjoyed it.

Lauren: Owl Diaries Series; Princess in Black Series - These are perfect for her because the chapters are short and they have pictures so it keeps her attention.

Andrew: Sam and Dave Dig a Hole; Should I Share My Ice Cream?; and unfortunately, Curious George's 5-Minute Stories

Grace: Animals; I Love You Through and Through

Have you read anything life changing lately?  I can always use a good recommendation.

How I Would Spend $700 Million

If you weren't aware, the Powerball jackpot is up to 700 million dollars. Preston texted me earlier today saying he was tempted to buy a ticket, which led me to wonder how I would spend $700,000,000. I know it's not a productive use of my time, but it gave me something to think about while I was picking up our completely trashed house this afternoon.  These are all assuming that Preston continues working and we continue to live in this area.

1. Pay off all our existing debt. It's not a small amount, but it is just a fraction of $700M.
2. Buy two new cars. Probably a truck for Preston and new minivan with all the bells and whistles for me.
3. Hire a contractor to undertake a home remodel. The first things that come to mind are extending off the back so Andrew can have a normal sized room, the girls' room and can be split in two, and we can add a shower to the bathroom up there with a separate entrance. Also, a complete kitchen remodel with an island where the table currently is and a dining area at the back. Also a remodel/enlargement of the downstairs bathroom, connecting the garage to the house, and putting in a high efficiency gas furnace and ductless air conditioning. Oh, and a radon mitigation system. Also, a deck off the back.
4. Buy a fancy grill and host a barbecue without asking anyone to bring anything.
5. Hire someone to come and clean for an hour every day.
6. Hire a landscaper to mow and do the mulch.
7. Set up college funds for each of the kids.
8. Buy a sleep number bed and a fancy pillow.
9. Hire an interior decorator to paint and add tasteful decorations that match our style (minimalist; classic).
10. I would continue to cook because I mostly enjoy it, but we would definitely eat out more and at fancier places (when eating out means Wendy's, it can only go up).
11. I guess I would need to hire a financial planner to invest most of this and plan for our future.
12. Buy every kitchen gadget I've ever wanted, including a Blendtec blender, a food processor, cookie and muffin scoops, a microplane zester, a spiralizer, and new knives. I would have plenty of storage and someone to wash them, so it wouldn't be a big deal.
13. Give you all $1,000 amazon gift cards for your birthdays.
14. Whenever one of you has a baby, I would buy all of your diapers.
15. Offer to host our next family reunion at Disneyworld.
16. Give the kids memberships to the Children's Museum, the Aquarium, the Science Museum, the Zoo for their birthdays or Christmas.
17. Travel abroad every other year.

I'm running out of ways to spend money, and I haven't even spent two of my 700 millions yet. I guess there are worse problems. What would you do with that much money?

Un-newsworthy News

Nothing very interesting has been happening around here, which why I had nothing to share for the C. Wm. Scoresby Family Chronicles. But here is some news that isn't really news for your reading pleasure.


- I fished a dead bug out of Grace's mouth this morning.

- Andrew's new frequently repeated phrase is "Then what?" It goes like this:
 
   Me: Pull up your pants.
   A: Then what?
   Me: Then flush the toilet and wash your hands.
   A: Then what?
   Me: Then you can go back to playing.
   A: Then what?
   Me: Then I don't care what you do.
   A: Why?

- Lauren and Andrew's newest game is called "Doggie School." From what I can tell, it consists of shutting yourself in the bathroom and running around yelling, "Parent pickup! Parent pickup!"

He still likes ice cream, but that's not news.

-Lauren took some pictures of the microwave microwaving.

She also talked Santa's ear off.

-I made some wheat, dairy, egg, soy, seafood, and peanut free muffins for Preston, and Lauren was kind enough to take a picture. These are chocolate banana muffins with chia seeds, coconut oil, and buckwheat flour. They're not bad, but I would never make them this way just for fun.

I caught Andrew mid-sneeze in this picture and I just think it's funny.

That's the "excitement" around here. What's happening at your house?