Theoretical Toolbox

Owies happen on a regular basis at our house and a lot of crying ensues after each owie... but we now have a solution. It's a "toolbox" that Peter apparently carries around wherever he goes. It shows up whenever an owie has occurred. In fact, it magically appears out of thin air and can only be seen by those who still believe in magic. Here is an example of how it goes down:

-Claire gets hurt and is crying.
-Peter quickly grabs this "toolbox" and puts it next to the crying/dying girl
-He opens it up, asks her where the owie is (say right arm) and grabs the correct tool to fix it
-The tool usually chops the limb off, which sounds pretty gruesome until it is replaced by an even cooler limb chosen by the doctor's assistant (ie: Dallin).
example - After the right arm is "removed" by the magical tools, some butterfly wings are glued/stapled/hammered in its place.
-Once the owie is gone, more replacing of body parts is demanded... the left arm into another butterfly wing, human legs into mermaid fins, nose into an elephant trunk, stomach into a kangaroo pouch, etc.
Claire gets up feeling pretty cool as Daddy helps her fly around the room with her brand new butterfly wings.

What owie?

Toddler Tunnel

This could quite possibly be the greatest thing
that has ever happened to him.

Easter Expedition

So I thought Spring Break was only 1 week long... I could do that... I could find fun things around town to help entertain my children and help pass the time. The moment I found out it was actually 2 weeks long, I immediately wondered where we could escape to. Peter has been super-busy lately and I knew he wouldn't be able to come on any of our adventures, so I sucked up my inhibitions and decided to take the kids to Utah... by myself... driving.

It all sounded daunting, but ended up being amazing. The kids were fabulous and we had so much fun driving to Utah, playing with family, watching General Conference, celebrating Easter, watching the snow fall in our spring clothes (we weren't very prepared), etc. Here are some favorite moments from our Easter expedition:

-driving the first day all the way to Cedar City and staying the night in a fun hotel

-driving the rest of the way to Provo the next day and seeing Papa, Nana, Jen, Dave, Erin and Grandma GG!

-spending a lot of time at the University Mall due to the random snow and rain

-staying at Uncle Dave and Aunt Erin's house (playing basketball, fighting over the exercise ball, watching Alvin and the Chipmunks, staying up late talking, reading books, etc)

-coloring Easter eggs (thanks Grandma Hinckley for letting us invade your house while you were in Arizona!)

-riding scooters and bouncing basketballs in Grandma's parking lot

-spending time with my darling/wonderful almost-90-year-old Grandma Brown (GG as her great grand kids lovingly call her)

-Our practice Easter egg hunt in Grandma Lolo's (Hinckleys) front yard

-watching Spencer lead "do as I'm doing" and a handful of grown adults following his lead (he loved this more than anything... arms out, hands on head, twist with hands on head, repeat :))

-Realizing that somehow the Easter Bunny knew where to find us in Utah

-watching each of the amazing sessions of General Conference together in Grandma Lolo's living room

-Dallin and my Mom's first time attending General Conference in the Conference Center (Sunday afternoon session)

-hanging out and reading books in the BYU Bookstore

-seeing all things BYU basketball

-attending the traditional General Conference family dinner at the Brown's house with lots of cousins, aunts, uncles and grandparents (this picture is of the greatest toy ever... my grandparents marble rack. I remember spending hours playing with this as a child while visiting my Grandpa and Grandma Brown. Spencer loved it just as much).

-visiting the dinosaur museum at Thanksgiving Point with Nana

-making our very own fossils

-getting ice cream after our dinosaur adventure

-watching Spencer entertain himself for hours with these little candy balls rolling on this bench (worked nicely when we watched General Conference)

-playing with cousins

-getting gas in the middle of nowhere on our drive home, and finding a fun little farm. The kids were in heaven with pigs, rabbits, llamas and open fields (and I'm sure loved the break from driving).

-stopping at Cove Fort in Southern Utah to visit this amazing fort that our Great, great, great grandpa Ira Hinckley built under President Brigham Young's direction. Dallin loved watching the informative video and reading my name on the family plaque out front, Claire loved seeing where the girls slept and the big trees, and Spencer loved running around on the grass and up the stairs. It was a fun and memorable stop.

-staying at the Venetian resort in Las Vegas on our way home (I 'hotwire'd a hotel and this is what we won... super-fun!)

Whew! Okay, so I'm done. In a nutshell: my kids do really well on road trips, being with family is always fun, and it is nice to know I can make the trip on my own. Where to go next?...

Spring Schooling

Dallin's spring school photo... appropriately dressed in his over-sized basketball "jersey" :). Love this happy boy.