A Special Visit !

Today, the kids and I went up to my parent's house to see a good family friend, Jeanna Thompson, who is visiting from CA. She came to see her son, Hiram, play basketball against Utah State, and we were lucky enough to spend the afternoon with her. I used to baby sit for the Thompson's, and Jeanna was always one of my favorite Young Women leaders when I was a teenager. When the San Diego temple opened back in 1993, Jeanna took me and another girl from the ward down there for the open house. She has always been a great influence on me, and a good friend through the years - always making an effort to see me when I was at BYU and even once when we lived in Virginia. It was just so fun to catch up with her and hear about her family. FYI, for my Citrus Heights friends - her youngest son, Brett, will be playing football for BYU this fall - so watch for him! It also made me realize how OLD I am getting. Time just flies by too quickly!

Bittersweet Chocolate Experience...

This happened a few weeks ago, and I can't believe I forgot to record this incident. I was making a chocolate banana cream pie from scratch, and James and the boys were hovering over me like vultures as I chopped up the baking chocolate for the recipe. They were all begging me for some chocolate, and I just couldn't resist playing a little trick on them. I asked James to open his mouth, and I dropped just a sliver of the baking chocolate in and waited for the reaction. He made a horrible face and immediately ran to the bathroom and began spitting and washing his mouth out. He came back laughing and scolding me for tricking him. The funny thing is, the boys STILL wanted to try some chocolate, so we let them. They began spitting on the floor and Paul asked if it was dirt! We all had a good laugh over every one's reactions. We asked the boys why they insisted on having the chocolate after seeing their dad's reaction, and Jackson said he thought he would like the chocolate still! Who hasn't fallen for this trick of eating baking chocolate at one time or another?!

Fun Pictures...

I have so much fun taking pictures of Alanna!

Cleaning House...

When it comes to cleaning my car, I check the weather and make sure there is no rain or snow in the forecast before I take it to the car wash. This insures that I get the most of my time and money. When it comes to cleaning my house, however, I have learned that there is ALWAYS a storm in the forecast! I feel like all I do is clean up one mess after another. Yesterday, I spent the morning scrubbing the tile and the grout on my hands and knees. We have a lot of tile, so it's quite a chore. It was also time to condition our leather furniture, so I had to vacuum it, use the cleaning solution all over it, and then condition every square inch of it. I was feeling pretty good about my "accomplishments" until the afternoon came and Alanna, who almost never spits up, did so twice all over a cushion of the couch. Then, Jackson, spilled his drink underneath the table as well. I was just keeping my fingers crossed that maybe, just maybe, my cleaning would last for more than 4 hours! Perhaps next time! More realistically though, I don't think I'm going to have the kind of "clean" house that I would like for several years to come!

My Sweet Little Valentine's...

Alanna got dressed up for Jackson's Valentine preschool party. She just looks like a piece of candy that I want to gobble up - I love the double chin!

Paul and Alanna LOVE each other so much! It's fun to see how she responds to him - always wanting to hug and kiss her big brother! They are too sweet!

Paul and Alanna are snuggling in bed after a shower with daddy.

I just can't take enough pictures of Alanna. Her patience is wearing thin here, and she is wanting to chew on the camera string. It's so interesting that babies this age have to explore everything through their mouth. Luckily, she has only had one very minor cold this winter. I hope it stays that way!

Paul joined in for the preschool festivities. My boys have had so much candy today already between getting to load a sugar cookie with as many sprinkles and m&m as it could hold, and all the Valentine candy from friends. I'm glad my mom opted to give them money for the $1 store instead of candy this year!

Weekend Highlights...

We celebrated Uncle Caleb's 24th birthday. Ignore the bright red shirt - he's now a traitor by attending the U! Just kidding Caleb - we still love you!

"Big ears you think I have? "

Has Jackson inherited the dreaded Williamson ears?

Uncle Andrew is the coolest. He gave the boys their favorite - CHOCOLATE! We are really looking forward to the effects of those candy bars!

Paul enjoys his chocolate banana cream pie. He's got to scarf it down before Dad gets to it.

"Mom, I've had enough of these silly bows already!"

Our family enjoyed a wonderful day at Snowbird on Saturday. They have a Chickadee slope that is free and offers a "Magic Carpet" back up the small slope. The boys absolutely loved snowboarding, and James loved not having to carry them up the hill after every run. They both are really good at staying up and going straight down the hill, now they have to work on turning! It felt so good to be outdoors in relatively high temperatures with the sun shining down on us. Alanna and I hung out in the lodge for the most part, but we had fun listening to skiers talking about the competition that went on there this weekend. In a couple of years Alanna will be out there with her dad and brothers on a hot pink snowboard! We're lucky to live so close to the resorts so we can enjoy these fun family outings!

What was I Thinking????

It's 2:40 am on a Saturday night and I am catching up on Facebook and Blogging. Why? Even though I've had an exhausting yet fun filled weekend, I can't fall asleep for anything! I went to bed at 10 pm because I had a headache, slept for an hour, and then couldn't get back to sleep. I have been so frustrated that I can't fall asleep, and then it dawned on my why I can't sleep. I had some Dr. Pepper at dinner, but not too much I thought. I am highly reactive to caffeine, I usually feel heart palpitations when I have any caffeinated beverage in fact. James usually bans me from having it, but it's been a long time, and Dr. Pepper is my favorite. But now I am paying for it, and tomorrow I will really be paying for it. At least James will be home so hopefully I can get a nap in. I'll probably be falling asleep in the mother's lounge at church tomorrow! Maybe I should have another Dr. Pepper then - LOL!