Knock, knock...

So our kids have been "knock, knock" joke fans for a really long time. They have a couple of understandable favorites (who's there: banana and who's there: Dwain top the list) but most of their "knock, knock" jokes are originals and pure genius. Wyatt favors the one syllable start for who's there:
Wyatt: "Knock, knock..."
us: "Who's there?"
Wyatt: "Mmm--"
us: "Mmm who?"
Wyatt: "Mmmmuffin are you going to take me out of the oven?"
Laughter all around...

Lorien tries to bring the humor up to another level:
Lorien: "Knock, knock..."
us: "Who's there?'
Lorien: "Interrupting dog"
us: "Interrupting dog wh--"
Lorien "BARK! Ha, ha, ha!!! Because I interrupted your sentence!!!"
More laughter all around...

Just last week Clare jumped on the "Knock, knock" band wagon. Here is a sampling...go ahead, laugh your pants off.


I know, I know, she's hilarious! The sophistication of her humor and comedic timing are to die for! My sides still ache. You can catch live shows every night at dinner time.

The Family Thespian...

This evening we all piled into the elementary school auditorium to watch with wrapped attention the Orion School Plays. Our favorite Kindergartner, Lorien, stretched her acting abilities preforming as a Kindergartner attending a birthday party. She was, of course, super cute and not nervous at all. She is a bit of a class clown and loves attention so this whole school play thing was right up her alley. Everyone was entertained, impressed and proud of our little actress. I was so happy my cheeks hurt from grinning. Lorien remembered all of her directions and her lines (shared with every other kid on the stage consisting of "food! More food!"). Here are a few shots from the night.

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Lorien with a bit of a runny nose before the play started. Lorien and her friends from school, Aysianna and Sydney, waiting for the play to start.

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Lorien's grand entrance...she did make one slip up...carrying in a present and oatmeal when she was supposed to only have a present.


Our perfect thespian. We are so proud of her!

Happy Birthday Baby!

------------------------------ Clare is two years old! Happy Birthday my sweet little baby. I love you. ----------------------------

*I should make a quick clarification here...Clare's birthday was actually Tuesday March 25th. We celebrated with a party on Wednesday (just a better day with much less going on) and I didn't get this post up until Thursday...this is the lot of child number three.

...EASTER WEEKEND IN UTAH...

Drive, drive, drive! We left our house on Thursday morning for a weekend visiting family in Utah. Will's younger brother, Alan, returned from his mission in Argentina and we all decided to meet up in Utah to welcome him home. From our house it is about a 11-12 hour drive to Salt Lake City. The kids were great, in our family I am the traveler who wearies the fastest. Lorien and Wyatt colored for hours and Clare sang songs with Daddy while I sat in the front seat with a snarl on my face. Thankfully we drove safely and had plenty of friends and family who were happy to receive our company.



Oh, about a third of the way through Nevada Lorien looks up from her coloring and sighs saying: "Why did they put roads in Nevada?" Will and I had no answer.

Cousins...

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We had lunch with my cousins Becky and Sarah. I haven't seen these gals in years and we had a lot of fun catching up and laughing (most important of all).

Friends from Boston...

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When we lived back east some of our dearest friends were the Smith Family. When they finished school they ended up in Utah. We were so happy to visit with them over dinner. Lorien and their daughter, Mikayla, are the same age. They have a son Wyatt's age and a daughter a year younger than Clare. Lorien and Mikayla fell right in step playing together just like old times. Wyatt and Jackson had fun rough-housing with Will and Steve (their Daddy's). Clare was happy to jump on their couch telling us all to "Wach-diss!". Thanks for dinner Smith's it was too fun reminiscing about the good old days when we both living on the third floor of a three family walk up in Everett!

Why we wont be asked back to the Residence Inn...

We stayed at the Residence Inn in Salt Lake City. The rooms had little kitchens and we were all really comfortable. It was nice that we all could stay together without sacrificing too much in the way of personal space and home conveniences. Lorien, Wyatt and Clare had a blast running up and down the halls, back and forth between our room and Grandma Judy's room. Lorien and Wyatt managed to run without screaming but Clare couldn't grasp the concept. Running and screaming go together like cookies and milk...you cannot have one without the other.

Easter day...

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Lorien, Clare and Wyatt digging into the egg shaped cake.

Alton after Cake... All the cousins eating cake... Riley... Clare....

The kids got up early and were extremely relieved to discover the Easter Bunny had managed to find them even though they were not at home. All the cousins had an egg hunt in Grandma Judy's suite and had baskets of Easter candy for breakfast. We went to church with Roy and Jean Wendt and then had Easter dinner back at the hotel. For a meal made in a hotel kitchenette it was divine! Grandpa Clay brought along a yummy egg shaped cake that put smiles on the kids faces and turned their lips green.

Family Easter Picture...

We don't take family photo's very often...you can maybe guess why. Wyatt and Momma had a heck of a time keeping their eyes open and Clare was not interested in sitting for a photo at all! Will just hates saying cheese all the time. Lorien is the only one who manages a sweet look in every photo. Here is our best shot.

Baby Brenton...

The kids had a great time visiting with all of their cousins. We hadn't met Aunt Charity and Uncle Ben's new baby, Brenton. Lorien and Wyatt just loved seeing the baby. They were very kind cousins and helpers with the baby.

Heading Home...

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Nevada was made a little shorter, not to a natural disaster sucking the whole state into the Earth's center like I hoped, but by plenty of Easter candy and sleeping children.

We had a great trip and are thankful for the time we had with family and friends. To those we missed, we are sorry and hope to catch you next time we make the trip out. To those we saw, Thanks! We love and miss you all!

Little Sis...

Me and Clare with Lesley and her baby girl, Lilly. Checking out the Golden Gate Bridge.

My little sister, Lesley, came out to California last weekend for an spur-of-the-moment visit. She drove by herself with her two little girls from Utah. We were happy to have her and very impressed with her ability to make it safely to us! We spent an afternoon in the city and Lesley got to visit her friend Mikenzie who is at school there. I watched Lesley's daughters so she could have a girls day with Mikenzie. For a few hours I had five kids and while it wasn't pretty no one got hurt and I managed to maintain a mild form form of sanity. Clare and Amelia (Lesley's oldest daughter) were best pals. They both love the same kinds of things...macaroni & cheese and yelling. They spent about 20 minutes hanging out on my bed growling like lions at each other. Monday night Lesley watched the kids so Will and I could go out to dinner for our anniversary. Thank you Lesley, I am so glad you came!

Lesley and Amelia at Pier 39 watching the harbor seals.

Wrestling Tournament...

On Saturday the Woodside Wrestling Club went to its very first tournament. In our family, Daddy, Lorien and Wyatt competed. Wyatt was actually too young to officially participate but he and his cousin, Evan, held a little impromptu exhibition match at the tournament. Lorien tried very hard to be a good wrestler. In her first match she and her opponent were evenly skilled. But he ended up winning the match. In her second match the boy she wrestled was much more aggressive. Lorien got tossed to the mat once and got up to try again but when she got tossed the second time Coach Will stepped in and let her bow out. Both Will and I were extremely proud of her for trying her best.

Will lost over thirty pounds to compete in the 163 pound open division. He wrestled three tough matches, succeeding with a pin in one and loosing the other two. Unfortunately the format was alien to Will (each of three rounds wrestled in a different style) so he was at a disadvantage. We were all proud of him and he ended up taking third place out of eight wrestlers in the class.

Daddy gave his bronze medal to the kids for the valiant effort they put into their matches.

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The pictures aren't great. It is tough to get good pictures of a match happening across the gym from the stands! The first picture is Lorien in her first match (her legs look so cute and scrawny in wrestling shoes, green socks and a singlet). The second picture is Will (in blue) almost pinning his opponent in his first match.

I love you more than cucumbers, cheese and stake...

Will to me when we were very newly weds: "Do you know what I love?"

"Yes, cheese and cucumbers." said I.

"Do you know what else I love?"

"Yes, stake."

"Do you know what else I love... more than cheese and stake and cucumbers?"

"What?"

"You..."

Today (Saint Patrick's Day) is our eight year anniversary! I love you Will. I am so thankful for you and for how much you love me. Thank you for loving me more than a wide variety of delicious foods (and more than anything else in the whole wide world). I love you heaps and piles and loads. Happy Anniversary!

Lorien's first at-bat...

The rules for little, little, little girl softball are pretty simple. One team is out in the field and one up to bat. Each girl gets up to bat in every inning (mercifully there are only two innings). The coach pitches three balls from about five feet away from the hitter. If she misses all three balls she gets to hit off a T and take first base. Each girl who hits after the first advances each player to the next base until the last girl sends everyone home. Perfect, no winners but no losers either. Lorien missed the first two pitches but hit on the third! The first picture is of her first miss (nice photo shootin' Mom) and the second is of her dash to first base. Way to go Lorien!

Self-serve Breakfast...

Most mornings the kids are standing around my bed asking for breakfast at about 7:00. But every so often they get a streak of self sufficiency and bust open a box of cereal without parental supervision. Here are a few shots from one such morning.

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It isn't true...

Sunday afternoon Lorien looks at me and says "Woah, Mom! It looks like you are getting a little bit pregnant!"
"What!?" My natural reply.
"Yhea, you do because your tummy is out like this--" She pushes her stomach out as far as it will go. "--but your back is all straight and your not pushing your tummy out like me. Your baby must be about the side of a grain of rice."

Just to calm the worries of my mother and set straight anyone else who thinks I look a tiny bit pregnant, I'm not. I am however recommitting myself to my New Year's resolution of exercising.

"Look what I did!"

The local Mom and Pop hardware store in our neighborhood comes complete with a penny candy display at the check out counter. This week I took Clare and Wyatt with me to pick up a few tools for yard work and of course a piece of penny candy. Wyatt quickly licked his candy into a fine point and said: "Look what I did Mom!" I was sufficiently impressed. After a few minutes, I noticed that Clare, who normally hovers at my knees all day, was missing. I knew she couldn't be far so I kept working with out interruption (trimming rose bushes takes serious concentration). Soon I hear Clare calling from the other side of the yard: "Momma, wook! Wook wa I did!" I find Clare sitting with her candy sucked down to a itty-bitty point just like Wyatt's. Clever mimic.

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Softball...

Last Saturday was the big kick-off party for the spring season of softball. The day was sunny but the wind was blowing making the air a little chilly. The nip in the air did nothing to subdue the excitement in Lorien and her fellow Blue Birds. The teams marched around the main field in a parade while Sammy the Shark (of the San Jose Sharks) and Lou Seal (of the San Francisco Giants) passed out new softballs. There was a bounce house, bounce slide, BBQ and huge speakers blasting out the soundtrack for the afternoon. Only the sweetest hip-hop tunes would be tolerated, like the 1999 classic "Mambo #5" and Aly & AJ's "Potential Break-up Song". If you don't think I went straight home and added those little gems to my i-tunes you are sadly mistaken my friend. Below are some picts. from the day.

Oh, did I mention Sammy the Shark is the mascot for an Ice hockey team? Was he a bit out of place? Yes. Was he less loved by the girls? No. Did he win the home run derby? Yes...for an ice skating-stuffed-shark, he knocked the stuffed-pants off Lou Seal, oh wait, Lou was never wearing pants.

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Yes, she is stuck there and yes, she is having fun...

Tricks of the trampoline...

Lorien has crazy trampoline skills.

And all this in a skirt!