Guess Who Got a Haircut?

No, really. Go ahead and guess.

As usual, all my pictures are slightly fuzzy lately. It's driving me a little crazy. But, in fact, that is Lu. And, yes, I did cut her hair. Unevenly. (Then I spent 3 successive nights trimming it to even it out, only to leave it more uneven than it ever started out. Sigh.) Lest you think this was my idea, I assure you that she spent a week begging for this haircut . . . "as short as yours Mom." So I finally complied. We are both extremely happy not to have to comb the "rat's nest" in the morning.

Easter Morning

Phx is looking a little groggy here, having just woken up . . . which didn't stop him from munching on the peeps.

Following in the footsteps of my Mom, I try to make the kids something special every year for their baskets. This year I found an online tutorial for crayon rolls and wanted to try my hand at them. Here they are rolled out . . .

. . . and rolled up.

Lu is here explaining to Phx how this thing works. What would he do without a big sister to editorialize life for him?

Sorry these pictures are so fuzzy. All the pictures from Easter day are a little out of focus. So in case you were worried, it's not your eyesight, it's just my picture-taking.

Happy (Belated) Easter!

This was a bit of a crazy Easter, what with the Reunion and all, so we didn't actually get around to dying Easter eggs until, well, Easter. Oops. So we spent the afternoon dying all the eggs that Stayc and the kids had so assiduously blown over the last 3 weeks. (Stayc absolutely hates hard-boiled eggs, so that's not an option . . . "Then blow me some eggs," I tell him. And he does. Three dozen.)

The only problem? The dye actually gets *into* the eggs (since there are little holes at both ends of each egg) and there's lots of drainage.

Oh, yeah. And the eggs break very easily. Especially when one of the egg-dyers is a 2 1/2-year-old, already prone to breaking everything within reach.

Which leads to extreme hilarity. Especially when the other egg-dyer is a 4 1/2-year-old already prone to extreme bouts of hilarity.

But other than that, it was a success. Now we have three dozen colored egg shells. Any idea of what to do with them?

A River Runs Through It

Our second hike of the reunion took us next to a river that the kids loved. So much, in fact, that two of them fell in (not ours), and Phx threw a raging tantrum upon leaving. Ahhh, so fun. Here's our little moon eyes.

And our little T-Rex.

Stayc was so proud of Phx in this picture. "Look at the form on that rock throw!" Indeed, it does look like a good throw. It should. He's spent the last two years of his life perfecting it (Phx, that is).

That's Uncle Shawn's knee there (and baby), lest you think it belongs to us.

Cousins! (So much more exciting with the exclamation point.)

And one last shot of Phx. Dawdling. On his own. Stick in hand.

Cades Cove, TN

So, we had a great time at the D Family Reunion. The whole group of us drove to Cades Cove one day and hiked, lunched, played and just generally had a good time. Lu and I are in front of the Old Mill in this picture. Typical Phx . . . off doing his own thing.

Gayle will probably hate me for this photo, but I think it's really cute . . . of both of them.

Yeahhhh! Cousins! From this picture you might think Phx actually played with his cousins, but, no, you would be wrong for the most part. He's quite the loner. Independent to the core.

Take two. With Lu.

We look a little worn out here, but hey, we are. We were there to celebrate a 40-year anniversary, and we've barely made it to 12. Here's to another 28.

Family Reunion: Phx

Speak softly and carry a big stick.

Note: This is a different stick.

Hiking. Do you see anyone else around? No. Just his own personal photographer. And he could probably do without that too. He's so stinkin' independent.

But he loves his Daddy time.

This post and the previous one are my attempt to post something from the Family Reunion to tide over you impatient folk (you know who you are). I will post more in the next couple of days with more commentary. These may not be the greatest shots, but they are highly indicative of the kids' activities and personalities. More later.

Family Reunion: Lu

Smile!

That's more like it. At least that's more typically what we get.


Here she is chatting up Grandma. Always chatting up someone. Whoever will listen. Whoever is closest. More often than not, Grandma.

Ballet Week Ends

A Sea of Tulle

Waiting for the group picture.

Ballerina Girl

Yesterday was "picture day" at dance class (read: instead of dancing, we will take pictures of your daughters, for which we will then charge you an arm and a leg). No thank you. So we went for the group picture and then took our own pictures. LOTS of our own pictures. I took so many pictures that you'll be looking at dance pictures for the rest of the week. Check back often. This was a cute series, so I had to post all of them. Truly, I couldn't not.

Why yes, I do have a son. Just wait till he starts soccer.

Bike Ride

Lu truly loves her bike. I am just happy to get outside for a walk. Here are some more pictures of our one nice day before the blizzard hit. Hopefully there will be more of these days in the coming weeks. We are all going a little stir-crazy. Correction. A LOT stir-crazy.

Look at her fly!!!!! (No. Really. Look at the tassles. Those puppies are flowing with her intense speed.)

A close-up of the speed.

However, she can't go *so* fast. She has to be able to stop on a whim to pick up sticks or leaves or whatever else might catch her fancy. And boy, does she have a lot of whims.

Spring's Around the Corner

Oh, to be outside again! It was a balmy 60 degrees today and we were ALL so happy to be out of the house, gathering up whatever was on the ground and doing an impromptu dance (Lu did the last part, not the rest of us).

Phx was just happy to be in his golashes (how is that spelled??). Oh, how he loves his golashes.

And his dinosaurs. Loves those too. This particular one is a spinosaurus. But of course you already knew that.

So, Lutece gave a talk in primary today on M. Russell Ballard, one of the 12 apostles. I only gave her one day to prepare, but even so, she nearly memorized the whole talk. Things started out very well. She spoke clearly into the microphone and was just as cute as, well, she always is. So well-spoken. About half-way through, however, she sort of looks at me funny (standing next to her), but says clearly into the microphone, "Mom, I have to go pee." Giggles from the audience. Lutece has a bladder of steel, so I say quietly, "Can you hold it for just a minute?" So she proceeds with the talk, but now, visibly uncomfortable, rocking from foot to foot. She gets to the very end (just one line to go) and says, very loudly, "The pee is coming right now!" And we left just like that, without finishing the talk. I whisked her into the bathroom (don't worry, she didn't pee until she was actually on the toilet), and then I explained to her that usually you go pee *before* you give a talk, not in the middle. She responded calmly, "The thing is, I didn't have to pee when I *started* the talk." Naturally.

Everyone who saw the talk in primary has assured me they won't soon forget M. Russell Ballard.