A Wild (and Crazy!) Kratt Birthday!

There is a secret power out there, just waiting to be activated by one who truly wishes to help animals. This is the message of the Kratt brothers, hosts of the PBS show, Wild Kratts. They teach children about each animals' "creature powers" which can be anything from cheetah-speed, to the diving abilities of a colossal squid. By harnessing these super-powers, you hold the ultimate secret weapon to rescuing and aiding hurt or endangered animals.

How does one harness these super creature powers? The power lies within the bear paw emblem--simply touch the injured animal and then, holding onto the bear paw, shout "Creature Powers, Activate!" You are now ready to aid and abed said animal.

In this Kratt-style, we rung in Christian's 4th birthday! He "discovered" this show last fall and LOVES it. (The fact that it's on at 5:00 works out wonderfully for Mom who can get dinner made while he and Emily tune in!)

So, to get this party rolling, we got the kiddos warmed up, kangaroo-style, on the trampoline! (They really loved this and I think for future parties, we'll just let the kids bounce the whole time and maybe give them some cake and water at the end! Ha!)

Next up, we doned our Creature-Power necklaces and got ready to harness the cheetah's speed for some tag! The object of this game was to pull-off each others' tails. (See Molly modeling the tail while everyone else gives me their best cheetah-face.)

Their cheetah-speed powers sure came in handy!

Up next, we had an animal rescue and made sure some worms made it back safely to their home in the dirt. Even Emily got into this and picked one up! (Christian and most of his friends LOVE digging for worms so I just had to have this as a game!)
Then it was time to learn about some creatures and their "powers"! My Grandma knows a man who raises snakes and other reptiles. She asked him if he could bring some for the kids to look at and teach them about them. Four of the six children had NO fear, whatsoever.

This is Christian, proudly holding up a ball python! It was really neat for them all to get so up-close and personal!

For our final game, we tapped into the sea-turtles amazing sense of direction as we played "pin-the-arms-on-the-octopus".

(As a side note, I used velcro to "switch out" their creature-powers for each new game.)

Dinner, present opening, and cake all followed...

Christian transitioned from creature-powers, to super-hero powers like it was second nature. Truly, turning four comes with its advantages!

First and Last

Emily finished Kindergarten this week! (*Sigh*) She has learned so much and grown a lot. I can't believe it's over! She had a wonerful year and says that she will miss school, her teacher, and her friends.

Here are pictures from the first day...

And, the last day (sniff, sniff!)

Great job, Emily! We love you!

Ready for Church

I just love "ready for church" pictures!

Here are my lovely ladies, all dressed up.

Dancing Queen

Emily had her big dance recital today! This is her third year and the theme was "Toy Story." Her number was a tap dance and she was Raggity Anne. It was darling. Her dancing studio, Mary Lorraine's Dance Center, always has such cute, fun, (and appropriate) costumes and dances for all of the kids.

Emily did not disappoint this year! She worked very hard in class and at home on her maxi-fords and shuffles. She knew the whole dance (without having to check out her neighbors!) and had a big smile on her face the entire dance. And, despite having told me she was a bit nervous about being up on a big stage, her little fan club all agreed that she had excellent stage prescence!

As you can see from our little snap-shots, one member of the clan is missing; Emily had the "late" (7:00) show of the day and so we got a babysitter for Miss Kari. The show was less than an hour long and so it ended before Christian faded too much...although he completely passed out once we got home!

Grandma Karen and Auntie Erin were able to come out with us too. Emily was very happy they came!

Here is Emily with her class and one of her teachers, Maddy--a beautiful dancer herself! The whole class did so well--they had some fancy footwork and really did well. Great job, girls, and great job, Emily!!

Celebratin' Like A Pro

Kari turned 16 months old on Sunday. And this is how she marked the occasion.

Yeah, that's how we roll.

Preschool Picnic

Last Thursday was Christian's last day of preschool--that went fast, didn't it?? I asked him if he'll miss school and he said, "No, Mommy. Now me get to stay home all the time!" (Oh boy!)

But, I think he will miss some parts of school. He said he won't miss his teacher, Ms. Sandi, since he'll still see her when we're at the Y for baseball this summer. But, he won't be seeing his little friend, Jacob, as much this summer and I think he'll miss him.

These two boys are so stinkin' cute together. They just seem to "mesh" as friends and really play well together. Jacob has older brothers who are very into baseball so they'll be pretty busy with that all summer. But, since their birthdays are close together, they should be in the same class next year.

And, what was little Miss Kari doing while the boys were playing "Pooh sticks?" She was eating her snacks and watching Mama and Papa Goose and their four cute little babies!

Mother's Day

Happy Mother's Day to my wonderful mother. You have taught me how to love all of the little, everyday joys of motherhood, and how to laugh through those tough days. Thank you for all that you have given to me, taught me, and continue to do for me and my family. I love you!

Planting Flowers

This past Wednesday, our anniversary, we went up to the Temple and Mormon Trail Center for our annual flower planting activity with the Youth. (As I've been working in Young Women's for three years now, this is now our third year of planting.) It was a beautiful night and, considering we were up waaayyyy past our bedtime, the kids did really well.



Last year, Christian was my helper while Cubby took Emily and Kari into the trail center to look at the pioneer stuff. This year, though, Emily was much more into it and she and Christian honestly did more planting then some of the youth! They've been planting flowers with me at home and so they knew just what to do!



After the whole planting novelty wore off, we got in just a quick photo session before any melt-downs occurred!

We really like giving service at the temple...especially in such a fun way!

Happy Anniversary!

Christian's got some big shoes to fill...and I don't just mean that literally!

Happy 9th Anniversary, Cubby!

I love you so.

She Feeds Herself!

Messy, but man, my life just got so much easier!!
(And, the Sierra Mist in the Taco Bell cup is mine, not hers :-) .)