Late Night

Mia had her first "Late Night." I got the idea from Sara who was too chicken to ever sleep over at her friends houses all night, so they had "Late Nights". Last week my friends that live next door, Chistian and Sueann, needed a babysitter from 6- 11:00 p.m. so, I watched their girls Abby (4) and Anna(2). The girls(Mia, Payton, and Abby) have asked to have sleepovers before, but since they are too young still, we've been promising them a late night and this was their first one. They were so excited to get to stay up way past their bed time. They had so much fun watching movies, playing, and eating tons of popcorn. The only bad part of the evening was the lady in the apartment downstairs got mad at us for the noise. (She's a little grumpy and doesn't like the kids to run around). But all in all they kids had a great time. This is a picture of all of them watching the new Charlotte's web with their sleeping bags and pillows.

Kids

Mia is growing up so fast. She is starting to take things into her own hands when I am not available. The last few days while I've been putting Mason down for his nap, Mia has been hungry. First she took a new, unopened bag of cereal off the top of the fridge(which was quite a feat/balancing act) using her little rocking chair to climb on. While she was on the counter, she got my scissors and made a complete circle cut around the MIDDLE of the bag. Granted the cereal makers don't always fill the bags totally full....but the middle....thats asking for trouble. There was a large pan on the counter that I had sat there to dry, so Mia improvised and somehow got all the overflow to go in there and then took what she wanted for a snack. I was so proud that she hadn't made a gigantic mess that I just had to laugh and say good job. Although later I realized that she had used the top half of the cereal bag for a little craft time. She took the scissors and shreaded it into tiny pieces all over the living room. Other random food items that I have found out lately include: hot dogs, tortillas, bread... the list goes on. In the case of sealed items, she finds it easier to climb up and get my scissors than to figure out how to open it the intended way. I find a lot of shreaded packages in my kitchen.

It's official. Mason is no longer a baby. He is 18 months old and can now go to nursery. For some reason I've kept the notion in my head that he's still a baby till he goes to nursery. Well, last week was his first day and I have to admit, I thought it would be harder for me than him. I dropped him off and he was just fine. I watched for several minutes through the window and except for a few tears that stopped even before I could rush back in and "save" him, he seemed fine. I have to admit that if I had been alone, I would have cried. I can't believe how grown up my baby is. I checked on him after relief society and he was happy so I went off to young womens thinking maybe this would be easy....twenty minutes later I saw Jared out in the hall with him. I went out and even though Mason wasn't crying, I could tell he had been for a really long time because he was still doing that breathing thing where it seems like they are trying to catch their breath...you moms know. Anyway, I guess the nursery leader said he had been crying off and on the whole time... =( I was heart broken and Jared said he'd never send him back. Jared is a little overprotective when it comes to our kids...its actually kind of cute...and Jared rarely does cute. Well, I guess all we can do is hope things are better next week.

Easter Morning

We had a fun Easter, even if it was cold and snowy. We had to cancel our ward egg hunt because of the snow, but the kids still had fun decorating eggs, finding eggs, making a mess with the grass, and especially eating candy. They got some cute clothes from Grandma and Grandpa Crowther and a foam soccer ball which was a big hit. They had an egg hunt at the Allen's house next door. Once I showed Mason what the bucket was for, he really got into it and found tons of eggs. He was even more thrilled to find out that the eggs weren't just cool shakers; but holders of candy too!


Mason spent a lot of the morning trying to get the grass off his feet. He got really frustrated every time he stepped on a piece. He wouldn't move till he got it off, and most of the time he didn't get very far till he stepped on another one.

My Ballerina...and more

Mia has been taking ballet/tap class at the local rec. center for the last three months. Ever since she started, she can't stop dancing and twirling. Between dance class and watching all the barbie movies (aka 12 dancing princess, princess and the pauper...) she is pretty brainwashed to think she needs to dance 24/7. She goes to class with two of her best friends Abby and Payton. Abby lives next door and Payton lives down stairs. They are always together and frequently dancing.
Mia in the black and pink--Abbey in all pink next to her--and Payton in the light blue next to Abby.

Jared saw this post and insisted that I add these pictures of Mia. I think he hopes he can unbrainwash the ballerina and secure himself a climbing partner for years to come.

My Little Climber

I had to devote an entire entry to my little climber. I tell everyone he's a climber, most little boys are. But I think Jared gives him way to much encouragement. When Mason is climbing on something potentially dangerous, Jared doesn't get him down, he "spots" him. As a result, Mason is quite fearless, and is particularly attracted to danger. These pictures are just a small sample of his climbing abilities.

Christmas Vacation

Since it's been three months since I've added anything to our blog, I thought I'd catch up. I know its almost Easter, but here are our Christmas pictures.

Becky flew out to Denver at the end of November to spend a couple of days with us. We hadn't seen her since before her mission, so it was a great visit! The kids loved all the attention from Aunt Becky. Becky and I then drove out to Idaho with the kids so we could spend an extended vacation in Idaho. We hadn't seen Jeff either since before his mission, so the kids got a lot of time to catch up and spend quality time with their Aunt and Uncle. Jeff, Becky and I helped Mia and Landon make a killer snow fort and a snow man that Jeff hauled to the top of the playset so it could "drive" the ship.


Mia and Mason had a fabulous Christmas. Jared arrived in Idaho a few days before Christmas(Getting to Idaho was quite the ordeal with the huge snowstorm shutting down the airport making Jared look for "alternative transportation"...long story). We spent the few days before Christmas with my family in Malad. We took Great Grandma Crowther for a long drive to see all the Christmas lights. We went to Brigham to see a movie in the theater and eat at Maddox. Then the kids played some fun Christmas games that Christine had thought up to remind them of the Christmas story. Then, of course, they opened gifts from cousins and grandparents.

We then spent the next week with Jared's family in Rexburg. The kids had a great Christmas morning. Maxine always makes Christmas morning so exciting and fun for the kids... not to mention for the rest of us. The kids were spoiled again by grandparents and came away with quite the haul.

While we were in Rexburg Jared made a catapult. This was not his most sucessful project, but still impressive. I think he should stick to his giant hot air balloons.


While in Malad, the kids enjoyed riding Black Beauty. This is Mason's first ride. Mason also went sledding for the first time this winter.

It was a wonderful month in Idaho, and we are already looking forward to our next visit in July!

Grandpa Benedict's Visit/Halloween

We had a short but fun weekend with Jared's dad. He came to help fix Jared's beater truck and save us from a huge mechanic bill....thanks again dad. The kids also had fun at Trunk-or-Treat. Mason was particularly enthralled with his first tootsie roll.

First Snow Storm

This was the first snow of the year and Masons first time playing in the snow. The pictures say it all....they loved it. The snow melts quickly here in Denver, but we've had another snow storm since and Mia built a large snowman and a snow fort.