Historic Site in PA

I'm posting a link to an article on the lds website.

http://newsroom.lds.org/article/church-to-restore-historic-site-in-pennsylvania

I'm not sure if you've heard about this, but it's especially meaningful to me because our family lives in Pennsylvania not too far from where this restoration will be taking place. It will be neat to be able to visit when this is all done. Not to mention there will be a temple built in Philadelphia. I'm already getting excited to go with my family to the dedication of the temple when it's completed. It will be so neat to take Xavier to these places. I know it will make an impression on him and he will be able to see the Lord's work in progress.

Easter Sunday

This year the Easter bunny got a little creative in hiding the eggs. Now that Xavier is a little older we didn't have to keep them all in plain sight. He did a pretty good job finding all of them.

The one thing he didn't find was his basket. The Easter bunny had left a shark book by the t.v. which instantly caught his attention. He was done after that. He didn't even remember he had to find a basket.

As you can see he is reading his book, absolutely unaware of what is above his head. We finally had to coax him off the couch and away from his book to search high and low for that basket. He got a kick out of it when he finally discovered it hanging above his noggin.

Gavin's basket had a fun little book that I love called How to make a Rainbow. Some egg shakers, a few hand puppets, a little boat for the tub, and some eggs filled with money for his piggy bank.
But, wouldn't you know, he went for the chocolate bunny......

My trio of total handsomeness!

When you have 9:30 church it's a little challenging to get good Easter photos. Well it's only challenging when you only have about 2 minutes and you have 2 wiggly boys you're trying to get to smile at the same time.

The protective older brother trying to keep Gavin from crawling off the couch.

The older brother not caring anymore. Gavin making a b-line for the edge of the couch. Yikes! (I did get him before he leaped off the couch)

What an angelic pose.

I guess hoping for the perfect picture is out of the question.

They are smiling because this was the last one before they could get off the couch.

One final thought. Even though these are the fun things that make holidays magical for kids, this quote says it best when we remember what we are really celebrating:

The greatest man in history, named Jesus, had no servants, yet they called him Master. Had no degree, yet they called him Teacher. Had no medicines, yet they called him Healer. He had no army, yet kings feared Him. He won no military battles, yet he conquered the world. He committed no crime, yet they crucified Him... He was buried in a tomb, yet He lives today! I am eternally grateful for my Savior.

Happy Easter everyone!

Easter Weekend

The week leading up to Easter was an eventful one. Xavier had an Easter party at preschool. I was the lame parent who forgot my camera so I didn't get any pictures. The teachers had the parents come and make an Easter craft with their child and then we got to hide all the eggs. Then the kids got to search for them.

The Young Women in our ward also organized an egg hunt for the Jr. Primary kids. They did such a great job planning and executing the fun activities.



First the kids sang some fun Easter themed songs and then they let them loose to fin all the eggs. At first Xavier just wanted to open them and start eating. Then I told him to collect the eggs first and he could open them when he was all done.

During the hunt a family with 3 daughters came in the gym. SInce they were late most of the eggs had been found. I asked Xavier to share some of his eggs with them. So he ran over and put one in each of the girl's baskets. I was proud of him for doing that to make them feel better about being late.


Then the girls helped the kids make an Easter picture, perform an obstacle race, and a relay. Xavier had a blast.

Over the weekend we invited our friend's over to eat some homemade pizza, frost cookies, and dye Easter eggs. Here is Gavin and Jack. Jack was born about 3 weeks before Gavin and weighs at least 5 more pounds than Gavin. He is the cutest, most solid kid I've ever met. He definitely could take Gavin down no problem and is pretty much born to play football.

Here is Lauren dyeing her eggs. She even helped make the pizza. She did a fantastic job!

The egg dyeing was a success. No spilled cups, just a few cracked eggs and lots of coloring fun.

Lydia was a cookie sprinkle pro!

Xavier requested a shark cookie. I made all Easter-themed cookies and one made-to-order shark for X-man. He's more of a sprinkle eater than a cookie eater. I caught him sneaking the sprinkles instead of decorating the cookies.

On Saturday night for our family scripture study I thought it would be fun to make these Easter Story cookies I found online. This is what we did.

1 cup whole pecans

1 teaspoon vinegar

3 egg whites

A pinch of salt

1 cup sugar

A zipper baggie

A wooden spoon

Tape

Bible

Heat your oven to 300 degrees. (Don’t wait until you’re finished with the recipe.)

Place the pecans in the zippered baggie and let children beat them with the wooden spoon to break them into small pieces. Explain that after Jesus was arrested, he was beaten by the Roman soldiers. (John 19:1-3)

Let each child smell the vinegar. Put 1 teaspoon vinegar in a mixing bowl. Explain that when Jesus was thirsty on the cross, he was given vinegar to drink. (John 19:28-30)

Add egg whites to the vinegar. Eggs represent life. Explain that Jesus gave His life to give us life everlasting. (John 10:10-11)

Sprinkle a little salt into each child’s hand. Let them taste it and brush the rest into the bowl. Explain that this represents the salty tears shed by Jesus’ followers — and also the unsweetness of our sins. (Luke 23:27)

Add 1 cup of sugar. Explain that the sweetest part of Easter is that Jesus dies because he loves us and is born again to watch over us from heaven. (Psalms 34:8 and John 3:16)

Beat with a mixer on high for 12 to 15 minutes, or until stiff peaks are formed. Explain that the color white represents the purity of those who have been washed clean by the blood of Jesus. (Isaiah 1:18 and John 3:13)

Fold in the broken nuts. Drop by teaspoon onto a wax paper-covered cookie sheet. Explain that each mound represents the rocky tomb where Jesus’ body was laid to rest. (Matthew 27: 57-60)

Put the cookie sheet in the oven, close the door and turn the oven off. Give each child some tape to seal the door. Explain that when Jesus was in the tomb, the world was dark and his tomb had been sealed. (Matthew 27:65-66)

Go to bed! Explain that they might feel sad about leaving the cookies in the oven overnight. Jesus’ followers were sad to leave him in the tomb, too. (John 16:20-22)

On Easter morning, open the oven and give everyone a cookie. Notice the cracked surface, and take a bite. The cookies are hollow! On the first Easter morning, Jesus’ followers were amazed to find the tomb was empty. (Matthew 28:1-9)

Xaver really enjoyed making these. I wish I would have gotten a picture of his face when we put the tape on the oven and I told him we couldn't eat the cookies until the next morning. He was so sad. But it was a perfect teaching moment and I felt like he really was able to understand a lot of the events of Christ's death better.

Xavier's First Soccer Practice

We have entered the world of organized sports. This will be the first of many visits to a sporting practice. I can't wait to be on the sidelines cheering my son every time he plays a game!! I was never a cheerleader, but I get my chance now to cheer for the best team around (my son's team).

I wasn't expecting much from this first practice, but Xavier definitely did a great job listening and following directions for the most part. This is him in the "ready position".

Here he is actually standing in line and waiting his turn to dribble the ball and kick it in the goal. The best part of the practice was when the coach told them to dribble the ball. Xavier picked up the soccer ball and tried to dribble it like a basketball. I guess I forgot to teach him that "to dribble" means something different in soccer. It was hilarious. After a few reminders he started getting the hang of kicking it without using his hands.

Next Saturday will be his first game...stay tuned for mom's play by play.

Xavier is 4!

Xavier turned 4 this week!

I can't believe what a big boy he is. I was watching him the other day and had that mom moment where I realized he is no longer a toddler- he's a BOY. He has learned so many things this year. Some momentous milestones are being potty trained and starting pre-school. I love this boy and his excitement for everything he tries!

He is such an outgoing and friendly boy. He isn't afraid to talk to anyone and makes friends wherever he goes- the grocery store, the park, school, church, the library, and so on.

He knows more about oceans than most grown-ups.

He has developed a knew interest for dinosaurs and dragons.

He loves to role play- his favorite characters he likes to act out are Hiccup and Buzz

Xavier is a super kid and so much fun to be around.

To make this day special I made shark cupcakes for Xavier to take to his pre-school class.

After school we had to take Gavin to a doctor's appointment in Philadelphia. So, unfortunately we spent about 6 hours driving and at the doctor's office. (We're having a friend party on the 30th)

When we got home Xavier requested pizza for his birthday dinner. We surprised Xavier with a soccer net that included hockey sticks, a hockey puck, soccer ball, and on the back of the net he can even practice his pitching.

Xavier was ecstatic!

For dessert, none other than a SHARK cake!

Each year I also interview Xavier so that when he is older he can look at each year and see how he changed over time. This is my interview with Xavier at age 4:

Favorite food: macaroni and cheese

Favorite fruit: red apples

Favorite veggie: tomato

Favorite drink: juice

Favorite treat: lollipop

Favorite toy: Buzz Lightyear

Favorite sport: Hockey

Favorite movie: Toys Story 3

Favorite color: green

Favorite place to go: the park

Favorite sea animal: a shark

Favorite land animal: a giraffe

Favorite activity to do with dad: play Transformers

Favorite activity to do with mom: go to the mamma breakfast; making up stories and telling them to each other

Favorite activity to do with Gavin: Playing Buzz Lightyear

Favorite Book: Transformers

Favorite song: The Passenger song

Favorite art activity: painting

Favorite scripture story: Nephi builds a boat

Favorite game: hide and seek

What is something you've learned this year: sharks never stop moving and wiggle their tails from side to side.

Who is your best friend: Dylan

Who is your favorite teacher: Sister Raesly

What would you like to learn next year? to play soccer

What do you like about yourself? My body

What do you like about Pennsylvania? That daddy works for Mars and I've made new friends.

If you could have one wish what would you wish for? A baby sister

If you had a superpower what would it be? To fly

Gavin is 9 months

This picture makes me laugh because I gave him a teething biscuit while I was cooking dinner one

night and he ended up getting it all over his face, his arms, his hands, his hair, his legs, his shirt and even a ring

around the floor where he was sitting. Yum yum!

Gavin loves to clap his hands and give high fives.

Gavin is a crawling machine and pulls up on everything. He hasn't mastered cruising. Once he pulls up on something he usually screatches because he's stuck and can't move anywhere. He has also discovered the stairs. Aaaggh! I wouldn't mind as much if I didn't have a 4 year old who hates having gates up and knocks them down anytime he wants to go up or down the stairs. (which is about every 5 minutes). So I pretty much can't take my eyes off Gavin these days. He's starting to get into everything and I'm realizing how many more things I need to baby proof.

He loves to crawl on the grass in our backyard. He also enjoys sitting by our big glass sliding door and look out the windows. He loves playing with balls and you can bet we have our fair share of those in our house. He loves to roll them and bounce them, and hold the football while he's rolling on the ground.

Gavin loves his big brother. Every time Xavier comes into a room or comes close to him Gavin immediately starts bouncing and kicking his legs, jabbering and smiling as big as can be.

If there is a banana or cheerios in sight he starts kicking his legs and squealing because he wants to eat them! He also likes chicken and anything he can feed himself (cheese cubes, tofu, steamed broccoli, green beans, sweet potatoes, mashed peas, blueberry quarters, cantaloupe, honeydew, black beans, and carrots) It's gotten to a point that if he's not holding his own spoon or feeding himself some type of finger food he will not let me feed him his baby food.

Gavin is getting quite a little temper. If somebody takes something he is playing with he makes it known by belting out a loud scream or grunt.

Gavin is starting to enjoy reading more too. He's even beginning to turn some of the pages. I hope he loves reading as much as Xavier has enjoyed it.

It won't be long before our busy body boy is walking.

Visitors!

Have I mentioned we love visitors?

John's family came to visit us during their Spring Break.

They spent a couple days with us and then went on to see Washington D.C. for a couple days.

Our first day we spent letterboxing, which we had never done before. Xavier had a blast because it was like going on a real treasure hunt. Basically you find clues that lead you to a box. Inside the box someone places a stamp that is unique to them. You have your own stamp to. When you find the hidden box you stamp your log book with their stamp and you stamp their log book with your stamp. You can write a comment along with it. And in your log book you can write down thoughts or neat things that happened while you were searching for the box.

It's a really cool thing to do as a family.

If you've never done it you can go to www.letterboxing.org. There you can find clues in your city or in areas close to you.

Our second day was spent in Philly. We did our usual stops at the Liberty Bell, the LOVE statue, and walking around downtown. We also took a tour of Independence Hall.

Xavier loved, loved, loved having his cousins visiting. I love this picture. The outside of Independence Hall is undergoing renovations, so they have a sheet up that shows what it will look like when it's complete.

This is where the Declaration of Independence was signed. Pretty amazing to be in the room where our liberties and freedoms of our nation began. It's so neat to actually visit places I remember learning about in my history classes as a kid. It makes it so tangible and real to experience history this way than just reading about it.

At the municipal building in Philly there is this small area where there are life-size game pieces (Sorry, Dominoes, and Monopoly) The kids were entertained jumping from one thing to the next. It reminded me of Honey I Shrunk the Kids in a way as I watched them run around playing with all the game pieces.

Must.....tip.....over......domino.......heave.....ho......heave....ho

We stopped at the Reading Terminal for a bite to eat. They had a place with the best pork sandwiches in town. They were yummy. If you've seen National Treasure there is a scene where the blonde girl runs into the Reading Terminal to escape from the "bad guys" that are chasing her. It's a really cool place. It has the looks and feel of an outside market with tons of vendors all in one place, but it's all indoors.

We had a blast being tour guides to our visitors and we are so glad they came to visit.