Utah, Belly's 5th b-day, Easter

So, Rob had a business trip scheduled to visit Utah about two weeks ago. He asked me about 2 days before he was going to leave if I wanted to make it a family trip. HECK YEAH!

Because we were able to come down, I got to go to my sister Katie's baby shower, my brother-in-law's baby blessing, have Isabelle's birthday with her cousins, and have Easter with my family. I don't think you can get a family trip better than that!

We had some crazy weather. I ended up snowing a few times while we were there. The kids just loved it. :)I was an idiot and forgot to bring my camera to Katie's shower. But, Mindi threw it, Emily was there. Mindi did a great job and it was so fun to hang out with my sister and be there for her!

Here is a pic of Rob's brother, Mike's, baby. His name is Davis. He was born within two weeks of Talia. Pretty much twinner babies. So, here are the twinner babies.
Michelle made his little blessing outfit too. Isn't she awesome! I think it turned out great. :)

Grandma Nan, Rob's grandma, has now moved in with his parents. I got to share Talia with her.
We got to have Isabelle's 5th birthday in Utah. My best friend, Wendy, did a little celebration for her. Isn't she the best!
We had Isabelle's official party at my mom's. We had a fairy party for Belly. My mom was so sweet helping to make head wreaths for all the girls that came. I thought it was pretty cool that on my 5th birthday, it was at my grandma's, a bunch of family came, and I got a Strawberry Shortcake doll. Isabelle's 5th was at her grandma's, a bunch of girl cousin's came, and she got Strawberry Shortcake doll too!
This is cousin Libby, Fairy Bell, friend Lindsay.We played a game where the kids had to dance with cups on their heads and try not to let the cup fall.Her cousins Abby and Maya had these matching dresses on for the party. They gave Belly the same dress and flower for her hair too!
What Isabelle wanted most for her birthday was an umbrella. She asked for one over and over, and that is what Grandma Webster decided to get her without even knowing (at first)!
I thought she looked just like a fairy princess.We went to the Mayan that night for dinner.

This is me and my best friend Wendy.Me and my best friend, oh and hubby too, Rob.The boys, especially Austin, were intrigued by the waterfall and divers. Isabelle didn't care! So funny.

Nan and I took the kids to the Bean museum at BYU. I can't believe I had never gone to this free treasure! Too bad the kids were super fussy and made me wonder why were doing all of this fun stuff if they weren't even having fun!This picture of butterflies is made of all real butterflies!
We visited Rob's sister Monique and her family. Their kids were so sweet to ours. Here Sam is entertaining Austin.Belly got into the dress ups there. Emily wrote her the sweetest note.
Austin and Naomi.
Isabelle's twinner cousin Abby had a birthday party Belly got to attend.Here are the girls in their matching dresses. Thanks Michelle, Abby and Maya!
Monique put on an Easter egg hunt for the kids.Easter morning...

Matching girls...
Matching boys...
We got to visit with Rachel and Jake too.
Easter at Grandma Websters was fun. The kids looked for baskets. It had to be inside since it snowed that morning!
Isabelle got a jump rope in her basket and she was so excited. "Watch out, I'm gonna jump!" she said.After finding their baskets, they did an Easter egg hunt.Austy and Heather. My mom made this cool bunny cake.
My sister Katie with her daughter Chloe.
My sister Emily with her son Ethan.Robert with his cousin Eli.
Mike, Lily, and Steven.
My brother Kip and Belly. I swear these two have some kind of connection. They now sport the exact same smile and both love their belly buttons!My brother Bryan and Rob. Bryan's wife Mindi and their daughter Libby.My brother Ben, his wife Amanda, and their son Rocky.
Homeschooling lately has been going so much better! I got new math and writing curriculum's that allow me to include everyone better. Here we are doing some science learning about some underwater creatures. The kids loved it!Afterwords, we did some finger painting for art. Austin's was a little more like a sculpture than a painting. It was a mess!The kids started a new sports class this weekend. They all loved it!Robert scored two goals. He was feeling so confident!
Isabelle wanted to hold Austin on her shoulders, so I let her...Pretty Talia.

St. Patrick's Day and more

For home-school, the day before St. Patrick's day, I taught Robert all about who St. Patrick was, about Shamrocks, Ireland and where St. Patrick came from (he actually was born in Britain and came over to Ireland to spread the gospel). I also played him some Irish music. So, I really didn't feel like I did too much on St. Patrick's day, the day was too crazy! Belly had a green eggs and ham breakfast at Preschool, and I had a couple other appts. But, at least I made some our my family's St. Patrick's tradition and some of Rob's. We always had a green dinner at our house growing up. Rob's family made a traditional Irish meal. I only included the Petticoat tails from Rob's family (they were the best part anyways). They are kind of like a cookie. I have been struggling with homeschooling lately, so I have been looking into different curriculums. I just bought a Saxon Math curriculum for him and am borrowing an English curriculum for him and I like them so much better! He is happier and so am I. I just want what is best for my son. Decisions like these are so scary! But, his handwriting is the best I have ever seen it this week and I love being able to research things that he is interested in, together. I learn right along with him.
I have also tried waking the kids up with Primary music this week. It has actually made our mornings go much smoother. I tell them it is time to get up, then just put on the music. The are roused much quicker and I don't have to be as on top of them!
Isabelle has been begging for a gymnastics outfit, so I finally gave in this week. She has also been wanting to put on a play, in her new outfit, with me. I finally told her we could do the "play" today. Luckily she just wanted me to watch. It turned out to be a bunch of somersaults that she did. The other day I took her out to eat and she was making designs in her ketchup with her fries. I may have a child that is into the arts.This is Belly with her friend Madison.Austin has been doing great with his potty training this week. He has had a number of days without any accidents. Last night he asked if he could wear underwear to bed. We let him, even though his diapers have been wet every time we take them off in the morning. HE STAYED DRY!! YEA!
Talia has been a little more fussy lately, but we are getting more smiles! This morning I fed her, then, as I was burping her, I gave her a kiss on the cheek and she gave me a big sleepy smile. It was so sweet!More springtime pics... Can you tell I absolutely adore spring?

Pinewood Derby and Crumpets

Yesterday was Robert's first pinewood derby. Robert and Daddy were working madly right up to the last minute to get his car ready. They decided on a lego car this year. Robert's car actually won first place for his age group!! His car will go off to the finals! We are so excited for him!

Robert painted his car and built the lego part on the top. He helped Daddy with the other parts.While reading in "Harry Potter"this week, we read that Harry ate crumpets. Robert asked, "What are crumpets?". I knew that they are something that they eat in England, but I didn't know what they were either. So, we read about them, about the UK, and made some crumpets the next day. They are suppose to look like this...
Ours didn't quite turn out like this, but we did have fun making them
Belly had a funny.... She was telling me that she watched the "Princess Diaries" with her friend Clara. She said, "Isn't it funny that the Princess Diaries came out of your butt?" I said, "Do you know what a Diary is?" She said, "Yeah, it comes out of your butt." I laughed so hard I was almost crying. I had to explain to her that a "diary" is a book where you write about your life, not diarrhea.
I have been working on potty training Austin again (that is why he is not wearing pants in this pic). He is getting really good at getting his clothes on and off and has been wearing undies all week! He started out saying "NO! I don't want to wear underwear, they will make me pee!" By the end of the week, when we were going to put his diaper on for nighttime, he was saying, "No! I don't want to wear a diaper!" I think that is a definite sign of success. :) He has made hardly any messes and maybe by this summer he will be going without me having to remind him every hour or two.

I actually taught Austin to write the letter "A" this week as well. He wants so badly to do the same things as Isabelle and Robert. I am excited with his progress. ;)Talia is doing great. She really hasn't kept me up much at night, she takes good naps, and has even started to smile and coo! I feel like she is actually looking at my face now instead of just blankly staring. The kids are still in love with her. They want to hold her all the time and are so willing to run to get a pacifier, burp rag, or diaper. It is so nice having older helpers!

Baptism and Blessing

What blessings we have had in the last while!!! We were able to have Robert baptized and Talia blessed in the same weekend.

Robert is such a good, strong boy. I am so proud of the example that he sets for his siblings and for his friends. He is not afraid to share the gospel, or stand up for what he believes, already. He has a testimony and has borne it a number of times (sure beat me by this point). I know that he was ready for this day, and I couldn't be happier.
This is the picture Robert really wanted to take!

The day was wonderful. Robert was SO excited he was jumping up and down, literally. Nan played the piano, Rob and Bob gave talks. Bob confirmed him. I was pleasantly surprised at how many people came out to support and show their love for Robert the day of his baptism. Even my friends, the Lemmons, came out to show their support.
The night of Robert's baptism we tried out VooDoo doughnuts for the first time. I guess we picked the wrong time to go. We arrived at like 7:30 at night and there was a big line out the front of the doughnut shop. It had just been nominated one of the top ten doughnut places in the U.S. by Bon Apetit. Oh well, we endured the line and got some yummy doughnuts. Yes, the one Austin is eating has fruit loops on it. The one next to his is the actual "Voo Doo" doughnut, it has a pretzel for a pin in it.


The next day was the baby blessing for Talia Mae.The girls...
Isabelle LOVES it when Talia holds her hand.Robert just LOVES Talia with all his heart.