**TRYathalon**

Today at Luke's school they had a TRYathalon. They had a scheduled time for their grade and we all went to watch.

First Luke had to jump rope. I love how much air he is getting.

Then he ran over to the second station where they had to sit on a rolling board and make their way down the playground and back up.

Then they had to ditch the board and run two laps around the baseball field.

Luke did so good! He had practiced his jump roping yesterday so he would be prepared.
The other kiddos were good sports and cheered him on. Go Team Childs!

Great job Lukie!! We are so proud of you!

My New Tricks

I must say that 10 to 18 months old is the busiest time for a mom. If Gray is not asleep then I get nothing done. He is always on the go and into everything. He is babbling constantly which makes us so proud. Lately he has been saying "Uh Oh". Last Saturday afternoon Erika was watching them so Joey and I could go out, and she kept saying that. He has now picked it up and is so proud of his new trick. He has also learned how to clap. It is the cutest thing. He loves to perform both tricks together and always gets the reaction he desires. The other night I took him with me to the store. The lady at the register said hi to him and he started clapping and saying "Uh oh!" Smart boy! Already trying to impress the ladies. How fast is he growing up?? Time is flying by but I am loving every minute with him!
*The day before the successful clapping pic I tried so many times. I loved the face he is giving me in this picture. Like "Seriously mom??"

Nash was willing to show me his claps the first time I asked him! What an obedient boy!!

Slumber Party

Friday night we had a slumber party at Riley's house. Jeremy, Riley's Dad, was out of town so Erika and I decided it would be fun to have a sleepover. So after tennis we went to Astro Burger for our dinner then took the kids to Carls for their dinner and to play. Harlee found a new friend who was a little to touchy for my liking!

They had a great time playing but were ready to leave when we promised Iceburg shakes. So we got more treats at Iceburg and went to Erika's house to start the party. Erika and I watched a movie while the boys played and played. Harlee bounced from group to group. At one point she begged to use Erika's computer to watch the ever predictable Justin Bieber. What is a slumber party without talking about your favorite crush! After hours of fun they finally went to bed around 1am. I cannot remember the last time I stayed up that late? College? It was a really fun night and I am sure it will not be the last slumber party we all enjoy together.
*Thanks Joey for watching the little boys so we could have this fun night!
Here is a picture of the day after! They look a little thrashed from the lack of sleep!

He is Getting It!!

Luke for the longest time has wanted to master riding his two wheel bike. It is a bit hard to learn up here with our steep driveway and all of the hills. But when we got home from lunch on Friday, Luke put on his helmet and he was determined to do it. And he did!! We are so proud of him and know that with each try it will get easier and easier!

Pizza Pie Cafe

What's not to love about a Friday that Joey takes off work??? There is just a peace I feel having home with me. All the sudden the craziness does not seem so crazy! So today we took the kiddos to lunch at Pizza Pie Cafe. It is a buffet with salad, pizza and pasta. They also have dessert pizza, Oreo and cookie dough, that the kids love! The kids were all so good and we had such yummy pizza and pasta. I am always impressed with how good they are. I remember when Luke was born telling Joey that we will never be able to go to any public place. We finally braved that but said for sure when Harlee was born we could never go anywhere. Somehow we made it and now with four kids we are actually enjoying ourselves! So grateful for our little family and feel so blessed to make all these little memories together.

Spring Break

Spring Break started on Monday with a grumpy Mom completely overwhelmed with the idea of having all four kids home all day. I think the schools plan this as a little preview with how summer will be! But after Luke's prayer Monday night that "his Mom would have a much better day tomorrow and not be stressed!" we decided to make the best of it. Awhile ago I had purchased some gift certificates to Chucky Cheese. So we invited Erika and Riley to come and we were off for some fun. It was such a fun time. I love to watch the kids having fun! Luke and Riley went off together trying to accumulate as many tickets as possible. Cute Harlee took Nash around everywhere showing him all the games. What a great sister! And Gray was happy as long as there was food going into his mouth! As we got back in the car after the big event I thought "We did it!" (and actually had a lot of fun along the way!)

There goes that idea....

Gray is definitely a mover. Most days I do not do anything but follow him around when he is awake. About a month ago we had a brilliant idea. We moved the ottoman and blocked him in one area. It was a win/win! He felt like he could move around but we knew that he was safe in one area. That was until he got bored and decided to climb over the ottoman and out into the great unknown! Here is how he did it:

STEP 1

STEP 2

SUCCESS!!


He is definitely going to be the one to keep me on my toes! I guess I should thank him for all the calories I burn chasing him around for all hours of the day!

The Best Two Years

They say all good things must come to an end and in this case it is true. Our ward has finally split and I have been released from the Relief Society Presidency. I have been so sad about it. What a great experience it has been working with Janet, Serene, Leah, and Jessica. I have learned so much from each of them. Janet is truly the person I wish I could be. She is so outgoing and so kind to everyone. She is so meant to be a Relief Society President and has taught me so much from her example. Serene is such an example of good. She stands up for everything that is right and not afraid to let you know if you are not on the right path. She is such a great mom and such a great friend. I will truly miss working with them. I know though that the friendships we have made will far outlast the calling. Just love these ladies and I am so grateful for the time I was given to learn from them.

It all started with pig....

Luke and his BF Riley have always been so creative together. They don't usually spend their time together playing video games or watching movies but rather they are coming up with their new "game". This will usually be the focus for several weeks before they move onto the next idea. So the first theme that I remember is that of "Pig"! They loved everything that had to do with pigs. They would write stories about pig, draw pictures of pigs, check out library books on pigs, find little toy pigs, etc! When they are focusing on a topic they are a little obsessed! Erika and I were getting a little worried when they started to say their favorite color was pink! So after a bit pigs were out and then they started with Grandpa Problems. They were Grandpa Jones and Grandpa Childs! They had a certain walk they would do and they would dress up like two old men. For weeks they focused on chapters they were writing about these grandpas like Stuck on Mount Timpanogas and Grandpa's having problems with Tennis. After they completed the Grandpa book they moved on to Big Man's Work out. This all started when they went to pick up Riley's new puppy. At Riley's grandpa's house there was a work out room. This sparked the new idea! The two men (Luke and Riley) perform work outs "wrong" which causes them to get big and chunky. They eat lots of junk food! Another game that they play at school is Family Day! All of their friends play this and they have a different role in the family. Luke and Riley are twin babies. They go on trains for family day and do lots of fun activities as a family. The most recent game they play is "Tacos and Burritos"! In this game Luke's name is Burrito and Riley's name is Taco! Luke is the spanish guy and he says "Tacos and Burritos" with his ever perfected Spanish accent. Riley is from England and so then he says "Tacos and Burritos" with his perfect english accent! Seriously... how do they come up with these things? I am not sure but I love it! They are so creative together and so meant to be best friends. I cannot even begin to think of what will come next?????

Justin Bieber

Harlee is seriously four going on fourteen! Who knew that at four she would develop such a crush on the super popular singer Justin Bieber! She tells me all the time,
"Mom I love you and Dad and Justin Bieber!" She loves to watch his music videos on the computer and talks about him all the time. She compares everyone to Justin. She asks if Brody is taller than Justin, if Dad is older than Justin, if I am older than Justin, if the mountains are taller than Justin! The questions and comparisons are ENDLESS!!! It is so cute to watch her go through this first crush. She does know though that she cannot marry him because he does not go to our church!! I am glad she has her priorities straight!
*Harlee just asked me how I got his picture. I told her that I called him and asked him if I could have a picture. She believed me for a second!!!

St George April 2011

On Thursday night after I taught my dance classes, we left for another, much anticipated, trip to St. George. Thanks to grandma and grandpa, we were able to spread out a little more with the four kids in their home down there. We arrived at about 11:30pm on Thursday night and actually did not have to hard of a time getting the kiddos back to sleep! On Friday morning we all relaxed and took our time getting ready. We then kept our tradition of eating our first meal at Pizza Factory. From there we went to the fun park nearby where we stayed. The kids had a blast! Even though it was hot and their cute faces were red, they could have stayed all day. Gray loved eating all the wood chips! Then Joey took the little boys home for a nap and I took Luke and Harlee to the pool. The water was freezing but that did not stop them from swimming for hours! Then we grabbed a quick dinner and spent the rest of the night relaxing. Saturday morning we woke early for some much needed garage sales. They were not great but it was so nice to get back into that fun habit! Then we spent the day watching conference (loved it- so many wonderful messages. Just what I need to remind to be a little better and try a little harder!), relaxing, going to another park in Bloomington, swimming again, playing tennis and taking much needed naps. We slept in and then made our trip home to snow!! So crazy to go from 85 degrees to snow! So typical of Utah. What a great weekend! I feel so blessed to have the family I do. Joey is such a fun husband and dad. We all just have the best time when we are around him. I love our kids. They are so good and remind me how important it is to have fun and enjoy the small things. It was yet another wonderful trip and I am already counting the days until we can go again.