12 Dancing Princesses

What kind of mother am I? Well, one who is trying to survive having three kids, so I don't object when the kids ask to watch a movie that I know will hold their attention. True, it is barbies 12 Dancing Princesses. Sanders actually loves it! Should I encourage this? Well, I have tried to get him to watch Cars, but it just doesn't do it for him. Evan comes home to a dancing...prince? He instantly pulls out the boy toys. I did point out that dancing seems to help boys with their coordination. Now Evan just laughs and puts in the movie when Sander, with great intensitly, asks for the 12 Dancing Princesses, this of course is said with a very obvious lisp. Well, I have to say I do love watching my kids singing and dancing around the house. Maybe Sander will take after his dad and be a great clogger. :) ( For those of you who haven't seen Evan clog, I think he is secretly working up a new routine) Hope you enjoy watching my two dancing... well you get the idea.

Spring is on the way

Scrub-a-dub-dub... One of the rare times the kids are all squeaky clean. Bath time before bed. I think this is supposed to have a calming effect on most children. I think it just gets ours more hyper.
I was in charge of book club this month. I decided to make grandma's famous chocolate skor cake. yummm. I asked Evan to put the cake out in the car and make sure it was safe. He came in with a smile and said, "Don't worry... I think it is safe." Yes Evan, you think you are funny, and at times we agree... Book club was fine. We read Beauty by Robin McKinley. It is a fun, quick read if you don't have a lot of time.
We went to visit Evan's niece Erin and this was the end result. One of her friends bought this guitar in China for $5. Since she had a nice new guitar, she thought it would be fun to let Gracie have it. I did take a video of the kids playing, but I don't know that it would have been "fun" for you all to hear the music. It was quickly "retuned" once we got home, and I am not sure it will ever recover.
Not sure what the weather is like in good old Idaho, but all the snow is pretty much gone here. The kids were excited to go outside to play first thing in the morning. They love being able to ride bikes with the other kids in the neighborhood. The other day Sander was trying to run after Gracie when he fell on his face. Yes, he cried so hard that he passed out just before Evan could reach him. The result being that he fell on his face again. That night he fell on the stairs. He has a a couple of really impressive bruises on his face. We only got a few child abuse questions.
Adelle is getting more personality every day. It makes me wonder what kind of trouble she will get in. The other day a bunch of moms from the neighborhood came over to chat and the conversation soon turned to telling all the experiences they have had with Gracie. ( sigh ) I am glad to know that my child can bring laughter to so many people, even if it paints an interesting impression of our family. Kids will be kids...

In love with the king

Okay, since we are serious about wanting people to come visit us, we felt that buying a bed was a top priority. Well, when it came time to acutally buy one, we thought it would be fun to have a king sized bed. (For us, not the spare bedroom...sorry if I got your hopes up) Of course prices for these are BIG! Well, we found a great deal from a college student. If anyone needs a new bed, do we have the guy for you! Well, now all we can say is there is a bed ready and waiting for anyone who wants to come visit. While it is not as good as the king, it is still a good bed. I never knew it could be so hard to get out of bed in the mornings, but boy is it hard! I am in love with the king....

we love our dad

Dad took care of Valentine's Day for us all. He bought us each a balloon, a beautiful lily plant, and a homemade card. He had to leave for work early, but when we went down to eat breakfast, this is what we saw....
That night we picked up a pizza, went for a drive, ate sugar cookies and candy, and then cuddled up to read a bedtime story. After the kids were asleep, we talked with Eric and Janine. Congrats you guys! We are excited for you.

Grandma's Cookies

I did try to do one crafty thing with the kids. We thought sugar cookies were a must. We sure miss Grandma Shirley's cooking. I tried to make her sugar cookies, and while I haven't mastered them like Grandma, we got the general idea. I thought the kids would like cutting out the hearts, but Sander set the trend. Cut out one cookie, shove as much dough in your mouth as you can before mom realizes why there are so few cookies, and then give an innocent smile.

Next came the decorating. All I can say is "Not in your mouth, on the cookie..."

The "Love Hat"

I wish I could say that I was creative enough to come up with these "love hats," but the credit has to go to Gold's Gym. Thank goodness I joined so the kids could do crafts every now and then. They absolutely LOVED these hats! It made me laugh all Valentine's Day.

Did I mention that Sander and Gracie get along most of the time? I was getting ready to take a picture of them sharing when... well, real life set in. Gracie crying when Sander bullies her. (sigh...)

Sweet Adelle, not to be left out of the fun of the "love hats," just because she wasn't big enough to make one herself. I found theses hats on her at veriouse times throughout the day. Can I say once again that she is such a great sport. She endure a lot. But I can honestly say that her brother and sister love her.

Photos

Here are all the photos that didn't show up on the post below. Sorry, I am still learning. I will do better next time. Yup, that is a bucket on Sander's head. The perfect baby hat?!
Adelle (two and a half months)
Gracie and Sander. Best friends....some of the time.

Aunt Linda, Gracie, Aunt Sue, and sleeping Sander

This is the makeshift slide.

A week in the life of the Grovers

A Week in the life of the Grovers [Photo][Photo] Gracie and Sander love to play ( and fight ) together, but this was a funny moment of Gracie playing the mom and Sander playing the baby. Sander was so serious about playing his part. He hardly cracked a smile, but we could tell he was having fun since he wouldn't get out of the laundry basket. I love the pictuers of them in the chair. They spend a lot of time entertaining themselves in, or behind, this chair. But their ultimate fun comes from the stairs in our house. It is almost as good as a slide!Adelle, sweet Adelle. I love taking pictures of her. Here is one that makes me happy when I look at it. Thanks Ashley for making the cute bow! Addie is now making cute little noises and giving us all big smiles. This week has been full of fun. Evan had a couple of days of meetings, so the company had a spouse day. They had babysitters for the kids while the wives had a fancy lunch and then we either scrapbooked or made jewelry. The great thing about it was the company paid for the first $50 worth of supplies. Gracie, Adelle and I all came away with stylin new jewelry. Aunt Linda saved the day and watched the kids while Evan and I went to the dinner for adults. They played Deal or No Deal. We didn't win the 40 in. plasma TV, but we did get a $75 gift card to Ruby River Steak House. Way to go Evan!! Our ward also had an adults Valentine's Party. All I can say is Evan + the Salsa = one HOT dance floor!! Thanks for dancing with me honey. Our neighbors also invited us over for a lunch with a bunch of families in the neighborhood. It was a lot of fun. We are excited about living in this area.[Photo][Photo][Photo] We LOVED the visit from Sue and Aunt Linda! The kids were so excited to stay up and visit with them, but Sander finally fell asleep cuddled up next to Aunt Sue.[Video]

Adelle

While Evan is out playing with the kids, Addie and I get to spend a little one on one time. She has been such a wonderful baby considering how little time I get to spend cuddling her and giving her all my attention. It is sweet to watch the other kids with her. They love to hold her, rock her, and put her bink in when she is fussing.

Playing With Dad

The kids can't wait for Evan to get home! They love playing with him out in the snow. He seriously pulls them around the backyard about 100 times. They love every minute of it!

Winter Fun

Just learning how everything works.

This is Gracie and Sander before going out to the backyard to play. They love being able to go outside whenever they want to. (I might love it even more than they do! ) It is great to let them get some energy out playing in the snow. Sander never lasts long outside, because he can't walk very well in his boots and he hates to be slowed down!

Getting Started

Just putting it all together.