Cousin Visit!! (And Grandpa, too!)

Grandpa, Care and Mike, and the cousins came to visit the first weekend of March. The kids and Grandpa had a sleepover at our house. We had so much fun! It had just snowed, so we got in one last sledding day, which was so fun for us AND for our "cousins from the south"!

We also had extensive dress-up sessions...

We love when our cousins come to visit!

Jer's "Bird-watching"

We have a bird that returns faithfully every spring to our upstairs dryer vent to build its nest. Every year, as the weather starts to turn warm, I get a funny feeling in the pit of my stomach because I know it's time to cover the opening again. It's not that I don't love the wonder of spring; it's just that I don't love wondering how deep into the workings of my dryer it's
getting!

The kids, on the other hand, can't wait for the bird to come back. It's always about 7:30 in the morning when they hear the first "scratches", and they come running in to announce the arrival. "The bird is back!!!" they scream. It is the same every year.

The first year, Mike let them trap the bird. Jer put it in a box with a clear top for observation. The kids had to go to school, so we put the box in the garage to postpone further study until the afternoon. When we returned, however, that clever little bird had pecked its way out of the plastic top and returned to freedom.

I assumed that little adventure had satisfied our young nature-lover. For the last two years, I've been able to say, "Not this time--we've already caught the bird..." when "spring" arrived. This year was different. Jeremy had built an amazing birdhouse out of Lego Duplos in the wintertime. It finally got used for something else, but by February, he had created an AMAZING birdhouse made from a Costo milk box. He made a glass top (from a picture frame in his bedroom) and a feeding tube through which he could safely pour food (from a plastic-wrap tube installed in the side of the box, a water bottle, and a water bottle lid with a hole cut into it--the lid was inserted into the tube, and the bottle could be screwed on and off as needed). It was brilliant--until I accidentally tripped on the glass lid one day when it was left on the laundry room floor.

I could tell the need was there, so when the bird came back, I tried not to make much of a fuss. It was this last Sunday morning. I was on my way to a meeting, so I let the kids (and Dad) do their thing... Jer made a series of three make-shift birdhouses throughout the course of the morning. Here are the kids with the first "house":

They had a grand old time watching the bird (which Mike identified as the highly-prized starling) until it was time for church. When we got home, it was in a new-and-improved cage (quite cool, actually). As it turns out, the bird had escaped from Jer's birdhouse #3. Fortunately, Mike was home sick, so he was able to catch the bird and create a new observation station:

That evening, Mike convinced a teary-eyed Jeremy to let the starling go, but so great was the experience, Jer was inspired to create a masking-tape model:

Ah, the wonders of childhood!

Happy Spring!

Spring Snow!

The Throne Room (Star Wars)

Awww...

"Mom? What does 'peace and harmony' mean? ...Because Lufer Martin King wanted to learn 'bout that." --Jessie

Mike's Introductory Flight

Today, Mike took his introductory flight at the UVU flight school. He flew from Provo to Heber, on to Spanish Fork, then back to Provo. He's got the bug!

New Year's Eve

New Year's Eve was full of excitement--a dinner date for Mike and I, New Year goal-setting, a fun party with family members, and--to top it off--a party planned completely by Jonathan. This is the first year the kids have had friends over for New Year's (or any other event this late!), and Jonathan did a great job. He really wanted to be home with us for midnight, so he planned the party (many days in advance), invited his best buddy and his grandma (and let Jen invite two of her best friends, too!), shopped for all the groceries, baked pound cake and cut fruit and made fondue for his chocolate fountain, set out all the dishes and needed goods, planned the entertainment, and had everything ready by the time Mike and I got home from our festivities. It was a great party. The food was fabulous, the company was delightful, and everyone had a wonderful time. Happy New Year, all!!!