April 2009

#1 got his Arrow of Light and his Super Scouter (not the right term...can't think of it right now...)--which means he earned every badge available to a Webelos.  That's doubly impressive because Webelos is designed as a 2 year program, but our church does it in one year.  He also crossed over into Boy Scouts!  He's growing up WAY too fast!
Gram made #4 this adorabe sweater, complete with hood.  Can't wait till it gets cold again!
Mike was so brave on Michael's birthday that he took this whole gang on the DART on the way home.  Since SOMEONE had to get the van back, I took one for the team and drove with a tired, silent #5.
Michael had his birthday party excursion to the zoo.  This was a game that fascinated many people during our few minutes in the children's zoo.  You match the rubber droppings to the picture of the animal they'd come from.  Our little cousin was so interested that he actually tasted several of the rubber samples.  :)
We had an indoor family campout.
This is Easter dinner, which we might not have had if Allie didn't insist and do all the hard part, since Mike was out of town...
#1 participated in his first martial arts tournament.  #2 went to watch and support.  All had a grand time, and it was a good learning experience.
I helped give our cousin his very first haircut!
One of my closest and dearest friends in the world passed away.  This is a memory table of Arlene Moultrie.  She was a lifting influence in my life, and I loved her dearly.  I'm so grateful that I've prayed about and am sure of my testimony and of the Plan of Salvation to know she is near and happy.
I got to spend a few days with my dear friends, the Moultries, in Utah.  What an amazing family!  It was wonderful to be with them, though we missed Arlene so much.
#2 got his brackets on.  Barely 9 years old: 2 jaw expanders, head gear, brackets, and counting.
We died Easter eggs.  #5 might be as amazed as Gram that mom braved the mess.
Mike and his sister, Kristi, surprised Nan and Pops and Rob with a special Easter weekend visit!  They did some volunteering, eating, laughing, and just hanging out.  They had a blast.

Quote of the month:  

With Aunt Allie at the pet store, Zeke put his head against the puppy cage. One came over and began licking the glass where Zeke's face was.

Zeke: All right. Get him out so we can take him home.
Allie: Ummm...no, you're mom's allergic.
Zeke: But he CHOSE me!
Luckily for Mike, I wasn't along--we might have a new pet if I had been.

For more of our humorous happenings, click here or here or here or here.  We even had some amusement with the Carpet Guy!

March 2009

This is #2's actually birthday. We always do cake and ice cream and Mom and Dad's gift on the real day. #2 opted for Nana-style ice cream cake, but still hasn't gotten his present. I told him we were going to give it to him at the zoo, but were going to wait since we hadn't gotten there. Apparently sweet #2 thought that meant he'd have to wait until next year. He asked, "If I need to wait a whole year, could I at least know what it was going to be?" We still haven't gotten there, but we intend to...and soon!

Jam making sessions make for one happy dad in our family!

Mom and Aunt Allie did several projects, including restaining this bad boy; stripping, caulking, and repainting the garage trim; and lots of yardwork. Lots of time and lots of laughs!

During spring break we give the boys a budget and a calendar and let them do some planning (I tell myself it teaches money and time management). This year, we planned to ride the DART, go to the zoo for #2's birthday, buy some Pokemon cards, and have an un-birthday party. This is a picture of the boys, who each had a buddy. #5 asked Aunt Allie to be his buddy!

Here Noah takes a shot at the soccer ball pinata, which he had just blasted out of camera shot! It was also Noah's month to go to the symphony with dad. He especially loved the violin soloist.

We celebrated #2's birthday. He wanted to go to the zoo, but it was so incredibly crowded that we opted for an afternoon at the zoo McDonald's. Here he uses his martial arts skilz to put this feline attacher into submission.

Here's the whole crew! It was Friday of spring break, and we were so thrilled to get out after being sick for the entire break!!

Someone made Dad's breakfast green for St. Patrick's Day! He had a hard time eating the eggs since we couldn't tell when they were done given the new color. Good thing he's a good sport...

#1 and #2 went with Mom and Dad to see the musical "The Pajama Game" at the Majestic Theater in downtown Dallas. We had a great time, even if the boys all decided they couldn't understand why mom likes stories about love. We watched for pink blushing cheeks, but didn't see much of that...although #2 was pretty glued through the binoculars when Babe and Sid kissed!

#5 is in love with trains! We've missed the obsession of #1, so #5 and mom had a great time building this fantabulous track.

Quotables:

We were doing our grateful game at Easter Dinner (going through the alphabet to name something we're thankful for with each letter). When it came to Eli's turn, he had the letter U.

Michael answered for him: Eli's thankful for a Uterus because otherwise he wouldn't be here!

Mom: Oooooooookay. Michael, you're on V.

Brian: Oh, no!

Thank heaven the carpet guy wasn't there!

Happy Easter!

February 2009

In honor of Valentine's Day, I thought I'd start with a little walk down memory lane. I'm so grateful for Mike--we make an incredible, happy, perfectly matched team...if I do say so myself.

I created a slide show for the girls in our church youth group using silhoettes we traced of their shadows. I also created a couple of silhouettes of the Savior and interspersed them. I really loved the message we were teaching, which was that when we choose to be like Christ, others can see His image in our lives.

Our nephew Preston James was born. His birth was a miracle! He brings the Lamoreaux grandkids to a bakers' dozen!

#5 has discovered that he loves "riding" his "goggies" (which refers to every kind of animal excepting only fish and horses, which are both "sheshes").

Amy works with the youth group in our ward of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. It's a lot of time, energy, and effort. The very best part of it is seeing a glimpse of effort paying off--someone learning something new or feeling at home for the first time. This little sweetness is a close second--someone thought of me.

This month #4 had rodeo day at preschool. The belt buckle and boots are my favorite parts!

#2 got head gear. He spent an afternoon trying to figure out whether his lips should go in front of or behind the metal. He couldn't wait to show his friends!

It turns out that loving Martial Arts is contagious. Here #5 is feelin' the luv.

#5 got his first haircut. Mom followed him around for days with scissors trying to fix the little spots she missed working on our busiest 2 year old ever. Maybe that's why he's learned to love martial arts? Could be he needed a little security in his life?

#4 is learning to write. We're grateful he chose a washable car instead of the wall, things at church, or frosting of a special cake mom's making. Isn't it great having things to compare to?

#4 is our giddily happy child. Even when he wants to be mad with all his heart, it proves a little difficult for him.

Quote of the month: #4, during family prayer, "And thank Thee that we could have a baby sister." That's not an announcement; it's a mom and dad head scratcher! For more quotes, click here or here or here or here or here or...yeah, they were really chatty this month.

January 2009

#4 learned to dance the Haleelula, aka hula, at preschool.

We had the PINEWOOD DERBY. The boys' cars are the gold ones. #1's is a lightning bolt, and #2's was a design he drew. One cute story happened when #2's buddy was crying over his car. #2 told him they should go say a prayer for it. They went into the hall to do so together. When they came back in, #2 told him he'd keep a prayer in his heart also. Heavenly Father helped them feel better, but didn't necessarily move them up the ranks. ;)

#2 has worked so hard this year that he earned his wolf early on and has earned 6 arrow points as well as several belt loops!
#1 earned his chess pin, a couple of activity badges, etc. He's well on his way to earning all the badges offered in Webelos. He'll earn his arrow of light before our next pack meeting as well. Fun to have Dad as his scout leader--and to have Dad earn his own new square knot at the meeting!#1 got drawn to bring home the class pet for a weekend. #5 is utterly infatuated with this "goggie" named Snowball and has spent considerable time making his terrific big brother sit with him to watch it.

#1 is working on his Science Project. Here are the samples of organic tissue (meat) before he put the additives in to watch how they affect the meat over a week's time. Turns out it's really true--alcohol's effect was almost instant, turning its piece a dark grey, shrinking it to a tiny, hard ball. Why put that inside? That's the question we want all the boys asking themselves.

We spent more time on math, from algebra to binary--and ordered our hamburgers using binary code given the above system. Then each boy took another boy's code to decipher and build his hamburger. Lots of fun!

We took another trip to the Zoo--and #1 made countless runs through these tunnels to please #5. So did #s 2 & 3. #5 doesn't tire easily. :) Great big brothers! Mom actually made a run herself since #6 (our cousine...nobody panic!) needed more than cousin support. Do I get brownie points toward being a cool aunt??

#3 lost his first tooth, and was THRILLED that the Tooth Fairy came!

We had incredible weather and enjoyed lots of outside time! Of course, last week we went from 70s or 80s to ice storm that cancelled school and all the way back again...

We had another martial arts test that resulted in 2 red belts! FYI, after red comes advanced red, probationary black (which doesn't require a test), and BLACK BELT IN JUNE! We're over half way through our 20 hours community service, have started our 7 Habits book reports, but still need to begin our 20 page papers and intense physical training.

Quote of the Month: After going through a carwash, Mike spoke in spanish with one of the workers. Fascinated, #3 asked if he could learn spanish on the way home. He asked how to say, "I don't no." Mike told him it's "no se." He was quite pleased and told Mike, "OK. The next time I'm in trouble and you ask me what happened, that's what I'll say." For more quotables, click here or here or here.