It's Great to Be Eight!

So, my first-born, adorable, lovable daughter MIA is now 8. How can that be?





Our spring break ended with a weekend of celebrating, playing, eating and focusing on Mia and this special time in her life. Friday, the actual birthday, was a day of games! We had a family lunch with my parents, my sister and her family - subs for lunch, opened presents, had cake (meemaw's awesome chocolate cake!) and played games. Her favorite gifts - an American girl doll (finally - thanks, to meemaw and pop-pop), her own set of scriptures and Wii games. After presents were done the kids took off to play her new Wii games. Then we took a break a colored Easter eggs.






To end the day Jason and I took Mia and Hayden to the Jazz game! I don't think I have ever enjoyed a Jazz game as much as I did that night with those two beside me. They loved every minute, which made me love the whole game, too. We bought those obnoxious foam fingers for them and Mia needed a Jazz shirt. From the time we sat in our seats their goal was to make it onto the jumbotron, and it only took until halftime. :) I glanced up and there was Mia and Hayden on the big screen dancing away. Awesome!! They tracked down the Jazz bear and got a hug and he even picked Mia up and put her on his shoulders. We ate nachos and kettle corn and cheered the Jazz to a victory. What a great night. I love watching Mia and her cousin be such great friends. They are very different, but they love being together.




What a great, FUN birthday for our new 8 yr old!! It was so nice to enjoy a day all about her with our family. There are perks to being back in Utah - we get to be with family for all our birthdays now. :)

Back to Texas!!

Our spring break got off to a fantastic start with a trip back to Houston, TX. The girls have not been back since we moved last summer, and they were dying to go back and see their friends and have some swim time. We made it a quick trip (figuring 3 nights in a hotel was plenty with Piper), but it was perfect! We spent most of our time on our old street with our neighbors, which we now consider family! We had a BBQ and swim time on Saturday evening, and then more sun and fun on Sunday. It rained on Monday, which was a bummer but the girls still managed to find time to swim. We ate at all of our favorite spots and we all got sad when we saw the new family living in our home pull into OUR garage and swim in OUR pool. The girls kept saying they just want to move back into our old house. It was a bitter, sweet trip. We miss Texas and our friends there so much. But we know that we belong in Utah right now and we are settled and happy to be there, too. Overall, Piper was a trooper but traveling with a toddler isn't easy. We did discover she is a maniac around the pool - she had no fear of the water and would just run and jump off the side. She kept me and Jason very busy! Time to get that girl into swim lessons. :) We are so grateful for the time we had back in Texas and cannot wait to go back again soon.

The old gang back together in the pool. Piper was just one of the girls!



Mia and Lily - so happy to be back in the water!





The girls had a ball at the hotel. The first night there Mia got into her bed and said, "Now this is the life!" They spent lots of time playing on the cart, swimming in the pool late at night and exploring the green grass and blooming flowers!





We ended our trip with breakfast at one of our favorite spots with one of our very favorite people - "uncle" Russ!



We are back home now and our spring break will end with lots of partying - Mia turns 8 on Friday!!

Spring Photo Shoot

We took advantage of the day off school on Monday to get the girls spring pictures taken. Here are some updates of our beautiful girls! I look at these and cannot believe how big they are getting. Our little Piper is just one of the girls now. Lily has a new shadow - Piper loves to follow her around and play whatever she is playing. I love seeing how the girls are becoming such good friends.

Piper

Lily

Mia

Spring Update

We have been enjoying the early spring weather we are having so much! The girls have traded in their sleds for bikes and scooters again. Even Piper now enjoys getting outside and playing on the slide and pushing her cars around. We did a little skiing last weekend - total spring conditions! We ditched the gloves and goggles at lunch because it was so warm! By the end of the day we were skiing on slush, but it was still fun. I sure hope we get a little more snow, I hate to think we are done skiing for the year!!




Other big news in our house:


Mia had to get glasses. Poor girl - she got her father's bad vision! :) But she looks darn cute and super studious in her glasses!

More Snow Days!

The snow has been keeping the girls busy lately! We have had a few good storms this week, so today the snow in the yard is great. Mia had some friends over after school to enjoy it. And tomorrow we are heading out for another day on the slopes, and we'll hopefully get some good powder runs in with the girls.

Mia and her friends.



And Piper gets in on the fun - how cute is she???



Here's a good sledding story for you - Mia, Lily and a friend were sledding last week and Mia runs inside to tell me that Lily has hit a tree on her sled and is crying. I go running out, thinking the very worst and prepared for blood. I get to her and she has a nice bump on her head. I ask how she did that and she said, "I was sledding down the hill with my eyes closed..." What?? My girls don't use their heads sometimes. I then went on to explain a new sledding rule - your eyes must stay open all the time!! Crazy kids!!

Piper's Poop Post

Ok, I usually don't post just random stories without photos but I have to document our afternoon yesterday so that we will have it as part of our family stories for years to come since this has become my journal of sorts - and to give each of you a good laugh (however, those with sensitive stomachs may not want to keep reading). Piper has always lovingly been referred to in our home as our "super pooper" or "stinky bum" or "captain poopy pants" because she has always had healthy bowels. Yesterday she FULLY lived up to her name. In a matter of a few hours we had 3 incidences with that crazy girl.
Poop Problem #1 - After getting home from church we hear Mia screaming and crying. I go to see what is going on (assuming it is just another Mia/Lily battle) only to find her whole side covered in poop. She was freaking out. She was able to finally tell me that she picked up Piper...and then it all made sense. Her diaper had leaked on Mia's jeans and shirt. The worst part - Mia's DS was in her front pocket and was now also covered in poop. Jason helped clean up Mia and I took care of Piper, who was all smiles. Once everyone calmed down and was clean, Jason took on cleaning the DS. What a selfless dad - he took a toothpick and made sure the cracks were clear of poop!
Poop Problem #2 - We got Piper down for a nap and she slept for over 3 hours, which is unusual. Well, Jason went in to check on her and found her standing in her crib pointing to her diaper. She had not been sleeping that whole time - she was quietly playing with her diaper. Yes, she had taken one side off and there was now poop in her bed and down her leg. Once again we took to cleaning up - I took care of the bed and sheets and Jason took Piper. Only this time his stomach weakened and he was soon dry heaving and had to hand Piper over to me. Again, Piper was all smiles!
Poop Problem #3 - After an enjoyable meal and time together watching the Super Bowl we had the kids getting ready for bed when we heard Lily come down the stairs and exclaim, "Oh, Piper, what is all over your face?" You got it - it wasn't chocolate like Lily first thought. It was more poop! This time she had completely gotten her diaper off and had rubbed the poop in her hands and on her face! That was the limit for Jason, who disappeared from sight. I just had to look at her and laugh. Then I went to work cleaning her up and putting her into the tub for an extra long soak. Once again, Piper was all smiles! I did question my loving husband as to why she was only feet away from him while he was watching the end of the game, and he never saw or heard her taking off the diaper, rubbing the poop everywhere and even getting it on the carpet (not to mention the smell). It just reminded me of the deep trance Jason goes into when watching sports - oblivious to everything going on around him.

Needless to say, we have added lots more names to her list - top of the list being Miss Poopy Face. :) I so wish I had taken a picture to treasure with these incredible memories, but my need to clean instinct kicked in too quick. It was a memorable afternoon in our household. Piper has truly brought so much love and laughter (and poop) into our home. We love her, poop and all.

Mr. Snowman - and Piper's first time in the snow!

My girls have never completely finished building a snowman in their lives. We have started a few while out here on vacation, but the snowman somehow was never finished...until today! We had so much snow yesterday that we woke up to a winter wonderland. The girls couldn't wait to get home from church and put on their snow clothes. Even Piper got in on the fun today!

Meet our snowman!

Kisses for the Mr. Snowman.

Jason helped out on building the snowman, too.



Piper wasn't sure what to think about her first time playing in the snow. She liked it at first, but it didn't last long. But she was so darn cute - she looked like a pink marshmallow!!