Show off

Yes, she still has a few quirks and less than desirable characteristics, but our Moxie has some good qualities too. She's learned a few tricks, much to our delight, and these tricks never fail to entertain...

She can "speak" and catch treats and balls mid-air...


She can also sit, shake, high-five, lay down, roll over and stand (although not all of those trick are showcased here)...


The kids get such a kick out of her...I love Caroline's laugh in that clip! We are always impressed with Moxie's performances. Well, aside from the one who slept through her dinner show. I'm going to cut him some slack though. With the beautiful weather we've been having, these full days of outdoor play tend to wear a boy out. He was too tired to eat our delayed St. Patrick's day meal. Oh well, he wasn't a fan of it anyway.

I'm sure Evan will give her kudos for her next show!

Full Friday

Together Evan and Moxie watched the kids leave for school...

...and then it was off to school for Evan, much to Moxie's chagrin!  Connor came home with us after school, so Evan was a happy guy.  He and Evan had a fabulously full Friday afternoon playing in the tent (that I can't seem to take down) in the dining room...

...digging for worms (or to China, not sure which)...

...and making cookies!  (Evan seems to think that every time he has a friend over, it's time to bake!)

Dave took Henry to a camping trip for Boy Scouts.  Henry will be gone for the whole weekend, and needless to say, he was pretty excited about it.  :)

Finally, Caroline, Connor and Evan picked a whole bunch of clovers, possibly some of the 4-leaf variety, to package up for a leprechaun they say is visiting our house tomorrow.  I had no idea he was going to stop by.  Glad they told me!

Have a happy weekend!

75 degrees

In mid-March!

I know this weather is definitely an anomaly for this time of the year, and we might yet have snow, but it is so good to know the good stuff is coming. 

After Evan and I dropped the kids off at school, we went to visit my sister, Karen and my nephew, Robbie.  We met them outside of Robbie's preschool, and when they dismissed him he ran to give all of us a big hug.  Love this boy!!

We headed to Chick-Fil-A...yummmm.  I make an exception to my diet for their chicken sandwich.  It would be a sin not to.  :)  The boys got to play at their play place after they ate while my sister and I caught up.

We topped it all off by going to a park, where we soaked in the sunshine, watched our boys have fun together, and enjoyed a perfect breeze. 

How cute are they coming down the slide together, both of their mouths open with the thrill of it?!

Thanks for the perfect day, Mother Nature, and for the good company to enjoy it, Karen and Robbie!

Emma's baptism

On Sunday, Emma Katherine was baptized!  Emma is the daughter of our dear friends, Kathy and Tom. We were so honored (and honestly very tearful as well) when they asked us to be her God parents. 

We love their whole family, and how could you not?!!  Look at these five fine young men, with their little sister!

Emma was absolutely beautiful in her christening gown.

Emma was so good during the sacrament.  One of my favorite moments was when the priest blessed her.  As soon as he was finished, Emma gave the sweetest smile!

After the baptism, we went to their house for a little party.  Here's Dave and I with our God daughter, Emma!

Caroline has been very happy to have a new "God sister".  Caroline and Emma can definitely empathize with each other because they each have so many brothers!

What a precious new life!

God bless you, Emma!

Apparently...

I need to stock up on plenty of chalk for this spring...

and maybe...

plenty of laundry detergent as well.

Mr. Kindergartener!

On Saturday Evan, my mom and I went to the Kindergarten Round Up to enroll him for this fall.  He was a little worried that signing up would mean that he could no longer go to preschool.  Poor kid!  I reassured him that he still had lots of days left to be with his friends at preschool, and then when it's time to go to kindergarten, some of his friends might be going with him.

Of course, he's really hoping that will be the case.  Our next door neighbor and one of Evan's best buddies, Ryan, signed up for kindergarten at the same time!  It would be so much fun if these two could be in the same class.  (Evan is hoping that Connor, Dylan and Nora will be in his class as well.  We're keeping our fingers crossed.)

It doesn't seem like that long ago when Caroline signed up for Kindergarten. Wow, does time fly!!

Evan did a great job on his kindergarten assessment, where they tested him on his numbers, letters and sounds.  He was a lucky boy because the teacher who assessed him was Henry and Caroline's kindergarten teacher!  We're crossing our fingers that he gets her for a teacher too!

On our way out, Evan got to meet Clifford!

It was a big day for a big boy!

Happy birthday, Michael!

Evan and Connor have played together since they were babies.  Connor's little brother, Michael, has grown up playing with them too, so Michael invited Evan to his third birthday party last week.  Here's the three amigos at Chuck E. Cheese!

And the three monkies up in the tubes!

Good friends, good times!  Happy birthday, Michael!

A Giant Leap Forward

In the past couple of weeks, my mom has made big steps forward in her use of the "latest technology"...
My sister and I bought my mom an IPhone for Christmas. She snapped this picture of me when I was talking to her old phone service and my dad, getting everything in order to drop their land line. (As she said, it was good that I have two ears!) My mom now knows how to text, send picture texts, and use Siri to help get directions or information online.

She now has a Facebook account, and knows how to post pictures and comment on there too! I think she's having fun with it!

Finally, she has her own blog (Good Better Best), and its turning out to be a big hit!

And to all that, I say, "GO, MOM!"

A Basketball Finale!

Last Saturday was a big day for our family. Caroline and the rest of the squad cheered for Seth's basketball team in their last game! Our whole family went, including Grandma and Grandpa Orton, and we all cheered for the kids too! The cheerleaders must have cheered really well because the boys had a great game, winning by 15 points! It was a great way to end the season.

This post will be a work in progress, because while I have pictures Seth and his team to post...

I don't have the professional ones of Caroline and her team yet.  :(  So the ones I took with my camera will have to do!  Don't these two look sharp together in their Knight colors?!

This is Caroline and her team at her last practice.  They received a t-shirt as a gift from their coaches, and were able to wear their pajamas and play games as a celebration of a great season!

Here are the girls in their half-time routine...






This is Seth and his team in action...



Good job this season, Seth and Caroline!

Name that tune!

Yes, I know the video is upside down. :) We were having some technical difficulties...However, if you just turn your monitor upside down, you should see it just fine, ha! Can you guess what song our little crooner, Evan, was singing?

If you guessed Toby Keith's "Red Solo Cup", you would be right on the money!
I'm guessing that we watch a little too much CMT (Country Music Television) around here!

A dining room table tent...

...a boy and his dog...

That was yesterday morning in a nutshell.

Evan loved it, and for the most part, Moxie did too.  Evan had made a cozy little nest in there for the two of them with two pillows and a blanket for them to share, a few toys and a flashlight.  Moxie kept going in an out of it, disrupting the structure of the tent at times.  Evan forgave her because it turned out to be a kind of peekaboo game for them and because it was funny when a blankets fell on her and she struggled to get them off of her. 

This playtime was a fine example of why they call a dog man's best friend.  :)

Blogs and Beautiful weather

Yesterday, after Evan and I dropped the older kids off at school, we went to my parent's house.  My mom and I worked on her blog and Facebook page.  It's such fun to see it taking shape, teaching my mom how it works, and reading and hearing all of the encouraging comments about it from our family and friends.  :)  Evan and my dad played and dug up vegetables in the garden (parsnips or something like that), which my dad prepared for part of our lunch.  I never had one before, and honestly, I was surprised, but I really liked it!

After we came home and the kids got home from school, we played outside for a while in the beautiful 65 degree weather.  Thank God more of this good stuff is coming!

Caroline got the chalk out and came up with this creative project...She colored a big spot on the driveway, rubbed her hands on it, and then made a bunch of hand prints.  She encouraged her little brother to do the same.  As you may have guessed, our bathtub and washing machine was busy last night.  :)

That's all for now!  Hope you all have a good day!

Happy 18th birthday, Mom!

Today I took the train to go spend the day with my mom for her birthday.  (As you may recall, she is a leap year baby, so she just turned 18 on Wednesday!)  She picked me up at the train station, and then we went to have a yummy lunch at a favorite Mexican restaurant downtown.  (Dave offered to bring the kids and spend the day with us too, but as much as I love all of them, it was nice to just have my mom to myself for a while!)

After lunch, we headed back to my parents' house, where we worked on her computer, updating her Facebook and downloading some pictures.  Also, we started up a home decor blog for her.  She has such an amazing talent, and it will be so fun to learn from her as she shares her decorating.  I'm so proud of her!  If you'd like to check out her blog, just click Good Better Best!

Dave and the kids joined us for dinner at our favorite pizza place.

These kids love their grandma!

When we got back home for the night, we curled up with my dad's Dragons and Dinosaurs book. He wrote a collection of poems about dragons and dinosaurs when my siblings and I were growing up. The book is being illustrated and published! It has been so fun to see something we've all been dreaming about for so long all come together! YAY, Dad!

After stories, Moxie always knows to accompany Dave and me upstairs to tuck the kids into bed. She is a sweet dog...

...and, as the kids say, she makes a great pillow pet!

Cheer up, boys!

Too bad...

...these boys...

...never have any fun together!

Evan's buddy, Ryan, came over the other day for an afternoon of Legos, Bakugan, Star Wars and making cookies.  I love these two cuties!

Lounging in a Laundry Basket

What's with my kids falling asleep in weird places?!!  The other night right before bedtime, Caroline made a little nest in our laundry basket and was working on a little workbook.  I guess she must have been pretty comfortable, because just a few minutes later she was sound asleep!

Brotherly Love

The other day Evan's friend, Nora, celebrated her birthday at preschool.  She brought cupcakes to share with the class.  After class, their teacher shared with us what the boys did when they noticed that the cupcakes were decorated with Tinkerbelle and Dora rings.  They were quick to say that THEY did not want the ring, but that they would save it for their mom, sister, grandma, or some other important girl to them.  Hee hee!  Those boys are too manly for such girly things, but sure are sweet and considerate manly men!

Evan shared the Tinkerbelle ring with Caroline.  He wanted to wrap it in an envelope, and then wrote "To Caroline, From Evan" on it, with a little help from mom.  He then placed his gift on her pillow for her to see when she got home from school!  She loved it!