it’s all about the peeps

…and the stories they tell.

it is now a tradition, because this is our second year doing it.

take a look at last year's post. 

we call it peep stories night!  it usually falls on a family night after easter.  it could be before easter, but I  prefer buying puffed up partially hydrogenated oils coated in colored sugar at a discounted price. thank you.

the idea is to  pick a story from the bible or book of mormon and make a scene with peeps, frosting, pretzels, matches, cardboard, legos….  during the time it takes to make our master pieces we each tell the story we chose and what we can learn from it. 

peep stories VIEW SLIDE SHOW DOWNLOAD ALL

alexander was seriously disappointed that not one peep was burned at the stake this year. I was too. with dad out of town I can only juggle so much and fire is not one of them.  better luck next year.

three. two. one. contact!

we found another use for contact paper! 

you know the sticky paper you use to line your drawers?  pull it out of your closet, it’s time to get rid of your scraps.  

how to:

cut a large piece of contact paper. place it on a piece of construction paper so the adhesive side is facing outward. staple the contact paper and construction paper on each corner. once it is nice and secure get out your pile of knick knacks. such as feathers, cut up tissue paper, yarn, googly eyes, cheerios, pictures, etc. 

now stick away!

remember to talk about…”soft feathers”, “sticky paper”, “crunchy tissue paper”, “smooth eyes”

that’s my name!

today’s activity:

the incredible, amazing and awesome name in beans.

what you need: paper, pen, glue, bag of beans, and a proud smile.

best part is, it kept him busy long enough for me to shower and get ready for the day.

that is priceless.

love sweet love

some traditions are worth keeping.

its tradition in our house the monday night before valentines day we write love notes to each other.

it’s really quite simple.

a photo of each person in the family is glued to paper. (some years I am more festive then others).  we pass the papers around until everyone has filled each other’s paper’s up with reasons why they love that person. 

then they are posted up for all to enjoy!

{a year of smiles}

 

The world’s a smile

and we are smiling inhabitants

 

with people smiles

 

free-candy smiles

smarty-pants smiles

snotty smiles

top-of-the-Ferris-wheel smiles

 

hi-there smiles

 

joyful smiles

 

well-hidden I-know-you-saw-me smiles

half-hearted winter’s-coming smiles

 

you’ve-got-to-be-kidding smiles

victorious smiles

refrigerator’s-full smiles that make you smile

in a midnight milk and cookie sort of way

uncomfortable welfare-line smiles that never fit right

 

not-in-the-mood-to-smile smiles that never reach the eyes

 

sweaty smiles

 

smirking smiles

toothless smiles

sunny smiles

sneaky smiles that want to be grins

 

remember-the-time smiles

 

smiling at people who walk in the rain

 

laugh-with-me smiles and cry-with-me-too smiles

smiley-button smiles

 

life smiling

you smiling at me smiling

one smile …

smiles in 2011.

peep stories

With four boys running the show around our house, there is a constant buzz of energy flowing through the air leaving a trail of light sabers, guns and destruction. 

Family night is no different. My peeps have been busy.

It was Peep Stories family night.  The goal was to choose a scene from the scriptures and capture it using peeps, frosting and any other prop that would help tell the story.

We went to work….

Of course the most violent stories were chosen, (I plan to make the rule that no story can be duplicated so next year we see less frosting blood and horror).

Above we have  DC and our (soon to be) uncle and brother-in-law creating the scene of Joseph Smith’s martyrdom.  They gave their play by play of the event. 

Here Z-man and dad shared the story of Ammon.

The king is pleased with Ammon’s desire to serve him and decides to appoint him as one of the servants who watch his sheep. Wicked Lamanites would scatter the flocks of the king's sheep and that would make the king angry.  To protect the sheep as well as his own life, Ammon used his sling and stones. When the wicked Lamanites tried to kill him, Ammon would cut off their arms. The other servants were so astonished that Ammon was not killed and that he was also able to resist all the evil men that came to hurt him, so they shared what had happened with the King. Through that experience Ammon was able to teach the King the gospel.

Nothing was more exciting then the story of Abinidi and King Noah.

After Abinidi and Alma testify the truthfulness of the gospel to the wicked King Noah and his judges, King Noah refuses to listen and later is burned at the stake by his own people.

We had our own burning. 

Who was having more fun?

“DC, let me show you another use for nail polish remover.”

We certainly love the teachings of the scriptures, and hold them in the highest regard.

Next year Z-man plans to do the scene of Moses leading the Israelites out of Egypt and Ajax wants to create the scene of Helamen’s 2,000 warriors. They obviously realized the more peeps in their scenes leaves them with more peeps to eat.

Peep out!

your elves can’t make this, but you can order it

Child #1:

Z: “Santa, do you know what Lego's are?”

S: “Sure do!”

Z: “Mom, he knows what they are! So Santa I brought my own magazine to show you what to order, your elves can’t make this.”

Child #2:

A: “Can I have an airplane…..now.  PLEASE!”

(My 2-yr-old’s patience at its best).

Both children crafting with the elves. 

It was a good day.

frogger fever

i have never been a fan of men in tight…well, anything.

signing them up for swim team was as much as a challenge for me as it was for them.

the team uniform is a speedo.

i thought we could work around it.

i tried to purchase regular board shorts in the team colors with the hope they would let my kids skate passed the rules. no luck.

so its been days, even weeks that my boys have been comfortably walking around in speedos on the pool deck. fine, i can deal with it at swim meets.

the other day a neighbor invited the boys to the pool. no kidding, both of them put on their speedos and were heading out the door when i had to put my foot down and stop them. a new family rule was added to the list: speedos are only for swim meets.

although they are not record holders, they work hard everyday.

zachary is officially the youngest and slowest on the team. he is not bothered by it at all. in fact he loves all the people standing at the edge of the pool screaming his name to encourage him to keep going and finish the race. he just keeps swimming, swimming, swimming. he has a lot of spirit and joy so the team graciously lets him compete each week.

dallin looked as though he won the lottery when he realized he was the heat winner in the freestyle tonight. he ran around the pool deck giving everyone high fives and shaking his competitors hands. it was a sight. “wow, he has a lot of gusto!” zachary observed.

our youngest frogger is the loudest fan his brother’s have. “go dallin, swim fast!” is what i heard over and over again tonight.” also, “good job zachary!” with a pat on his back was another favorite.

life at the pool everyday is pretty painless, especially since it has been a raging 100 degrees.

off to another swim practice tomorrow morning.