May was lots of fun!

 We attended a ward camp out the first weekend in May. We shared our campsite with our friends, the Whites. 

 "Jilly"

 Later we hiked the dry riverbed in the area, saw some horses, and played with the river rock. A two year old friend of ours thought Evelyn was a good way to get around. 

 Some friends who moved out of the area a couple years ago came back to visit for an afternoon and the kids had fun playing together again. 

 On Mother's Day, we got out this sailor suit that Ben's mom had given us. Ben and wore it when he was about the same age. I've received many compliments on the suit and Gordon loves it. It's too bad that it's already getting too short. 

We shared a Sunday afternoon meal with some friends from the ward. The kids always have fun together.

  We had movie night with them a few weeks later, and the kids opted to watch "Neverending Story." 

 Another friend gave us a tag-along bike, and now Gordon can keep right up when we all go riding together. Ben and I have taken him on some excursions since the girls have returned to school. 

These three are great buddies; they fight, but they get along really well too.  

 Another beach day where they were all feeling brave enough to enter the surf a few inches. 

 On May 1st, we attended a Killer's concert with the Whites. Great concert! 

 Jilly was a "dancing flower" in her kindergarten play, "The Garden." It's the same play every year, but the kids absolutely love it. The flowers dance, the weeds rap, and then there is the gardener and animal pests. It's very cute. 

 One of the moms in our pre-school group organized a tour of the nearby firehouse for the kids, and they very much enjoyed it. Gordon is growing ever less-shy, and bombarded the firemen with lots of questions and requests. 

These are two of the three floral containers I attempted this year, and they were quite gorgeous for a while, until the mildew and snails found them. The begonia is making a come-back after dying back for a few months. The calla lilies never really stood a chance. The coleus grew and grew, and as a result became a snail feast. The only thing that kept thriving were the impatiens. I also had a birthday (turned 31), and I honestly can't remember what I did for it. I also started training for my part-time job that kept me super-busy through the summer. 

April and Gordon's birthday

 Uncle Dan and Ben attended one of the first games of the Dodger's season. They have fun on these "day of the brother" events. 

 Gordon turned four, and asked for a donut cake. For dinner, he told me at first he wanted pineapple and beans, or some crazy combination like that. I opted for safety, and made pizza instead. 

 Gordon got Legos, among other things, and had fun getting a lot of help to put his trucks together. Legos have been the best toy investment of the last year for us. 

 In his "supersuit." Another birthday gift. He obviously still loves dress-up, and being a bit picky about his food. But he is by far the best eater at this age out of all my kids. He loves playing with friends, especially other boys. His favorite toys are Duplos, Legos, and the dirt. He likes his cars and trains too. 

 Spring break meant lots of time outside at parks or the beach. Jilly finally developed the arm strength to do monkey bars this spring. Kind of a funny picture though. ;)

 The tide was waaaay out this particular morning, it was fun to explore areas of the beach we don't typically get to see. 

Gordon and the little girl I used to babysit. She loved going to the beach. I loved Spring Break, it was so nice to get a break from the grind of a school schedule. 

Easter

I haven't updated for six months now. So, here we go. 

 Grandma Chickens sent sugar cookie bunnies with candy for the kids to decorate. Gordon did get some on his bunny, but was more content to munch instead of decorate. The girls went all out. They love doing crafts these days. 

 Jilly still loves her chickies, and she found one during the ward Easter egg hunt. 

 Some next-door neighbors had another hunt a few days later, and the kids cashed in on this one too. 

Gordon and a buddy playing "zombies." Gordon doesn't know anything about zombies, but was happy to play along. 

Gordon Stories

Gordon got a Jack Sparrow Christmas ornament from Grandma Chickens, and he doesn't want to hang it on the tree, "Because a big spider might get him!" Later on, Gordon reasons that Jack Sparrow can't be snatched by the spider, "Because he has a gun to shoot him and a sword to sword him!"

Gordon has a pair of shark-printed pajamas that he loves, and he knows that clothes get smaller as he grows. He figured out a solution: "Mom, do you have a magic wand?" Nope. Do you think we can use magic on your clothes? "Yeah! We can go to the fairy store and buy a magic wand to magic my clothes bigger! Mom, did you magic your clothes bigger?" No, I bought mine bigger. "Oh. I want my shark jammies to be bigger."

Waking up in the morning: "Mom! We get to have Christmas and Halloween again! Let's put our Halloween and Christmas decorations up, and then we can have Thanksgiving!" This is the order in which Christmas comes again in his mind.

Gordon's "When I'm growed up" stories, or "When I was a baby," stories. He talks about how I grew in his belly, how he grew in mine, and how we went to Disneyland and all sorts of crazy stuff. I love how his little brain is processing time and space.

Musical Musings

On the way to Church today we were listening to Prokofiev's "Lieutenant Kije Suite." The "Romance" movement came on and after listing to a few bars Gordon asked,"Moooom, is this the kind of music that plays when your puppy runs away?" We all had a good laugh and were impressed by the fact that the boy is already familiar with the tropes of western music. The girls proceeded to mention other sad events for which the music might be a fitting accompaniment.

When we pulled into the parking lot the "Troika" movement started and we listened to some of it before heading into the chapel. When Shaunie asked the kids, "What does this one sound like?" They all said, "CHRISTMAS!!!"

March

 In the few months leading up to March 4, Ben could often be found looking like this (sort of). This picture is courtesy of our friend Jared, Ben's next-door office mate. March 4th was PhD qualifying exam day, which, for those who know, means you live at your office and don't see your family much in the time preceding the exams. Afterward, you sleep and veg for a week to help your brain recuperate. Thankfully, Ben passed and he doesn't have to repeat this happy process.

 Gordon's natural habitat in the morning. Breakfast and a "show" of some sort. At least he's using the bed-in-breakfast trays. 

 Another wonky outfit from Gordon. He loves this "skeleton shirt."

 Ev and Jill took part in their school's 'Jogathon,' and Ben helped Ev's class count laps. They had to jog around a track for 40 minutes I think. They all got popsicles afterward. The girls even helped Gordon run around the track a few times. 

 Uncle Dan came over for dinner one night and taught the girls, "Stop hitting yourself!" 

 Gordon climbing in bed for morning snuggles. 

 And being silly after waking up a bit more. 

 I think we were leaving to drop Gordon off at his little pre-school group. There's the toddler I baby-sit. (She's moving away in about a month). Her and Gordon can play together really well, and then they can get on each other's nerves really well. As soon as Jilly comes home from school, the truce between these two ends because Jillian is the favorite playmate of this toddler, and Gordon knows it. 

 Jilly was conjuring her inner-giraffe. 

 He still dumps it all on the floor. 

 Jilly is still wondering why Daddy's taking random pictures of lunch. 

 But, we were all happy the big exams were over. 

 Family movie night remains a favorite weekend-night activity. 

Getting our little garden ready for planting. Each year keeps getting better. 

The kids staked out this abandoned plot as their own for the winter/spring, and had fun landscaping it with excess garden pots, stakes, and sticks. It was recently re-assigned to someone else, and my kids were disappointed as they had to pull out all their work (I did tell them this would happen). I do think the plot looked better when my kids were taking care of it.  

 Our neighbors from the ward invited us to grill at the Commons one Sunday afternoon. It was a good excuse to stay out of the house for a few hours. 

 I went somewhere with the girls - shopping I think - and Ben took Gordon down to get ice cream at Stricklands. He was happy.

I've been a target of pictures while sleeping the last few months - I found several pictures I didn't know about while combing the files for these recent blog posts. I still have a snuggler. 

 I can't believe Gordon can still cram into this monkey suit. It's 18 months to 2 years old, and he loves it. 

 Playing with his buddy Jack at the pool. 

Literally chilling and eating a hot dog.

 Jilly knows how to sunbathe. Except for the part where you're supposed to be in the sun.

 Evelyn finding a better use for the kick board. It is easier to sit than swim, right? 

 This is the part where (I'm trying to get them out of the pool, and I've given them their warnings, and they get out, but run to the other side of the pool complex and jump in the kiddie pool) I begin telling these three pool rats they'd better get out and stay out. We go through this every pool season, and by now, they're pretty good at listening. 

 One Sunday afternoon some other friends invited us to a barbecue at their apartment, and we discovered they have quite the cool toy. Ben took all the kids on a ride. Gordon couldn't get enough. Even I squeezed on there with Ben, and I felt like I was going to fall off. I could hardly keep my feet off the ground. 

I think Evelyn was trying to help start the motor. She wanted to ride it all by herself. (Let's wait a few years Ev).