service

We had a stake service project this morning to clean our church building. I was so impressed with Marlee and how helpful she was. She carried a bunch of plastic chairs outside (for them to be sprayed and cleaned) and scrubbed crayon off tables in the nursery. Carter just walked around and found toys in the nursery to play with, he loved this baby doll. I’m telling you, he’s going to adore his baby sister!

And I had to get a picture of this plant in our front yard before all the flowers die, man I love Spring in Utah.

the cuteness

I seriously can’t get over this kids cuteness. I am so in love. Even when he’s just watching movies on the iPad it’s cute.

I tend to bake during his nap time, but today I decided to keep him up to help me first.

Sometimes help is no help at all, when you are dealing with a toddler, but he loved it. He stirred and sampled (a lot) and was happy to sit on the counter and help.

We made coconut banana muffins and they turned out good. I love Pinterest!

full day

John, Jennette and John-John have stayed with us since Monday evening. John Larsen goes to the MTC today! He’s the oldest Hall grandkid and the first to go on a mission. He’s going to do great!

  

Laun and I went on a Costco run today, that seems to be our go to date. Laun got this little table and chairs for Carter to go in the office. That way he has a place to sit and color while Laun does work. I think we just created a bigger problem, now Carter is convinced more than ever that this is his office. Marlee will love it, too.

We had a busy evening. Laun went to a new dairy tonight, the younger kids got babysat and I went with Clayton and Porter to a scout clinic. They both earned their sustainability merit badge tonight, so proud of all their hard work. Then we went to the mall for shoe shopping. Clayton got to pick out the shoes of his choice (high top converse) since he ran that mile under 6 minutes. Laun made that deal with him last year during track and this year he hit that goal the very first time he ran the mile. It was a 5:59 mile! Way to go T! Porter had no luck finding shoes, so we will have to go this weekend. Then we ate dinner at the food court. I love having time with my older boys.

baby

Carter really loved going with me to Zumba today, because there was a baby there. My friend sent me this picture of Carter getting on the ground to get a better view of her baby. His face lights up and he gets the best smiles whenever he sees a baby, it’s like he can’t get enough (honestly, our whole family is this way). Let’s just hope he still feels this way when his little sister is born!

word

This morning we finished reading the Book of Mormon again as a family. Tomorrow we start all over again. I’m so happy that we’ve gotten in this good habit of reading as a family for years and years. Now I just need to work on the other stuff in my life that needs improvement and change.

I love Marlee’s school work and that she is liking soccer so much.

loves

I love the faces Carter makes when he squeezes my face and gives me loves.

rain or shine

The boys better realize how much support they have. We go to their games rain or shine. Carter and Marlee deserve a special shout out because they go to their big brothers track meets and soccer games, even in the rough weather.

lunch, track & spring

This morning I volunteered for Marlee’s class. I quiz the kids on their spelling words. Carter is no longer welcome by me when I volunteer because he goes a little nuts. Thank goodness we have a group of ladies in our ward who do a babysitting swap system.

Then I did the dreaded pregnancy glucose test where you drink a disgusting beverage, which actually isn’t as bad as past ones I’ve had. You then sit in the lab for an hour until they draw your blood. But lucky for me, my friend Camille (who I met in Tucson, but now lives in Flagstaff) was in Provo today. So she met me at the lab and then we went for lunch. I was so glad to see her and her baby boy. And just look at Carter’s smile in this picture…he loves babies!

This afternoon was the boys track meet. Clayton handing off the baton in the 4x400 relay.

We were out in the backyard today and I made sure to take pictures of the plants and trees in bloom, before all the blossoms go.

Laun is prepping the garden area today. I’m so excited to see all the weeds gone and replaced by plants.

And what would Laun do without his little helper?

creative

Marlee presented a piece of art she made at the 1st grade talent show. It’s of an owl and a hand tree (the trunk used to have pretzel sticks on it, but Carter ate them). She is such a creative little girl. I will have to get some of those buttons back though, some of them are spares to my coat.

I’m not very artistic, but I guess I am creative in the kitchen. I found a blueberry muffin recipe we love.

crazy kid

Carter has been extremely grumpy lately (not sure if it’s the allergies that have been going around or attitude). Laun was up with him since 4am today. Well, he must have been tired because after we dropped Marlee off at school he fell asleep and it was around 8:30 am. Who takes a nap at 8:30 am?!

He has this new habit of getting out of bed and falling asleep by his bedroom door. Sometimes you go to check on him and whack, the door hits him, poor boy. So now we usually open the door very slowly in case he’s laying there.

And in case you were wondering, Marlee put this sign on the bathroom door open (opin) or closed (closd), maybe she thinks locking the door isn’t enough.

brace face

Looking good brace face-

determination

Someone took this photo of Porter at a soccer game awhile back and I’m so glad they shared it with me. I love how much taller this kid is than Porter and how Porter is just pushing and fighting for that ball. He is such a determined and amazing soccer player. Porter doesn’t take crap from anyone and he puts his all into what he does. We love watching him play.

sacrament

Today was a special day. Porter passed the sacrament for the 1st time today and did a wonderful job. We loved watching his excited smile and how careful he was as he passed.

Somehow Carter always gets included when the camera is out, it’s like he’s a celebrity.

siblings

I’m 27 weeks prego and I’ve never been this big before! And to think, I’m just going to keep growing.

It’s kind of obvious that Carter has a big sister.

These two are at it again. I don’t know why it’s so cute seeing them lay in the storage area of the couch.

lunch

Today I went to the Microsoft store in Salt Lake and they got all the photos and data recovered on my computer! Not only will I have a working computer again, but I’ll have my stuff! Then I dropped Laun off at the airport for a work trip and headed to lunch. Carter and I met up at Café Rio with my good friend Elizabeth Ashdown and 2 of her girls (the oldest was at preschool). We met in Tucson and I am so happy her family recently moved to Utah! It’s the best to visit with a good friend.