No, that's not snow...

Ok, then what could it be you ask???
Well, put my two boys together today and you get Sodom and Gomorrah...

We had this enormous stuffed dog. Yes, some may say it is cute - but not today. It was in our garage to be sent to Salvation Army for someone else's child enjoy the blessings of this fake pet. My boys were out helping Allen clean out the garage and fill our van with the stuff to go to Salvation Army, when he got a call from work that brought him inside for a mere 10 minutes. Well, 10 minutes was all it took. Spencer and Cameron suddenly came charging in and hauling their be-hinds upstairs when I saw all this white stuff all over them. Then I saw the smirks. Oh no. "STOP" came out of my mouth and as I walked towards them, their smirks changed to a "I'm dead meat" --- and they knew it. Allen came up and we looked at each other with these looks of "I really want to be mad but I can't help but laugh" as our two boys are covered with this white stuff that I couldn't figure out where it came from. Suddenly a rush of explanation came out of both of them..."we threw the dog to the van and it ripped on something because it got a tear in it's throat and all this white stuff came flying out of it and got all over the driveway and the yard, then we started to play because it was getting all over...and it was fun but it wasn't good because I know we are in trouble now." DANG RIGHT!!! of course after I stopped laughing and taking pictures. Because I do need to have evidence of my premature gray hair and my blackmailling them when they are precious 15 year olds...the funny thing was as soon as I got the camera, they both started shaking off as much as they could - hurry so it doesn't look bad! (spencer said that one...go figure)
So this was our day...from Nephi and Sam to Sodom and Gomorrah in a mere 10 mintues!

Spencer's OhNo, I'm in trouble face.

Get a garbage bag boys...

Happy Easter...

I know I am late on the Easter pics --- I blame the bug. That nasty bug that won't leave our house. I have been dealing with this nasty cough/cold that will not go away!! Our ward has been hit really hard with all sorts of nasty bugs of some sort that linger forever and I think we have had them all! Lysol and Purell have become my new BFF...as Megan put it yesterday.

So, here are our cute pics from Easter. I must admit - the song that I am now singing to every picture I take will be Trace Adkins new "You're Gonna Miss This" - because it seems like our kids are growing up so fast and "I'm gonna miss this"....but it also reminds me to appreciate and try to enjoy each phase and not always wish for the next thing to come...because it always will and I won't be able to get back what I missed, or am missing... thanks Trace for helping me see that - with that awesome song...PS...I LOVED you on Celebrity Apprentice!

Ok, so back to Easter...(can you say tangents?!?!) Anyway, here are our way cute pics of our Easter Sunday and Easter Eve Egg coloring activity! We had a lot of fun coloring the eggs, getting messy! The kids loved their new Sunday clothes, and Austin was glad all the boys didn't have matching outfits..."how embarrassing" he says...hmmm. See, I'm going to miss this! He used to not care!! And Meg used to let me do her hair!! Ok, no more tangents!! here are the pics...

I LOVE this picture!

Tragedy to "Fred" or should we say, Humpty Dumpty...

Primary Easter Party - The Boys...

Great Quotes...

My friend Angie had these quotes on her blog...I loved it so I copied her!! So, not only did I put it here - but it is now also on my fridge!! I know I am a total thief...but in a good way - I want to share the good things I find...right?

I've learned that you can tell a lot about a person by the way he/she handles four things: A rainy day, the elderly, lost luggage, and tangled Christmas tree lights.....

Every sixty seconds you spend angry, upset or mad, is a full minute of happiness you'll never get back. Life is short, Forgive quickly, Love truly, Laugh uncontrollably, And never regret anything that made you smile. Remember, life may not be the party we hoped for, but while we're here we should dance!

so true, right?!?!?!

Way To Go Meg!!

These pics are of her school music teacher (who played the piano), and our district music teacher (who was their conductor), and the other girls that were chosen from her school.

Megan's All-County performance was today at Suny Purchase College. They did SO fabulous! They have been working like crazy for months now - and it all paid off. Megan was a little worried, because the last song they sang was really long, and difficult, but they did great. When I get the DVD (which they made you purchase - cameras weren't allowed - fundraiser for college I'm sure - I could do a DVD for less than the arm & leg they charged!) I will post a snippet. Anyway, we are all glad it is over, no more late (1-7pm) practices and no more worrying about it (she did a lot of that).

She literally said on the way home that she wouldn't be the singer she was if it weren't for Sis. Nielson (shout out to you Amanda!) and she said that she wanted to invite their family over for dinner to help celebrate! Funny how their minds work!

Anyway - they did fabulous - and we are so proud of her!

Great Job Megan - You Did Great!

Did you get the right message???

I loved this quote so I thought I would share!

"We live in the marvelous age of the information highway. The amount of information sent by e-mail, fax, cellular phones, and other means is phenomenal. In fact, there is a glut of messages. The volume is so vast that it is easy to miss a vital message. Serious consequences result whenever we miss important messages, especially if these messages are from God."

James E. Faust, Ensign, May 2004

A Hilton for the hummingbirds...?

Ok, so cute story...

Along with being Scoutmaster, Allen also teaches the nursery (kids ages 18months - 3 years old) at church. His lesson yesterday was "I am thankful for trees, plants and animals" He thought it would be fun to make a nest, and talk about the animals that use trees for homes and all that good stuff.

Really cute.
Anyway, our kids were actually quite jealous at seeing this fun experiment not include them. Spenc and Cam helped collect the sticks with the disclaimer of "you need to make one with us when we get home from church". So, that was the deal. After dinner, this is what I found...

And this is was the outcome of this messy, but super fun project...

A Hilton for the hummingbirds.

it's all about the team

Ok, so Allen plays basketball every Tuesday night in Manhattan on a league with his team from work - he loves it! The kids love it also - every year that they play, the kids love to go and cheer them on! This year, their team made the playoffs!! So, since it was the playoffs, we had to go!! The kids were so excited (they haven't been able to go to any games this year because they have been late in the evening - school night!) Anyway, they made these shirts to wear to the play-off game - go team "WorldNow" - the reason for #13 is because that is the number on Allen's shirt!

The sad ending to this story... the game was last Tuesday - the day the building collapsed and closed Metro-North... so they weren't able to go after all. But, they wanted to show their team pride anyway!

new hair for meg

Megan was so happy to have Ciera come for multiple reasons, one of them being --- she wanted her to cut her hair! So, Ciera cut 5 inches off!! Megan loves it - and she looks so cute!!!

Thanks Ciera!!

I'm so glad it's FRIDAY!!

that is really all I have to say about that....

I am SO SO SO glad it is FRIDAY!!! Get this crazy week gone!!!

Have a great weekend everyone!!

WOW, Austin!

Ok, so not only is Austin a teen-ager now, he made honor roll again!! He has made honor roll each quad (semester) all year and we are so proud of him. He works really hard and it is great to see that hard work pay off!!

GOOD JOB, AUSTIN!!

We are so proud of you - keep up the good work!