More Easter Pictures that Nick took

I figured out how to get the best pictures at family parties. Hand your camera to your 12 year old and tell him to go have some fun.
Tori would never have given me this pose, but for her big cousin Nick, it was a done deal.
I wish there was a way to get rid of this blur because this is such a good one of William.
Hey look it's Alice in Wonderland about to jump into the Rabbit Hole with Cinderella and Prince Charming who would rather be in a Power Ranger suit but was told that would be inappropriate for Easter.
See...here again....I tried to get a smile earlier, but no luck. Nick asks and she complies. 
Guitar bonding...that was too short. Hey family we all can sing and enjoy it, I think. Why don't we do this more often.
And this is what having six bigger people, who do everything you want all the time, looks like when those six refuse to obey.

Happy Easter!

It was so good to have two of my sisters in Cali for Easter. It felt like no time had passed; like we just live a few miles apart again. No big deal. Just a regular holiday gathering spent in Aunt Edie's backyard.
The kids enjoyed Papa Ken's train. Do you think he'd mind if we just put a little dirty sand in here?? 

Eagan loved the train too. He's at the age though where you have to watch his every move so once again the whole event passed me by. Were there adults at this party?
Here are the kids before the Easter egg hunt eating their lunch so we can hide the eggs. Hey kids, save some room for some chocolate and jelly beans. 
And here's Jason and Caleb enjoying their prizes. They all did really well since we have a slight problem with communication in our family and we forgot to tell each other that we were all bringing some eggs. 

Adam and Eagan's Relationship

Adam has always been fond of Eagan. When Eagan was a little baby we had to watch Adam carefully because he wanted to squish him non-stop. It was actually the cutest thing and now he does it to his baby sister Jill. But it didn't matter that Eagan had gained in stature and strength, Adam was smitten again.
Maybe it was the curly hair wings they both share or the fondness for paci's. It could be that Eagan seems to be wearing all his clothes. Or maybe he just appreciates another cute messy face. Whatever the case.....

Eagan would have none of it. Sorry Adam. There will be a day when he'll squish you back.

Skelly Visit

I couldn't help but pick the picture that tells the best story of our last few weeks.  My big sis and her family came to stay with us and our house was......LOUD. I think we were all surprised in the end how well it really went, and we really are all still friends.
We got to know baby Jill, who is the quietest baby I've ever met.  The boys taught her how to be crazy like them and Braden managed to get her to grab his face and make grunting noises. It was hysterical until Jocelyn realized she forgot to push the record button on her camera. The grand prize video was lost forever.
Gage and Nick by far had the hardest task. They gave up their room and helped entertain when boredom would strike.  By the end of the journey they were not only hearing their names from Mom and Dad, but Uncle Andrew and Auntie Jocelyn were often calling on them for help. I know they secretly wanted to pack one of them in their suitcase.
Someday I need to ask Beth, "What is it like to have all these older cousins who truly adore you?" I guess you really don't need to wear a princess hat because being adored in this way is what makes you know deep down that you really are a princess.

Crazy Hair

He can sing and he's got the crazy hair to go with the look. None of the other boys had any curls. So we are having lots of fun watching Eagan's hairdo develop. It just keeps getting crazier.

Can you sing?

We all watched American Idol this week. Eagan decided he wants to be the next American Idol. After watching people sing over and over again, he began to do this. Now when you ask him, "Eagan, can you sing?" This is what you get.

Looking Back...Christmas Morning

And after a long tortuous wait, the day finally arrived. Grandma Debbie showed up early and watched all the present opening and then we had a yummy waffle breakfast. Grandma and Grandpa Mac came for the afternoon. We had a yummy Turkey dinner, opened more presents, and then attempted to make lefse (our favorite Norwegian goodie Grandma always used to make). I got burned and a spatula was destroyed, but we laughed and did get to enjoy a few good bites. Thanks Mom.
And after a long tortuous wait, the day finally arrived. Grandma Debbie showed up early and watched all the present opening and then we had a yummy waffle breakfast. Grandma and Grandpa Mac came for the afternoon. We had a yummy Turkey dinner and 

Looking Back...Gingerbread Houses

It's now a tradition that can't be broken. We always make gingerbread houses with our Aunt Edie, and all our cousins for Christmas. This year we went to Sara's house and she made all the house parts so that every child could make a house. There were somewhere around 15 houses. She did such a good job organizing, we've decided she gets to do this every year. Go Sara! Caleb gets the award for filling his yard with the most goodies.

Gage gets the award for the happiest house.

Nick for the best lights and making a surfboard for his gingerbread man.

I think Braden used the most licorice ropes. We were so proud of our creative decorators.

Looking Back...Thanksgiving

We spent Thanksgiving in Arizona this year. We have lots of family there, and we got to meet our new adopted cousins who came from Ethiopia. There were 14 children at this party and only 8 adults. We played a game of croquet, ate an awesome meal, and got to know each other deeper. Thank you Delight for hosting us.
The other half of our trip was spent with Stacy's mom, Grandma, and Aunt. We always have a blast with these wild Canadians. There's always lots of laughing and competitive sequence games.  One of the days we went to a glass display at the Arizona Botanical Gardens. 
We walked through a maze of cacti and amazing displays of crazy glass shapes. We all wanted to take home one of these glass balls, but we didn't think the security guard would let us jump on the boat and get one. Eagan was making his usual, "uh, uh, uh" noises when he saw the balls.

Looking Back...Knotts

I know it's the middle of January, but we had some fun times over the holidays, and I really want to share them. So here begins my holiday look back. Maybe I'll get it all done now, or maybe it will take me weeks, but here goes.  We surprised the boys one morning in early December with a trip to Knott's Berry Farm. Caleb had never been and Braden couldn't remember going when he was younger. They had an absolute blast and so did we. The park was very empty so we got to go on all the rides 3 or 4 times.  Eagan was perfect all day and loved watching Snoopy on Ice. The big boys all loved Jaguar, but stayed away from the upside down rides.  Caleb says his favorite ride is the Log Ride even though he refused to go on it a second time when given the opportunity. He decided next time when he is 6, he'll be brave enough to ride again.