Rainy Day Activity

We FINALLY received some rain, so Claire & Kate spent the morning in their pajamas, playing with the Little People Village.

Back To The Museum.....

I surprised the kids today & we went back to the Children's Museum after school today for about 1 & 1/2 hours. There were maybe 10 kids there today, such a difference from last week!

Carter dressed up like a police officer & found a couple of younger boys to play with. Claire spent a lot of her time in the market and Kate LOVED the tubes on the wall with the balls & hankies that shot through them. I'm thankful to have a fun place close by for the kids to enjoy!

Back To School

"Back to school, back to school, to prove to Dad I'm not a fool...." (had to add a little bit of Billy Madison humor!)

Carter heads back to school tomorrow after being off since January 30. He'll only be attending 3 days of school in February! I knew he was going to have a hard time going back & it came to the surface this evening. Right after we got home from Lisa's house he started crying & said "I'm just going to miss you Mom. I want to be with you." I replied " Aren't you tired of my yet?" I told him that I would be with him after 3pm & that he would have fun seeing his friends again. Cory gave him a blessing right before bed too. I know he'll be fine, I think it's more the anticipation of going, since it's been so long. He's such a sweet boy! I'm going to miss having him home all day too. Not to mention, now I have to set my alarm clock again & drive back & forth to the school!

February Family Home Evening

This evening we had Family Home Evening at Lisa's house & celebrated Brittney's 11th birthday. On the way to their house I think Carter was tired because he borrowed Claire's pillow pet & put his head down on it. Kate kept saying "Tarter, Tarter". I think she was worried about him! It was so cute to see them holding hands! Claire fell asleep on the way there as well.

Brittney did a wonderful job on her lesson, which was from one of her Activity Days.

We enjoyed a tasty dinner & cake & brownies for Brittney's birthday. I still can't believe she's turning 11....that means that we moved to Hawaii almost 11 years ago!

Claire's Talk

Claire gave the following talk in Primary today & did such a great job!

"I read a story in the Friend about a boy who was invited to go to his friends birthday party on Sunday. He was sad because he never gets to go to parties on Sunday. He really wanted to go, but he knew that he should keep the Sabbath day holy. He felt good inside. We, as members of the church are blessed for choosing the right."

Grandpa Altop Turns 86!

Grandpa Altop turned 86 on February 18, and this evening we held a birthday party for him at my Mom & Dad's house. We had a really fun evening eating appetizers & desserts. I made some caprese skewers, which were so delicious. Courtney made a scrapbook for him & had family members submit memories & pictures of Grandpa. It turned out really nice & he LOVED it. I spent a few hours looking through old pictures with my cousins & having some good laughs; we didn't leave until 11pm!! Mu Aunt brought her 2 new dachshunds puppies & Claire & Kate absolutely loved them. They are so cute & tiny.

Happy, happy birthday to a wonderful Grandpa! May you have many more!

3 Kiddies

It's not very often that I find all 3 kids sitting together nicely. Although once I grabbed the camera they had to start acting silly!

Sacramento Children's Museum

I am so happy!! I've been waiting quite a few years for the Sacramento Children's Museum to open & it finally happened!! I love that it's in Rancho, so it's really close. It's geared for ages 8 and under; perfect for my kids.

We had fun there this morning with Lori Anne, Maddox & Will & ended up staying for 3 hours. When we arrived the kids played with the big light bright in the entryway. The museum itself is not huge, but there is so much to do in there. There is an art room, water tables, a play house, dress up, an area for kids 3 & under, and lots of different science type activities. Claire spent about 2 hours in the play house. Kate loved the water tables & walking around the whole museum.

The kids enjoyed themselves so much that I ended up getting a year pass so now we can go back as often as we like. When we arrived this morning the place was packed & we figured it was because of the President's Week break from school. At 11am they announced that a pre-school field trip was ending & the place cleared out. It was so nice after that, not too many kids. I asked at the front desk when the best time was to come to avoid the crowds & they said any time in the afternoon. They close at 5pm, so we can always go once Carter is done with school & spent 1 & 1/2 hours there. She said that when they close there is usually 2-3 families there, so we would basically have the place to ourselves! I'm really excited to have a fun place to take the kids & I know they are excited to go back again!

President's Week Break

We've been enjoying pretty perfect weather during our President's Week break, in the mid 70's. Claire & Kate love any chance to get out in the backyard & play. Claire sits out in the dirt & scoops it into her play dishes & makes all sorts of concoctions. She loves it when she can have water involved in these activities. Kate just loves running around & of course, climbing on top of the table.

Dental Visits

All 3 kids had their dental check-ups this morning. They love the waiting room! Kate has already figured out how to sit & play video games; they're starting at a younger age! Claire went back to have her teeth cleaned first & she did a great job. When it was Carter's turn I spent most of the time explaining about his ankle. They were all fascinated & had never heard of "septic arthritis" like most people. Kate let the dentist look at her teeth & then apply fluoride to them.

Poor Carter, he has another cavity. It's so frustrating, he's the best at brushing & flossing everyday & always ends up getting cavities! We'll go back during spring break to have it filled.

Starting Earlier & Earlier

My kids are starting on the computer earlier & earlier. At 17 months, Kate loves to sit with Carter & Claire while they play. Today she was on Starfall all by herself, clicking around the website. Carter is such a sweet big brother & came to help her out.

Sophie

My sister Julie is on Maui this week with her family, so she asked if we could feed her cat Sophie while she is gone. We went over to their house this morning & the kids loved playing with Sophie; Kate especially! It was hard to tear the kids away from her!

Claire-e-belle

One of Claire's nicknames is Clairebelle, which we pronounce Claire-e-belle. We also call her Claire-bear a lot too. Claire is almost always happy. She loves to play, especially in the backyard. She's not afraid to get dirty. She loves sweets....but vegetables, not so much. She's not a big fan of breakfast. She loves to read books & watch Max & Ruby & Team Umizoomi. She loves pre-school & still calls her friends "my girls".

She looked so cute today prior to church, wearing cousin Kimberly's hand-me-down outfit.

There Is Sunshine In My Soul

"Oh, there's sunshine, blessed sunshine. When the peaceful, happy moments roll."

It was warm out this afternoon & the sun was shining bright. I just had to get the kids out to the park to run around & get some fresh air. We walked over to the soccer fields & they ran & ran & ran. Carter ran back home & got a football & soccer ball which they played around with for a while. I think he is feeling better.....he was doing some pretty funny tricks on his scooter! I didn't have to nag him about putting his helmet on; I just reminded him about what happened to the boy that he shared a hospital room with & he put it right on! There was a "popcorn tree" across the street with blossoms that looked like snow, it was so white.

While Carter was in the hospital & starving, Cory asked him if he could pick 1 place to eat when he got out, where would be choose? Carter said "Red Robin." So this evening we kept out promise & went to eat at Red Robin. We had a fun time goofing around!

At That Age

Kate is at that age where she is climbing onto everything! Today it was the kids desk. We can't go over to my parents house now without her climbing on top of the kitchen table. And it's not just once, I am constantly taking her down & she climbs right back up. I'm ready for this phase to be over...it's exhausting!

Happy Valentine's Day

Carter decided that he wanted to make the same Valentines as he did last year & Claire liked them as well, so we ended up making 50 iphones. Since Carter is not back to school yet, we dropped his Valentines off at his teachers house last night & she brought all of his Valentines to our house this afternoon. He was so excited to see what all of his friends gave him.

Claire went to pre-school today & had her Valentines party. She came home with a lot of fun things. I think her favorite part of the day was having Grandpa pick her up from school since I was with Carter at his doctor appointments. She was talking about it for days & made sure her teacher knew that Grandpa was coming.

With Cory being out of town, we didn't have any major Valentine plans. I did take the kids to Big Spoon this evening to get a yummy treat. It was quick & easy & made them happy!