Ari loves music videos. She has a few choice favorites: Roar by Katy Perry, Brave by Sara Bareilles, Gangnam Style by Psy, and What Does a Fox Say by Ylvis. We watch and dance to one or more of these videos daily. I don't feel too bad, she's learning life lessons from them. Case in point:

Me: Ari, what does a cow say?
Ari: Mooooo!
Me: What does a fox say?
Ari: Ring ding ding ding

Ylvis is getting her ready for preschool.

When Ari wants to watch a video, she'll come look me in the eye and say: oo ga ba la oo oo cha bo ROAR da fee la. I've come to translate this as, "Mom, will you please put on the Roar music video for me?"

Over Thanksgiving, Ari soon caught on that everyone had an iPhone and if she'd ask just right (aka scream at them), they would give in and let her watch videos.

Ari is also quite the enthusiastic dancer to her favorite four songs. She's a natural! (Aren't her background dancers adorable?!)

chutzpah

My Halle has chutzpah - that word just encompasses her to a tee.

Last week, we were at a trampoline park called Get Air. Brandon and I were jumping with the kids, attempting tricks from a trampoline into a foam pit that we'd done in our younger years. Brandon went first - jump, jump, spin around, backflip into the foam. Halle didn't miss a beat - jump, jump, spin around, flip backwards and land on her head. The girl attempted a backflip, never having tried it previously. Even though she was in tears, knowing her, I knew we had to have a talk. She would try again if she had the chance.

Me: Halle, you can't try to do backflips anymore. You'll get hurt.
Halle: But I can do backflips.
Me: No. You can't.
Halle: I can. I just did one.

We argued back and forth. Finally we settled on - You can do backflips (she wouldn't budge on this matter so I had to lie), but you shouldn't do them. If you do, we'll have to go to the hospital.

Luckily, our heart-to-heart seemed to work. She didn't attempt a backflip again. However, she did try her hand at a dodge ball tournament, full of preteen boys.

Chutzpah - that's my girl.

7-year-old

 

 

This boy is 7. He's a stud and I love him to death.

7 Things I Love About Zach:

1. His Lego videos:

2. His laugh. This will probably be my favorite thing about him for his entire life. His laugh is contagious and when I hear it, it makes me immediately happy.

3. His recaps of Phineas and Ferb shows. It's probably because he laughs so much while telling me, but I love how he always tells me about the funny parts on the TV shows he watches.

4. His easy-going personality. There is not much that bugs Zach. He doesn't worry. He doesn't fret. He really just enjoys every part of life and doesn't worry about the things that don't matter.

5. His relationship with his sisters. Zach is a good big brother. They fight at times, but for the most part, he watches out for his sisters. He lets Halle tag along when his friends are over, he's endlessly patient as Ari "plays" in his room, he tutors Halle in Lego-building, he doesn't get angry when Ari swishes his toothbrush in the toilet (actually, he doesn't exactly know about that). His sisters adore him...and for good reason.

6. His picture-taking faces:

7. He's a sweetheart. For all his talkative-ness, craziness, endless-energy-ness, Zach really is just a sweet boy. For Mother's Day this last year, he wrote me this note:

Deer Mother

I love you in my hert. I love you so much. I got you some money.

Love Zach

He then left me money on my pillow so I could buy whatever I wanted.

Even after 7 years, this boy still owns my heart. Happy 7th birthday, Zach!

the first day

Zach had his first day of 1st grade yesterday.

Here's what I learned...

• It was really, really long.
• Lunch was really good. He ate everything and sat next to a new friend who he talked to "the entire time". Zach didn't learn this friend's name because Zach is "not good with names".
• At recess he chased around his friends and invited them all to his upcoming birthday party.

Halle had to her second first day of preschool today. Halle picked out her shirt and shoes, knew how she wanted her hair, and which flower which match her outfit. She was ready to take on the preschool world!

I learned...

• Camryn (a girl, not a boy) is her friend and a "little girl" named Chloe wanted to sit next to Halle during Reading Time.
• They got to have two play times - one outside, one inside.
• She learned about a raccoon with a heart on its hand and Halle got a heart on her hand too (some... okay, most of this was lost in translation).
• "I get to go to preschool tomorrow!"

Ari got to stay home and scavenge her siblings' rooms while they were gone. Zach's DS is one of her favorite toys he will never let her play with.

Halle is at the that age where she just says funny things. I wish I could record some of the conversations we have. She jumps from topic to topic and will talk and talk without any type of response.

Here are some funny things she's said lately:

While Halle was saying the prayer for dinner…

Halle: [Speaking to Mom] Close your eyes or I won’t bless you!
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Driving home from grocery shopping…

Halle: Where in the heck is Jesus?
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While at dinner...
Halle: Girls are pretty. Boys are handsome. Wait, wait, wait.... Girls are pretty. Boys are awesome!
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Driving home from swimming lessons...
Halle: Mom, do you have hair on your neck? [Takes a second look.] Yeah... I'm pretty sure I see hair on your back.
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Halle: I sing country. I sing it in the tub and I sing it while I'm going to the bathroom.
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Last night Halle was singing for Eve and Savannah. She picked "I Am a Child of God". She sang her sweet, little off-tune version like this…

I am a child of God

And he has sent me here,
Has given me an earthly home
With parents kind of dear.

Did you catch the lyric change? Instead of Halle’s parents being “kind and dear”, hers are “kind of dear”.  It made me laugh until I cried.

mud runners

In conjunction with the Davis County Fair, Farmington had a Kids Mud Run. Zach and Halle had been begging to run a race and this one seemed like a winner. I mean, come on, you're running in mud - that's a kid's dream!

It was such a great race and the kids loved it. They both got 3rd place in their age category!

Before the race:

Zach and Halle thought they were pretty awesome with racing bibs.

The course:

The kids on the way to the starting line:



Halle racing. She's the 3rd person running in.

 Winner, winner, chicken dinner!! I love how she's covered in mud but standing like a little ballerina - this picture totally captures her personality.

Zach's race. Photography-awesomeness fail. That big kid was running alongside his brother, but he kept blocking my view of Zach. I kept yelling, "Big kid move" but to no avail. The result:

The awesome racers:

What's that saying?!

What's that saying... a bird in the hand is worth two in the bush?! I've got a new one for you - a rock in the knee is just plain cruddy! My saying doesn't have the same ring to it, but it's still just as true.

Yesterday as Halle played tag at the neighbors' house, she tripped and fell on their flagstone path, her knee hitting a rock on the way down. She wailed. A different neighbor heard her screaming and carried her up to the house, as I trailed carrying Ari. I saw all the blood and thought it probably looked worse than it was. Wrong. Blood = Big gaping hole in her knee.

Brandon and I, being incredibly prepared for disaster, put gauze on the wound and then wrapped it with a clean towel, securing it with masking tape - very MacGyver-ish if you ask me. Brandon rushed Halle to Instacare where the doctor put in two sets of sutures - one in her lower layers of skin and one in the upper layer of skin. The rock had pierced through all skin layers and you could see her femur.

Halle was a rock star through the entire ordeal and didn't cry at all while the doctor stitched her up. In fact, she curiously watched the whole thing. Future doctor?!?

So it's no swimming for us until August and lots and lots of movies.