The Truth About Treasure...

Well, the leprechauns found us again this year. They turned our milk green again, but were a bit sneakier than in years past... they left no footprints behind!

 They did lead us on a treasure hunt all over our house, though, leaving lucky gold coins and $2 bills along the way...

The best part about it though was the how the leprechauns revealed the truth about TREASURE...

They use it to bless the lives of others! 

This brought a whole new dimension to St. Patrick's Day for Hayden and Ana.  I was really surprised at how quick they were to jump on board with the idea (although they did still want to keep "just one" of the special coins:). They were so sweet in coming up with ideas of how they could use it.  Hayden wanted to use it to buy bottles of soda, so that he could take the bottle caps to a collection bin that he had seen at the dentist office, where the proceeds went to help the Ronald McDonald House (I thought that was so sweet).  Ana wanted to go and buy shoes for "every kid in Africa" (again, super sweet).  And Sophie just wanted to "gib it to Hemaly Father" (I love that girl).

In the end, we settled on using it to buy the supplies and ingredients to make some treats and cards to show some people that we care about them and that we appreciate what they do for us...

Getting ready to deliver their leprechaun treats

(It was almost 80 degrees outside, oh how I love the sunshine!)...

I think that this was my favorite St. Patrick's Day yet!  Thanks leprechauns, for reminding us how important it is to think about others...

It's a Jolly Holiday with MiMi...

Whenever Aunt MiMi comes to town, it's always a party, and there is always LOTS of candy involved.  This time, she got here just in time to watch Sophie do the Chicken Dance at our Ward Talent Show...

We love you MiMi!  Thanks for always making everything so fun!

Day Off...

The kids had Friday off of school last week, so we decided to take full advantage of our school-free time.  It was freezing outside, so naturally, we went swimming... 

That day also happened to be Dr. Seuss's Birthday, so why not eat Green Eggs and Ham?

I love days off. It makes me so excited for summer...

Derby Days...

Cub scout cake decorating may not be Hayden and Rob's favorite activity, but Pinewood Derby car building is the opposite.  These two spend hours talking about, planning and building their dream derby car.  Here are the plans for this year's car, the Angry Bird...

Another treat for this year's build was that they were joined by our good friends, Dan and Benjamin...

The competition was fierce, but he Angry Bird made a pretty good showing and I think ended up in 4th place.  Hayden was thrilled...

So long derby fans.  Until next year...

Happy Birthday Hay-dawg!

Hayden chose to celebrate his special day with his favorite thing... Legos.  We made Lego cookies for his class at school (I think that this was his favorite part of the whole day)...

And he got to invite his favorite Lego building buddy over after school to put together the "Mother Ship"... 

It was a fun-filled Lego Day!  And, of course, cake for breakfast.  We can't forget that...

Happy Lego Birthday Hayden!

Friendship Forever...

Ana has been having a bit of trouble at school lately... with one of those girls.  The kind that Ana claims is her "best friend", but every word that comes out of her mouth about the girl screams BULLY.  So I was talking to some moms of her other friends about the situation, and how I haven't been able to get through to Ana that this girl is not a good friend.  And that is how I came to find out that she was not the only one being affected by this girl.

My friend Susie, who has twin girls that are Ana's age, is such a go-getter.  Right away her wheels start turning, "We need to teach our girls how to be good friends and not let others make decisions for them".  And so evolved the "Friendship Forever" class.  We decided to meet one day a week after school to help our girls build their self confidence and friendship skills.  And it has been so good for Ana!  I can already see a difference in her ability to recognize when someone is being a true friend and what to do when someone is not being nice to others.  It's funny how I have told her these kinds of things a hundred times, but when it comes from another mom that she respects, she finally listens.  I'm so grateful for friends that are willing to step in and help me with a problem that I can't resolve on my own.  "Friendship Forever" was exactly what I needed.

Here are the girls decorating their special friendship notebooks.  Susie had them put mirrors in the middle (so that when they looked at it they would see themselves) with lines extending out to each of their friends, family members and Heavenly Father. It seems like such an elementary exercise, but for Ana, it was exactly what she needed to recognize that she had other friends and people that love her that she can turn to when she is having a hard time. We have already used it on a few occasions when she has come home crying about how someone was mean to her, and it has really helped...

  They have been using their notebooks to write about things that they might have a hard time talking about.  It is such a great thing for Ana because she really loves to write, and I have learned a lot about how she really feels by reading her notebook.

Cute girls, learning how to be good friends forever...