When you're a professional pirate.....

You can give these out.

It's a dreaded 'black spot'! 

I found this on the kitchen counter the other day. I knew immediately what it was, but didn't know why it was there. So I asked around and found out that Charles had made it and given it to Hannah.

We all had a good laugh over that one. Charles thought he was pretty clever.

If you don't know what a black spot is, you NEED to watch Muppets Treasure Island. It is a classic. One of our favorite movies and we love to quote it and sing the songs from it. We watched it recently as a family and I guess Charles was annoyed at Hannah for some reason and decided to give her a black spot, or a pirate's death curse! 

Good Things:

Sunday!

Safe return of my hubby from a meeting in Blanding

An upcoming wedding this week. :D

Lego $$

I had heard that this year there was going to be a shortage of Lego blocks. They couldn't make them fast enough to satisfy the demand for them. That was tragic news for my Lego-loving boys. So rather than trying to buy them a set before Christmas and battling every other boy/parent who had heard that news before Christmas, we waited until after Christmas to take them to the store to let them pick their own new set of Legos. That way they could take any money they received and combine it and get a really nice set as well. So thank you, Grandma and Grandpa Welch and Grandma B for the lego $$.

Charles and his new set

While we were in Provo/Orem after Christmas to see Grandma and Grandpa Welch we took the boys to Walmart to let them peruse the Lego aisle. It always takes quite a while for them to settle on what to buy. There are SO many sets they want and they want to be sure they get the one they want the most.

Soren and Megatron

Charles chose a Ninjago set, Soren got a Ironman/Hulk set and James chose a bat with a pumpkin. What? I don't know why he chose that one but it is cute. Not one I would have ever thought he'd pick.

James and his bat and pumpkin

We will be a Lego fan house forever. As much as I hate stepping on these things, I love the creativity and hours of play they provide for my kids. Not just the boys! Legos are Awesome!

Board game fun

One of the things we like to do around here is play board games. Sadie has had to create a few for school projects based on books she's read. Charles wanted one with a Ninjago theme so Sadie helped him create one. The hard part is keeping track of all the cards and pieces....

James and Charles playing games in their pjs.

Story time with grandma

Having grandparents who live in Georgia makes it hard to spend much time with them. We are always thankful when they come for a visit. At this time, they were in town to stay with Nate and Lori’s kids and it happened to be when Ford and Shiala were getting married. We borrowed the floors at Nate’s house to sleep on and our kids got to spend some time with Grandma and Grandpa Welch. Grandma always plays "Don't Eat Pete" with the kids and often will read to them, if they'll let her...
We are so lucky to have Grandma and Grandpa Welch!

Grandma is the center of attention...Clockwise starting at left: James, Grandma, Charles, Soren and Emma!

I love that they want to be read to and that they like Grandma to read to them when she's able to...
and it's a perfect book! Penguins!!

Good Things:

time with extended family

reasons to get together: weddings, baptisms etc

Books!

We're Being Eaten by an Octopus....

Just kidding.
We just happened to need a car wash when we were in Ut Valley dropping off Montana. So off to Sonic Car Wash we went. The boys always think going through the car wash is fun. James wasn't sure at first, but learned it's not too scary. They love the colorful soap suds too.

'Octopus tentacles' on the windshield

James watching the side scrubbers roll past.

Soren pointing out the sprayers and James hiding his face from the camera...

Charles and Soren enjoying the car wash....

Candyland-the favorite board game

We are not big board game players in our house. But one that we do play quite often is Candyland. The little boys and I play sometimes when everyone else is in school.
This day I was happy to see that Soren and Charles had gotten out and set up a game. It was fun to surreptitiously watch and listen to them.
I love to see them choosing to play and spend time together in a happy way!

Oh, no! not Plumpy!

The rug in the living room is always the best place to set up the game!