Weir Family Creek Walk

So, I've been trying to get Annie up to take Jack for a walk in the creek forever, and finally I invited the whole gang up for dinner and a creek walk on Sunday. It was lots of fun, as you can see, Jack got himself thoroughly drenched. Lizzie wimped out the second she got water in her boots, but Sam and Pearl are now seasoned creek veterans, and they both had a great time. We had Jared drive my Dad down in Mona, which came in handy when it was time to get the kids back home. Thanks for coming, everone! I'm so glad I got to share my creek with you!

Fairy Festival

Pearl had her girl scout fairy festival today. The girls were supposed to dress up in "fairy frills." Well, in a cleaning out mode, I gave all of her dress up clothes to Lizzie, so I was a little concerned about what to wear. Fortunately, her aunties saved the day! She wore the tutu Auntie Maryann made for her, the tiara Auntie Crystal bought for her, the fairy necklace Grandma Weir made with her, and the hair glitter Auntie Mara gave her! (you have to look close to see it - but it was there and fabulous all day) Apparently the outfit came together just splendidly, because when her friend Molly picked her up, she said to her mom, "she looks better than me!" (I don't know that that was true, it was just funny that she said it...)

I'm still not sure what they did at the festival, other than she had a good time and got to hang out with her girl scout friends. She also came home with another really cool patch (which I now have to sew on....).

Since Pearl was dressing up, Sam decided to get in on the action...Thanks for the superhero cape, Maryann!

Lizzie turns 3!

I know...that's a ton of pictures. But when you take 300 and 60 or so are worth editing, you have to show some of them off! We had a great time at Lizzie's birthday party last night. It is so fun to watch Lizzie go through so many of the same stages that Pearl did...like the "I must wear a fancy dress everywhere I go" phase and the "I live in my princess dress up clothes" phase. She was so happy about her princess barbie dolls...aah, if only it were still that simple! We're so lucky to have all the cousins live so close :) (until Jayson and Sara have a kid and whisk it off to faraway places...)

If you want to see the whole party, go to https://www.photoshop.com/user/hulbertfam

The goods

That's right folks, the tooth fairy left two whole dollars and a black ink pad...I think she (or he, as Dad contests) must know Pearl pretty well. Pearl says she is saving the money for a car when she turns 16 - I hope that one lasts!

Pearl's new smile!

Pearl FINALLY loses her first tooth!

Pearl has had a loose tooth since February 4th (that's right, like 7 weeks!). Today, we decided it was too loose to continue in Pearl's mouth any longer. We decided that after lunch, Dad was going to have to pull it. So, being VERY brave, though she didn't want to, she went and got her dad for her "tooth surgery:)"

About halfway through we had to stop and comfort her.

Finally, it came out. What did her mother do? Took a picture before giving her salt water to rinse in, of course!

Mommy, can I look at the fishies?

One of the many cool and crazy things about where we live is our fish pond. My father in law takes being self reliant to new heights - thus, chickens, our own backup generator, our own gas tank, and our pond stocked with catfish (and the 15 cent goldfish I put in a few years ago to eat the mosquitos). Sam is obsessed with looking at and feeding the fish lately. The goldfish are quite large now, and are actually very pretty to look at. This is Sam's preferred method for looking at the fish.


When Pearl and I were looking for Dad and Sam today, this is what we found.

So, Pearl decided to get in on the action and I ran and got the camera!

I know, so many posts lately! It's partially that I am totally obsessed with my new camera. The other thing is that I am cherishing finding a way to record all of my family memories in a format that is so easy and enjoyable. So, people, it's not really for you...it's for my grandchildren:)

It must be spring...

This is what I saw when I looked out my kitchen window this morning. It must be spring. It is so funny to watch these turkeys puff themselves up, turning blue and strut for the female turkeys, who walk past and pretend not to notice them...looks like we'll be seeing baby turkeys soon!

Sam and Pearl

Wouldn't you have gotten your camera out if you saw this too?

Nieces

I was tired of being sick today, so on the way to Costco I stopped by Mara's house and we did some pictures of her girls. These are some of my favorites...aren't they so cute?

Grandpa Weir

My dad is the sweetest grandpa. He's always had a soft heart, but his grandkids totally melt him. This is the man that will take vacation days to babysit for us. He is always one of the first to be at the hospital when a new baby is born, and keeps finding excuses to pop in:) He would watch Cinderella with Pearl because she wanted him to. You can see how much he's enjoying cuddling Sam - a rare occasion for anyone these days. His grandkid count is going up...I hope he'll still enjoy it when he has 7 by the end of the year. Something tells me he will.

Amy 20 weeks

Ok so I know I'm not really 20 weeks until tomorrow, but today is Sunday and a better day for pictures! I am not one to take pictures of myself, in fact, I think in my previous three pregnancies I only have two pictures - one right before I delivered Pearl and one right before I delivered Robbie. I decided to get over myself and record how HUGE my belly is this time. Can you believe it? The baby has plenty of room, I think:) I think all women must have a difficult time with their bodies when they are pregnant (like it isn't bad enough the rest of the time), but now that I have done this so many times, I am trying to realize that this is all part of the sacrifice. Every time I look at my beautiful, good children, I should realize that gaining 40 pounds each time is a small price to pay to have the privilege of having them in my home. So, here's to trying to be a good example of a healthy body image to my daughter (so what if I had to photoshop it as a line drawing to display it - we're making progress here). Plus I got the chance to try out my tripod and remote, which was kind of fun:)

The Ranch

The more I think about having another boy, the more excited I get. I mean, our house is like little boy heaven. It is such the place for boys. We just go outside and Sam can find hours of entertainment just feet away.

Ok, maybe it's not so fun for the big boys...but, I guess that's why we need more!

Ok, Pearl likes it too. Especially when she finds gross old cow bones that she wants to bring to school for sharing "Cause Mom, Mrs. Dyer loves science sharing..."

Pearl's awards ceremony

Pearl got a perfect attendance award today. That means she has not missed one day of Kindergarten yet! It is that cool still! I love the part where she doesn't know you're supposed to be a little bit embarassed about getting an award - she was just proud and happy. Oh, to be a kindergardener again! (except, then I would still have to write my masters thesis and go through 7th grade again...maybe not...)

It's a Boy!

So, it looks like it's another Hulbert boy in the making. Pearl is so happy she wants to cry. Sam keeps saying "I'm a big brother," and when he looks at the picture showing the baby's sex, he says "It's my penis," so I'm not quite sure how much he gets. He is only 2:) Max definitely has huge Sammy feet, and Jared says he saw a big Sam mouth, too. He also has a Weir chin, just like the other two kids. He looked very comfortable in there, stretched out, with his legs crossed. I don't think that will last long, though! We're so excited for another spirit in our little family:)

New Flash!

So, every year for my birthday my grandpa sends me money and I usually use some of it to get something I've been wanting. This year it was an add on flash (SB-600) for my really cool camera (nikon D60) that Jared got me for christmas. I was playing with it tonight, and am amazed at the difference. My outside pictures have been fabulous, but when I take pictures inside I feel like they look just like my old camera. Not anymore! Now the kids are allowed to do something cute, even when there is not good afternoon light streaming through the windows!