Hiking through the Canyon

We've had so much snow lately that we all wanted to take a hike through the local canyon on Saturday. Well, okay...Clint & i wanted to go for a hike, and we told the kids we'd take them swimming at the local indoor pool if they hiked first. So we hiked until we were out of the sunlight (that means we hiked for about 15 minutes, until the mountains began shading the sun). Then we had a little picnic on the benches beside the river, hiked back to the car & took off to go swimming.
It was beautiful, though. And here are a couple more pictures to prove it (Autumn was getting pretty cold by the time we took the last one):

Our Beloved Blob

So, I'm 12 weeks pregnant and I just had my first doctor's visit today. Here is a very grainy picture from the ultrasound. The shot is looking directly at the baby (face up; actually, Baby was face down, but I rotated the picture to make it a little easier to decipher). Towards the bottom right side of the picture are two tucked-up legs; two nubby arms can be seen by Baby's side. And if you stare long enough, two very large eyes start to appear on the face (that freaked me out at first). I think Baby's sucking his/her right thumb or fist, too.

If the boys have their way (and they won't), this baby will be Bob if he's a boy, and Larry if she's a girl. Micah's really hoping for a Bob!!

Sledding Fun

Yesterday, we took our neighbors sledding for their first time. While Micah repeatedly went down on his motorcycle sled, Clint filled the inner tube with the other two children and they raced to their hearts' content. I was especially impressed that Autumn could stay on, since she's so little. But she just held on tight to the grips, laid perfectly still and let a big grin wash over her entire face each time. I don't know that it came close to the smile on her Daddy's face, though!

I couldn't get close enough for a better picture...I didn't want to get wiped out. :)

An unwilling subject

He really didn't want me taking a picture, but I had to try out my Valentine's present. Somehow, Clint managed to secretly save and now we finally have a digital camera. Yea!!

You can't catch me!!

The "I love you" froggy balloon that Micah bought for himself can't quite catch him. We're glad he likes himself. :)

Happy Jonah

I think the happy smile is for two reasons:
1. He's playing his favorite game (Monopoly) with his favorite guy (Daddy)
2. This was taken on Valentine's Day, so his standing "Sugar-only-once-a-week" rule (a Mom
has to set some boundaries after her kid's 12th filling) was temporarily abolished.

Dirt don't hurt

On Saturday morning, the house was abuzz with the activity of cleaning. It's becoming a weekend tradition in our home...sleep in, eat a nice breakfast, clean the house from top to bottom, then go out and play. In the midst of our cleaning, we found Autumn at the bathroom sink. Her face was covered in dirt, as was the counter and sink. She had been exploring the bathroom plant, removing leaves and spreading dirt all around. Somewhere in the exploration, she began to wonder what the dirt tasted like. After apparently shoveling handfuls into her mouth, she decided it was kind of yucky. Then she hung her head in shame and embarrassment, waiting to be discovered.

Sorry there's no picture... I didn't want to further humiliate her by dragging out the camera.

Premature Spring Thaw

Temperatures reached the 50s yesterday, melting away most of the snow in our yard. The thaw left a fun surprise for our boys...MUD!! They marched through our garden plot, enjoying the sticky tooting sounds their shoes made. I hope it snows again soon, to clean up the muddy mess that seems to be covering our back steps and patio!

She Likes Natalie

During my blogging hiatus, I watched my niece and nephew for a couple of hours to give their mommy a much-deserved break! Autumn was very sad about this; as she said, "I don't wike dat baby." Sweet. But she managed to warm up to her and, shortly after Aunt Monica shut the door and left to enjoy her outing, this is what happened.

P.S. After sticking out her tongue at Autumn, Natalie was able to forgive Autumn's earlier remark. ;)