Spring is winning

There are certain times in a year when the morning light comes shining through our front windows telling us that it's a new season.    When spring begins to arrive, we are blessed with radiant beams illuminating our breakfast table.     

I just love it!

We've all been waking up a bit earlier these days, and in much better moods too.   But then again, how could that not be the case when the Sun is already up and shining so bright.

Speaking of shining sun, we've had lots of great days that brought us out of hibernation and out into our front yard.   Some like to use their weekends Ripsticking.   

Others like to focus on their artistic abilities.  

While our aspiring basketball players get to finally practice some of their skills.  

Sure, sometimes we wake up 10 hours later to inches of cold white snow again, but that's not the point.

The point is ...that Spring is coming!   

(at least, that's what I keep telling myself;)

Conference Concessions

This year we scored with the best Conference idea EVER!   

You know how it's always hard to get your kids to listen to the talks with you, and you print off 100 sheets of paper, put it in a cute little booklet, (essentially killing a tree in the process), and then spend tonnes of time and money adding said booklet to a basket full of crayons, candy and paraphernalia, all geared toward keeping your child quiet?

What's that?  You've never gone to such ridiculously great lengths?

LIES!!!!

Everybody jumps through hoops to get their kids to listen, and that has pretty much been my General Conference strategy with my kids for years.  It usually results in paper strewn all over the floor, candy eaten (and fought over), brand new packs of crayons snapped in two and bored kids.

   ALL before the opening song is over!!!

This year though, we got a great idea from the Children's friend,  to open up a General Conference Concession.   It worked better then I ever expected!

(Oh yeah, and we used to set up our tent in the living room for the kids to sit in and listen, you know, like the Nephites who pitched their tents toward the temple?     We do dorky things like this, to get our kids to listen.   This year, I got lazy though, and had John make a makeshift tent instead;)

Anyways, back to the concession.   What we did was, minutes before conference began, set up a table full of treats.  (Cookies, jube jubes, Reese chocolates, cheesies, trail mix, cheese and crackers, water and V8 Juice.   Okay, the V8 was for me;)    Abby made a sign that stated the price of each treat, and instantly dubbed herself the one to run the concession.   We then had four bowls full of tokens, and taped to each bowl were the words Savior, Testimony, Scriptures, and Prayer.   Any time the kids heard one of those words, or heard a talk about one of those words they could take a token.     Concession was closed during talks, and opened up during musical numbers, which was when the kids could redeem their tokens on treats of their choice.

Never in a million years, would I have expected it to actually work, but I'll be darned- it did!

It was CRAZY!!  No CRAFTS, coloring pages or word search pages at ALL!   They sat and listened, hanging on a speakers every word.  Sure they were just waiting to earn another token, but who cares why they listened.  THEY LISTENED!!!!!    When the choir would stand up to sing, they would rush to the table, purchase their goodies and then return to their spot on the floor exclaiming that "we should do this every year!"     (I'm pretty sure they enjoyed the "buying with tokens" part more then even the "eating" part of it;)    

Jess and Sam watched an entire session on Saturday, as well as the entire morning session on Sunday!

Nate on the other hand, avoided the family room at all costs, occasionally calling out to one of us to wait on him hand and foot.    I really didn't expect him to try and listen though.   For starters, he's three, but he's also a heathen to boot!;)

Abby surprised me most though, by watching all four sessions with John and I, and get this...she took NOTES!    She was slightly obsessive about needing to write quotes from each and every one of the Apostle's talks, and she even drew diagrams!

At first, I was really proud of her, and often found myself mentally giving John and I props for raising such an outstanding daughter.   But, by the time the fourth session came around, she started flicking John and I anytime we began to even remotely doze off, and I'd be lying if I said her enthusiasm didn't get to be slightly annoying.   haha   

 I mean, doesn't she know the fourth session exists for the purpose of cuddling and napping?    

Sigh...We'll have to fill her in on that next year!

Super Day in Waterton

Earlier this week, we were extra thrilled when our friends (the Spencer's) called up and invited us to join them in Waterton.    John and I had already been wanting to take our kids for lunch out there,  and so we sorta just combined our plans and made a day of it together!

We started out by having lunch at Vimys, one of my favorite places to eat in Waterton.   Mandi's sister and her family joined us too, which was awesome.   (She'd brought along animal crackers, which I'm pretty sure was the sole reason Nate did not have a complete break down as he waited for his food!)

  In total there were 14 of us, and I think our kids behaved quite remarkably, all things considered.

After we ate, we went over to the park so that the kids could run off some steam at the playground.

It was nice to sit in the sun (and it was SUNNY!) and visit.  Conversation was often interrupted by the occasional impromptu snowball fight, or the call from one of our kids to give them a push on a swing.   The weather was so nice, that the kids kept trying to get the spray park going.   They were all like, "Where are our towels?"   and we were all like, "It's freaking barely APRIL!!!"   :)

Of course, we had to do the obligatory stop at Cameron Falls for pictures and then headed to Emerald Bay to roast Marshmallows.    

We brought the marshmallows.  The Spencers brought a MILLION other treats!!  (yup, we're flakes;)

Mandi even came prepared with Easter Eggs filled with treats for the kids to do an Egg hunt.
 It didn't matter one bit that Easter had already passed, because this was an Egg Hunt in WATERTON!!!    How cool is that?!

We're 99% certain that the kids found each and every egg we'd hidden for them.

And one kid got extra lucky and found a TICK too! ;)

Before heading home, we drove up to the hotel to see the view, and it was truly so rare to be up there with no wind at all!   

 John kept trying to fly a kite, but it wouldn't fly!!!  haha.

Mandi and I took tonnes of pictures, and I couldn't get over how the lake below was clear as glass.  

That NEVER happens. 

I snapped this shot using a specific setting on my camera and it turned out so funky, but it gives you a good idea of just how calm it was!

Such a great Great Day!

A stopover at Chads house

This is my Brother, his wife, and two of their four kids. 

Chad tells the coolest stories, makes every conversation interesting, and is very fondly referred to as the "coolest uncle ever."

Heather, makes the most delicious meals, and always has something special waiting for us whenever we pop in for a visit.    We never leave without John asking me to get a certain recipe;)

Ella, Mason, Tyson, and Deacon are all fairly close in age to our own four kids, and therefore, provide endless hours of entertainment as they whittle wood, and explore wooded paths together.   

Just a few of the reasons why we ALL love visiting their home!:)

Picnic in March

I recently offered to help a family in my ward, who were leaving for Easter Break, by taking their church cleaning assignment for that week.     I figured the kids would be happy to perform a little service, but in the end, Jessica was the only one willing to come with me.   The.only.one.   

She washed chalkboards, sprayed cleaner, and emptied ALL the garbage cans!

She was such a hard little worker, and to reward her for her help, I took her to Dairy Queen for an ice cream cone.   (Only, ...she chose the Grilled Turkey Sandwich instead.)

We sat on the lawn in front of the temple, and had our first picnic of the year.   The wind was a bit cold, and the ground was still wet from recently melted snow, but Jess didn't seem to mind.   

I'm really praying this one NEVER grows up on me;)!

Happy Easter

My heart is full this Easter Sunday.

Of course, if you were to ask my kids, the highlight of their day would have been the fact that the Easter Bunny snuck in sometime early this morning and left behind all sorts of sugary madness.  For me though, what I enjoyed most was fast and testimony meeting today at church.    Oh, and the sun is shining, and it is a beautiful BEAUTIFUL spring day!  

Here are a couple of papers I found today that made me smile and I think pretty much epitomizes Easter in our home this year.     (At least from my kids perspective;)

Jessica drew this during sacrament meeting:

Abby left this note for the Easter Bunny last night:

Clearly, Easter means different things to each one of my kids ;) but I'm so grateful for what it means to ME!

HAPPY EASTER!!!

Easter Friday

On Easter Friday we did the obligatory "Egg Painting" which I can't stand doing.    

So much mess, if you ask me, but the kids enjoy it, so Egg painting it is!;)

We tried something new this year, (perhaps because there are actually KIDS in our cul de sac now;) and had an Egg Hunt with the neighbors.   It was fun for the kids and Jess won the golden egg for the second year in a row.    

A bit of Easter Role Playing

This past week, I found myself scrambling to find a good lesson idea for Monday's family home evening.   I knew it had to be Easter related, and I really want to do or teach something that would help the kids think more about the true meaning of Easter, and less about some dumb bunny, you know?

(plus that "dumb bunny" is giving them nothing but piggy banks and a little bag of mini eggs this year, so I really don't want the kids putting all their hopes into that one basket, if you know what I mean:)

There is MORE to Easter then what the Easter Bunny brings, that's all.

Anyways, after a little bit of perusing online, I came across a great idea that inspired our very own mock "last supper."   Sunday night, at bedtime, I told the kids that dinner the next day was going to be extra special, and that everybody needed to arrive dressed up like a person who lived when Christ lived.    (Abby talked about it non stop from that point on, and even offered to wear her costume to school, you know, so that she'd be " all ready for FHE."    I told her no to that in a hurry, because the last thing I wanted was for her to go to school on passover Monday looking like some sort of religious fanatic, you know?)

By 5:00 the next evening though, all the kids had found something to wear, and even John and I managed to throw on our old Moroni's Quest costumes one more time.    We all looked pretty darn snazzy, if I do say so myself!  ;)    Jessica made me laugh, because she insisted on being one of the "wise men" and bringing a gift.    I think she got her scriptural accounts mixed up a bit, but hey...she brought the wine, so it's all good!!!   ;)

We ate on the floor, in the front room, and for dinner we had wine grape juice, fruit, nuts, flat bread, lamb skewers (but it was really chicken, don't worry;) olives, and hard boiled eggs.     It wasn't a yummy meal by any means, but the kids literally ate it ALL!   They even tried eating olives, which makes me wonder if they'd eat anything I put in front of them, so long as I give each meal a theme and let them come dressed up?     (Huh.....I'm going to have to see what I can do about this in the future.)   

While we ate, we talked, and I used this time to teach the lesson.

We discussed some of the things the Savior taught at the last supper.  We talked about how He served his apostles.   Sam stepped out of character a time or two to tell us about some struggles he had riding the school bus that day.    And then we talked about Judas, and how he left the supper early so that he could go and perform his act of betrayal.

It was at this point that Nathan (who seemed to have really only come for the wine:) stood up, threw his costume on the ground, and climbed the stairs to my room, proclaiming to us all that he had to go and play the "compluter" instead.   Well, Abby and Sam instantly declared Nate "Judas" and accused him of "leaving the table"!!      hahaha.  

He's a wicked little boy, but I sure love him!  haha

In all honestly, it turned out to be a really fun Family Night, and I think it is exactly what the kids needed to connect with the true meaning of Easter.    John was a trooper and played right along, and I think this may even become a yearly tradition.  

And who knows?   Perhaps our little heathen child might experience a change of heart and actually want to join us next time! :)

Check out our Family Food Blog for a really easy Easter Treat idea! 

The nice way to "EGG" a place....

When I was younger, I remember certain times of the year, when our church meeting house would get "EGGed" by a group of non-lds kids in town.    This always happened every Halloween for sure, but occasionally other times as well.   In fact, I vaguely remember one time when my Brother and some of his friends,  hid out in the bushes surrounding the church (I want to say with water hoses?) in an effort to catch the culprits in the act.    I'm not sure if they ever did catch who was doing it,  but you got to give my brother and his friends props from trying;)  

Anyways, I suppose that might have something to do with the fascination I've always had with this notion of "Egging" a place.   On one hand, I dread it.   Loathe it.  And Fear it.   (I am constantly warning John that he'd better not be a boring teacher, or else his students might come egg our house.)   On the other hand, there is this part of me that would really, REALLY enjoying throwing eggs at something, myself!   (I'd put it on my "Bucket List" of things to do in this life, if I didn't still think it was absolutely moronic.)    

Anyways, this past week at Activity Days I told the girls that we were going to go "Egg a place," and their initial reaction surprised me a bit.   We have 12 girls in our group, and I'd say about HALF of them were a little too excited at the idea.  Heck, they were thrilled!!!

(Future "Eggers" for sure;)

I had to quickly re-direct their focus and assure them that, this time, going and "Egging" something was going to be a GOOD thing, because we were about to commit a "Nice-ness."  

  Luckily, they were all still on board with the idea, so there might be hope for them still;)         

14 Easter Eggs containing testimonies, kind words, and happy thoughts about Easter posted on our Bishops office door.   I'm not sure if the putty will hold until Sunday, but that doesn't matter.   

The girls had fun doing it, and I'm pretty sure I got that whole "Egging" thing out of my system, once and for all!   :)

Just one more day until Easter Break.  

EEEEKK!!!!

Jessica, put your socks on!!!

One morning as everyone was getting ready for school, I told Jess to make sure she put some socks on.  

She went off in search of a pair, and the next thing I knew, she had constructed her own very little ...um...sock puppet?...using some of my jewellery.    

Can you believe she actually wanted this tacky thing to stay put all day?   Luckily, she settled for a picture with it instead;)

X - Country Skiing

Saturday was absolutely crazy!

For starters, I slept in until 9:00 am.   (What am I, 16 or something?)

Then I flew out of bed, frantically trying to make up for lost time.    

The kids had gotten themselves breakfast, so naturally, there was a hurricane grade mess to clean up.

The entire house had to be cleaned in anticipation for an appointment the following week.    (I knew Id not be able to clean on my normal cleaning day.   ...Monday.)

We had to change the water in the fish tanks.    Ew. Ew.  EW!

Then we head to do a major grocery shopping trip.

Then our washing machine broke down, with three piles sitting on the floor waiting.  

And that was all before NOON!

By 12:30, I'd had enough of the day, and John and I decided to go with plan B.

Plan B:  X-Country Skiing in Waterton!

We'd considered for a moment, the notion of taking all of the kids with us, but then we had a flashback to the last time we tried to cross country ski with the kids.  It was an awful experience which resulted in both John and I carrying/hauling/dragging each.and.every.one of our kids the entire way and back.   All while listening to THEM complain about how tired they were!   No way, this time we decided to be smarter.

(cue the babysitter!;)

An hour after deciding to go, we were at the starting point, ready to make our way to Cameron Lake.

The weather was perfect! 

I was out of shape.

John was not.

It's okay though, 'cuz whenever I needed to rest, I just pretended it was because I needed to stop and take a picture, rather then catch my breath.    (Stopping to take a picture is so much more admirable than stopping because you are afraid you're going to pass out from a little bit of exertion;)

We made it to Cameron Lake in no time (even with all my resting...ur uh...picture taking.)

We stood at the shore looking out at Cameron Lake for about 3.2 seconds before trying to find a more sheltered spot for our picnic.  

In the end, we just sat on the dock to eat.   

Mind you, the dock was not in it's usual place exactly, but still .... we sat on the dock just the same;)

Throughout the course of the afternoon, we saw a bunch of wildlife.   White tail deer, Elk, gophers...EAGLES (7 of them actually!) and lots of birds.     A couple of Steller Jays joined us for lunch, and at one point this bird (which we think is a Whiskey Jack) perched itself just a foot or two away from us, on John's ski poles.   

Doesn't this bird kinda look like he's walking on stilts?

I didn't really want to leave, but seeing as we'd eaten all our snacks, taken pictures, AND I was beginning to lose feeling in my toes - we headed for home.  

I loved the trip home!

The snow began falling more steadily and the flakes were big, and fluffy.   

Everybody else, who we'd passed earlier, had left, so we had the trail all to ourselves.   

The woods were eerily quiet and still.   We could literally hear the snow as it fell.

It was absolutely perfect!

We got back to Cardston just in time to make dinner, pay the babysitter, get some more groceries that I'd forgotten to put on the list earlier, bathe the kids,  put them to bed, finish cleaning, complete the laundry (thanks to Johns fix-it skills;), AND watch our high school boys and girls basketball teams kick provincial Butt!  (proverbially speaking)

I fell into bed that night absolutely exhausted.  And aching.   I'm sure glad we made time for it though. 

  A busy Saturday is always so much more tolerable when mingled with an afternoon jaunt in the mountains!

Today...

Today I ....

* woke up to a 3 year old jumping on my head

* made 4 bag lunches in 4.5 minutes (new record)

* answered my front door 8 times  

* cleaned bathrooms, mopped floors, washed walls 

* cleaned up spilled milk twice (AFTER the floor had been mopped of course;)

* crossed 6 things off my to do list.   2 remained;(

* Bought "To the Rescue" (President Monson's biography) and while purchasing it, asked myself if I really expected to read it anytime soon.   (One can dream right?)

* Talked with a friend about "time".  And "schedules."   And "calmer days."  (again...one can dream:)

* Attended Activity Days for the first time as a leader.  (Ten girls ranging from ages 8-12 = 2 leaders who were so not ready for it!;)   

* Went to the store to buy two items.   Came home with eight bags FULL of items!

* Took 2 kids to champs and was reminded of how busy sports on a weeknight can make things.  (just in time for soccer season;)

* threw something on the table for supper.  I can't recall if the kids ate it or not, but it was something warm, and it was there.   That's all I promise.  

* Gave kids cupcakes and milk for a bedtime snack, because it was faster then the more healthy alternatives

* Listened to Sam pray for all the poor people in the world

* Listened to Nate pray to "get a toy tomorrow."

* Fell asleep while laying with Nate

* Woke up, moved to Jessica's bed, and fell asleep all over again while laying with her

*Woke up at 9 pm (which is the grossest feeling ever) and decided that today was a day worth documenting, but that it'd have to be done in point form.   Much.too.tired.

* Came across this video online and fell in love with this woman!

* Vowed to be more like her!

                                

Double Digits!

Abby celebrated her 10th birthday this past week, and true to tradition- the fun lasted ALL week!

She was thrilled to got to have a birthday ON a school day, and she walk up bright and early Monday morning cheerily singing as she got ready a song that went a lot like this:

"Oh yeah...I'm in the double digits! I'm in the double digits!  Oh yeah.  Oh yeah!"

(I'd love to say this didn't get old, but....;)

I did manage to send Abby birthday cupcakes for her class as well.   What I didn't manage to do was get a picture of them.   It's probably for the best though because they weren't that cute;)  haha

After school though, Abby went to art class, and because it was her birthday she got to pose for a picture while everybody drew her portrait.   Jewel emailed me this pic and I laughed so hard.   Abby loves to be the centre of attention- that's for sure;)

She got a cute candy card from her cousin Mya, and cupcakes made to look like a paint pallet from her art teacher, Kirsty.    (Now that's how you make a cupcake look cute;)

We celebrated as a family that night by eating her favorite meal (perogys and bacon...ew!) and letting her open some presents.    She got skinny jeans, a new purse, and a joke book.    A kind kind couple also gave her their old ipod touch and so that pretty much trumped everything else she received.  haha

A week later, big surprise, we were still celebrating her.    

Yesterday she got to invite 10 friends to the local hotel pool for some swimming and fun.   Nate hung out in the hot tub with John pretty much the whole time.   I sat on the edge and watched because I have a phobia of hotel pools;)

After swimming, we used a room downstairs to have cake, ice cream and let the girls play "Just Dance" before going home.    She really has a great group of friends, and Abby enjoyed every bit of it!

And I am enjoying the fact that we're done with birthdays, at least for a little while;)

Winter in Waterton

It's march now!   

That means that it's time to start going for little drives outside of town in search of eagles. 

Sometimes Jessica comes with me, other times though - I sneak out of the house before anyone even notices I'm leaving and tries to stop me!  haha

These drives almost always take me out past Beazer, and then instinctively towards Waterton.   I don't know why I have to end up there, perhaps I'm just afraid of missing out on a beautiful Waterton morning.    

And this past Saturday was just such a morning!

The mountains were so crisp looking with freshly fallen snow.    

Waterton (though crisp and pretty) was also very windy!

I stopped for awhile below the prince of whales hotel and rolled my window all the way down and just listened to the waves as they rolled in.   

Watching these waves reminded me of our awesome visit to Newport Beach in 2008.  It was our first, and so far, only experience at the ocean and it was breathtaking.   Listening to these waves lap against the shore, I could almost close my eyes and pretend I was back there on that sandy California beach.   (Well, until I started to feel the numbing effects of frost bite sink in;)

Brrrr!!!!!!    As freezing as this water looks- it's a comforting thought to think that in a few short months we'll be playing in this water again!!!    The thaw has officially begun;)

I also drove up towards Cameron Lake so that I could envy all the cool people who had ventured up there to do some snow skiing.  Perhaps I can convince John to do that with me this weekend....?   

Despite the fact that I was the only one up there NOT skiing or snowshoeing, I did get some beautiful pictures.    

Winter (especially February and March) can be such a dreary, ugly time.  Not in the mountains though. Thanks to the abundant green pine and the beautiful contrast of wild dogwoods - there is color everywhere, and it looks beautiful with a fresh blanket of snow.

I eventually made my way back down to the town site, and drove around one last time before heading back home.  

Oh, and I spotted THREE eagles without really having to look for them.

Another very promising sign that spring is on its way!!!

We're a family of 8 now

My kids LOVE pets, and have ALWAYS wanted one.   

In fact, for the past 6-10 years, we have endured endless conversations with the kids about what kind of pet we would ever allow the kids to have.

A snake?

An iguana?

A Dog?

A Bunny?

A bird?

....a Hermit Crab....?

We've never agreed to anything.  It's not that John and I are against the idea of a pet.   I told the kids that we are perfectly happy to let them have a pet, so long as it fits the criteria we established.    That criteria being that any animal living in our home... can't shed, must not make noise, must live in one single isolated place, must require living in water to survive, and must require minimal feeding.

Within the confines of those guidelines - they have always been welcome to chose whatever pet they want!!!

Imagine our surprise when, for Jessica's Birthday, she asked to have a Fish for a Pet!   

I applauded her profoundly wise choice, and when her Birthday arrived, she accompanied me to Petland where she picked out her very own Beta.

Jess's fish is a beautiful red thing that swims a lot and seems happy in his little tank.    For the first couple of days, Jessica called this fish of hers "Hot Stuff," and it puzzled John and I that she would even come up with such a name.   We were very much relieved when she changed his name to "Flames."

Surprisingly enough, Jessica is remarkably responsible when it comes to taking care of Flames.  She insists on being actively involved when it comes to cleaning Flame's bowl, and she hasn't missed a feeding yet!     She keeps reminding me, that it's because I promised her that if she could take care of a Fish for a whole year...then maybe....MAYBE I'd let her get a hamster.     (Let the record show, I recall NO SUCH CONVERSATION, and I've begun secretly praying that Flames does not make it the year;)

As soon as Sam saw that Jessica had a pet, he insisted on having one of his own too.    Without any hesitation, he cashed in all of  his hard earned tokens (which our kids earn when they've demonstrated responsible behavior) and he bought himself a blue Beta.    He named his pet fish Poseidon which I thought was a perfect name for a fish.  (Poseidon was the name of a mythical Greek God who's domain was the ocean.)       

Sam and Poseidon get along just fine.    

I Poseidon doesn't seem to mind that Sam is rarely ever the one to change his water or feed him, and Sam likes that Jessica is not the only one who can boast about having a pet.    To tell the truth though, Sam does seems slightly disappointed at how unexciting a fish can be as a pet, and he keeps complaining that his fish just doesn't do anything.

We'll see how long these new additions last, but I can't help but think John and I are pretty fantastic parents for jumping into this whole "pet thing" so ambitiously. ;)

Things I never thought I'd hear my kids say...

A little over two weeks ago, my computer died.   Just like that, right while I was using it.   One minute I was watching a you tube video of some tourists who almost got capsized off the coast of Hawaii by a Humpback Whale, and the next minute - the screen is blank.  

At first I cried.

Then I took the computer to John and asked him to do whatever it is he always does to make things better.   He spent an hour or two on it, trying to get it running, but it was no use.  

  So then I told him to try harder! 

(Can I help it if I have that much confidence in him?)

   Sure enough, after an hour of research he determined that a small connector cable deep within the belly of my little computer had probably burnt out.    To make a long story short (or have I made a short story long?) he ordered the new part...we crossed our fingers...I endured 2 weeks with nothing...the little cable doo dad thingy finally arrived....John took my laptop apart....worked his magic.... and oi la!!!!!

All is well again:)

During the past couple of weeks, something interesting happened.   I surprisingly ENJOYED not checking for messages, wasting endless minutes on facebook, drooling over pinterest ideas, and perusing food blogs for recipes I can never quite duplicate no matter how hard I try.

   I did however miss my daily 15 minutes spent playing brain games on Luminosity.   

And this blog.  I missed my little journal.

Luckily,  I made sure to make a detailed list (with a pen and pencil!!) of all the funny things my kids said during this time.  And for some reason, these kids seemed funnier to me then normal?    

Perhaps that is what happens when one has nothing to do but LISTEN? :)

At any rate, here are some of the things I overheard them say over the past week.    They sure make me smile!

"I had a little problem with the TNT today,  and accidentally blew up my house."  
 - Said Sam one evening at dinner as he told Grandpa about his day.  (Luckily, he was referring to a house of his on mine craft;)

"SAM!!!  I am NOT your STUFFY!!!!!"

-Said Nate, angrily one morning when Sam kept trying to hug him and smother him with kisses.

"Ahhh....I just love the sound of sarcasm in the morning!"

- Said Abby one morning as I drove the kids to school

"I . hope . you .  DIE!"  
- Said Nathan menacingly, to ME...his Mother!

(We were playing Super Mario Brothers and he was trying to throw my Luigi guy off an edge;)

"You guys!  If you want to change your Birthday, then all you have to do is Die, ...then..get born again!"
-  Said Sam, as the kids were all lamenting the inconvenience of each of their birth dates.  

ME:   Hey Sam!  I want to take your picture, can you just stop giving Jessica a noogie.

Sam:  She likes it!

Me:  No Sam.  I'm sure she doesn't.

JESS:  heehee.   Yes I do.   I totally LIKE it!!!

Me:  "Sam, for goodness sakes- cover your mouth when you cough!"

Sam:  "I'm sorry!  What can I say?  It's a natural habitat!" 

(I'm thinking he meant to say habit;)