Move over Monet....

After Tim did such an awesome job finishing our basement, the walls look pretty bare down there, so the kids each did a painting to get things a little more variegated and interesting. Aren't they cute? The one on the far right has all of the kids' hand prints in a row. I. love. them.

I found a new tool that has become one of my new favorite things. It's called Cleverkeys and it is COOL. I always joke that in addition to not being able to form coherent sentences and forgetting my own name, my vocabulary has decreased exponentially with the birth of each child. But the thing is, I really am not joking. So, I've decided that I want to start writing more and am even taking on a challenge with a couple of friends. I'll tell you if when I complete it. But the point is, if, for example, you want to make a word stronger or tweak the meaning just a bit, you can highlight any word you've typed, press Ctrl L, and it links you directly to a Thesaurus with synonyms for your word. (Did you really think I came up with "variegated" on my own?) I didn't. But *now* I know it and can add it to my word bank. So there. Okay, so just reading that back, it doesn't sound as awesome as it truly is, so you're just going to have to trust me and give it a go.

So I'm not *positive* that this is what the Binky Fairy looks like-one can only assume. All I know is, she came, worked her magic, and left- with virtually no trauma to a certain 2 year old in our home. And ironically enough- the bribe that I she thought was so necessary (3 cute tiny little puppies) went unnoticed after the first day. Today I found out that Lou-lou actually has been thinking about this a little bit though, because out of the blue she says: "The binky fairy came and took my binkies away. Maybe the binky fairy will come and bring me some new ones." I almost felt bad telling her that, "No- the binky fairy only takes, never gives." But the rash around the bottom of her lip told us that the binky deadline had arrived.

Dallin has a crush on a girl who is in his class at school and also is in our church Primary. She's an older woman (7), but he's smitten. Her mom was teaching D's primary class this Sunday and out of the blue, my shy boy raises his hand and says, in front of everyone:"Sister Darla, I'm going to marry Aubrey."
Darla: "Well, okay. You can. But you'll have to buy her a honkin' huge diamond first."
Dallin: "Okay. Can you take me to the store?"
All I can say is: Own it, boy. No shame.

And just because: I love how Natty is old enough to truly enjoy Baby B.

Lou-lou on her perch first thing in the morning.

Is she old enough to be doing this already??! Slow down, Father Time.