It's That Time Again

I don't think I ever officially took Kate to get her 4 year old pictures taken and Jake needed his 2 year old shots so I made an appointment to get it done. Of course it fell on a day that was pouring rain outside! Seems like that happened last year too... Thankfully, we got some good ones...

Kate requested the flower pictures-- she even picked out the bouquets and added the butterfly...she's so funny!

We all needed a Wetzles Pretzel, a lemonade and a nap after this one!

Get Your Elbows Off the Table

It all began after a busy Monday at work. Not only was mom at my house treating my kids like king and queen, but she was also making a yummy dinner and decided to have Chris come up (yeah!! He's home from BYU) and Dad and I would drive home together and Joe would meet us right about the same time. Perfect! Dinner was DELICIOUS (Thank You, Mom) and then came dessert. There were probably 3 different conversations going on when suddenly we saw this:
Are you that flexible? Forget "No elbows on the table..."

He carried on as if this were perfectly normal, totally absorbed in his mint chocolate chip


Then he caught sight of me as he stretched to get just a little more comfortable

Really? This isn't how we do things around here??!!

Even BG coming over didn't faze those feet!

You're cute, Jake.

Time For A Little Discovery

After dance class one morning, our good friends the Borges invited us to go to the Children's Discovery Museum with them. It had been a long time since I had been there and I knew the kids would love it.
The fire truck is always a hit

The pizza parlor was a BLAST. The kids stayed here for ever making pizzas, serving them, taking orders, making pizzas again... and even learning how to use a cash register...

my waitress was pretty cute :)

Leah looked really hungry, so they took good care of her!

Then came a little painting discovery

How much do you think that piece could sell for?

Jake LOVES his buddy Noah (aka "Nona")

Kate can't get enough of Elise

I love the water area at the museum-- soooo much fun---just bring an extra pair of clothes!

Alana and Kate pretending to be patients in an ambulance

They don't look too sick to me!

Trying to catch the floating ball was a definite hit.

What a great afternoon! We stayed so long that the food court even closed before we decided it was time to head on home!

Happy for good friends.

If The Shoe Fits...

At any given moment, I can find Jake with a different pair of shoes on. And almost ALWAYS they are not his own.
He finds pure satisfaction in delving into our closets to find the perfect pair, leaving behind mass confusion.

My favorite is when he attempts Kate's sparkly shoes or my heels. He scuffles along feeling so proud of himself, saying "Mommy's shoes...Kate's shoes..." and then in a really loud, low voice when he has chosen a pair from Joe, "Daddy's shoes!"

I just pray that his feet will be bigger than mine some day ;)

Earthquake?

You might think that when you look at the image below...In sad reality, this is what I found when I came to check on Jake during his nap. Sometimes it takes him a while to settle down, so I don't worry if I hear a bit of noise. This day seemed to weigh a little on the heavy side when it came to knocking and banging, so I thought I'd better check in on the kid.

Yes... every blanket, animal and book are chucked out; but what terrified me most was the heavy frame being held up by only a single nail! He's never payed attention to the thing before... apparently today the goal was to get "J" askew. He even found a way to pull up his blinds and then finally fall asleep. I'd be tired too after all of the exertion!

Just glad you're OK, buddy.

Wish I had my camera set to a quicker speed-- Ethan and Hugh were giving their cousins such a thrill ride on the swings that the kids faces are blurry... But I love this shot because you can almost hear their laughter. So blessed to have such great cousins.

We had all just come from "How to Train Your Dragon" and ended up back at our house talking and laughing for what turned out to be a few wonderful hours (side note-- first movie Jake has sat through and not gotten fidgety)-- when we looked at the time and suddenly realized no one had had dinner (we ate A LOT of popcorn and candy at the movies)...we hit the least healthiest place in our freezer and celebrated being together with corndogs. Yes, corndogs... don't worry, if you are ever invited over, that

will not be on the menu. Thanks for such a WONDERFUL Saturday afternoon Woodruffs! We love you.

Ever Been Caught Doing This??

Me too. And I think I probably had that same look of satisfaction on my face :)
See those brownie spots on her shirt? She was trying to get in as much as she could before being noticed...