Reverse Catch Up

Past weeks in reverse!  

Today Aubrie had another dance competition.  We both came down with the flu last night, but Aubrie sucked it up and was determined to make it there.  If she didn't show, the dances would be messed up.  I mustered enough strength to do her hair and makeup, but forgot to take a picture.  They will be performing these dances for her dance recital in May, so I'll have pics then.  They did well, and had a great time!  

Thursday and Friday were half days.  The kids had dentist appts, on Thursday, and we got out of the office with ZERO cavities! YIPPIE!  After a house full of kids all day, I was ready for a girls night out.  Michelle and I grabbed dinner, did some shopping, and saw "He's Just Not That Into You."  We both liked the movie, and made us appreciate the fact we no longer had to deal with the dating scene!! YIKES!

So Boston looks a little different than these pictures, as of today!  He wiggled his front top tooth all morning, until it was loose enough to finally come out.  Guess he is saving for a new toy or something.  He looks and sounds so different now!  It was the tooth that he banged on the bath tub about 3 years ago.  It was discolored and he called it his "dirty tooth".  Luckily it never bothered him.   Obviously he is a boy!  These pics were taken this Wednesday.  The first graders took a field trip right behind the school, on Sunrise  Mountain trail.  Perks to living here I guess.   Boston's teacher is Great!  She bought these visors that they decorated for the hike, and they had little booklets tied around their necks, that had a checklist of things in the desert!  It was a short hike, but the kids had a great time!Wednesday evening the Young Women went hiking the same mountain as the field trip.  We then took a trip to my new favorite ice cream place "Juju Berry".  It's a frozen yogurt place where you build your own creation and they charge you by the ounce!  (Ben and I went back on Friday, before the flu really hit me.)  After YW, I did my normal Wed. ritual....ran with Michelle,  and Ben and I watched LOST with the Lorenzana's afterward! 

Here are a few pics from Spring Break!  This is one of Sophia by the pool.  We spent the day out by the pool the day we got back from California.  It was much hotter than we were noticing and we were all  sunburned by the days end!   
Here are the Disney Pics.  

The kids getting ready to soak themselves outside of Bugs Life!  

A cool little acapella group that was singing over by Tower of Terror.  The kids were really getting into it, and by kids I mean my Mom, too!  

 My Mom's first time on the Tower of Terror.  She liked it so much we went on it again, right away. 

Sleepy Time!  

Whole Hand Birthday!

I have to admit that I'm not as diligent at blogging because the Mac is not as friendly with the blog as I would like.  However, some event's must be recorded.  Ethan finally had his "whole hand" birthday (aka  birthday number cinco)!  I can't believe my baby boy is 5 already!  I'm not ready for him to be 5.   The older he gets, the quicker his little boy "cuteness" will fade!  His little high pitched voice, his need for his stuffed animal "Noodles", and his endless artwork that he tapes up all over my walls!  Since this birthday is an extra special one, I made sure to make it a memorable one!  The night before, Ben and I decorated the house with crepe paper  balloons, and a Sponge Bob Happy Birthday sign.  (Sophia was loving that!  Yes, Yes...my two year old loves Sponge Bob.  One of the few words in her vocabulary!)  We also taped streamers to his bedroom doorway, so when he woke up he would immediately feel special.  He woke up to "sugar" cereal and a few birthday gifts, that included 3 packs of gum.  That was his favorite gift of the day.  Does that sound weird?  It would to most, but in our house you are not allowed to chew gum until your are 5.   So turning 5 is a much anticipated milestone birthday....the GUM birthday.  Ethan had finished chewing a pack by the end of the day.  His breath never smelled better!  He was very responsible, carrying around the paper each piece came in, to make sure he properly disposed of it when he was done!  

Ethan's birthday fun continued when I took him to McDonald's for lunch, after a short detour to the Pediatrician.  The stop was for Sophia.   She  got something stuck up her nose, but it was gone by the time the Dr. looked up there!  Go figure.

Ethan had his  birthday party at our house.  It was so easy and fun!  I finally paid a little extra this time and rented a bouncer with a slide, and it kept the kids busy the entire time.  It was even a hit with my Mom! Ha!  She did have some problems getting up once she fell!  Gotta love the "kid" in my Mom!

I'm surprised I was able to take pull the kids  away for cake, a Sponge Bob version of pin the tail on the donkey, and opening presents.  Here is the stellar cake Ethan had this year!  I decided that I am done spending time making cakes!  The kids never want to eat them, and they just waste away in my fridge, or I'm tempted to eat all the left overs.  This year I decided to do this, and then give the kids ice cream sandwiches!  That was a hit!  Should have done that years ago when I saw my friend Trina do it.   Ethan had a blast opening his gifts!  It felt like Christmas part 2!  There are still some toys up in my secret hiding spot waiting to be opened and played with!

The party was over by 5:00, and then we headed out as a family to Texas Rhode House for dinner!  The wait was long, but we got a parking spot right in front of the doors, so we just sat in the car and let the kids watch a Movie until our pager went off.  Ethan had a great time, especially when he got another round of dessert!  He wasn't too found of having to sit on the saddle, so Ben had to sit on there with him while they wished him a Happy Birthday.  Ethan said he had a GREAT birthday!   Apparently he thinks it's not over.  When we went to California that weekend, we went to a Japanese Steak House (per Boston's suggestion) and we celebrated his birthday there with my Brother and his kids.  Tonight Ethan said he should get to pick where we got takeout, because it's his birthday!  I'm thinking his birthday is like the song that never ends, it just goes on and on and on!  Funny kid!

Insanity!

What happens when you have an (almost) two year old with a mind of her own? You get NOTHING done (except at nap time if your not taking a nap yourself!). I thought that Aubrie was independent....Sophia is giving her a run for her money. Lately, she likes to pick out her own clothes, which almost never turns out to be the best thing. She also likes to change her mind, and I will find her in her room with all the clothes out of her drawers (do I even bother folding and putting them away anymore), and her putting on something else. This morning Ben and I were getting ready and we could smell that she needed a diaper change. We played the game of "you it", and I guess Sophia didn't want to wait. I asked Ben where she went, and he peeked around the corner to find her naked (she had her top on). He had already forgotten about the diaper that needed changing (MEN!), and did not react to run and grab the diaper she was bringing to us. When he told me she was naked I remembered the dirty diaper and was able to run fast enough to intercept the diaper that was about to open up and fall on the floor. Then it was a game of chasing her down, before she plopped her little poopy heine on the floor. Luckily I got to her in time, and got her all cleaned up. Once I got that done, I went back to my bathroom to finish up my hair. In between that time, she had taken her clean diaper off and attempted to put on a different pair of pants. I let her keep the mismatched pants, but put a diaper on her backwards so she wouldn't take it off. Then she decided to take off those pants and put on two different pairs of socks she found in her drawer. It took me an hour to get ready, when it should have only taken me 30 minutes! I'm beginning to think that I'm going to have to get ready at the crack of dawn if I want to get anything done around here! I know this time goes by fast....but when your in the middle of it, it seems never ending!

Simplifying!

Scuba Ethan!
Ben bought some wet suites for future boat outings...for now, if you looked in our yard you will see 3 kids and 1 adult (that would be Ben!) swimming in the pool with wet suits! It's pretty comical! At least we are getting year round use of the pool!

Sophia obviously doesn't have a wet suit, but enjoys the hot tub and the extremely mild winter this year. By mild winter, I mean 80's and 90's (and of course it's the winter I went on a sweater buying rampage!)
Isn't she getting big? The pig tails age her a bit, I think! She is growing up and doing a lot of new things, that include; talking, learning the names of her body parts, sounds that animals make and my personal favorite....saying "bless you" when someone sneezes. Her current likes are books, parks, going on walks, and swimming (with floaties of course!). Also ranked at the top is testing Mom's patience at an hourly rate, and getting into every possible thing except the mounds of toys that surround her.

Emmy and Ethan (could this be a more perfect picture?)

While it looks at though he is winking to say..."yeah baby look what I have going on!" He is actually pretending to be a spy (how that applies I don't know but that's what he said before he winked) and Emmy is checking it out! On that note, Ethan draws and creates cards every day that have Emmy's names written all over it! Her name is the only word, besides his name, that he can spell without help!

Our little missionary!

Ben found these awesome suits for a great deal! Ethan was with him when he bought them and he had the jacket on before he got out of the car, and the pants on as soon as he got in the house. A few minutes later I didn't' see him anywhere. I found him outside riding his scooter in his suit! I'm sure the neighbors got a kick out of that one. Probably saying something like, "look at the Mormon kid riding around in his suit!" Doesn't he look like a stud? Boston looks so old in his. I just pictured him passing the sacrament and it made me want cry! How fast they grow, but how fun to see each step. Such a double edge sword!


So there it is! Now I'm sure you have been asking, "Where or where has the Pribyl family been? Why haven't they been posting?" LOL Totally kidding of course. I can't imagine anyone sitting around waiting for our next post! Needless to say, life comes at you fast! We all have busy lives, and honestly, I can't say that I have been the best at reading up on others blogs as well. First, if your private, my google reader doesn't show me your new posts, so unless you make a comment on mine(which conveniently goes straight to my email) I often forget to check. Then sometimes my inbox for my google reader gets so full, and to keep me from being overwhelmed I admit I do quick scans and clear my inbox! I wish life afforded me time to thoroughly read all blogs and emails, keep my house clean, help kids with homework and all their other needs, volunteer at the school, make meals for all who need one, exercise, plan and make meals for our family every night, keep up on facebook, blog, watch my favorite shows, read, go to the temple, do FHE, scripture study, journal, do church callings, spending quality time with kids, spouses, friends and family.....and then get adequate sleep....but that is soon becoming impossible. A friend and I were discussing the other day how we seem to have less time to do what we want as our kids get older. How did that happen? I remember thinking, no fantasizing is more like it, about all the time I would have, to do whatever I wanted, once my kids were in school. I should have enjoyed those years and the free time that I had! I remember painting, doing endless crafty projects for me, my house, and the kids and still having time to watch all my favorite TV shows and read, go above and beyond in my callings, and all the other great things on the list above! Though things haven't gone the way I have expected, I'm learning that some things can take a back seat, while I attend to the best things! That includes this lovely blog. While it is a better thing, it's not ranked amongst the BEST things. It used to stress me out, thinking how I needed to update it, and it seemed to take up big chunks of my evenings! Now I have more time to relax with the hubby and watch our favorite shows, read a good book, talk to old friends, lay with the kids when I put them to bed and just talk about their day (the best child/parent talk time by the way) and journal in our personal journals. The blog can wait...And no one really wants to know my daily comings and goings, right?! People just want the pictures, occasional brief updates, or a "funny" that will make you laugh or make you realize that no one is perfect! Am I right? ......the personal journals stay with me!;) So here's to simplifying....until the kids are gone and then we realize how much they filled our lives! Hope you liked the shortened version! LOL