thoughts on a sunday

• After a bath, I was about to lotion McKay with the regular Jergen's lotion I use for the kids.  He asked if he could use dad's "man lotion" and I agreed.  I put it on him and we all admired the manly smell.  Then Ellery said, "McKay- you look like a man and you smell like a man!"

• Nonnie unexpectedly gathered the whole family together on Monday night for dinner at Chuck-A-Rama.    The kids were in heaven.  It was so fun for them to get whatever they wanted for dinner with no limits.  McKay reported on the way home that he had water, apple beer, green slush, banana slush, chocolate milk and root beer.  That was just the liquids he consumed.  Aunt Lisa was amazed as she watched Ellery clean her chicken leg clean to the bone.  As we discussed this on the way home, McKay admitted to having some pretty big regrets.  "I wish I would have saved my chicken bone and brought it home.  Then I would have tied it in mom's hair." 

• Ellery's hair hadn't been brushed in two days, and we were about to go out so I quickly put it in my favorite style- a messy, top bun.  She was playing with her girls as I did it and when I was finished she was quite upset- she does not often like to wear a bun.  I asked her to just look in the mirror and see how it looked as she threatened to take it out in her angriest voice.  She stood on the stool in front of the mirror and slowly I saw her expression change.  "I do look beautiful in this bun," she declared.  At dinner she noticed that her and Aunt Marilyn both had buns.  She announced loudly, to the whole table, "Marilyn!  We have the same bun!" except we all thought she said bum.  

• One of our new favorite things to have Layla repeat is "I'm sweet" but she says it like, "I'm fweet" and it's precious.  Another thing she can do, but I just haven't recorded is count to ten. . .except she just starts from whatever number she wants.  Whenever anyone says a number, she will start counting up from that number.  This is especially funny when Brian or I are counting to three when we're trying to discipline one of the kids.  It looses some of it's effect when Layla is right there saying, "...three, four, five..."

• Like most of Utah County, we got ourselves some Passes of all Passes.  We went to the Lehi Trafalga for the first time this week.  McKay and Sharp loved laser tag, Elle chose not to mini-golf but loved the frog hopper ride, Layla and I got lost inside the slide thingy(terrifying), and all of them (Mack, Elle, Sharp, Silas) climbed up the rock wall.  They loved it.

• While driving home in the car today Layla was tired and hungry.  She was crying and being loud and Brian shared a trick with me that he says has been working on her for weeks.  He started singing the night-night Layla song and she immediately stopped crying.  He said it scares her into being good because she doesn't want to go to bed.  I was shocked that it worked, but even more shocked when she took it even farther and began to say "Happy, happy."  She really did not want to go to bed.

• Something exciting happened to McKay this week.  He came home with the Star Student of the Month award from his kindergarten class.  He and another kindergartner from the other class got to have cinnamon rolls and chocolate milk with the principal during class.  He said his name was announced over the intercom.  He was pretty proud and kept telling us that he was NOT hungry because of the goodies he had eaten at school.  It was a good day for him.

• The other morning McKay and Ellery found themselves up in Grandma's sewing room.  Before I knew it, McKay came running down the stairs with a homemade BYU pillow that they had sewn together, and Ellery soon followed with a soft, white teddy bear.  I'm pretty sure they think Grandma can do anything.  I think they're right.

• Brian is enjoying his life of leisure.  His enjoyment will be cut short though, because everything is on track for him to start earlier than expected- next week maybe!  This is really good news, but you wouldn't be able to tell that from Brian.  He was looking forward to having freedom until the end of April.  I am looking forward to a paycheck.  

• I think I've mentioned how Brian is running with his dad.  They are about as happy as can be with this arrangement, and run nearly every day.  I'm happy that he finally has the time to put into this hobby.  From what I hear from his dad, he is in the best shape of his life.  

• Last night we were awakened at three in the morning to the sweet sound of Layla singing twinkle, twinkle litlte star.  I didn't know if I felt mad or totally in love with her as I changed her diaper in the middle of the night.  It was pretty precious, but also, who poops at three in the morning, Layla?
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Happy Sunday, and more posts below!