Cool-haired Wyatt

So if I am going to print this, I should add some posts or it is going to be a really short book!

A few days ago, Wyatt was walking around the house looking depressed. When I asked him why he was so sad he explained that his hair looked stupid. I told him he looked cute and that he reminded me of a missionary. He did NOT like that. I tried to ignore him, but just didn't have the heart to send him to school with "stupid hair". So I sat him on the counter and gave him his bro-hawk back. He is well known for his pointy spikes and people go out of their way to comment on his cool hair and touch it. But really, who knew a 5 year old could be so vain!

Wyatt is a funny kid. He brings a lot of life into this house. He is full of laughter and inappropriate words. He likes to dance on the wilder side of life and questions us constantly about our parenting style. He often will try to coax us to "live a little" but Barret quickly brings him back to the straight and narrow. There is NEVER a Sunday that Wyatt will not ask if we can go out to eat. I am not sure if he is hungry or wants to see how CRAZY he can make his brother with one simple question. He gets into a bit of trouble with his teachers at church and at school. Recently a list of "can nots" came home from school. They are no longer allowed to pretend fight. Which happens to be the only thing Wyatt knows how to play. The note had about 8 bullets of all the different pretend fighting that was outlawed but the last one said "no snobbing of the head or rolling of the eyes". As I read the list off to him, I realized why they added the last bullet. They could have just put Wyatt's disgusted face on bullet #8. Life would be a little boring without "W" around. I sure do love this little guy!

Newest Additions to the House

We have lived in this house for about a year and a half and I love it just as much as the day I moved in. It is so nice not to be under construction. At the old house, "projects" would include living with plastic walls for months on end or gutting the kitchen. In this house, "projects" include adding a new piece of furniture or painting a room. Nice change, if I do say so! Paul is equally happy with the change (or lack of nagging). So here are a few things that we have done this past month. First, finished (well, not finished) decorating the bedroom. It took me forever to find something that would fit in this "dead space" in our bedroom. I have yet to eat grapes on it. (but looks to me as if it should happen) And I finally ordered, after much persuasion on Michelle's part, a sacred groove picture. LOVE IT!

Second, put some color in Wyatt's "Hawaii" room. Michelle (while enduring braxton-hicks contractions) and Grandma (age 94) came over and we tackled this fun project. One would have to question my choice of help, but to that I say, BEST free help around! HA HA! I'm kidding. We made surf boards and painted the colored stripes on the wall. Michelle had a trick that was AMAZING for the textured walls & tape. We did not have to even touch up paint. We pulled the tape off and PERFECTION! This is exciting because most of our attempts at creativity...let's just say, FAIL. We even made note of that during the process. "Umm, something has got to go wrong, this is not like us, it is all working out." Pleasantly surprised, indeed. Oh and Wyatt really didn't care. Truth be told, wasn't really for him anyway!

Warm Fuzzies

Last Sunday, our Relief Society teacher reminded us of a talk that President Monson gave last November. He was being interviewed and when asked what he wanted for his birthday, he said he would like each of us to, "Find someone who is having a hard time or is ill or lonely, and do something for him or her." He then went on to tell how people from all over the world made his birthday wish come true. One group gave him a jar of "warm fuzzies". Children each week came to church and put pom poms into a jar for each good deed they did for someone else. Elena had a great idea to use this for Family Home Evening. So we started our warm fuzzy jar. We discussed different ways that we can earn warm fuzzies. When I went around to the kids, each could muster up at least one nice thing that they had done that day. When it was Paul's turn, he stated that he had the opportunity to punch someone and chose to refrain. Wow, great help Schoenrock! It may take a while to fill the jar! Today Wyatt and I were walking into Target and a lady with a sleeping little girl on her shoulder was loading her car. We went over and helped put the boxes in her trunk and took her cart. As we walked away, Wyatt said, "good job - we get a warm fuzzy." Nice to see a FHE lesson in action!

SNOW!

OK! This time I mean it...I have said that it has snowed two times this winter but, this time I'm serious! It really snowed...Idaho style! (reminded me of my winter at Ricks) What a beautiful day. I decided to set myself in front of a window and read a book and glance up and just watch the snow fall. It came in such beautiful, big, flakes. I dare say, breathtaking. The kids got out of school early. (benefit of living in a state where the world shuts down at the thought of snow) The first thing Barret did was test out the trampoline. Yep, FUN!

Of course, Wyatt threw the first snow ball!

Please note the poor Texas boy with no gloves! Without me knowing, he went inside and put hot water on them! :( He put gloves on after that.

We had to make 3 snowmen!

The only downside to the snow was that Paul missed it! He NEVER goes out of town and the week it decides to snow was the week he was in sunny Florida. He was SO sad that he missed out on the fun. Maybe next year.

"B" is for Barret, Basketball, & BonJovi

Paul, being 6'4", often gets asked if he plays basketball. The question is quite hilarious if you know Paul or have seen him dribble. The man has many talents, but basketball or let's just say sports in general, are not his passion. I, may even be worse! So we haven't done our kids any favors with our gene pools but, Barret may be able to move past this problem. He played basketball this year and did an AMAZING job. He scored, fouled, passed, fouled, dribbled, fouled, and had a great time! This season, he was on the Hawkeyes and really excelled in the game. This is his third season and I have finally learned the appropriate time to yell "rebound!" A few weeks ago, he had 2 games in one day. During the hour break between the two games, we went and got a donut. As we were talking about the game, Paul told him he wasn't playing very aggressive and he noticed he didn't even get one foul. Barret most have took this into consideration and decided to get in and play! At about 38 seconds before the final buzzer, Barret was fouled out of the game! We couldn't believe it-5 fouls! It was so funny. Our "gentle giant" was playing nasty! He did a great job and I hope he will continue to enjoy the sport enough that when he is Paul's age he will be able to answer

"Yes, I played and I loved it!"

I few months ago, Paul bought an I-phone which eliminated his need for an i-pod. Barret quickly took it over and I quickly erased Paul's play lists. (a 9 year old boy listening to ACDC is never a good idea.) Not knowing what kind of music he liked, Barret let me add a few of my favorites. The first time he heard "Living On A Prayer" by Bon Jovi, he was hooked. He now owns all 75 of Bon Jovi's songs...who knew they had that many? He is also a wealth of useless knowledge on the band. Need to know when Jon was born? Ask Barret? It has gotten so bad that the other morning his teacher called saying, "Ginger, Bon Jovi will be in Dallas in April! You have got to get him tickets!" She even offered to take him! (A memory I am sure that would last a lifetime!)

Baby Anna, Hunter, and Jackson

Sweet Baby AnnaLast weekend we went to the blessing for sweet "Anna Banana". She looked SO beautiful! She had on a long fluffy white dress. Her little sleeves made her look like a butterfly. It sure is fun to have a baby girl in the family again.

We went on Saturday and took a tour of Amber Springs (amberspringsevents.com). It is a beautiful place. It is nestled in a bunch of tall oak and pine trees. Nate and Dad did a great job building it. That night, the boys went grocery shopping and came back and grilled it all up. It was a lot of fun sitting around the table eating, talking, and laughing. After church, we went to Amber Springs (really hard not to say Texas Old Town) and had a yummy brunch.

"The Group"

We also celebrated Jackson and Hunter's birthdays. Hunter is a sweet boy. He hugged us and thanked us for coming. He seems really old for his age and is extremely bright. He has such a kind, sensitive heart. He also has big, beautiful, brown eyes. Jackson is a funny kid. Nate and Jackie will be busy with him. He is obsessed with trucks and big equipment. He kept on bringing out equipment books to "Papa" and naming each one. My dad thinks it is amazing...and I agree! He is too cute and says some funny thigs. I hope they had a happy birthday and I am so glad they are back in Texas so we can see them more.

Feeling The Love

We had a great Valentine's Day! It was a little tricky to have Valentine's Day on a Sunday. I had to plan ahead which is not always my strong suit.

I heard Taylor telling someone that we always had heart shaped pancakes for breakfast and heart shaped pizzas for dinner. I didn't realize we did that every year, but who am I to break tradition...so that's what we did. I set the table the night before knowing I would never wake up before Barret. The kids seemed to be surprised to see the table decked out in red hearts. We enjoyed breakfast and exchanging Valentine cards and treats and just having a lazy morning. After church, we made our heart pizzas. The kids set the table and made sure it was just like breakfast. Wyatt was putting the regular glasses out and Barret quickly explained "use the red ones, it is Valentines!" I thought it was cute that he got into the holiday experience.

I love Valentine's Day. I am married to a great guy and have 3 amazing kids who love me.

What more could I ask for on Valentine's Day?