29 on down.

This big man caught up with me and turned 29 last week! His dinner of choice was fried rice.

And he was actually home in time for dinner with the family! Poor Rick, we don't really do birthday gifts much in our family, I guess. Don't be fooled by the big box behind the table; it's a bench I ordered that he had to put together to go outside. All he got to unwrap were a bunch of granola bars that the kids decided to grab from the pantry and wrap up in construction paper.

We had a family over for cake, which was fun.

Faye must blow the candle out. (And I have always had manly arms, I know.)

Mmmm, check it out! We already decided to duplicate this cake for Father's Day. Oreo crust, then homemade hot fudge, then a vanilla ice cream layer, then I poured the rest of the crushed oreos and hot fudge, and the kids wanted to add their favorite things on top. The peppermint was a good addition!

Ha, this was back during dinner. The boys were both really tired for some reason; I can't remember why. Rick asked Faye to say the prayer for dinner, and BOTH boys simultaneously burst into tears.

For like five straight minutes, they wailed on and on, saying things like, "...and Faye ALWAYS says the prayer... and you NEVER call on me... "

We just sat there, sort of trying not to laugh and wondering how long this could go on. My kids are awesome. They are smart, fun to be with, cute, etc. etc. But I will be honest, they cry sort of a lot. Suggestions on how to fix this are welcome.

So, that was about the extent of the 29-year-old's big day! We love you, Rick! See you next time you have a day off. 

On to the five-year-old. (Already closer to turning six than five!) Many mornings he gets ready for school quickly so he can have time to read his latest book while waiting for a friend to pick him up. Can't believe he will be done with Pre-K in a couple of weeks! I am so so glad that I stuck with my decision to only buy a house that went to Scobee Elementary. It has been perfect.

After the recent tornados in Oklahoma, and then during some intense rain and flooding here, Carson read up on some natural disaster books. He wanted to make his own seismometer, so he gathered the supplies and got to work. He and Everett had fun creating earthquakes in their toy firehouse. (This was after I had to stop Everett from throwing all the furniture around our house to "play earthquake." Everett also attempted to bring the hose in from outside to re-enact a tsunami.)

Enjoying the downpour.

There's that four-year-old. He's always asking me to take pictures of things like this. Lately, Everett wears no less than three to four outfits each day. You never know when he's going to come down wearing his swim suit, or his Christmas sleeper that he dug out of the winter clothes bin. 

He still loves to bake bread and other yummy things with me.

On a quiet morning, I got to read a little book while Ev and Faye played outside.

And then we have the two-year-old. This girl knows how to make her brothers mad! I do love that she's so verbal, but man she can argue and fight with words like a teenager! Carson gets so fired up sometimes because, "Faye LIED!!"

Faye is motivated to learn all her letters when there is a little nerd candy on each one! She does love her treats. (Wonder where she gets that...)

The furrowed brow on the way home from church today.

And last, but certainly not least, we have the eight-month-old. She gobbled her name right up!

Rick and I will turn 30 next year! So strange, I think I usually feel like I'm about 22. Except that I have a new hobby of picking out gray hairs while waiting at stop lights... I guess we are old!