Daddy had been itching to run a race and tried to convince us all to sign up with him, but Raine was the only one that he could talk into it. So they signed up for the Zoo Run and ran it last Saturday.

Daddy ran the 5K.

Then he and Raine ran the 1K. Raine really wanted to stop and look at the animals as they passed by, but Daddy kept her moving!

Raine was thrilled that she received a ribbon and cup of water after all her hard running.

Carter was happy to play with sticks and clap for the runners.

There are always some wild critters at the Zoo Run!

Here’s her big finish!

A note about her training run — yes, there was only one. Daddy mapped out a 1K course around the neighborhood and took Raine out to run it. I saw her walking out the door and suggested that she put on some shorts, take the ginormous bow out of her hair, and leave her necklace at home. But no, fashion does not cease just because you’re running!

This year I decided to do a little prep work in order to be able to listen to General Conference uninterrupted — at least as uninterrupted as possible with a four- and two-year-old in the house.  I found plenty of websites with ideas that I deemed rather excessive, but I pulled a few ideas from them that I then dummied down to my level!

This first idea turned out to be both brilliant and simple; it is a twist on the classic Conference BINGO activity. The advantage to this one is that it gives them continuous instant-gratification when they are listening — especially when you use basic pictures like these . . .

Prophet/Apostle, Jesus Christ/Lord/God/Savior/…, missionary, temple, family, Joseph Smith/First Vision/Restoration, baptism, sacrament, pray[er].

I had a big bowl full of cereal next to the board — the kind of cereal that I would never let my kids eat as a meal, e.g. cookie crisp and trix — and every time they heard one of the words on the board, they could eat one. The kids didn’t listen the entire time, but when they did they really listened. There were times when I would have sworn they weren’t listening but then they would hear one of the words and pop up to get a treat.

Another activity that worked well for both kids was this simple beading task. They just thread the beads onto the pipe-cleaners then pull them off and repeat. The pipe-cleaners were much easier for their little fingers to control and kept the beads from falling off if they were tipped over.

I found these dot-painting pages for the entire First Presidency and Quorum of the Twelve, but I didn’t have any do-a-dot markers. Instead, I found some small round stickers for them to put in the circles. It was great because the fine-motor skills required to get them in the circles made it take a lot longer than just dabbing a marker.

Raine spent a lot more time on these than Carter did, but that was expected!

Another activity that I came up with based on some online ideas and then simplified to use things I already had around the house was this sorting / flower making game. They started by sorting the pipe-cleaners by color into the corresponding cup. After doing that a couple times, they used foam flower stickers to make the pipe-cleaners into flowers (this was where we lost Carter, but Raine spent a lot of time working on these).

I also made a couple new folder games. I taped paper clips to the back of the main papers before gluing them to the folder so that the magnets on the smaller pieces would stick — it worked great!

Then there were the toys that I pulled out of the back of my closet — the ones that I bought during the after-Christmas sales. Everyone loved the Imaginets. It has an assortment of magnetic blocks that you use to make the figure on your card. This one kept them busy during multiple sessions.

The four new Thomas the Train puzzles got plenty of use as well.

In the end, all my preparations paid off. Raine sat through all four sessions of conference and said she loved it. Carter sat through most of them and would go play with his blocks or animals in the other room when he needed a change of pace. Daddy and I were able to listen to and enjoy conference without nagging, shushing, or banishing anyone!

I REALLY wanted to get some good photos of the kids in their Easter clothes this year. Saturday afternoon we got them all dressed up, bribed them with all sorts of good stuff, took them out back and . . . only got a bunch of squinty eyes and distant looks. I guess it just wasn’t overcast enough.

Here are the “best” few:

Sunday we tried a couple more photos. The kids were cute but the lighting was terrible. Oh well, someday I will get this photography thing figured out — I just hope it’s before the kids leave for college!

Here are the photos from the rest of our Easter weekend festivities:

(Rubber bands . . . in case you were wondering 😉 )

Earlier this week we went back down to San Antonio to make the most of our SeaWorld season passes. The crowds were light and the weather was fantastic!

When we were there over Christmas, we didn’t get to see the Sea Lion show, so it was our first stop.

And we loved it! Especially the “Silly Guy” (as Carter called him) in the pre-show entertainment.

The Shamu show was fun and new. Raine loved watching three-year-old baby Sakari jump, splash, and “dance” around.

We spent plenty of time at the playground.

Raine loves the rides. She couldn’t get enough of the Shamu express . . . again! She also loved the drop tower.

Carter ventured onto the ferris-wheel . . .

. . . but he still prefers the carousel!

Momma even got drug along on a couple rides.

Raine fit right in with the macaws from the dolphin show — Huey and Louie!

Carter still loves feeding the dolphins.

Raine worked up the courage to touch a dolphin a couple times.

Carter worked up the courage to take a photo with Cookie Monster.

Raine really wanted to say hi to Elmo; she finally managed to do it after one of the shows (but there were too many kids around to get a picture).

Monday night we met up with Ritchie, Lindsay, and Jessica for dinner at Rudy’s BBQ. It was fun to catch up with them.

The Kinzlers came to visit Thursday night and the kids had so much fun playing together. They have really missed Ophelia since she moved down to Austin. Every time we get together they pick up right where they left off, as if no time had passed at all.

We went to the zoo Friday and nearly froze as a cold front moved through and dropped the temperature to 45* — needless to say, we spent a lot of time in the climate controlled exhibits!

I should also point out for future reference that Ophelia has officially claimed Carter. She is going to marry him just as soon as they are old enough. It makes sense, after all, she was his first kiss!

Spring break was beautiful! We didn’t do much the first couple days — I was still recovering from my first “real” trial the week before — but we managed a couple fun outings near the end of the week.

3/13/13 – blowing bubbles

3/14/13 Fuel City, Dallas

Dallas World Aquarium – this place was amazing! They have a rain forest complete with monkeys and sloths hanging out in the trees; aquatic animals from all over the world; jungle cats; a shark tunnel; penguins; and tons more.

“Cheese!” (I got a new lens for my camera and spent a lot of time experimenting. Look at that bokeh!)

3/15/13 Playgroup

3/17/13 Playing at home

Carter is always pretending to be a dog and insists that I throw the frisbee for him to fetch.

Raine is always writing. We go through paper like most households go through water!

On-stage teaching a class or doing a show or something.

3/18/13 (Technically this was after spring break.) Carter and Raine decided to get a jump on Easter decorating . . . starting with their faces. I was so concerned with it being permanent marker that I didn’t stop to get the camera until after I had scrubbed it all off Raine’s face. (This looks like a mug-shot of Carter!)

Friday night we planned a fun Mother/Daughter and Father/Son date night. Unfortunately, it turned into a girls’ night out when Daddy came home from work to find his date conked out! Poor Carter is trying to give up naps, but sometimes he just can’t make it!

Raine and I had fun at the Artisan Theater watching “Pinkalicious” — a VERY fitting musical for little Miss Pinka-Roo!

Saturday morning the kids and I went to a nearby park for a walking town hall meeting with Fort Worth Mayor Betsy Price.

I was very impressed with the Mayor. She handled tough questions from local residents without giving any lip-service. She was very knowledgeable and well-spoken. I will definitely vote for her again.

Raine’s vote was locked in when the Mayor took her hand and they skipped off across the park!

2/22/13: Just heading over to pick up the mail . . . with style!

2/4/13
M, pointing out a newly-bloomed daffodil in the backyard: “Rooey, look. I think we have a flower back there.”
R: “Yeah, you’re right! There is a flower back there. Look Carter, we have a flower. It’s summer!”

2/16/12: Raine jumping rope.

Disclaimer: I’ve said this before, but it is worth repeating: I DO NOT have any say in Raine’s outfits!

2/4/13
C: “I’m really tough.”
M: “Oh yeah? You’re really tough?”
C: “Yeah, I’m really tough like Daddy.”

2/15/13: Yes . . . those are backward!

2/11/12
R, singing the Wheels on the Bus: “The swipers on the bus go swish, swish, swish; swish, swish, swish; swish, swish, swish. The swipers on the bus go swish, swish, swish, all through the town.”

3/1/13: I have zero fashion sense. I admit it, I embrace it, it works for me. Raine . . . well, she has her own sense of style. I have decided to steer clear of it because I know I would just stifle it. So this is what she wears: boots, hot-pink leg warmers, stripes with prints, and a sequin tiara to top it all off!

2/12/13
R: “Mommy, can I make some foam shapes now? I made a real craft.”
M: “No. I already told you, ‘no foam today.'”
R, giving me a big ole crusty face: “Well then . . . Daddy’s nicer than you now!”

3/1/13: Playing together out back — their favorite thing to do. Usually, Carter is the dog and Raine is the mom.

2/17/13
M: “Carty, is that poopy in your underpants?”
C: “No. It’s skid-mark.”
M: “A skid-mark IS poopy.”
C: “No. Pee pee is pee pee. Poopy is poopy. Skid-mark is skid-mark.”

2/7/13: Carter has started putting holes in the knees of his pants. This is officially the first hole . . . the first of many, I’m sure.

2/21/13
R, as we drive across the bridge over the creek behind our house: “Mom, I think there is a whale in the water down there.”
M: “A whale!?!!”
R: “Yeah, I just saw a fin sticking out of the water.”
M: “What kind of fin?”
R:” It was black.”
M: “A black fin? Like Shamu?”
R: “Yeah!”
M: “So you think there is a killer whale down there in that six inches of water!???”
R: “Yep, there is a killer whale down in the water. I saw it.”

Every time we drove over the bridge after that, Raine would look for the killer whale. About a week later we were driving over the bridge and this conversation took place:
R: “Still no killer whale but I saw two rabbit ears.”
M: “Oh yeah? There is a rabbit down there now?”
R: “Yeah. Maybe the rabbit ate the killer whale.”
M: “What!?!! You think a rabbit could eat a killer whale!?!!”
R: “Yep, that’s what happened. The rabbit ate the killer whale.”

Raine is such a social butterfly. Her teachers are constantly telling me how much her classmates all love her. I picked her up the other day and at least eight of them had to give her a hug before she left.
2/27/13: she brought home a whole stack of papers that her classmates had colored for her. These are the portraits of her that some of her friends drew.

And a little note about the tiara, she saw it at JoAnn’s and just HAD to have it. I told her she could buy it with her own money if she had some — thinking she didn’t have enough — but, as you can see, she did. And she has been wearing it ever since! EVERYWHERE!
Repeat: “I will not interfere. I will not interfere. I will not interfere.”

Carter is definitely NOT a social butterfly. He refuses to say a word in social settings — school, nursery, the grocery store. So imagine his teachers’ surprise when he busts out singing “We wish you a Merry Christmas” during lunch the other day. He sings constantly at home — “We Wish You a Merry Christmas,” “C is for Cookie,” “ABC’s,” and “Row, Row, Row Your Boat” are his favorites. They are always sung way off pitch, with his voice cracking, and with dismal pronunciation . . . but oh so cute!
1/17/2013: Give the kid a ball, however, and watch out! He will be your best friend if you have a ball.

Raine was up early, so she gave Daddy the valentine she made for him before he went to work.

I took a photography class on Tuesday and have been anxious to try out what I learned. So I set up the tripod and got out my remote. Here are a couple of my favorites. (Thursdays are “Carter day” since Raine is in school but Carter is not. We have so much fun together reading books, playing ball, and running around outside.)

Carter can’t pass a dandelion without picking it for me. I get so many “ye-yow fowahs” every time we go outside . . . and I love every one of them! (Not that I keep them, but it is the gesture that melts my heart.)

All tuckered out!

Valentine hug!

After a yummy red dinner, we exchanged valentines. Here is Carter giving Daddy the valentine he made.

Here are some photos from my birthday the other day.

Daddy made doughnuts for breakfast . . . yummy!

Here is my birthday portrait, drawn by an up-and-coming artist named Raine.

The kids made birthday cards and were so excited to show me their work. I treasure these little symbols of love. They are such perfect expressions of their personalities.

Opening presents.

After dinner at Carrabbas, we enjoyed these cupcakes that my sweet neighbor made for me.

The rest of the evening was spent being silly.

Another year older, another year more satisfied with my life!