Aren't I?

"I'm the lost princess, aren't I, Mother?" Mandy announced loudly at lunch today.
Yes, we watched the ending of Tangled today.

Lucky Sevens!

I'm not usually a fan of odd numbers (I know it's weird) but this time, I'll make an exception. I just celebrated seven years of marriage! Here's my top seven reasons why I love Brett so much! (and it was really hard to keep it to JUST seven!)

7-He's fun to watch get into his skinny jeans!
6-He takes me to the temple every month--even if it's on the last day!
5-He makes a yummy dinner on the grill almost weekly (tonight he grilled Manti turkey and pineapple)
4-Almost every treat he has, he shares half with me.
3-He's not afraid of poopy diapers (or panties), or bathing girls, or sharing a bathroom with four girls. . . .yet!
2-He lets me warm my cold feet up on him.
1-He makes me laugh even when I don't want to.

We had a great anniversary day, and the best of the anniversary date is still to come! Despite his personal preference, he's taking me to see Les Miserables musical later this month. He's so sweet!
On May 6 we went to Trafalga to ride the go carts.
Katie and Mandy stayed with Grandma N while Ellie, Brett and I went to the Tulip Festival at Thanksgiving point. After having such a cold, rainy spring, it was hot and sunny! But the tulips, gardens, and walk was beautiful. We spent lots of time picking out our favorite tulips that we'll eventually plant at home :)We took Ellie to Emmett and Ethel's for lunch and a mini Sundae. We then headed to BYU for standby tickets to see the Carl Bloch exhibit at the MOA. We were led to believe we may not get in at all, and if so, we'd wait in line forever. Turns out, we waited about five minutes before being admitted! I'll take it.By this point, Ellie had only had cat naps through the day and was at her limit. We got Pier 49 pizza for dinner and went home to watch Morning Glory (from the Library) while Ellie napped. We all felt much better! :)The next morning, Ellie went to a friend's house, and Brett and I did sealings in the Provo Temple. We only did two couples, but it was enough to bring back sweet memories. I loved kneeling across the alter from Brett again!On the Sunday before our anniversary, he got up during testimony meeting and went against his norm: he bore testimony and included personal stories too! He talked about the important covenant of marriage and that he is grateful to be sealed to me and looks forward to spending eternity with me. I wish I could remember it word for word, but I was blushing and distracted by my children who decided to get rowdy when Dad left the bench. Anyway, it was heartwarming and reassuring to me that he does love me!Brett, I love you so! We've done some growing, which hasn't always been a painless process, but I would do it all again in a heartbeat! Happy Anniversary!
(PS We got ourselves his and hers Red Sox DVD's-2004 season and 2007 season!!)

New Bikes!

Amanda got a new 12 inch two-wheeler bike (with training wheels) from the Easter bunny. It was just a few weeks ago that she figured out how to pedal the tricycle, and now feels so big that she has a bike like Katie's. She has now taken quite well to the bike, we just haven't yet made the connection with the brakes! She usually slows down or stops by driving into the grass, or getting Mom or Dad to grab her.
Well, with the renewed interest in bikes (and the snow finally stopped), Katie has been on her bike a lot too. We've been debating taking off Katie's training wheels since last fall, and on Wednesday, the training wheels came off. Brett spent about an hour running up and down the sidewalk holding onto Katie's bike seat while she pedaled wildly. No progress toward riding her bike independently.
Thursday, we took off Katie's bike pedals. Brett showed her to coast by pushing off with both feet simultaneously, not alternating feet and "walking" the bike. Still no progress. Friday, we faced freezing temperatures to again try the bikes. This time, Katie put both her feet up on the front wheel hub and coasted between two houses--no push off or anything! She's got it!! After practicing that for a bit, we put back on her pedals and she completed the process.

All in all, it took Katie about 3 hours to learn to ride her bike without training wheels! It took about another 30 minutes to add in how to start, how to stop and step off, and she's all GO! She had almost no crashes in all this process, until yesterday when she's showing off to a neighbor, and she's now chalked up two minor crashes! So fun, and we're so proud of our girls!
The beginning

Getting the coast

We've got it!!