Brian's Reputation

Brian is probably now known as the meanest guy in our neighborhood! A title he is proud of....On Tuesday night at 1 a.m. we were rudely awakened by our doorbell. We were pretty sure we knew who it was because we had recently told some kids not to skateboard in our driveway. Anyway, we were very upset. Last night we had just gone to bed and the doorbell rang just before midnight. Brian was ANGRY! He ran to the window and came back gleeful. "Those stupid kids forgot about the snow. I can see their footprints all the way back to their house. I'm going over there!" He got dressed and was about to leave when the same kids started walking up the driveway to ring the bell again (we didn't even bother opening the door the first time because we knew no one was there.) Anyway, Brian ran to the door and opened it. The kids froze and then started running away. Brian yelled at them that if they didn't come back he'd call the police. They came and also ratted out the other friend that was still hiding. Can you imagine how angry and yet joyful Brian was at this moment? Well, he didn't call the police, but he did explain to them that we didn't appreciate it, our kids were sleeping, etc. Then, he said, "Let's go talk to your dad." The one girl about died. She said her dad was sleeping. Brian asked if he'd appreciate having to wake up. She said no. He told the kids to go home and never do it again. They said sorry and quickly went home. Brian came back to bed angry but laughing, too. I think he relishes the idea that the neighborhood hooligans are scared of him!

My bad...

Sydney's favorite candy is 'Good & Plenty'. I must admit, they are also one of my favorites. Brian bought her some yesterday and she still has some left today. After lunch, Brian put some in a container for her to eat. I was with Payton and Sydney came up to me with a piece of 'stunted' Good & Plenty. (You know, the ones that are more round than long.) Anyway, she put it in my hand and I thought she was sharing. I ate it! MY BAD!!! As soon as I put it in my mouth I knew I had made a mistake. Oops! She meant for me to look at the piece of candy and admire the awesome shape. Dang it! Then, I made an even more tragic mistake. I started laughing. I mean really laughing. Like, tears and everything. Sydney had the most devastated look on her face. She ran crying into her bedroom and shut the door. After my laughing fit was over, I dumped out the rest of the package of Good & Plenty and found not one but TWO 'stunted' pieces. Hooray for me!! Sydney lovingly held the pieces of candy and life is good again.

Little Ears

My sister is having a baby as I type! I told Brian when he came home from work that my sister is in the hospital and the doctor is going to break her water. Sydney walked into the room just in time to hear 'break' and 'water'. She looked at me and said, "It better not be my water bottle that is broken!"
I know it's silly, but I am still laughing!! I had to write this incident down.

Sydney learned a new word

I am getting ready to paint my bedroom. I spend a good portion of yesterday afternoon taping. As I am sure many of you have experienced with your own children, my children gravitate toward whatever area of the house I am in. I had to move my bed to the middle of the room so I could tape behind it. I hide birthday and Christmas presents under my bed. When I moved the bed I made sure to keep all of the stuff under it hidden. Normally it works great because my kids aren't ever in my room. You know what happened, right? Sydney was playing with Payton and started 'looking' around. She pulled out her birthday present (not suppose to see it till June) and gleefully squeals, "Is this for me???" I didn't hesitate or crack a smile, "Nope, it's for someone else." The delighted expression on her face crashed. "Oh." And she put it back under my bed. Then I taught her a new word, "SNOOP". I explained (hopefully in a nice way) that looking in places that don't belong to you is called snooping. She still looked kind of confused so I told her that she'd know when she was snooping because the Holy Ghost would tell her she was doing something wrong. Anyway, I hope she understands. And I really hope she forgets about the birthday present before June rolls around!

I'll keep my mouth shut!

Sydney lost a tooth Sunday evening. It was the first tooth to fall out on its own. The previous two had to be pulled by the dentist. Sydney was so excited to lose this tooth. She told us that on Monday morning she would tell her friends and her teacher about the tooth. She said, "I am just going to keep my mouth shut and my teacher will be so surprised!" Now, I know that Syd meant her teacher would be surprised about the missing tooth, but it sounded like she meant her teacher would be surprised that she could keep her mouth shut! And, honestly, I bet that would surprise her teacher just as much as a missing tooth. Sydney has never been a shy child. LOVE YOU SYDNEY!!

A new twist on Multi-tasking!

This post requires no pictures. Scratch that, YOU DON'T WANT PICTURES!!

A few nights ago Sydney was taking an especially long time brushing her teeth before bedtime. Brian opened the bathroom door to check on her and found her sitting on the toilet, going to the bathroom, and brushing her teeth at the same time. It gets worse... Brian opened the door just in time to see Sydney spit into the toilet. GROSS!!!!!
I only dare share this horrifying experience in hopes that you have witnessed similar 'creative' multi-tasking endeavors by your own children.

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The faith of children

Last night the girls were getting ready for bed. I called and told them to get ready for family prayer. Sydney came into the living room, but I couldn't find Payton. I finally found her kneeling in the dark at Sydney's bed (where we usually have prayers.) At 18 months she already knows what we are suppose to do.

Sledding Fun

In the past few days we have gotten a lot of snow. We haven't really gotten any snow since Christmas so it was starting to melt and look awful. Now we have a winter wonderland. I love snow (Brian does not). On Saturday, Sydney and I went sledding with my sisters and their spouses. It was too cold to take Payton so Brian volunteered to keep her with him. (I think he liked having an excuse! j/k I know he would have loved to come with us.) Anyway, we had a great time. My youngest sister, Chelsey (in the blue coat) is due to have her first baby in March. You can't even tell! Lucky!!

"I look like Barbie"

Sydney loves to do make-up. She goes so wild with it that I don't very often let her get it out. But last week she talked me in to it. When she was finished she came up to me and said, "How do I look? I look like Barbie." Wow! I agreed and immediately took pictures.



When Brian got home Syd still had her make-up on. Brian walked through the door and stopped in his tracks as soon as he saw Sydney. He got a confused look on his face and said, "Syd, what's all over your face?" I quickly piped up from the kitchen, "She did her own make-up and she looks just like Barbie." Brian caught on (finally, good grief, Dad!) and told her she did a great job. Then, trying not to laugh, he came into the kitchen and burst out laughing. I'm just glad Sydney didn't know what we were laughing about!