Earning Her Keep

Well, B has been running low on money lately. (Haven't we all?) So we told her we would pay her some big bucks for taking over my chores. She happily agreed as she loves to "help" do them anyhow.

She started by cooking us a delicious breakfast . . . as soon as she could figure out where that dang "whisk" thing was.


Afterwards, she realized that she had a whole sink of dishes to do!! But, not to be dismayed. This, she realized, was one of her favorite tasks! (to this day big tears fill her eyes when we deny her request to do the dishes).


Especially when it came to turning off and on the water. REeeACH!


And last, but definitely not least, she volunteered to babysit her little friend J for some extra dough. He is her favorite "baby" to take care of. Here she cozied right up to him and tried to amuse him with a funny finger-in-mouth sound . . . definitely NOT amused. :)

In the end, we thought she had earned her keep pretty well for that day. But there's always tomorrow. :)

With Flash and Without

I recently read that you should NEVER use flash. While I doubt that is totally true, I decided to experiment with no-flash pictures. B likes to look out the window at some stray cats that have graced our back and front porches (lucky us).

The picture on the lower right is with flash.

The picture on the upper left without.

What are the differences?! See them?











And again sans flash below (this picture is better than both above, I think):


I guess one of the keys of NOT using flash is learning to use natural light--which I still have to figure out.

One of My Favorite Things

Well, I've been gone for a little under a week visiting a dear friend in the City of Brotherly Love--and I dare say Sisterly Love, because I do love her as a sister. We met back in the days of BYU and played basketball together on a couple teams, hung out with our husbands as couples, and just "clicked."

In Philly, we had a lot of time to talk since we did a lot of cleaning and fixing up to get her house ready to sell. And we started talking about our favorite things. Hmmm . . . my list is long: chocolate ice cream, chocolate, delicious food, . . . ok you get the point that I love food.

But, among other things, I LOVE to play basketball. It is so fun to run and jump and exercise and have fun with other people while not even noticing how much of a workout you are getting. It is also a time when I do not realize or think about how much taller I am than most all other women (and men) and can just be in the moment and ENJOY--even though I really am fully exhausted after a good, hard game.

Recently, I have been on a basketball team that plays once a week in a women's league. We've also had church ball--which league we won! So, in honor of that, I had to include a photo: (unfortunately this does not include everyone, but it's pretty close).


Oh yeah, don't you love my wings behind my ears? Guess I should have waited for that haircut . . . (Note: this is also post game).

Also, B likes to help me get ready every week for the big game, so here she is modeling three jerseys that she just HAD to layer for the full effect:


She'd be pretty intimidating on the court, don't you think? Especially when she's posed like a Shaq or KG. That's why she gets to go to Sporties for Shorties every week with her daddy--to work on those skills. Watch out!

Easter Hunting

We decided to do B's Easter basket hunt after church and a good nap. And with a little help, she found it!

At first she seemed a little lost--(note the post-nap hair and glazed look).
But she got the idea pretty soon . . .

Especially when she discovered the jelly beans . . . mmmmmmmm . . . yummy!

Then, we went out side and joined some friends for an Easter egg hunt.

She hunted . . .

And hunted . . .

And hunted . . .

Look at her stash!

When she was done looking on the ground, she "found" some in a friend's basket.


Here's B with all her friends.


It was such a beautifully wonderful day!!

Easter Weekend - Duckling Day Parade

Well, B is sleeping more during her sick days, so I guess I do have some time for blogging . . .


The Saturday before Easter B was invited to a birthday party and got to march in the annual Duckling Day Parade. Here she is as a little duckling. I think she's soooo cute but she was rather overwhelmed by it all so she had a blah face on. Also, it was SOOOO cold. So, she wore her coat for most of it.
She LOVED the big ducks that were posing for pictures outside the library--as she is an animal lover at heart. She wasn't even afraid to walk right up and give it a hug.

She was also pretty excited to see some dogs being walked and to collect this rubber ducky dressed up as a fire fighter--placed along the duckling's route.

But her favorite part of all was afterwards . . . at the birthday party, EATING CAKE! You can see the little hand reaching up for another cupcake. B is sooo tall for her age that she can reach most things a 2 1/2 year old can, but she does not have the capacity or self control for understanding "no." Plus, it was Easter weekend. So, did I really care how many (19) jelly beans she ate in 1 hour?! :)

I must say to the party planners, it was the best party and best food I've had in a loooong time. Of course, these friends are notorious for their fun parties and invites and craftiness, and all around creativeness. Unfortunately, I did not get a good picture of B and the birthday boy together. But, thank you & Happy Birthday!