This week and HAPPY MOTHER's DAY!

It was a short week at school this week. I had Tuesday afternoon off, and the rest of the week. It was AWESOME! Started of the break by taking the girls to the Children's Museum so Jenny could take a break... NOT. Jenny rarely takes a break. Even when she has the chance, she cleans, or gets things done that she wants.

Here's Brinley painting her face. This is usually the first place Ashlyn wants to go when we get to the children's museum.

As seen by the excitement on her face here.

Science show!

Good morning!

On Friday we went to the Jocelyn Art Museum. They have a really cool section just for kids! I think I had as much fun as the kids did!

Jenny asked me to teach her to draw Donald Duck. Not bad for her first time!

Can't get much cuter than a sleeping baby.

We sure love our Clairy Bear. Here's a couple videos of her from this week.

Friday afternoon we went to a new park; Dream Park. It was so much fun!  This swing reminded Jenny of her fun times at Helen's growing up. (Helen was her baby sitter)

I asked Jenny to push me on the tire swing. It didn't take very long before I was dry heaving. I thought for sure I was going to throw up. Pretty sad. I thought I would always be able to stay a kid at heart and body during play time.

Ashlyn absolutely LOVED the tire swing!

Don't watch this if you get dizzy easily.

It was a beautiful day at a beautiful park.

On Saturday night, we had pizza. Mom had a fun idea to get three different kinds of root beer and see if we could tell the difference.

I knew which one was A&W. I grew up drinking A&W. Jenny, on the other hand, thought they all tasted the same. 

Grandpa Williams and Nana bought flowers for Jenny for Mother's day! How nice!

Here's our breakfast in bed for Mom this morning. 

I go this idea from this youtube video:

Mom got some new dresses at Dillard's outlet store last week. She has been so excited to wear them! Coincidentally, another Jenny in primary had the same taste and decided to wear her's today!

I love my primary class but sometimes it can be very challenging. There is quite a variable dynamic as far as learning types. Today, only two of my kids were here and it was pretty fun to just have us and focus on the lesson. Here's them unscrambling a message.

A tribute to my mother on Mother's Day. This woman has/is still raising 7 children! Amazing! She is such a great mom. I love her so much and it is fun to have her as a grandmother now. She is so kind and always looking for ways she can cheer others up, or include other people. I am so grateful for her influence in my life. She has helped me stretch, grow, and gain confidence. I love you Mom!

Here she is with her 7 children, 2 daughters-in-law, and four grandkids! (And soon to have 2 sons-in-law!) We all love and appreciate you Mom! You have changed our lives forever!

Fight of the century!

Ashlyn had her dance recital this week! We are so proud of her. She has really enjoyed taking dance the last two years and dances all the time at home! Mom even helped her put on some make up!

Here is the video of the performance:

Not a great picture I know. Ashlyn is on the left.

Ashlyn receiving her certificate.

Brinley ran up and got in line as they were handing out the certificates. I had to run grab her and she was so sad. I told her we would get a picture with her on the stage with Ashie and here it is. With the lovely face again. I think I need to come up with a name for it. 

So now when I get pictures I have to be fast with the camera and hope it will take her a few seconds to remember that face. 

Mom bought a bubble machine for the girls and it is so much fun!

Ashlyn and Jane (neighbor girl) lassoed the turtle! 

I got this picture right as Brinley let go and Jane went to the ground! Haha!

Thanks to my Dad, Jenny and I are both fans of Indian food now. Jenny decided to make some for our family dinner! She found a quick mix at the store for Chicken Tiki Masala and also made some Nan bread from scratch! It was great!

This is actually the movie that got my Dad to try Indian food. Jenny and I loved this movie and recommend it to everyone. It is still found at some redbox locations now.

The "fight of the century" was yesterday. But the fight of the week around here was on Thursday. A few of us have been talking about boxing for a while. We finally decided that Thursday night (after our last final) we would make it a reality. I boxed Steve (my next door neighbor/best friend). He's got a few inches on my as far as reach goes. It turned out to be a lot of fun. There were a few others that boxed but they only lasted one round. Steve and I boxed four rounds. There were no KO's so it was decided by a vote that Steve won. We both took some good hits. I have been extremely sore the last few days since then: my right thumb and index finger, neck, back, abs, etc. We charged everyone that watched $5. 70% of proceeds went to winners and 30% to losers. They gave me a little more because we lasted so many rounds. It definitely gave me more respect for the sport of boxing. There is definitely strategy and art to the sport.

Pre-fight weigh in at clinic. I didn't manage an intimidating face very well. Man, I need a haircut. 

Saturday we went to the zoo and saw a new film about Humpback Whales. It was pretty cool. We had a good time. As you can see, they didn't offer kids glasses this time. Brinley was either too scared, to hungry, or too restless to watch much of the movie. We still had a great time. That is the thing that is so nice about the Omaha zoo. We have a year pass so we can go for just a couple hours then leave. And it only takes 2 minutes to get there!

Ashlyn caught in action jumping off a lion's back. 

Believe it or not, this was actually the best picture out of about 10 that Jenny took of us.

Before we went to the zoo, Mom went shopping with a friend for a couple hours. Brinley and Claire were asleep so Ashlyn and I played around outside. We got a hold of neighbor Hailey's bicycle and Ashlyn wanted to try and ride it. She did amazing! Now we need to get her one!

Brinley is such a sweet sister! Ashlyn and Brinley both are. Jenny always tells me about how much Claire laughs when Ashlyn plays with her. She's still scared of Brinley (just like Brinley was scared of Ashlyn).

While I was writing this post, I heard Claire crying and went up to get her. Brinley started calling for me so I went it to see what was wrong. Here I found Ashlyn asleep in the chair, while Brinley couldn't fall asleep. Of course I ran back downstairs to get my phone for a picture before Ashlyn woke up. 

I realized I didn't have a good picture of Claire so I snapped one real quick. 

I love my cute girls! I am the luckiest guy in the world. Sometimes I think we are so crazy for having kids so close together but I really do love the fun moments and the memories that we are creating! There is nothing more important to me than them!

Brinley's NEW face

I came home from school and found a note on the door. I was being invited to begin a scavenger hunt. I was led around the yard and house to different fun places I enjoy doing things with the girls. I was following a clue to my bedroom where I found all of my cute girls hiding under the blankets ready to surprise me with a fun note! They are so sweet! THANK YOU! It's things like these that make me realize nothing else in the world matters as much as my FOUR CUTE GIRLS!

Ashlyn has done this before but has become even better at it. She really enjoys gymnastics class.

Another video of our cute Mommy playing with Claire!

I was upstairs putting the girls down and I heard Claire just laughing! I called down to Jenny, "Sounds like she sure is having fun with you!" but there was no answer. I walked down and Claire was just by herself having a good time with this little mobile action Grandma Martinson has saved in her storage shed for 20+ years. Thanks!

Jenny and I aren't sure where Brinley discovered this face but she has been using it for pictures lately. Don't you just love it!

Here's a cute one! Brinley, Claire, and I went to watch Ashlyn perform with her children's symphony. Ashlyn was having a moment (an hour long one) and we ended up leaving early.

Ashlyn had this idea last night that we could have a party the following day (today). She described having it be a pajama party and tea party with cake. So this morning she woke up and came running into our bedroom screaming about how excited she was now that it was the day of the party. Mom was nice enough to get up with the girls and let me sleep in.

Finals week... or should I say month.

One day I was in the kitchen with Brinley and heard her laughing. I looked over and saw her hanging on like a little monkey. 

It seems that with the girls changing sizes all the time, it's difficult to keep up with clothes and finding which ones will be tight enough or loose enough to fit well. These jammies are obviously a little too big. Brinley has also begun a new phase of always having a stuffed animal with her. Teddy bears, minnie mouse, etc. She has also really enjoyed pushing them in the swings in the back yard.

Friday night there was a cake auction at the church as a fundraiser for the Young Women. Ashlyn and I went for a walk outside and what did we see!

 Ashlyn and I went to a baptism of a little boy in my primary class yesterday. Whenever we get time alone, I tell her that these are our "dates". I cherish my one-on-one time with the girls.

I get a little choked up when I think about her growing up. I have to remind myself to enjoy every moment. When my parents left us at the end of my spring break last month I had this really sad feeling, especially the next day. I was thinking about not living in Utah close to family. Thinking about my girls growing up too fast. I had this realization that was simple but meaningful, and it was this. We can ONLY live in the present! We can't see the future. We can't go back in time. The best way to live life is to love what is happening right now and cherish each minute. This was a great lesson, but sometimes it's still a little difficult to remember, like when I look at this picture below.

Our cute little Claire! We sure love her! She is smiling and laughing more each day, even though she is another "sober face". With Brinley, she was very sober and we would sing the lines to Lady Gaga's song "Poker face" but replacing it with "Sober face".

Brinley is so good at giving a cheese whenever she recognizes someone is taking a picture.

So I have been wanting to get some camera equipment to use at school for different cases I have. I have been debating whether or not it is worth the money. I finally broke down and decided to use the money from the weight loss contest, and birthday money from my parents, Jenny's parents, and our grandparents. Thanks to all of you. I got the last items in the mail on Friday and have been having a ton of fun with it.

Here are some pictures I've taken with it. Try to guess what things are before you see a the bottom.

Carpet

 These flowers are actually about the size of a penny or smaller.

brick on our house

Our screen door

Mold growing on our fence

Crate paper hung for Brinley's birthday.


Jenny's beautiful smile.

Ashlyn's beautiful smile. She actually has an extra upper right lateral incisor. She has three incisors on her right side before the canine. This has caused a slight deviation in her midline. See how her upper and lower midlines aren't the same?

My FOUR cute girls! I love each of them so much! Jenny is such a hard worker! I have a lot of appreciation for what she does. It is so draining, and all of you moms know that. Yet day in and day out not only is she hanging in there, but she is looking for ways to be a better mom, to teach the girls more, and to show more love for them. She is an amazing example to me. She is such a caring person.